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A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
Alcohol use disorder, which includes alcoholism, is a pattern of behavior where the person cannot control their drinking and is preoccupied with drinking even when it causes them problems. For many alcoholics, what starts as having a few drinks for reasons that are not fully understood balloons into an out-of-control compellation to drink more and more to get the same effect.
This article will focus on alcoholism, its causes, including genetic links that cause a person to be more susceptible to forming it.
A Closer Look at Normal vs. Abnormal Alcohol Intake
There are people who can drink alcohol and have no adverse reactions to it. Perhaps they drink a glass of wine at dinner or have liquor at a wedding; these are events where alcohol use is considered “normal,” for lack of a better word. Drinking alcohol in moderation is not harmful to a healthy adult. Moderate drinking means that adults consume two or fewer drinks in a day for men and one or less in a day for women.
In the United States, a drink contains 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol and can be generally found in:
· 12-ounces of beer (5% alcohol content).
· 8-ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content).
