What is meant by Alcohol Abuse?

There’s a medical term called alcohol use disorder (AUD). It involves a physical need to drink alcohol.

Alcoholics don’t know when or how to stop drinking. They sometimes begin each day with a drink, feel guilty about drinking, and want to cut down on the amount of drinking. But, they honestly can’t stop and can’t “stay stopped”. Addiction to Alcohol often leads to drinking secretly or hiding alcohol to drink later. Addiction symptoms include repeated alcohol binges even when they get into trouble at home and have and serious health and legal consequences.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, causes 3.3 million deaths every year.
Alcoholics spend a lot of time thinking about alcohol, and they cannot control how much they consume, even if it is causing serious problems at home, work, and financially.

Some Symptoms of being Alcoholic include:

• drinking alone or secretly
• not being able to limit how much alcohol is consumed
• gulping drinks down in order to feel good
• creating rituals, even feeling irritated if someone comments on these, for example, drinks before, during, or after meals, or after work
• hiding alcohol in odd places
• losing interest in hobbies that were previously enjoyed
• needing more alcohol to feel its effect, or feeling drunk quicker than usual
• overwhelming urges to drink
• feeling irritable when drinking times approach, especially if alcohol is not, or may not be, available
• blacking out and not being able to remember chunks of time
• feeling nauseous, sweating, or shaking when not drinking or trying to stop drinking.

Statistics

The South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU) indicate that substance abuse is on the increase in South Africa.

More people are looking for treatment, and mortality rates linked to substance abuse are soaring. The average age is getting younger and younger each year, a huge cause for concern.

Why is incidence of drug and alcohol abuse so high among adolescents today? According to social science researchers, most initial drug and alcohol use is experimentation. Experimentation is precipitated by factors such as enjoyment, curiosity, peer-pressure and tumultuous adolescent emotions. Family risk factors also play a part, such as parental conflict and not enough affection. Screen and electronic addiction is also coming up as an indicator, as it is an escape and prevents kids from socializing.