Alcohol abuse is a pattern of excessive drinking leading to a myriad of serious health risks such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, anemia, dementia, cirrhosis, pneumonia and tuberculosis. According to research, alcohol is causally linked to more than 60 medical conditions and accounts for 4% of the world’s diseases.
• In 2015, 26.9% of adults 18 and older reported binge drinking in the past month, and 7% reported heavy alcohol consumption in the past month, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSUDH)
• From 2006-2010, about 62,681 men and 25,987 women died from alcohol-related causes, making alcoholism the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• About a third of driving fatalities were attributed to alcohol-impaired driving in 2014, according to the United States Department of Transportation
• In 2010, alcohol was the fifth leading cause for premature death and disability around the world, according to the Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health by the World Health Organization (WHO)
• WHO reports an estimate of 3.3 million deaths globally in 2012 were attributed to alcohol-related causes
If you are abusing alcohol, does that mean you’re physically dependent? The answer is no, but there is a fine line. Alcohol dependence is one’s inability to quit drinking, and alcohol abuse is excessive consumption which could lead to serious consequences if the individual does not seek help…so how much is too much? Anything more than one drink (for women) and two drinks (for men) per day would be considered harmful alcohol consumption, according to WebMd. A standard drink, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), contains 14 grams of pure alcohol and is equivalent to:
• 5 ounces of wine
• 12 ounces of beer
• 1.5 ounces of liquor (e.g., tequila or whisky)
Although genes play a role in the development of alcoholism, anyone can develop alcohol dependence and addiction given certain environmental factors. People start drinking innocuously for various reasons, either to mingle with friends at a party or to destress after a long, hard day. However, warning signs of progression to alcoholism should be noted, and the NIAAA defines drinking levels as follows:
Moderate alcohol consumption
Up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men
Binge drinking
A pattern of drinking that elevates the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08%. This would be equivalent to four drinks or more within two hours for women and five or more drinks in two hours for men.
Heavy alcohol use
Binge drinking on five or more days within the past 30 days
Men who exhibit risky or impulsive behaviors and have a family history of alcohol use disorder have reported the highest rates of binge drinking in a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers examined the link between binge drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD) factors in a sample of 159 social drinkers between the ages of 21 and 45. Respondents completed assessments about family history of problem drinking, impulsive behaviors and level of response to alcohol; findings revealed that those who had a family history of alcoholism had a faster rate of binge drinking, and individuals who had all three risk factors (being male, having a family history of AUD and exhibiting impulsive behaviors) had rates of intravenous alcohol administration five times faster than those in the lowest risk group.
Binge Drinking Facts and Statistics
• Adults age 35 and over have reported more binge drinking than younger adults. American adults consume approximately 17.5 billion binge drinks each year. In 2015, about 17.1% of adults (37.4 million) had an average of 53.1 binge-drinking episodes per drinker. Findings reveal that though binge drinking was more common among young adults between the ages of 18 and 34, about half of the binge drinks were consumed by adults aged 35 and over (Kanny, Naimi, Liu, Lu & Brewer, 2015)
• Binge drinking is more common among high-income earners with higher educational levels, but binge drinkers with lower incomes and educational levels consume more binge drinks annually (Kanny et al., 2015)
• Men are twice as likely as women to binge drink (Kanny et al., 2015)
Binge drinking is not alcohol dependency or alcoholism, but if binge drinking patterns are left unchecked, it can lead to alcoholism, which is a disease characterized by the following signs and symptoms:
• Drinking more or longer than intended
• Attempts to reduce or stop drinking have failed
• Spending a lot of time drinking or getting sick from alcohol’s effects
• Intense all-consuming psychological cravings
• Drinking habits interfere with personal, academic and job responsibilities
• Declining quality of work/job performance
• Preference for drinking over spending quality time with loved ones
• Alcohol is prioritized above favorite hobbies and pastimes
• Increase in risky behaviors while drinking or after drinking
• Continued drinking despite harm to physical and mental health
• Increased physical tolerance for alcohol
An individual is considered to have a mild alcohol use disorder if he or she has had 2-3 symptoms within the past year. The presence of four to five symptoms indicates a moderate alcohol use disorder, and six or more symptoms is considered severe.
Drinking a glass of wine is usually the first thought that comes to mind when people want to unwind and relax. Alcohol relieves anxiety by increasing GABA’s effects, a neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of calmness, and decreasing glutamate, a neurotransmitter that stimulates neural activity and energy levels. The increase of GABA and decrease of glutamate result in euphoria which keeps drinkers coming back for more. As the body gets more accustomed to these changes, it needs increasing amounts of alcohol for the drinker to feel the same effect.
When people suddenly stop drinking, their bodies begin to experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms due to the imbalance of GABA and glutamate in their systems. The body continues to produce more GABA and less glutamate, which leads to a host of alcohol withdrawal symptoms ranging from mild to severe, depending on how long and how much the individual has been drinking.
Mild alcohol withdrawal
Within 6 to 12 hours after the last drink, a heavy drinker may experience:
• Perspiration
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Shaky hands
• Mild anxiety
• Loss of appetite
• Clouded thinking
Moderate alcohol withdrawal
Within 12 to 24 hours after the last drink, a chronic drinker may experience the following:
• Hand tremors
• Alcoholic hallucinosis (the drinker can tell the hallucinations are not real)
• Seizures
• Disorientation
• Cognitive confusion
• Difficulty breathing
• Increased blood pressure
• Heart arrhythmia
Severe alcohol withdrawal
Within 24 to 72 hours after the last drink, a chronic drinker may experience these withdrawal symptoms:
• Delirium tremens, a life-threatening condition
• Low-grade fever
• Seizures
• Hypertension
• Hallucinations
• Excessive perspiration
• Hallucinations (the drinker cannot distinguish them from reality)
• Disorientation and confusion
• Heart arrhythmia or rapid heartbeat
• High blood pressure
Without proper treatment for alcohol use disorder, drinkers can reap short- and long-term consequences of alcohol abuse.
Regular consumption of alcohol over time can lead to long-term changes in the brain’s structure, producing anxiety and mood swings while disrupting communication among the brain’s neurotransmitters. For heavy drinkers, excessive consumption can wreak irreversible damage on the brain that persists long after sobriety is achieved. A British study showed that alcohol can actually shrink the brain, reducing brain volume in regions that control learning and cognition. The extent to which alcohol affects the brain depends on a number of factors:
• Frequency of alcohol consumption
• Amount of alcohol consumed
• Individual’s age of onset
• Length of alcohol consumption history
• Risk from prenatal exposure to alcohol
• Individual’s general health status
Alcohol’s short-term effects on the brain can be detected within a few hours or after a few drinks, depending on how much food is in the person’s system when alcohol is ingested. On an empty stomach, quick consumption of large amounts of alcohol can cause a blackout, which is a temporary cognitive impairment that wipes out the person’s memory. During a blackout, the individual is capable of doing anything – even activities he or she would never do while sober – which leads to risky impulsive behaviors such as unprotected sex, drug use, and driving while intoxicated. After the intoxication subsides, the individual will not be able to remember anything that happened during the blackout.
Generally speaking, if people are having appetizers or a meal with alcohol, stages of alcohol intoxication are predictable with incremental levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
Stages of Alcohol Intoxication
Subclinical Intoxication – At a BAC of 0.01 to 0.05, signs of intoxication are minimal after one or two drinks.
Euphoria – When a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches 0.03 to 0.12, depending on the drinker’s characteristics, alcohol can turn an otherwise introverted individual into a lively, animated person who feels less inhibited by self-doubt and anxiety. As BAC increases, it negatively impairs cognitive function such as attention, judgment, short-term memory and coordination. A BAC of 0.08 is punishable by law if a driver is caught driving under the influence, because at this point, alcohol intoxication becomes a public health concern that endangers the life of the driver and others on the road.
Excitement – The third stage of alcohol intoxication renders the drinker extremely vulnerable to serious physical injury and emotional instability. At a BAC of 0.09 to 0.25, a person is considered legally intoxicated; by this point, a man probably has had three to five drinks within an hour and a woman may have had two to four drinks in an hour. In addition to blurred vision and loss of coordination, the person may experience drowsiness, memory impairment and loss of judgment. At stage 3, people become visibly drunk.
Confusion – When the BAC reaches 0.18 to 0.30 after too many drinks in one hour, individuals may not be able to stand up, but if they try, they may stagger in a drunken stupor, dazed and confused. They could also be extremely emotionally aggressive, overly affectionate, or completely withdrawn. Blackouts may occur during this stage, during which an individual may not experience physical pain, which renders the individual highly susceptible to severe physical injury.
Stupor – At this level of intoxication, alcohol poisoning has occurred. With a BAC of 0.25 to 0.4, drinkers are completely unable to stand up or walk. They may pass out, throw up, or lose control over bodily functions. They become a danger to themselves as their ability to swallow or breathe is impaired, and they may need medical attention if they choke on their vomit.
Coma – At a BAC of 0.35 to 0.45, individuals may lose consciousness and enter into a coma state. Their breathing becomes shallow, their body temperature drops, and they become unresponsive to stimuli such as light. When they reach this stage, they are at risk of death.
Death – When BAC levels reach 0.5 and above, the person stops breathing.
Homeyer, A., Nasr, P., Engel, C., Kechagias, S., Lundberg, P., Ekstedt, M., Kost, H., Weiss, N., Palmer, T., Hahn, H. K., Treanor, D., … Lundström, C. (2017). Automated quantification of steatosis: agreement with stereological point counting. Diagnostic pathology, 12(1), 80. doi:10.1186/s13000-017-0671-y
Kanny D, Naimi TS, Liu Y, Lu H, Brewer RD. (2015). Annual Total Binge Drinks Consumed by U.S. Adults, 2015. American Journal of Psychiatry, 54(4), 486-496. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Toshikuni, N., Tsutsumi, M., & Arisawa, T. (2014). Clinical differences between alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. World journal of gastroenterology, 20(26), 8393-406.
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To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email juanita@newmethodwellness.com
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
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Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to juanita@newmethodwellness.com