You might be suffering from an alcohol use disorder — commonly known, of course, as alcoholism — if you consistently drink a lot, alcohol plays a central role in your life, you need more and more to achieve the same effect, and you can't seem to stop drinking, even if you've tried to.
Alcohol addiction can impact just about everyone it touches
If you imagine a circle of impact, in which the alcohol addict themselves takes up the center, the person's immediate family would be really close by. People who live with alcoholics — like wives, husbands, and children, but also housemates — see everything, from the intoxication and recovery, to the deception alcoholics often engage in when it comes to their drinking and other things negatively impacted by their drinking, like their work and finances. All aspects of their lives suffer. Relatives who don't live with an alcohol addict but who deeply care constantly worry about their loved-one's wellbeing.
A bit further away are friends and coworkers. Friends may worry, see their buddy completely destroy their lives, and miss the friendship that used to exist. They may also be talked into lending money. Coworkers may pick up the addict's slack on the job or find themselves covering for their alcoholic colleague.
Complete strangers can be impacted, too, not just personally — as victims of drunk-driving or punch-ups, for instance — but also on a society-wide level as alcohol addicts represent great public health cost.
A grand list: How can alcoholism impact society?
The 88,000 people (around 62,000 men and 26,000 women) who die from alcohol-related causes in the US alone leave grieving families behind. Because of alcoholism, wives lose husbands, husbands lose wives, children lose parents, and parents lose children.
Alcohol abuse harms the health of the drinker, but also often the health of those around them. Drunk drivers kill over 9,000 people each year in the United States. Nearly a third of all driving fatalities are linked to alcohol. Around 40 percent of domestic violence incidents involve alcohol. Likewise, drinking during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which will affect a child for the rest of their lives.
Over 10 percent of children live with an alcoholic parent in the US. Growing up with an alcoholic parent increases the risk that a child will experience abuse and neglect. Living with an alcoholic often exposes children to fear and violence. Research has shown that children of alcoholics are vulnerable to trauma, academic struggles, and behavioral problems. They are, unfortunately, also statistically more likely to become alcoholics themselves later in life.
Alcohol abuse destroys marriages. Over half of marriages in which one partner is a heavy drinker end in divorce, research shows. This is no surprise, given that 70 percent of partners of alcoholics report that they're often anxious because of their other half's drinking, many suffer from sleeping problems, and partners of problem drinkers often become socially isolated themselves, all because of their spouse's drinking. Alcohol can make families, and even whole businesses, go bankrupt too, so once a marriage ends, the non-alcoholic partner may be left with deep debt.
Alcoholism is expensive on a society-wide level, not only because alcoholics require increased health care, but also because those they may injure do. Then, the alcohol-related crimes and social work needs alcoholism creates also cost money. In the US, alcohol abuse costs society more than $249 billion a year.
What does this all mean?
Some people will be reading these tidbits just because they are curious about the far-reaching impact of alcohol abuse. Others, however, will be struggling with a drinking problem themselves, while the relatives of alcohol abusers will make up a third group.
If someone you love — a partner, parent, child, or sibling, for instance — has an alcohol problem, you may be feeling hopeless and alone. Help is available for you, too, through support groups for loved ones of alcoholics and through talk therapy. You won't be able to single-handedly lift your loved one out of alcoholism, but you might be able to help. The one person you can definitely help is you, so don't hesitate to look for the support you need.
Sources & Links
- Photo courtesy of SteadyHealth