Alcoholism: When intoxication leads to addiction

How often do you drink alcohol? If you drink moderately and can control it, then you’re doing fine. But if you feel that you’ve been drunk quite frequently lately, beware.

This addiction has levels. The more you get into it, the harder you can escape from it. It starts with drinking till you’re too drunk to get home. Then, it could progress to causing problems in your life – hitting a spouse, getting into a shouting fight with your neighbor, or being caught Driving Under the Influence (DUI) by the cops.

At its worst stage, you could be so dependent on alcohol that you become ‘high’ and more tolerant of its effect. Then, you’ll consume bigger amounts of it and feel pain when not intoxicated. But there is hope for alcoholics, even with our uncles in their ripe old age. Besides support groups, there are now pain-reducing pills for the discomforts of withdrawal and there are those that curb your alcohol craving.