Alcohol addiction is one of the worst possible addictions that a person can encounter. There has been much research done on the subject and yet still there is no definitive answer as to why there are some people who start drinking and cannot stop and yet others who can consume alcohol in moderation. All that is known however is that alcoholism is a very debilitating state for any human being to be in. There are more people who miss work every year due to alcoholism, either their own or that of a family member, than for any other reason or illness. Alcohol related deaths make up one fourth of all fatalities every year in America, and those are not even the ones that are automobile related. There are more people in prison as a result of an alcohol related crime than for anything else. The point of the matter is that when a person becomes inebriated on alcohol their impulse control is greatly diminished and whatever other emotions that the person may be feeling at the time are usually exaggerated. That means that when a person gets drunk their emotions are going to be their guide as opposed to their logic and that can cause the potential for some very dangerous situations.
It is shown that in people who use alcohol habitually and to excess over a long period of time show lower impulse control even when they are not intoxicated. Alcohol definitely affects a person’s brain and causes damage; the time for this damage to be reversed is unknown. With at few particular alcohol related brain disorders, if they progress to a certain level there is no way to reverse the effects.
Wernicke Encephalopathy, Korsakoff Syndrome and Alcohol Related Brain Damage
When a person consumes alcohol to excess over a long period of time especially without eating a proper diet they run the risk of malnutrition, meaning that they are not getting the vitamins and minerals that they need for their body to function correctly. This is especially true of thiamine or B1 intake. When a person drinks alcohol, one of the side effects is having their stores of B1 getting depleted and burned up. B1 is a water soluble vitamin that the human body does not create itself. This means that person needs to eat foods that contain B1 everyday or take B1 supplement. When a person is drinking and they are not paying attention to what they are eating or even sometimes making sure that they eat at all that can get a very severe B1 deficiency. This can cause to a couple different disorders that cause severe brain disturbances in the person. The first of these disorders is called Wernicke Encephalopathy or WE. This is a potentially reversible disorder; the only treatment necessary is supplementation of vitamin B1 or thiamine. However, if the person does not receive proper treatment for this ailment it can then progress to Korsakoff Syndrome or KS which can be chronic and irreversible. When a person has either of these diseases the main symptom is memory loss and confusion. The person may also show signs of aggression. For people who do develop KS the only option may be for their family to look into a long term care facility for the person because they are no longer able to care for themselves. For a person to become so dependent upon alcohol that they are unable to stop using even when they run the risks of developing such devastating physical and mental problems shows how addictive this substance really can be.
Alcohol Related Images in the Media
Anytime a person watches a show on television or even just takes a drive down the street they are certain to be bombarded with advertisements for the consumption of alcohol. Most every restaurant serves it and it is completely socially acceptable for a person to have a drink with dinner. When one surfs the net and looks on Facebook, alcohol filled images are very easy to find. Many people have themselves drinking some type of alcoholic beverage in their profile pictures. This can cause very severe cravings in a person who is trying to quit drinking. Just watching a movie where there are images of a couple sharing a bottle of wine together can cause an alcoholic to crave alcohol to a point that is unbearable.
The other thing that makes recovery for alcoholics so difficult is that often times when the person quits drinking their body feels very bad for a while. Even just un-medicated alcohol withdrawal can be potentially fatal for a person who is severely physically addicted to alcohol.
Narconon Alcohol Treatment
The treatment that person gets when they receive the Narconon Alcohol Treatment protocol is some of the best that is available. The first phase of the Narconon program is to help the person eliminate their physical cravings completely by ridding themselves of the built up toxins that have accumulated in their fatty tissue as a result of their alcohol consumption in the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program. During this phase of the program the person will also address their nutritional deficiencies and lack of energy through a regimen of vitamins and exercise. Many people who have completed this portion of the Narconon program have said that they felt physically and mentally better than they had since they were a child and they feel better sober now than they ever did on their best day of getting intoxicated.
The person will then go on to learn the tools that they need to deal with the issues and reasons that they started using in the first place. Narconon is kind of like a school where the main goal is for the person to learn how to live an alcohol and drug free life while also learning how to succeed and become a contributing member of society instead of a drain on those around them. Narconon has a seventy six percent success rate, compared to most other programs that have only a 2 to 12 percent success rate.
