10 Common Myths Surrounding Alcohol Addiction

Specifically, nine million men have AUD compared to 5.5 million women. Some addiction treatment experts believe this is linked to increased dopamine released in men’s brains, though more current studies have found that the gap between men and women is slowly shrinking. Alcohol affects men more than women because dopamine creates addictive behaviors in our brains. When you find the right tools and support for you, it’s possible to recover from alcohol use disorder. For ways to seek support, you can visit Psych Central’s guide to mental health help.

common myths about alcoholism

A condition called delirium tremens can occur from agitated nerve cells that are dependent on alcohol and can cause uncontrollable, life-threatening seizures that require emergency hospitalization. Seeking professional treatment when entering recovery for alcoholism is essential. Health guidelines differ for men and women based on physiological differences in alcohol metabolism.

Busting Common Myths About Alcohol

The problem is that this is often misunderstood to mean the individual has to lose everything before they can quit. The rock bottom refers to the point where the addict has had enough. Some people have a high rock bottom, and this means that they lose https://ecosoberhouse.com/ relatively little before they become willing to get help. There are other people who seem willing to lose almost everything before they are ready to call it a day. Obviously the sooner the individual decides that they’ve had enough the better.

Similarly, an alcoholic whose friends are mostly drinking buddies may cut ties with these negative influences who may tempt them to continue drinking. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcoholism and needs guidance and support in their recovery journey, reach out for help. The Retreat offers a non-clinical, mutual-help approach to the problem of alcohol and drug dependency.

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So, while you may temporarily feel at ease in the moment, you can feel more stressed the day after. Instead, you should keep track of how long alcohol can stay in your system, drink lots of water and wait for your body to clear it all out. In other words, coffee may just mask the feeling of being myths about alcoholism drunk, which is still not good. “The alertness can create the perception that you aren’t as drunk or intoxicated as you actually are, and you may decide to have another drink or to drive home,” he adds. Alcohol interferes with normal brain activity, no matter how you feel when you drink.

  • This dangerous statistic may put someone at risk for alcohol poisoning, organ and other bodily damage, and even death.
  • Those who believe they’ll only have ‘one drink’ or feel they’ll be able to control their drinking usually fail and end up relapsing into drinking again.
  • Unfortunately, alcoholism or AUD can be fatal without proper care or treatment, whether from alcohol poisoning, an alcohol-related injury, or alcohol-related health issues (like liver failure or cancer).
  • Last but not least, the “hair of the dog” method is another alcohol myth that gets repeated one too many times.

Close family, friends, co-workers, children, and peers can all be affected by a person’s drinking problem. Watching a loved one change for the worse and become a completely different person can be a painful and stressful situation. This can have a direct impact on their mental health and thoughts on the person. Also, as you increase your tolerance for alcohol, you will need to drink more to get the same pain relief.