Alcohol Rehab in South Florida

If you abuse alcohol, it means you drink it in quantities at a greater frequency than is healthy for your body. Alcohol abuse occurs for a number of reasons, from the harmless desire to have fun to the more harmful need to mask the symptoms of mental disorders. While it’s not the same as alcohol addiction, people who are at risk for substance abuse disorders put themselves in danger by excessive drinking.

The exact quantity that it’s safe for you to consume depends on factors such as gender, family history, race, age and weight. If alcohol is something you consume on a regular basis and you feel you’d struggle to get through life without it, there’s a good chance you’ve gone beyond moderate drinking and might have an alcohol problem.

Addiction is included in the DSM 5 manual of mental health disorders, and just like other types of mental illness, a range of risk factors are at play. In the past, people saw addiction as a simple matter of poor decision-making or weak will power, but we now understand there’s much more to it.

People who are susceptible to addiction have the perfect storm of genetic, environmental and mental health characteristics that put them at a higher risk of developing a substance use disorder.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 88,000 people die as a result of alcohol abuse, rendering it a serious public health concern. There are also some concerning local statistics regarding excessive alcohol use, such as:

• There’s been a 2.2% increase in the number of adults in Florida who engaged in heavy or binge drinking between 2002 and 2019.
• The number of alcohol-related deaths increased by 72% between 2012 and 2019.
• 18% of Floridians engage in heavy or binge drinking.

While alcohol is mainly a central nervous depressant, it also has some stimulant effects when you’re initially intoxicated. Intoxication leads to feelings of euphoria, loss of inhibition, sleepiness, increased confidence and decreased anxiety.

Alcohol is a poisonous substance to the body, forcing the liver to work hard to clear a buildup of toxins from the body. This is the reason people experience hangovers and negative effects such as digestive discomfort or nausea when they drink. Addicted people often have a high tolerance for alcohol and very much enjoy the sensation of being out of control. Drinking in large quantities is one of the biggest risk factors for developing alcoholism.