What is a lot to drink, how to drink in moderation, or not to drink - which should you choose?
There is an attitude around alcohol and alcohol consumption in our society: on the one hand, "drinking is bad for health! ", on the other hand, "who doesn't drink now? ". In our opinion, this is because drinking is often viewed by medicine from two extreme positions: normal (sober) and sick (alcohol addiction). At the same time, people with teething disorders are a minority in society: from 40% of the total population (including adolescents and the elderly) to 10-15% of the adult population. In this regard, many people wonder: "Is drinking alcohol so harmful, if it is so common and doctors themselves constantly talk about its harmful effects, is it tartar? ". So the purpose of this article is not only to talk about the real dangers and harms of drinking too much alcohol, but also about what constitutes its consumption with minimal health risk.
Alcohol abuse
Let's start with some important definitions. What is Alcohol Consumption, Abuse and Dependence? In itself, drinking alcohol, like many other substances, is a type of human behavior. The difference between alcohol (and tobacco) and many other food products has to do with its ability to affect a person's mental functioning: emotions, behaviors, thoughts. Therefore, alcohol is called a psychostimulant (psychoactive), which also includes drugs (opioids, psychostimulants and marijuana), psychotropic drugs (barbiturates, benzodiazepines) and toxic substances. harmful (glue, gasoline, solvent). Alcohol and most psychostimulants can cause abuse and dependence in people. Abuse is understood as a form of consumption that damages a person's physical (increased pressure, liver, heart and nerve damage) and mental health (insomnia, depression, anxiety), andcan also disrupt a person's career (dismissal), family (divorce, scandal) and public life (arrest, drunk driving).
Abuse is inherently a painful condition and requires medical intervention, but it is important at this stage that it is also a general therapist or a neurologist with short intervention skills. term for alcohol problems. Alcoholism is already an illness, like anxiety or depression, when a person needs the help of other doctors - an narcissist or a psychotherapist.
Alcoholism consists of a combination of disturbances in behavior, thinking, and physical functions that develop after repeated use of alcohol. The main symptom of alcoholism is a strong compulsion to "drink" ("craving"); violation of the ability to control alcohol (at the beginning and at the end of the drinking session and dose) ("no brakes, drunk"); the desire or unsuccessful attempt to reduce or control alcohol consumption; a state of withdrawal (withdrawal syndrome, "waste") where you stop or reduce your alcohol intake and lessen it with alcohol intake; tolerance - gradually increase the dose of alcohol taken; ignore other hobbies and increase drinking time; and finally the continued consumption of alcohol with its obvious harmful effects on health. A diagnosis of addiction can be made if three or more of these signs are present within one month of the past year (eg, heavy drinking one day a week on Fridays after work, or heavy drinking). drunkenness for four weeks per year).
If in a society 5 to 10% of the population abuse alcohol and another 4% of the population (2% of women and 6% of men) depend on alcohol, then in the remaining part of the population, about 10Another -20% found excessive drinking. According to the WHO definition, excessive (dangerous or risky) alcohol consumption is defined as a level or type of alcohol that, if continued, would result in harm to health (i. e. , would later become abuse).
It is now believed that the amount of alcohol consumed directly determines the likelihood of developing various alcohol problems (dangerous consumption, abuse and dependence), which may then require alcohol withdrawal. Adults who do not drink alcohol have been shown to consume no more than 20 g of ethyl alcohol per day to minimize the risk of developing problems. At the same time, drink alcohol no more than 5 days a week with 2 mandatory sobriety days. According to WHO, 10 g of ethyl alcohol is consumed with 1 standard unit (dose) of alcohol. One dose of alcohol is contained in 330 ml. 5% strength beer; in 140 ml. dry alcohol (9-11%); in 70 ml. additional alcohol (18%); and in 35 ml of spirits (40%). To calculate the amount of ethyl alcohol in grams in an alcoholic beverage, it is necessary to multiply the mass of the drink by its strength and by a conversion factor of 0. 79 (each ml of pure ethyl alcohol contains 0. 79 g).
However, in some situations, even drinking one or two doses of alcohol a day is undesirable: if you drive, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, when you are taking certain medications, many diseases and when you can't control your drinking (i. e. you have one of the signs of addiction).
What problems does alcohol cause?
Alcohol problems are not only harmful to health and well-being, but also have many professional, family and social consequences from drinking too much.
The risk of alcohol problems is low with 3-4 drinks per day for men (20 drinks per week) and 2-3 drinks per day for women (15 drinks per week). The average risk of problems was seen with 25-35 doses per week for men and 15-25 doses for women. A higher risk of alcohol problems was observed with more than 35 drinks per week for men and more than 25 drinks per week for women. Further increases in consumption indicate abuse and a sharp increase (6. 5-fold) increases the risk of alcoholism and related somatic diseases. Thus, you can calculate the amount of alcohol you have consumed in the past 7 days, which can be considered an indicator of average alcohol consumption in general. And then you can assess how risky you are to drink, and whether it has caused pain or not.
In addition to the amount of alcohol consumed, an individual's likelihood of alcohol abuse and dependence is influenced by genetic, personal and social factors; They are also known as risk factors. Genetic (inherited) risk factors include parental alcohol dependence (risk 3-4 times increased) and other addictions (drug addiction - increased risk 4-5 and maternal smokingdrugs - 2-3 times more). Currently, many genes have been identified as responsible for the development of alcoholism, however, they determine only 30-40% of the risk of its occurrence. The other things. 60-70% risk of alcoholism depends on the personality of the person and his living environment.
Genetic differences also influence the psychophysiological characteristics of people associated with alcohol consumption. The following features are revealed: a) abnormal (slow or accelerated) ethanol metabolism (processing) - "I'm fast or completely drunk"; b) rapid development of tolerance - "do not drink vodka"; c) altered responses to alcohol (irritability, aggression and depression).
What characteristics of a person increase the risk of alcoholism? Subjects are mainly men, early drinking, young (16-19 years old), living outside of marriage (single, divorced or widowed), low income, underemployed, retired. The psychological problems that often lead to the development of alcoholism at a young age (before age 25) are emotional instability (mood swings, irritability, aggressive behavior), drunkenness, hyperactivityand risk behavior (stimulant-seeking behavior-gambling, polygamous sex), as well as higher levels of alcohol consumption at a young age.
The psychological problems that often lead to alcoholism in adulthood (after age 30) are increased levels of anxiety and depression, impaired communication skills (shyness), difficulty changing, fear of abandonment, problem avoidance, lack of meaning for existence and prospects. Social risk factors for alcoholism include high levels of family stress for women and work stress for men, and low social status of the family (poverty, housing conditions). shabby), disrupting the structure and function of the family (incomplete - for women).
What can be advised for a moderate drinker, but have risk factors for developing alcohol dependence, i. e. possibly becoming an alcoholic?
In these people, even moderate-risk drinking can cause the same problems as low-risk drinking in people without these factors. They therefore need to prevent the development of alcohol abuse and dependence, and this can only be achieved by regularly observing the limits of moderate drinking. Even single high doses of alcohol (more than 5 doses per day) can contribute to the development of alcohol-related problems - poisoning, trauma, accidents, violence; and drinking small amounts of alcohol over a long period of time (3-5 drinks per day) increases the risk of addiction by 2-3 times compared with people without these genetic, personal and social risk factors. Therefore, for them, exceeding the dosage is unacceptable.
What advice can a person who drinks moderately and has no risk factors for alcoholism but is still at risk of becoming an alcoholic? In such people, while maintaining the same level of alcohol consumption, the risk of developing addiction is very small. However, if they are exposed to adverse external (layoff, divorce, retirement) or internal (illness, anxiety and depression) factors, and if they allow excessive alcohol (drinking alarge amounts of alcohol - more than 5 doses per day for 3-7 days) or increased alcohol intake regularly, addiction and abuse can develop over a short period of time.
And finally, what advice can be given to someone who consumes alcohol at dangerous or harmful levels? What to say to such a patient? The advice is pretty simple - try drinking less, or if that doesn't work, stop drinking. How to drink less? Dilute alcoholic beverages, replace alcohol with soft drinks; eat before and after drinking alcohol. Try to distract yourself from the glass and drink more slowly; do something else to drink less; start later than usual; Do alcohol days: two or three or even four days a week is better. Try not to get into high-risk situations where you can lose control: during campaigns, with friends, after work, on holidays, after getting paid, on weekends. Try not to drink when you are bored or lonely, you are irritable, stressed and have a bad mood, insomnia and anxiety; and if you find yourself in such a situation - leave, refuse. Try other forms of recreation and entertainment; And most importantly, learn to say no. It is important to find moderate users who are willing to assist you in your efforts to solve your alcohol problem.
The final question that this article will attempt to answer is: what should a person and his loved ones do about an existing alcohol dependence (alcoholism)?
Stopping drinking is necessary if you regularly want to drink alcohol (even if for the sake of relaxation, stress relief, fun); can't control how much you drink feel nauseous the day after drinking a lot and need to drink to improve your health; You need more and more alcohol to get drunk or return to your "normal" state. It is also important to stop drinking alcohol if you have high blood pressure (alcohol does not cure high blood pressure, on the contrary, increases the risk of hypertension and stroke), liver disease, pancreatitis, and are taking drugs that are incompatible with alcohol. (antibiotics, heart medication, pressure medication, etc. ). If you can't quit smoking on your own, don't despair, there are now enough qualified professionals - psychotherapists and anonymous narcissists: no registration required, job alertsand revoke your driver's license, will assist you effectively. The main thing to remember is that alcoholism is curable, but the result of its treatment is not the restoration of "the ability to drink alcohol back in the company like everyone is 100 grams", but a sustained effectstate of consciousness for a long time.