Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Signs, Symptoms, Effects
What is alcoholism?
Alcohol dependence and abuse are among the most common mental disorders. The recent National Comorbidity Survey says that 23.5% of Americans may become dependent or abuse alcohol sometime in their lives. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 10 million adults and 3 million children are alcoholics. The first episode of alcohol intoxication usually occurs in the early to mid-teens and alcohol dependence usually peaks between the ages of 20 to mid-30s. Alcoholic dependence often follows family patterns. The risk is 3 to 4 times higher for someone to develop alcohol dependence if he or she has close relatives who are alcohol dependent.
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease that includes the following four symptoms:
* Craving0A strong need, or urge, to drink.
* Loss of control0Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun.
* Physical dependence0Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking.
* Tolerance0The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get “high.”
For clinical and research purposes, formal diagnostic criteria for alcoholism also have been developed. Such criteria are included […]

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