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Alcoholism is a form of addiction that affects all aspects of the drinker's life. When a person has a problem with alcohol addiction, the compulsion to drink becomes the most important thing in that person's life. Many people who abuse alcohol or become addicted to it believe they aren't hurting anyone but themselves. But alcohol abuse can have a devastating impact on all members of the family.

Whether a problem drinker has actually stepped over the line into alcoholism isn't really the most important factor on the impact their behavior has on the family. Alcohol abuse that is not yet actual physical dependence can still have serious consequences.

Financial Impact of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism on Families

The financial impact of alcohol abuse goes way beyond what the drinker is spending at bars and liquor stores, although those costs add up. Many individuals who have a problem with alcohol addiction also abuse other substances, which can be very costly. Under the influence of alcohol, the individual may lose his or her wallet or may rack up large credit card bills buying rounds for everyone at the bar. The drinker may spend all the cash on hand and then have no idea where the money went.

Other financial problems are triggered by alcohol abuse. The alcoholic may be unable to hold a job, because drinking has become the most important thing in his or her life. The more alcohol abuse progresses, the more chance that it may lead to being unable to pay the rent, mortgage or utilities. A spouse may struggle to cover the bills without the help of the person who is drinking too much. There could be legal fees or lost wages as the person abusing alcohol spends time in jail.

Emotional Impact of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism on Families

Alcohol abuse can cause the whole family to feel like they are under constant stress. It almost feels like they are having a daily car accident, because whatever may happen each day is completely out of their control. Life is unpredictable and unsafe. The individual who is abusing alcohol may end up with many different consequences, from drunk driving charges to domestic disturbances, and the members of the family are powerless to do anything about it.

Members of the family will most likely put a lot of effort and energy into worrying about the person who is struggling with alcohol addiction. The family helplessly watches as the drinker seems oblivious to how much he or she is hurting the other members of the family. Family members may also become enablers, buying alcohol for the person who has a problem with alcohol addiction or making excuses for him or her.

Outbursts in a drunken rage may be frequent. Children may feel like they are somehow to blame for the alcoholic behavior. Spouses or partners may feel lonely or abandoned, or they may feel like they aren't really in a give-and-take relationship anymore. There may be constant conflict between spouses, which may ultimately lead to a broken home.

Subtle Ways Alcohol Addiction Impacts Families

There are some more subtle ways that alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction can impact the family. If there are children in the home, a person who abuses alcohol is giving a message loud and clear to the children that the way to cope with life's problems is to turn to a chemical to escape from difficulties. This is really not coping at all. In this way, addictive tendencies are passed from one generation to the next.

If alcoholism progresses to the point where there are physical consequences, such as cirrhosis of the liver or liver failure, dealing with these illnesses will greatly affect all the members of the family. Family members may also struggle with fatigue caused by waiting up all night wondering where the person who is abusing alcohol has gone. The end result is the health of family members may ultimately be affected just from living with someone who is addicted to alcohol.

Although alcoholism may seem like a disorder that only affects an individual, in reality it affects every member of the family and may continue to do so even if the alcoholic quits drinking. Family members of those who struggle with alcohol abuse need to learn to practice self-care. One of the best places to get help for the way alcohol addiction has affected you is to attend meetings of Al-Anon. Alcoholism is a disease of body, mind and spirit. Family members didn't cause it, can't control it and can't cure it. The best they can do is become aware that they have been affected by someone else's alcohol abuse, and look for support from others who have been through similar circumstances.

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How Does Alcoholism Affect the Family? | The Ranch

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Alcoholism is a form of addiction that affects all aspects of the drinker's life. When a person has a problem with alcohol addiction, the compulsion to drink becomes the most important thing in that person's life. Many people who abuse alcohol or become addicted to it believe they aren't hurting anyone but themselves.

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Find out more about the options for treating alcohol abuse, including detox, therapy, and medication.

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"The more alcohol abuse progresses, the more chance that it may lead to being unable to pay the rent, mortgage or utilities."

"It almost feels like they are having a daily car accident, because whatever may happen each day is completely out of their control."

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If you have stopped drinking or quit your addictive behavior and you are serious about staying sober, you will want to do everything possible to avoid having a relapse. It may seem to you that a relapse is the last thing that you would do, but the truth is they are very common for people new to recovery.

It is estimated that 90 percent of those who find long-term sobriety had at least one relapse along the way. Some had many before they found lasting recovery. Your intentions may be good, but it takes more than willpower to avoid having an addiction relapse.

A relapse can sneak up on you, usually because you don't recognize the warning signs of an impending relapse. A relapse begins long before you actually pick up a drink or a drug.

It stands to reason that if you quit your drug of choice but continue with your same routine, hanging around the same people and places, and not making any changes in your circumstances, that it will be much easier to slip back into your old behaviors and habits.

The following are things that you can change in your life that scientific research shows can help you develop a healthy lifestyle and help you stay sober.

If you are trying to stay clean for the long haul, it's important that you get away from your old routines, habits, and hangouts. Sometimes it is helpful for people new to recovery just to make changes. It doesn't really matter what changes, just as long as it is different.

In order to develop a drug-free lifestyle, some of the immediate changes you will need to make will be obvious-like not hanging around the people that you did drugs with or obtained drugs from. You can't hang around your old drinking buddies and expect to remain sober for very long.

Many trying to stay clean find it is to their advantage to make new friends who are also sober. If you find it difficult to make new friends, try joining a support group and taking part in the fellowship.

Spending more time with your family and planning activities for the entire family can also help you develop a more healthy lifestyle and avoid those situations in which you would normally drink or drug.
Develop a Structured Schedule
The experts say that having a chaotic or disorganized lifestyle can also hinder your recovery. It's important to develop a structured daily and weekly schedule and stick to it. That structured schedule will help you achieve other goals in your life.

And, it's important to develop long-term goals. Staying sober is a high priority, for sure, but developing and pursuing other goals, like going back to school or changing careers, can help you maintain that sobriety.

It's no secret that many alcoholics and addicts have trouble dealing with anger. Anger is a normal and natural emotion, but many with substance abuse problems have difficulty in managing and expressing anger appropriately.

If you want to stay sober, however, it's crucial that you learn how to manage your anger. There's no doubt that anger will come. It's how you deal with it that will make a difference in maintaining your recovery.

For many alcoholics and addicts, it's simply a matter of never learning what is and is not the appropriate way to handle their anger. Learn what you can do to deal with your anger in ways that won't cause you to end up hurting yourself or others, and most importantly, not cause you to pick up a drink or drug.

Most people who make their way into recovery have left a lot of pain and suffering in their wake. There are likely many things in their past that causes feelings of shame and guilt.

If you are trying to maintain a sober lifestyle, that shame and guilt can become toxic and cause you to relapse if you do not deal with it properly.

Shame is described as having negative beliefs about yourself and your self-worth. Guilt is having negative feelings about your past behavior. People in recovery can experience a lot of shame simply for having become addicted in the first place.

To avoid relapse and stay sober, it's important that you take the necessary steps to clean up the garbage from your past and begin to live life responsibly.

One common mistake for those who are new to alcohol and drug recovery is substituting a new addiction of compulsion for their old ones. Naturally, those who become alcoholics and addicts tend to be compulsive in general, but that can be dangerous and lead to relapse.

People new in recovery can find themselves approaching their new diet, their exercise program, and even their participation in their mutual support groups with a compulsion, basically substituting one addiction for another.

Although their new activities are healthy and productive, they can be a stumbling block to lasting recovery if they rise to the level of a transfer of addictions.

The secret is to find a healthy balance and to gain control over everything in your life and all of your choices. The key is to learn that you have choices and that you can maintain control. If any area of your life is out of control, it will not help you maintain lasting sobriety.

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If you have stopped drinking or quit your addictive behavior and you are serious about staying sober, you will want to do everything possible to avoid having a relapse. It may seem to you that a relapse is the last thing that you would do, but the truth is they are very common for people new to recovery.

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Loving an alcoholic can be one of the most challenging and trying of relationship situations. You watch as your loved one transforms before your very eyes into someone you don't know, and perhaps worse, into someone you may not want to know. You miss the person you once knew, or you pine for the person you know is in there if the alcohol (or drugs) would just go away.

It can leave you feeling very alone and utterly helpless.

In order to avoid that feeling of helplessness and the sense of loneliness, those of us who love an alcoholic will often dive right in to try to change things. We may do or say anything to get them to stop drinking; we will stop at nothing to set our loved one straight. We can devote hour upon hour, day after day, trying to orchestrate the outcome that is best for everyone involved: sobriety.

We may empty bottles and hide them in hopes that the alcoholic will stop. Some of us are willing to miss work, seek help, and stage interventions. Many of us worry 24/7. But the alcoholic doesn't stop. The alcoholic finds alcohol; they find a place and a way to drink; they stop at nothing in order to do so. While in active addiction, an alcoholic's number one priority is alcohol.

Unfortunately, those of us who care about alcoholics cannot change that through our actions, thoughts, worry, or words. We cannot change it with love. Trying to cure a loved one who is fighting the demon of addiction when that person is refusing outside help will hurt you more than it helps the alcoholic and will only chip away at the good that is left in your life.

I know this because I've been on both sides of the aisle. I have been the alcoholic who others wanted to help, and I've soberly loved an active alcoholic, wanting to heal him when he was not ready to receive help.

When I find myself wanting to make my own feelings of helplessness go away and when I find myself wishing I could rescue my loved one who happens to be addicted, I remind myself of the following things, which I've learned the hard way. Maybe these will be helpful to you, too:

No matter how hard we work to fix a person who is addicted, we can't. The disease of addiction is a disease that affects the mind, body, and spirit. The addicted mind tells the alcoholic that they can control their drinking. "You can just have a few and stop," lies the addicted mind, and the alcoholic believes it. Believing the lies of one's own mind is central to the addiction. Meanwhile, the addicted body screams out its need for alcohol. "We HAVE to have it," it cries.

In the absence of alcohol, the alcoholic body gets physically sick, experiences heightened anxiety, excessive sweating, nausea/vomiting, and uncontrollable shaking. The central nervous system becomes overactive and needs the alcohol (a depressant) to calm down. With just a few sips of alcohol, all of these symptoms go away. So just as the alcoholic's mind is lying to its victim, saying "its' okay, and you can have just one," their body is craving it in a way that is undeniable. "We NEED alcohol," says the body.

And in the later stages of alcoholism, this is literally true. An alcoholic can die without alcohol, which is why medically supervised detox may be necessary for some. And if that weren't enough, the spirit of an addict is empty, broken, and dark. No human power and no amount of love can compete with the hold that the disease of addiction has on its prey. Do not fool yourself into thinking you can make your loved one stop. You can't. You can hide every last drop, take away the keys, and lock them in a room, but they will find a way to drink if they want to, if they believe they need to (and in some cases a person really will need to).

Why should you go to a meeting when they have the problem, right? You shouldn't have to take time out of your busy life to attend these meetings when you don't have a problem? This is a very normal reaction. At first, it is even a valid reaction. But Al-Anon will put you in a room full of people who also love an alcoholic, people who have driven themselves bonkers trying to support and help their loved ones, and people who, like you, are sick and tired of the chaos that accompanies loving an alcoholic. You will share stories and find support. You will feel at home. Most importantly, you will learn how to love an alcoholic and also remain detached from the disease and put yourself first.

You can live your life, love and care for yourself, while still loving and supporting an alcoholic. It takes practice and time, but it can be done. You will receive guidance on how to set boundaries and stick to them and how to be sure you are not enabling an alcoholic. Let others show you the way. If you want to put an end to the chaos and the feeling of helplessness, Al-Anon is the good first step. You do not have to be miserable and worried all of the time. It is not your job to fix anyone other than yourself.

It can feel like the person you knew and loved so much before the alcoholism began (or got worse) is gone forever. It's as if they are a stranger and their entire personality has changed. They are no longer reliable, dependable, honest or fun to be around. But the person you knew is still in there. Under the booze and the many negative consequences, lies the person you miss so much. They are suffering too, and no matter what they might say or do, there is a part of them that would like to be able to live without alcohol. Alcoholics don't believe it's possible to live a life completely abstinent from alcohol. Know that the alcoholic is not living this way to hurt you, and know that in their haze, they still believe they are the person you remember them to be.

You did not cause the alcoholism. You just aren't that powerful. Neither is the alcoholic. Look at this disease. Look at the power it has over your loved one and your family. This is the fault of no one. There is nothing about their upbringing, or the last fight you had, or the daycare they attended as a child that made them get this way. This is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit, and it is greater than any human power. So stop thinking you could have prevented it. You couldn't have. Nor can you cure it. But alcoholism can go into remission. An alcoholic can get sober, which brings us to the last point.

No matter how dire your situation feels, there is always hope that your loved one can get and stay sober. Sure, the statistics are scary, but don't let those statistics or the severity of someone's drinking allow you to believe sobriety isn't an option. Sobriety is always an option. It's always a possibility. If you are having a hard time believing this, I suggest you find an AA meeting. There are specific meetings that are open to the general public; you do not need to be an alcoholic to attend these meetings. Go. Sit down. Look around the room and listen. Keep going and keep listening, and before you know it you will find plenty of people who used to be just like your loved one and are now sober.

The stories you hear might resonate with you. They will inspire you. You may be floored as you look around the room and count 10, 20, 50 or more people who are sober. These sober alcoholics have loved ones who wake up every day, filled with gratitude that recovery is possible. Not only do they have their loved one back, but chances are they got a new and improved version. The best chance of sobriety is when the desire to stop comes from within the addict. Chances are, if you are sick and tired of their drinking, they probably are too and that becomes the beginning of the end for the addict. Never lose hope.

When I was in the throes of alcoholism, I was drinking around the clock, I had lost custody of my children and was unemployable. Alcohol remained my number one priority despite the many powerful negative consequences it brought into my life. The one thing that helped me to remain hopeful and to keep trying to stop and stay sober was compassion and unconditional love.

One person in my life always said to me, "I love you whether you keep drinking or you stop. I understand if you continue to drink. I can only imagine how hard it is for you and I'm sorry that you have this disease and you are struggling with it every day. I support you no matter what and I'm always here to help."

If in doubt, be that person, say those words, and act from a place of love and compassion.

I have been sober for 4.5 years and my loved ones thank God everyday for my sobriety. As do I. Love the unloveable and keep the faith.

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As A Sober Alcoholic, This Is What I Want People To Know About Loving An Alcoholic

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Loving an alcoholic can be one of the most challenging and trying of relationship situations. You watch as your loved one transforms before your very eyes into someone you don't know, and perhaps worse, into someone you may not want to know.

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(This article appeared previously on Grandparents.com)

It's true that moderate drinking can offer substantial health benefits, the most striking of which is a finding by Harvard's School of Public Health that alcohol can protect against heart disease. But giving undue attention to the benefits masks alcohol's pitfalls.

"If you drink and meet the definition of moderate, it might be nice to know that you're shielding yourself against some things. But there are no public health guidelines that say you should start drinking," says Bob Wright, director of education at Hilton Head Health, a health and weight-loss facility in the coastal South Carolina town.

Translation: If you're looking to shield yourself against heart disease, start with exercise and diet, not merlot.

The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Dietary Guidelines identify "moderate" alcohol intake as one drink a day for women and two for men, with "one drink" being:

12 ounces of beer

5 ounces of wine

1 1/2 ounces (roughly a shot) of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor

( MORE: How Not to Drink So Much)

And when they say "per day" they mean it - you can't have seven drinks on a Tuesday and call it moderate intake. Also, the rules change when you hit 65: "Moderate" intake after that age is one drink per day for everybody. (Sorry.)

Most importantly, remember that everyone has individualized benefits, risks, genes, behaviors and backgrounds that can influence how alcohol affects them, and you should talk to your doctor about yours. Actually, he or she may start the conversation for you: The CDC in early January began urging physicians to become more aggressive about talking to their patients about drinking. (The Affordable Care Act requires new plans to cover alcohol screening and brief counseling without a co-pay.)

Below are four benefits of drinking alcohol and five negative effects.

4 Benefits of Drinking Alcohol

Here are four benefits of drinking alcohol:

1. It protects your heart. More than 100 studies have confirmed that alcohol - again, in moderation - can decrease risk of death by cardiovascular causes by a startling 25 to 40 percent. Andrea Paul, chief medical officer of Boardvitals.com, says that's because alcohol raises a person's HDL, or "good" cholesterol. (The Mayo Clinic agrees, as does Harvard.) That slashes the risk of heart attacks, ischemic strokes and death from all cardiovascular causes.

2. It cuts down on other health risks. Paul says moderate consumption has been linked to a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes and gallstones. A study from Loyola University in Chicago indicates that it could reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment as well. (Interestingly, Wright says these benefits originate from all forms of alcohol; there's no added benefit from red wine, for example, over other kinds of drinks. "Some suggest that the benefit from red wine comes from resveratrol," he says, "The real contributing factor is the alcohol.")

( MORE: How to Drink More Wine - Smartly and Healthfully)

3. It could offer benefits for breast cancer survivors. Drinking is widely recognized as a breast cancer risk; a study of more than 320,000 women found that those who drank more than moderately increased their chances of developing the cancer by up to 41 percent. But a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in April suggests that moderate drinking may improve chances of surviving the disease, in part because of those cardiovascular benefits.

"Women consuming moderate levels of alcohol, either before or after diagnosis, experienced better cardiovascular and overall survival than nondrinkers," wrote Polly A. Newcomb, Ph.D., head of the Cancer Prevention Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the study's principal investigator. But more research needs to be done to confirm the findings.

4. It might make you live longer. A study released in December suggested that people who drink regularly live longer lives than those who don't. The report, which appeared in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, connected moderate drinking with the lowest mortality rate. By percentage, 69 percent of nondrinkers died prematurely, but only 41 percent of moderate drinkers did. (Heavy drinkers had a surprising 60 percent mortality rate.)

Negative Effects of Alcohol

And here are five negative effects of alcohol:

1. It can lead to alcoholism. Let's get some ugly facts out of the way: The CDC estimates at least 38 million adults in the United States drink too much but only 1 in 6 of them ever discuss their drinking with a health professional. (Most of those 38 million are not diagnosed as alcoholics, but do drink way too much.) Overconsumption of alcohol causes about 88,000 deaths in the U.S. every year and one in every three cases of violent crime involves alcohol.

( MORE: Beating Alcohol Addiction in Midlife)

2. It can increase the risk of cancer and other diseases. Heavy drinking can cause hepatitis and cirrhosis, both of which are very serious. It can increase blood pressure and damage the muscles of the heart. It is the cause of drinking and driving accidents, lessens inhibitions, creates a potential for addiction and can make people act inappropriately.

Moreover, the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research have linked alcohol to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and colon, as well as the breast cancer risk mentioned above.

3. It does a number on your skin. Alcohol does three pretty terrible things to your skin, says Dr. Ariel Ostad, dermatologist, author and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at New York University Medical Center.

Alcohol is a notorious dehydrator and diuretic, which explains many of your hangover symptoms and why your skin is dull and dry. It beats up your liver, of course, which can make your skin look sallow and pasty. And it's a vasodilator, which means it widens the blood vessels, particularly in your face, which makes you look red and puffy. The good news, says Ostad, is that this one has an easy fix: Drink water, which will cycle out the alcohol and restore hydration to your body.

4. Alcohol has calories. Wright, who counts weight gain as a hidden effect of drinking too much, has a saying: "Resolve dissolves in alcohol." A few drinks in, he says, and you'll be less likely to turn down that dessert, rack of ribs or third or fourth drink.

Individual drinks aren't calorie-rich: one standard 12-oz., 5-percent alcohol beer is about 150 calories, a 5-oz. glass of wine is about 100 and an ounce-and-a-half shot is about 100 calories (it doesn't matter if it's gin, vodka, whiskey or bourbon). But if you go over that moderate level of two drinks (or 300 calories) a day, calories can start to add up.

5. Alcohol affects your thinking. More specifically, Wright says, alcohol gets in the way of you making smart decisions. "I don't say this judgmentally," he says, "But it gets in the way of people behaving in a healthful way."

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Drinking Alcohol: The Health Pros and Cons - Next Avenue

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(This article appeared previously on Grandparents.com) It's true that moderate drinking can offer substantial health benefits, the most striking of which is a finding by Harvard's School of Public Health that alcohol can protect against heart disease. But giving undue attention to the benefits masks alcohol's pitfalls.

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Drinking too much - on a single occasion or over time - can take a serious toll on your health. Here's how alcohol can affect your body:

Brain:
Alcohol interferes with the brain's communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination.

Heart:
Drinking a lot over a long time or too much on a single occasion can damage the heart, causing problems including:

Cardiomyopathy - Stretching and drooping of heart muscle

Arrhythmias - Irregular heart beat

Stroke

High blood pressure

Liver:
Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver, and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations including:

Steatosis, or fatty liver

Alcoholic hepatitis

Fibrosis

Cirrhosis

Pancreas:
Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion.

Cancer:
Source: National Cancer Institute -- see https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet:

Based on extensive reviews of research studies, there is a strong scientific consensus of an association between alcohol drinking and several types of cancer. In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen. The research evidence indicates that the more alcohol a person drinks-particularly the more alcohol a person drinks regularly over time-the higher his or her risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer. Based on data from 2009, an estimated 3.5 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths) were alcohol related.

Clear patterns have emerged between alcohol consumption and the development of the following types of cancer:

Head and neck cancer: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for certain head and neck cancers, particularly cancers of the oral cavity (excluding the lips), pharynx (throat), and larynx (voice box). People who consume 50 or more grams of alcohol per day (approximately 3.5 or more drinks per day) have at least a two to three times greater risk of developing these cancers than nondrinkers. Moreover, the risks of these cancers are substantially higher among persons who consume this amount of alcohol and also use tobacco.

Esophageal cancer: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for a particular type of esophageal cancer called esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In addition, people who inherit a deficiency in an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol have been found to have substantially increased risks of alcohol-related esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Liver cancer: Alcohol consumption is an independent risk factor for, and a primary cause of, liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). (Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are the other major causes of liver cancer.)

Breast cancer: More than 100 epidemiologic studies have looked at the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer in women. These studies have consistently found an increased risk of breast cancer associated with increasing alcohol intake. A meta-analysis of 53 of these studies (which included a total of 58,000 women with breast cancer) showed that women who drank more than 45 grams of alcohol per day (approximately three drinks) had 1.5 times the risk of developing breast cancer as nondrinkers (a modestly increased risk). The risk of breast cancer was higher across all levels of alcohol intake: for every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day (slightly less than one drink), researchers observed a small (7 percent) increase in the risk of breast cancer.
The Million Women Study in the United Kingdom (which included more than 28,000 women with breast cancer) provided a more recent, and slightly higher, estimate of breast cancer risk at low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption: every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day was associated with a 12 percent increase in the risk of breast cancer.

Colorectal cancer: Alcohol consumption is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancers of the colon and rectum. A meta-analysis of 57 cohort and case-control studiesthat examined the association between alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer risk showed that people who regularly drank 50 or more grams of alcohol per day (approximately 3.5 drinks) had 1.5 times the risk of developing colorectal cancer as nondrinkers or occasional drinkers. For every 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day, there was a small (7 percent) increase in the risk of colorectal cancer.

Immune System:
Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body a much easier target for disease. Chronic drinkers are more liable to contract diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis than people who do not drink too much. Drinking a lot on a single occasion slows your body's ability to ward off infections - even up to 24 hours after getting drunk.

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Drinking too much - on a single occasion or over time - can take a serious toll on your health. Here's how alcohol can affect your body: Brain: Alcohol interferes with the brain's communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works.

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I didn't know that alcohol abuse not only effects the person drinking but also every single family member, whether is from constant fatigue from waiting up all night because they don't know where the alcohol abuser is, or when he/she is coming home.

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I had no idea that drinking could cause so much problem to your body. It can effect your body in so many ways, such as: your brain, your heart, your liver, your pancreas, and it could even give you cancer.

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"Based on extensive reviews of research studies, there is a strong scientific consensus of an association between alcohol drinking and several types of cancer."

"The research evidence indicates that the more alcohol a person drinks the higher his or her risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer."

"an estimated 3.5 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths) were alcohol related."

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"More than 100 studies have confirmed that alcohol — again, in moderation — can decrease risk of death by cardiovascular causes by a startling 25 to 40 percent."

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I never thought there was gonna be any pros to drinking let alone four. The four health benefits are: It protects your heart, it cuts down on other health risks, it could offer benefits to breast cancer survivors, and it might even Make you live longer. Now of course there is going to be cons to drinking which I think everyone can say they aren't surprised.

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"Alcohol use disorder is actually considered a brain disease."

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I did not know that the withdrawal symptoms of alcohol addiction was: Shaking or tremors, seeing or feeling things that aren't really there or hallucinations, and seizers.

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When I think of alcohol addiction I don't think of there being any tips for staying sober, but there are 7 that I found. they include: Make some changes, make healthy relationships, get physically active, get a job, stay calm and cool, deal with past mistakes, and find some balance in your life.

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"It is estimated that 90 percent of those who find long-term sobriety had at least one relapse along the way."

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When someone is addicted to alcohol I just thought it effected them, not anymore I know know that it effects everyone around them. it is important to remember that: Addiction is a disease of the mind, the body, and the spirit,

Al-Anon is a good first step, the person you love is still in there, it is not your fault, there is always hope.

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“I love you whether you keep drinking or you stop. I understand if you continue to drink. I can only imagine how hard it is for you and I’m sorry that you have this disease and you are struggling with it every day. I support you no matter what and I’m always here to help.”

"If in doubt, be that person, say those words, and act from a place of love and compassion."