Questions and Answers About
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ScribdTranslationsQuestions and Answers about
Alcohol and Alcoholism
Introduction
When can a person be considered an "alcoholic"?
Is the alcoholism an disease?
Are people born predisposed towards alcoholism?
What is "moderate" drinking?
Can alcohol dependence be "cured"?
Are all treatments the same?
Is it necessary to drink every day to be an alcoholic?
What symptoms may indicate that a person is abusing alcohol?
How can I help a family member with this problem?
Introduction
Below we offer you the answers to a series of questions related to alcohol consumption and its
consequences for health and personal balance.
This is not intended to replace the professional work of a qualified person.
If you want any other information, or ask us about your personal case, you can do so without
any obligation. Make your inquiry!
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When can a person be considered an "alcoholic"?
We say that a person has "alcohol problems" when they continue to drink despite the fact that
alcohol consumption is negatively interfering with their life, whether in their health, in their
psychological balance, in their work, in their family life. , in their social image, etc.
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Is the alcoholism an disease?
Alcohol dependence is, of course, a serious problem that affects the health of the person who
suffers from it in the broadest sense of the word.
Furthermore, it is a problem that affects one of the essential elements of the human being:
freedom.
The person who develops alcohol dependence loses his ability to decide whether or not to
drink in certain situations, little by little he loses self-control of his own behavior, in short: he
loses his freedom.
We can therefore consider it a disease, because it affects the personal balance of those who
suffer from it and those around them, and because adequate treatment is necessary to
recover from it.
On the other hand, it is not a common disease that can be "cured" by taking certain
medications, by means of a surgical operation or by some other common medical procedure.
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Are people born predisposed toward alcoholism?
There is data to suggest that not all people react to alcohol consumption in the same way.
However, this does not mean that alcohol dependence is determined by genetics.
Just as when several people sunbathe their skin reacts differently, leading some to turn a
pleasant golden color and others to burn at the same time, there are individual differences
that make some people more sensitive to alcohol, and therefore more easy for them to
develop dependency.
In any case, anyone who drinks excessively can become addicted to alcohol in more or less
time.
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What is "moderate" drinking?
Let's consider a "unit" of alcohol consumption to be the amount contained in a glass of wine,
in a beer, in a glass of cava, sweet wine or sherry, (approximately twelve grams of pure
alcohol).
Liquor glasses: anise, whiskey, cognac, gin, etc. or the combinations of these drinks are
equivalent to two "units".
Various scientific studies establish the following maximum limits for alcohol consumption:
Sex
Daily Limit
Weekly Limit
Man
20
Women
15
These data always refer to healthy people who have not previously had problems with alcohol
and do not represent absolute assurance that they will not have health problems or develop
alcohol dependence.
Every time a person exceeds these limits, they are subjecting their body to a negative effect
that alters its functioning, and which can lead to the development of alcohol dependence, or
other health problems derived from the toxic effect of alcohol on the human body. .
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Can alcohol dependence be cured?
Yes and no.
If we understand "healing" as the return to a situation like the one the person had before
having their first drink of alcohol, the answer is negative. Once alcohol has been abused and
dependence has developed, there will always be physiological and behavioral alterations that
will remain more or less latent in the individual.
However, with appropriate therapy, people can learn to live without alcohol in a completely
healthy and balanced way. That is to say, the dependency can be overcome and the person
can regain their freedom.
Since it is mainly a behavior that has gone from being a habit to being a dependency,
psychological treatment is necessary to restore the person's capacity for self-control in
situations, whether they are social pressure, emotional disturbance, or of another type. in
which he previously drank.
The DeTOX Institute has developed its Victoria Alcohol Cessation Program that has offered
excellent therapeutic results since 1984.
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Are all treatments the same?
No.
Over the last few years, different ways of addressing the problem have been developed, the
characteristics of which are very different from each other.
It is one thing to enter a Psychiatric Hospital and another to attend a meeting of Alcoholics
Anonymous or Rehabilitated Alcoholics.
Taking "Colme" or "Antabuse" is not the same as taking anti-anxiety medications, or
naltrexone. Nor is it the same to have a psychoanalysis or undergo acupuncture.
And all of these treatments are at the same time very different from the DeTOX Institute's
Victoria Program.
Before undergoing treatment, or recommending someone to do so, carefully inform yourself
about the characteristics of the working method that each entity follows, as well as the
therapeutic results it has.
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Is it necessary to drink every day to be an alcoholic?
No.
Many people develop a form of dependence that manifests itself intermittently.
Sometimes the subject is able to not drink at all, perhaps for days or weeks, or even to drink
moderately. But this does not prevent him from sometimes drinking uncontrollably and that
this brings him negative consequences of all kinds.
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What symptoms may indicate that a person is abusing alcohol?
Below we show you some of the main and most common symptoms that people who have
problems with alcohol have.
The presence of any of them makes it advisable to consult the particular case with a
specialized professional.
Physical symptoms
Drink large amounts without getting drunk
Nausea or vomiting when getting up
Loss of appetite
Memory gaps (forgetting details of what has been done or said)
Slight tremor in the hands that is relieved by drinking alcohol
Elevated values in the Gamma GT enzyme or in Mean Corpuscular Volume in a blood test.
Psychological symptoms
