4 Long-Term Effects of Alcohol You Need to Get Help for NOW

4 Long-Term Effects of Alcohol

If someone you care about is drinking too often and too much, lead them to get professional help immediately. Alcohol consumption, specifically heavier drinking, can take a toll on virtually every area of someone’s life, including physical and mental health, career, safety, and relationships. Connecting your loved one with a reliable rehabilitation centre can be what it takes to save them from all the devastating and even life-threatening long-term effects of alcohol. 

Why Your Alcoholic Loved One Is Not Getting Professional Help

You probably are wondering why the person you care about is letting alcohol ruin their life and does not seek professional help. Most alcoholics don’t know the answer to that either.

Generally, someone dependent on alcohol may not seek treatment because they want to hide their alcohol addiction, or they deny they have a problem. It’s also generally difficult for alcoholics to stop drinking through their willpower alone. Many alcoholics require outside help or intervention to stop drinking uncontrollably. 

An intervention is a carefully planned procedure that the alcoholic’s loved ones can do. You and other trusted people can gather together to encourage your loved one to accept treatment. The person who will be intervening must be someone the alcoholic likes, isn’t suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues, and should be able to limit what they say.

Reasons to Intervene Today

person lying on bed and another person standing

The impact of prolonged, excessive drinking goes beyond the common effects of alcohol, like loss of coordination, vomiting, and hangover. If you don’t intervene before it’s too late, the alcoholic person you care about could suffer irreversible damage to their health and personal life. So connect them with the compassionate alcohol recovery team at HARP Rehabilitation Centre today.

Here are some of the devastating long-term effects of alcohol:

Physical Health Consequences

You may notice your alcoholic loved one suffering from blackouts, lack of sound judgment, and dizziness. Those are just the short-term effects of alcohol. If they drink heavily for a prolonged period, they are likely to experience more serious long-term effects of alcohol. 

Alcohol is an underlying cause of over 30 conditions and a contributing factor to many more. Some common, severe diseases that are entirely or partly caused by excessive or prolonged alcohol consumption include fatty liver, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Heavy drinking also increases blood pressure, which can lead to a heart attack. Your loved one may also develop stomach ulcers and stomach and bowel cancer. For men, their testosterone levels are also likely to drop.

By getting professional help for the person you care about before it’s too late, your loved one might avoid the life-threatening long-term effects of alcohol. During the recovery process, your loved one will likely go through the alcohol withdrawal stage. At this stage, they may experience a variety of health and mental issues. 

By connecting the addicted loved one to a reliable rehabilitation facility with qualified medical professionals, you’re ensuring their health and safety during the withdrawal stage. At HARP, a compassionate team of experts will keep your loved one in check every second of their alcohol withdrawal.

Career and Financial Impact

Alcohol addiction does not only take a toll on people’s health but on their careers as well. First, alcohol-induced mental and physical health issues could result in workplace safety issues for those in the trades or handling a job that involves difficult physical tasks. 

Excessive drinking can also lead to lower-quality work, poorer decision-making, and strained workplace relationships. That’s why sustained unemployment, being fired or laid off from a job, and conflict with colleagues are common career issues of an alcoholic. Alcoholics are also less likely to receive fringe benefits, like paid vacation and health insurance from their employer.

Your loved one has great potential, but alcohol will ruin it. An alcoholic may not be able to hold on to any job and build a successful career. So step in and lead them outside their dark room: seek medical treatment. 

HARP offers group and one-on-one private counselling sessions to help your loved one understand and address the root cause of their addiction. So when they finally attain sobriety, they can take back control of their life and will be less likely to go astray.  

Safety Consequences

The National Drug Household Survey in 2019 found out that about 1 in 5 alcohol drinkers aged 14 and above had put others or themselves at risk of harm or injury while drinking in the previous 12 months. Injuries could be intentional or unintentional. Unintentional injuries include road injuries, falls, and drowning. 

If unlucky, your loved ones may even suffer the worst fate: premature loss of life. Approximately 13.5% of total deaths of people aged 20 to 39 years are attributable to alcohol. So, getting expert help for the person you care about can save them from their untimely demise.

At HARP, your loved one will stay in a luxurious facility away from the dangers and temptations of the city. You can rest assured your family or friend is safe and sound while recovering.

Relational Problems

Alcohol addiction can also have detrimental effects on a person’s relationship. Alcohol use in relationships and the quality of intimacy among partners are directly correlated. The risk of domestic violence (DV) also increases when one person in a relationship has an alcohol use disorder.

If your spouse or partner is struggling with alcoholism, seeking professional help for them will likely save your relationship. At HARP, loved ones’ support and communication are encouraged. 

Help a Loved One Today: Connect With HARP Rehab

It may seem like being an alcoholic is a person’s choice. However, it is important to remember that alcoholism is a chronic disease that is often progressive and fatal. After all, nobody would want to be sick. Like any other illness, alcoholism has several influences, including genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. That’s why an alcoholic needs compassionate medical help, understanding, and rehabilitation, not abandonment, judgment, or criminalization.

So, get your loved one help today to prevent the long-term effects of alcohol.

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