Mental health effects

High rates of major depressive disorder occur in heavy drinkers and those who abuse alcohol. Controversy has previously surrounded whether those who abused alcohol who developed major depressive disorder were self medicating (which may be true in some cases) but recent research has now concluded that chronic excessive alcohol intake itself directly causes the development of major depressive disorder in a significant number of alcohol abusers. Alcohol misuse is associated with a number of mental health disorders and alcoholics have a very high suicide rate. Studies have shown that alcohol dependence relates directly to cravings and irritability. Another study has shown that alcohol use is a significant predisposing factor towards antisocial behavior in children. Depression, anxiety and panic disorder are disorders commonly reported by alcohol dependent people. The mental health disorders are often induced by alcohol misuse via distortion of brain neurochemistry as the disorders typically improve or disappear with prolonged abstinence although temporarily worsening in early withdrawal and recovery occurs.

Psychosis is secondary to several alcohol-related conditions including acute intoxication and withdrawal after significant exposure. Chronic alcohol misuse can cause psychotic type symptoms to develop, more so than with other drugs of abuse. Alcohol abuse has been shown to cause an 800% increased risk of psychotic disorders in men and a 300% increased risk of psychotic disorders in women which are not related to pre-existing psychiatric disorders. This is significantly higher than the increased risk of psychotic disorders seen from cannabis use making alcohol abuse a very significant cause of psychotic disorders. Prominent hallucinations and/or delusions are usually present when a patient is intoxicated or recently withdrawn from alcoholWhilst alcohol initially helps social phobia or panic symptoms, with longer term alcohol misuse can often worsen social phobia symptoms and can cause panic disorder to develop or worsen, during alcohol intoxication and especially during the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. This effect is not unique to alcohol but can also occur with long term use of drugs which have a similar mechanism of action to alcohol such as the benzodiazepines which are sometimes prescribed as tranquillisers to people with alcohol problems.Approximately half of patients attending mental health services for conditions including anxiety disorders such as panic disorder or social phobia are the result of alcohol or benzodiazepine dependence. It was noted that every individual has an individual sensitivity level to alcohol or sedative hypnotic drugs and what one person can tolerate without ill health another will suffer very ill health and that even moderate drinking can cause rebound anxiety syndromes and sleep disorders. A person who is suffering the toxic effects of alcohol will not benefit from other therapies or medications as they do not address the root cause of the symptoms.

Consumption of alcohol

The long term effects of alcohol in excessive quantities is capable of damaging every organ and system in the body. Regularly consuming alcohol is correlated with an increased risk of developing alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, malabsorption, chronic pancreatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and cancer. Damage to the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system can occur from sustained alcohol misuse. Research has found a correlation between light consumption of alcohol, less than 13 standardised drinks a week, and reduced risk of heart disease as well as other health benefits. However, more recent research found that moderate consumption of alcohol did not decrease heart disease and that the positive effects were due to methodological flaws in research studies.[8] Health authorities typically do not recommend the consumption of alcohol and set an upper, but no lower, limit on the amount of alcohol that should be consumedBackground

Alcohol at moderate levels has some positive and negative effects on health. The negative effects include increased risk of liver diseases, oropharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatitis. Conversely moderate intake of alcohol may have some benefitial effects on gastritis and cholelithiasis. Chronic alcohol misuse and abuse has serious effects on physical and mental health. Chronic excess alcohol intake, or alcohol dependence, can lead to a wide range of neuropsychiatric or neurological impairment, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and malignant neoplasms. The psychiatric disorders which are associated with alcoholism include, major depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, and suicide, neurologic deficits (eg impairments of working memory, emotions, executive functions, visuospatial abilities and gait and balance) and brain damage. Alcohol dependence is associated with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke, cancer of the respiratory system, but also cancers of the digestive system, liver, breast and ovaries. Heavy drinking is associated with liver disease, such as cirrhosis. Studies have focused on both men and women, various age groups, and people of many ethnic groups. Published papers now total in the many hundreds, with studies having shown correlation between moderate alcohol use and health that may instead have been due to the beneficial effects of socialization that is often accompanied by alcohol consumption. Some of the specific ways alcohol affects cardiovascular health have been studied.