Alcohol addiction and alcohol problems affecting people’s health are far more common in the western world than are problems due to other agents, such as illegal drugs. Alcohol problems are associated with marked increase in death from suicide.
Many people go through episodes in their life where they drink heavily. However, when alcohol starts to interfere with a person’s daily life, that person is considered to have an alcohol problem.
While one can always explain away the effects of alcohol and various events, it is worth thinking about it if people you know comment that they believe you are drinking too much alcohol, especially if more than one person makes such a comment. Regular, fairly heavy intake of alcohol causes depression, loss of ability to get things done, sleep problems, relationship problems, sexual problems, financial problems, work problems etc.
Whether you realise it or not, alcohol in large amounts gradually changes people’s personality for the worse. Not surprisingly, this causes lots of friction in relationships, and many relationships break up as a result.
Alcohol also destabilises the chemistry of the brain, and many people with an alcohol problem describe being depressed. In the majority of such people, drastically cutting back on their alcohol intake will relieve their “depression”, but not in everybody.
Note: A particularly dangerous situation is when older men lose their relationship because of alcohol. In such circumstances, keeping frequent and regular contact with the person involved for a couple of months, until the crisis settles and their feelings settle, can be highly protective.