Alcohol addiction is a serious and dangerous behavior that affects thousands of people across the nation. With endless information about alcohol abuse at your fingertips, it can be difficult to know what to believe.

Psychosocial treatments are a multimodal approach to alcohol use disorder and can include therapy, education, training, and more. Critics of moderation management note that this form of treatment may encourage denial in people with alcohol use disorder, which may delay seeking more effective treatment.

Top 10 Common Myths About Alcoholism Debunked

Someone with an addiction to alcohol can’t take control of their life. The prospective association between sipping alcohol by the sixth grade and later substance abuse. There’s also a direct link between excessive https://ecosoberhouse.com/ drinking and the risk of committing sexual assault. Also, a person who is too intoxicated can’t consent to sexual activity. In my experience, the honest approach works better than people imagine.

• According to a 2015 study, light-eyed Americans of European descent consume more alcohol than dark-eyed Americans of European descent.
• Because alcohol is legal for people over the age of 21, many people believe that it’s not as harmful as other drugs that happen to be illegal.
• The content on Healthgrades does not provide medical advice.
• Your body needs time to break down the alcohol in your system.

It is a frustrating issue for everyone who is affected by alcoholism, even if they are not alcoholics themselves. Throughout the decades, researchers have made colossal steps to understand what alcoholism is and how it affects a person.

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This may include alcohol withdrawal symptoms like headaches, nausea, vomiting, or mental health repercussions like anxiety or depression. One of the more stereotype-inducing myths about alcohol abuse is that it only affects a specific age group. Instead, the habits or patterns you adopt when drinking alcohol are more indicative of whether you are struggling with alcohol addiction.

When it comes to alcohol, the line between myth and fact can be blurry. Chemical dependency specialist Joseph Janesz, PhD,helps clear up the confusion below. Alcoholics myths about alcoholism are often high-functioning people who are well educated and hold good jobs. We offer a wide variety of rehab programs that cater to every situation.

Myth #3: Suffering from Alcoholism Means you’ve ‘Hit Rock Bottom’

Heavy drinking is defined by the amount consumed and not the amount of days spent drinking. Men can be at risk if they drink more than 4 drinks a day or 14 per week. Women are considered at risk if they drink more than 3 per day or 7 drinks a week. To anyone that’s addicted to alcohol, one wine or beer can be the first step down an unhealthy path. Alcoholism affects everyone around the alcoholic, especially those closest to him or her. A 2019 study of alcohol use in England found that people in professional managerial jobs had more occasions to drink than manual workers, casual workers, and unemployed people.

• It is going to be hard to watch your loved one put himself through hellish torture when it would seem that it would be so easy to just stop drinking.
• For those people who truly and willingly work their steps with a desire to stay sober, the psychic change occurs.
• People between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most at risk for developing an alcohol addiction, but anyone younger or older is susceptible.
• Many people who are unfamiliar with what alcoholism is and looks like, only have the idea that is given to them by the media, so today, we are going to “debunk” some of the myths about alcoholism.
• People believe that there’s no coming back from intense alcoholism, and if you’re an alcoholic you’ve somehow hit “rock bottom”, meaning that life simply cannot get any worse.

With all of these myths cleared up, you may be wondering where to seek out treatment for alcohol addiction. Bedrock Recovery Center, located in Massachusetts, offers plenty of addiction treatment programs. Another myth about alcohol addiction is that drinking beer or wine is healthier than hard liquor. Frankly put, abusing any kind of alcohol is not good for your health. While that sentiment might work for most people, for those suffering from alcoholism, it’s not that easy. This is one of the most common ways that people suffering from alcohol abuse or alcoholism end up relapsing.

Myth #4: Controlled drinking is possible

It’s much easier to get sober by joining a treatment program that offers medically supervised detoxification and more. That way, addicts won’t have to worry about the anxiety surrounding quitting all on their own and can instead work with a team throughout the process. Alcohol is a drug and can be as damaging as any other drug addiction. It will have severe effects on the body, which can eventually be fatal if nothing is done to treat the problem. In fact, alcoholics have great willpower, as they are often able to hold down jobs and get through a normal day while being hungover.

Following this logic, people tend to think that those who suffer from alcoholism are not as severely affected as people who suffer from other addictions. In fact, alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs to which you can have an addiction. Not only are you at risk of overdosing; you can die from withdrawing from alcohol as well. Alcohol is one of only two drugs that you can die from while withdrawing . Sticking to your treatment from the start to the finish will increase your chances of sobriety and success substantially. Getting to a sober and cleaner life is possible with the help of medical professionals and counselors.

Myth #8: Alcoholics must go to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

These are only a few of the many factors that can contribute to alcohol use disorder; however, it’s clear that a person’s level of willpower does not cause or prevent alcoholism. – Men are almost twice as likely to develop alcohol use disorder as women. Children may experience abuse or neglect as a parent struggling with alcoholism becomes unaware of their actions. In addition, alcoholism can put a financial strain on families, causing additional conflicts and stress.

While there is no known, single cure, alcoholism can be arrested with proper treatment. The businessman and the doctor who founded Alcoholics Anonymous were once considered by their friends to be ‘hopeless drunks’.

People will keep using even when terrible things happen to them. Your body normally stores warm blood in its core to preserve important organ functions. Alcohol artificially dilates blood vessels in your extremities, allowing warm blood to escape from your core into your peripheral circulation, where it cools. Normally, your body cycles through light and deep phases of sleep. Alcohol inhibits refreshing REM sleep and later on causes “REM rebound,” with nightmares and trouble sleeping.