From ancient time, alcohol has been a part of almost every civilization. Alcohol consumption is customary in many cultures and has become a popular social drink. Drinking alcohol has both short term and long term effects on our lives. So, getting deep into alcohol consumption side effects here is "10 Reasons Why You Should Quit Drinking Alcohol".
In this article:
Alcohol Consumption Popularity
Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Quit Drinking Alcohol
1) Increase In Health Problems
2) Low Time Awareness
3) Diminishing Decision Making Ability
4) Low Reliability & Trustworthiness
5) Relationship Problems
6) Low Productivity
7) Financial Problems
8) Bad Influence on Children
9) Criminal Activity
10) Accidents & Death
Steps Towards Quitting Drinking Alcohol
Conclusion
Alcohol Consumption Popularity
Consumption of alcohol in the form of beer, wine and spirits gains popularity by false attribution to success, heroism, courage and manliness.
Advertisements indirectly endorse alcohol and associate it with machoism and achievement. As a result, beverage companies are very successful in attracting teenagers and older people of both sexes.
As alcohol is a social drink and customary in various places, it is a rare sight that people discourage drinking openly. Alcohol has become a social norm.
Families accustomed to social drinking have regular supplies in their homes and children are habituated with adults consuming alcohol openly.
In other words, we, the drinkers, ourselves are the ones who popularize alcohol.
Even when things are popular, it doesn't mean it is good. So, let's know the 10 reasons why we should quit drinking alcohol.
Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Quit Drinking Alcohol
1. Increase in Health Problems
Ill effects of alcoholism on health are both physical and mental.
a) Physical Health problems:
Too much alcohol consumption can lead to several physical problems, apart from hangovers.
The health issues related to alcohol consumption are as follows:
- Cancer: Alcohol has been associated with cancer, one of the worst diseases you can have.
Types of Cancers Linked With Alcohol:
Oral cavity cancer, pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer carcinoma, oesophagal cancer, colon and rectal cancer, liver cancer and breast cancer.
( If smoking is another habit of an alcoholic, the risks are even greater) - Heart-Related Problems:
High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmia - Liver Problems: Cirrhosis, Fatty liver, Alcoholic hepatitis
- Pancreas Problem: Pancreatitis
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome:
Brain damage and abnormal growth in the child due to the use of alcohol by the mother during pregnancy period.
(Drinking during pregnancy can cause miscarriage and stillbirth.)
b) Mental Health:
Alcohol can alter the state of mind because it affects the neurotransmitters in the brain, causing delayed and altered response in the same environment.
People tend to be aggressive, excited and irritable due to the influence of alcohol. Anxiety and depression are also common in long term effects.
Psychosis and hallucination are also prevalent in alcohol addicts.
2. Low Time Awareness
Most of the people who engage in high alcohol consumption are known for their lack of punctuality.
One of the effects of alcoholism is lethargy and combined with it is lack of awareness.
As alcohol intervenes the neurotransmitters and plays with the brain, people lose track of time and are busy in the world of their own.
3. Diminishing Decision Making Ability
Alcoholism effects extend to the extent of hampering simple and life decisions.
Often the choices made are without any thought or out of impulses. As alcohol disrupts the mental capabilities, individuals are unable to make decisions because they are unable to think clearly with logic.
Read About
Alcohol Use Disorder By National Health Portal India
4. Low Reliability & Trustworthiness
Being unpunctual and a poor decision-maker, unreliability follows naturally.
Individuals inclined towards alcohol are labelled unreliable.
It is difficult for people of society and family to trust anyone with a drinking problem. After all, their lives only circles around alcohol and it's after-effects.
The cause and effects of alcohol ruin everything in life.
5. Relationship Problems
Alcoholics have low regards in society. Every action and their words are ignored and dismissed without any comprehension.
Family relations are under a lot of stress. There is less understanding within the family. Hence low trust and less cooperation from and towards the alcoholics.
Alcohol in excess has led to verbal and physical fights and abuse of a partner and in many cases broken marriages and divorces without reconciliations.
6. Low Productivity
As discussed earlier, the perception of time and deteriorating decision-making ability are two side-effects of alcohol caused by the interference of the brain signals.
Even more, alcohol has a bad relationship with sleep. A high concentration of alcohol in the blood tends to reduce the quality of sleep and shortens the duration.
Apart from improper sleep, excess alcohol leads to a hangover. This combined effect on the body makes the individual less productive.
Read About
Alcohol’s Effects on Brain and Behavior
By
Edith V. Sullivan, Ph.D., R. Adron Harris, Ph.D., and Adolf Pfefferbaum, M.D.
7. Financial Problems
Alcoholism is also related to the financial crisis. Alcohol consumption involves more expenses, which go hand in hand.
In many cases, the cost of having a proper drink exceeds the price of alcohol.
Expenses associated with using alcohol are service, snacks, meals and cigarettes. Some of the additional costs are transportation due to lack of coordination and other unexpected expenditures due to impulsive decisions.
Excessive expenses due to alcohol have taken a toll over many homes, and in many incidents made them broke.
8. Bad Influence on Children
We are so busy with our lives that we are oblivious to how we influence our children’s behaviour.
It is most likely that children learn from us adults, but, we are unaware of what we are teaching them.
In the child’s eye, whatever we do is normal and acceptable behaviour and lifestyle. Unknowingly we encourage our children to consume alcohol in the latter part of their lives.
It is in front of our children we socialize and have drinks with our friends and families. To our kids, it is a perception of happiness and celebration.
As a result, they think that when they grow up, they will drink, to enjoy as the adults in their families.
9. Criminal Activity
People with alcoholism are associated with various misdemeanours.
Alcohol abuse has given rise to uncontrolled and unimaginable actions.
Sudden bursts of rage and aggressive behaviour without any logic has contributed to conflicts, fights, vandalism, and murder.
On the other hand, in most of the cases, the alcohol abusers have no recollection of their acts of hooliganism.
10. Accidents & Death
Due to excess alcohol consumption, we suffer from improper motor control, i.e., body movement control.
Things get hazy, and we lose coordination. The signals back and forth to the brain and muscles and the actions are not in synchronization.
At times of less control over the body, we tend to harm ourselves by falling in dangerous places and hitting critical areas of our bodies.
Many of those accidents may cause severe damage or even cause deaths.
Drinking and driving are also very prevalent.
In many cases, alcohol makes people aggressive and overconfident along with, uncoordinated neurotransmitters. Due to which, the circumstances of rash driving and accidents have risen, as also the deaths associated with them.
Steps Towards Quitting Drinking Alcohol
Banning alcohol is impossible as it is one of the largest used social and customary beverage. Well, it is up to you to decide whether you will have it or not. And if you have it, how much should you have?
According to WHO, harmful use of alcohol results in 3.3 million deaths each year in the whole world and most of them are men.
On average, every person in the world aged 15 years or older drinks 6.2 litres of pure alcohol per year. 38.3% drink alcohol, this means that those who do drink consume on average 17 litres of pure alcohol annually.
The fact is that any amount of alcohol you take will put you at risk of health hazards.
Many countries have implemented stringent rules to control alcohol consumption. Some of the rules are:
- No sale of alcohol to minors
- No drinking alcohol in public places
- Increase in tax on alcohol
- No advertisements for alcohol
- Restrictions on places to sell
According to the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) (2019), Drinking Guidelines: General Population, on the average, men and women should not drink more than 20-40gms and 10-30gms of alcohol( grams of ethanol ) per day respectively.
However, alcohol consumption is still increasing year by year.
Related: International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD). (2019). Drinking guidelines: General population
Conclusion
Consumption of alcohol does give a sense of euphoria for a short period. But, getting addicted to having that feeling is a waste of life.
Alcohol not only affects you but also the people around you.
Alcoholism is associated with health problems, relationship problems and many times lead to financial difficulties.
Drinking in a safe limit, occasionally is fine, unless occasions find you regularly.
It is best to quit alcohol because it saves, not only you but also, your near and dear ones.
RECENT POST: How To Build Muscles Naturally
Read More
I carry on listening to the news update talk about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one. Could you advise me please, where could i find some?
ReplyDeleteNice read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing some research on that. And he just bought me lunch since I found it for him smile Thus let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch! "By nature, men are nearly alike by practice, they get to be wide apart." by Confucius.
ReplyDelete