Alcohol Addiction

Many people enjoy a drink without it leading to an addiction. People who have developed a more serious problem with alcohol use may shy away from thinking of themselves as addicts; after all, alcohol is a legal substance and readily available to adults.

What is Alcohol Addiction?
The line between having a few drinks as part of a social experience and having an addiction to alcoholic beverages comes down to whether drinking is something you "have" to do as opposed to something that you "want" to do. A person who enjoys a drink controls their consumption and in the case of an alcoholic, the drinking controls them.

Signs of Alcohol Dependence Pennsylvania
Signs that your use of alcohol may have moved from social drinking to an addiction include:

An increased tolerance for alcohol
Difficulty in stopping drinking even when you want to
Withdrawal symptoms when you try to stop drinking
Spending a lot of time thinking about drinking, consuming alcoholic beverages, or recovering from a bout of drinking
Negative consequences from drinking, such as relationship difficulties, DUI or arrest for public intoxication, or job loss, yet continuing to drink anyway

Causes of Dependency
There are several reasons why someone may become addicted to alcohol in Pennsylvania. The alcoholic may be looking for the "high" that drinking gives them and must continue to drink larger amounts to recreate that experience. Other people with alcohol dependency issues are looking for a way to numb out to deal with stress, personal issues, or emotional pain. It's no surprise that alcoholism tends to run in families, since we learn a lot about how to cope with circumstances in our lives from seeing the way our parents and other family members do so. Having a parent or a close relative who has an addiction issue increases your risk of having one as well.

Effects of Use
Part of the reason that someone may start drinking is to feel more comfortable in social situations, since it helps to reduce inhibitions. As the person drinks more alcohol, they may feel more talkative, as well as a bit dizzy. As more alcoholic drinks are consumed, the person's speech may become slurred, and they may become aggressive. It's no coincidence that use of alcohol is often linked to violent acts.