What are causes of alcohol addiction and the effect of alcohol on body

1. ALCOHOL AND
RELATED PROBLEMS
Dr. Sushma Rathee
Assistant Clinical Psychologist , PGIMER,
Chandigarh
Email: sushmaratheecp@gmail.com

2. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Alcohol is a depressant.
Alcohol depresses the central nervous system beginning
with the first drink.
Alcohol has no nutritional value and lots of calories.
In low doses, alcohol creates a feeling of warmth and
loweredinhibitions.
In higher doses, alcohol consumption can have serious
consequences.

3. ALCOHOL ABUSE VS ALCOHOLISM
 Alcohol abuse is a drinking pattern that results in significant and recurrent
adverse consequences. Alcohol abusers may fail to fulfill major school,
work, or family obligations. They may have drinking-related legal problems,
such as repeated arrests for driving while intoxicated. They may have
relationship problems related to their drinking.
 People with alcoholism — technically known as alcohol dependence —
have lost reliable control of their alcohol use. It doesn't matter what kind of
alcohol someone drinks or even how much: Alcohol-dependent people are
often unable to stop drinking once they start. Alcohol dependence is
characterized by tolerance (the need to drink more to achieve the same
"high") and withdrawal symptoms if drinking is suddenly stopped.
Withdrawal symptoms may include nausea, sweating, restlessness,
irritability, tremors, hallucinations and convulsions.

4. HOW ALCOHOL WORKS
Alcohol’s effect on the brain produces the “drunk” feeling
Alcohol enters the mouth
Alcohol travelsto the stomach and small intestines Stomach and
small intestines absorb alcohol into the bloodstream
Blood travelsto every organ, including the brain

5. BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION
The ratio of alcohol to blood in the bloodstream
.02% A this level of intoxication, your central Nervous System slows down.
Your reaction time becomes impaired. You react to thingsslower thanusual.
.04% At this level, your reaction times continues to slow down
Your feelings of relaxationdeepen.
A “buzz” develops.
.05% At this level of intoxication, the effects of alcohol change.
Good feelings become less good
Negative feelings become worse

6. BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION
.06%
At this level, the brain’sability to processinformation and make judgments is
greatly impaired.You may not understandinformation like you normally
would, and you are more likely to do things that you normally would not do.
.08%
At this level, motor coordination greatly declines. You will likely bump into
things and have difficulty balancing.
You may feelnauseous and throw up
.10%
At this level, judgment and motor coordination are greatlyimpaired.

7. BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION
This level presents a high risk of blackouts
and injuries.
At this level of intoxication, you are likely
to passout, and you are at risk ofdeath.
.15%-
.25%
.25%-
.35%
.40%-
.45%
This is the lethal dose for most people.

8. WHAT ALCOHOL DOES TO THE BRAIN
Brain Region Function of Brain Region Consequence ofAlcohol
Pre-frontal cortex Reasoning and impulse control Poor decisions andimpulsivity
Hippocampus Memory andlearning Irreversible damage
Myelination Process
Stabilizes/speeds brain
processes
Cognitive deficiencies
Dopamine Pathway Produces pleasure
Reduces natural capacity to produce
dopamine resultingin depression, anger,
boredom, and anxiety

9. ALCOHOL AND GPA
There is a relationship between alcohol
consumption and college academic
performance.
• A’s -4drinks or less perweek
• B’s -6drinks perweek
• C ‘s -8drinks perweek
• D/F’s -10 drinks per week

10. CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOL
College & universityadministrators
estimated that alcohol is involved
in:
• 29% of college dropouts
• 38% of academic failures
• 64% of violent behaviors
• 66% of unsafe sexual practices
• 75% of acquaintance rapes

11. NEW JERSEY LAWS
The legal age to consume alcohol is21.
The legal age to pour alcohol is21.
The limit for driving while intoxicated depends on your age: If you are over
the age of 21: 0.08%
• If under 21: any detectable amount, as determined by police, isillegal

12. CONSUMPTION LEVELS
Because of body composition andchemistry,
males and females are affected differently by alcohol.
Men Women
Moderate Drinking Less than2 drinksper day Less than1 drinkper day
At-Risk Drinking More than14 drinksper week
OR morethan5 drinksin one
sitting
More than 7 drinks per week
OR more than 3 drinks inone
sitting

13. Equivalence of Alcohol Types
1 drink=

14. “BINGE DRINKING”
• 1,400 student deaths
• 500,000studentinjuries
• 70,000cases of student sexual assault
“Binge drinking” has contributed yearly to:
“Binge drinking” refers to high risk behavior with
alcohol in one sitting, and it differs for men and
women:
• Women: 4or more drinks in onesitting
• Men: 5 or more drinks in one sitting
Binge drinking puts students
at higher risk for fighting,
vandalism, sexual assault,
rape, violent behavior, death
& injury from alcohol
related carcrashes.
At 1 out of every 3colleges,
more than half of the
students engagein
“binge drinking”.

15. BLACKOUTS ARE NOT NORMAL
 Alcohol affects the way your brain processes information,
including the way it memorizes and stores information.
 Alcohol can cause “gaps” in memory the next day.
 You are put at serious risk of injury, unsafe sex, acquaintance
rape, violence, legal problems and death if you are drinking
to the point of “blackout”.

16. MILAM & KETCHAM'S PHYSICAL DETERIORATION
STAGES
Other theorists such as Milam & Ketcham (1983) focus on the
physical deterioration that alcohol consumption causes. They
describe the process in three stages:
1. Adaptive stage – The person will not experience any negative
symptoms, and they believe they have the capacity for drinking
alcohol without problems. Physiological changes are happening
with the increase in tolerance, but this will not be noticeable to
the drinker or others.
2. Dependent stage – At this stage, symptoms build up
gradually. Hangover symptoms from excessive drinking may be
confused with withdrawal symptoms. Many addicts will maintain
their drinking to avoid withdrawal sickness, drinking small
amounts frequently. They will try to hide their drinking problem
from others and will avoid gross intoxication.
3. Deterioration stage – Various organs are damaged due to long-
term drinking. Medical treatment in a rehabilitation center will be
required; otherwise, the pathological changes will cause death.

18. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS:
1. Most human behavior is a learned behavior. This is true of addictive
behavior as well. Psychological research has helped us to understand
how people learn to engage in an unhealthy behavior. More
importantly, this research enables us to understand how people can
unlearn a behavior.
2. Another psychological cause of addiction is people's thoughts and
beliefs. This is because much of our behavior originates from our
thoughts and beliefs. This includes addictive behaviors. For instance,
if someone believes that recovery is not possible, it is highly unlikely
they will put forth any effort to quit. Psychologists have developed
techniques to help people change their thoughts and beliefs. Their
feelings and behavior subsequently change as well.
3. A third psychological cause of addiction is a person's developmental
maturity. The capacity to align our actions with our beliefs and values
is what separates mature human beings, from immature ones.

19. CONT….
 This capacity ultimately distinguishes human beings from
other species.
 If we routinely act without thinking, and instead act
according to every craving, whim, or impulse, we are
operating at the developmental level of a two year-old child.
Addictions like alcoholism can occur because someone lacks
this developmental maturity.
 They may be very self-focused and intent on pursuing
impulsive desires without regard to the
consequences. Psychotherapy can be considered a form of
accelerated development. Therefore, it can be very helpful
for people who are attempting to recover from alcoholism or
other addictions.

20. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT
Short-term psychological effects:
1. Difficulty focusing
2. Relaxation and diminished stress
3. Reduced inhibitions
4. Problems with memory
5. Affected vision, coordination and reflexes
Long-term psychological effects:
1. Increased depression and anxiety
2. Tolerance development and increased substance use
3. Dependency, otherwise known as alcoholism
4. Impaired learning and memory capacity
5. Interrupted brain development

21. CONT….
4. Family History of Alcoholism: It has long been recognized that
alcoholism “runs in families.” A family history of alcoholism is a
well-established risk factor for the development of alcoholism .
The Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health
(NIAAA 1997) identified several ways in which children of alcoholics
have been found to differ from children without a family history of
alcoholism.
These findings include a higher prevalence of psychopathology
(mental and behavioral disorders), more adverse family environments,
and physiologic responses to alcohol that are known to be associated
with risk—in particular, a lack of sensitivity to alcohol’s intoxicating
effects or an increased sensitivity to its anxiety-reducing effects.

22. CONT…
5. Stress Reduction: Evidence that some people use alcohol to reduce stress is
complex and inconsistent for a number of reasons, not least of which is that
there are multiple determinants of alcohol use. Only subgroups of individuals
use alcohol to cope with stress. One model proposes that experiencing
negative emotions such as anxiety or depression, expecting that alcohol will
relieve these feelings, and having a coping style characterized by avoiding
rather than confronting life issues all combine to make it more likely that an
individual will be motivated to drink to cope with stress.
6. Mood Enhancement: Alcohol, can be used to enhance positive
mood, a motive that has received recent research interest. In both
adolescents and adults, and in different racial/ethnic groups, data
support a model in which individuals characterized by high levels of
sensation seeking, and those who expect that alcohol use will
enhance positive mood, will be more strongly motivated to drink for
this effect.