Causes and Consequences of Alcohol Addiction

In our society, alcohol is a strong part of our lives. Britain is known around the world for it’s excessive drinking culture. We could perhaps argue that this normalisation of heavy alcohol use means that we do not take alcohol abuse seriously enough. There is a line between heavy drinking and a problematic consumption of alcohol. But when we regularly see others around us drinking regularly, how do we identify an alcohol problem?

Like with all addictions, problems arise when someone feels that they can no longer control their drinking. When turning to alcohol feels like a habit or an impulse rather than a choice, this is when problems start to show themselves. To help identify an addiction, it is useful to know what kind of factors contribute to its development. Are some people more likely to develop issues with alcohol than others? What causes this? And, crucially, what are the costs of living with addiction?

How common is alcohol addiction?

A lot of the time, problem drinking goes under the radar. This means that we can’t really give a clear statistic on how many people live with addiction. What we can do is refer to stats in order to get a broader picture.

An estimated 602,391 people in England are ‘dependent drinkers.’ Out of these people, just 18% are in some form of treatment. This indicates that over 80% of people living with addiction do so without formal support.

Between 2022 and 2023, 86,257 adults in England were in contact with addiction services for alcohol problems. 51,115 of these were male, and 35,145 of these were female. This suggests that currently, adults who identify as male are more likely to live with alcohol problems than those who identify as female.

The average age of a person in addiction treatment in 2022-3 was 44.

Today, alcohol abuse is considered to be ‘the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15–49-year-olds in the UK.’

Signs and symptoms of alcohol addiction

Perhaps the most obvious elements of addiction are the behavioural signs.

Key behavioural symptoms of alcohol addiction include:

• Increased drinking (in amount and frequency)
• Lack of control over drinking
• Failed attempts to stop drinking
• Drinking at socially unacceptable times
• Lack of focus due to thinking about alcohol
• Financial issues related to drinking
• Lying or otherwise hiding drinking behaviour
• A shift in socialisation
• Changes in behaviour at work or school
• Changes in relationships with others

We might also be able to identify specific physical signs of addiction in ourselves or those close to us. These could be:

• Appearing very lethargic
• Change in eating habits
• Reduced attention to appearance and personal care
• Red or sore eyes
• Sickness and nausea
• Frequent headaches
• Unexplained abdominal pain
• Feeling dizzy
• Reduced coordination
• Slurred speech
• Increased heart rate
• Flu-like sickness

The final set of signs are psychological. These can often be harder to distinguish as they can also be signs of other forms of distress. Alongside a constellation of physical and behavioural symptoms, however, they can paint a picture of addiction.

Psychological signs of alcohol addiction include:

• Lack of interest in doing things
• Low mood
• Anxiety
• Paranoia
• Aggression
• Defensiveness
• A reduced lower threshold for stress
• Issues with memory
• Lack of communication or unresponsiveness
• Reliance on medications

Contributing factors

Alcohol problems can manifest for many different reasons. Why and how this happens is quite a personal experience. However, researchers have been able to identify that addiction can typically be linked to a mix of social, situational and genetic factors.

Chronic Stress

One of the biggest predictors of reliance on alcohol is chronic stress. We all experience stress at some point. Chronic stress is slightly different, as it is something that is lived with over an extended period.

Some common sources of chronic stress are:

• Divorce or relationship dissolution
• Grief and loss
• Professional pressure
• Academic pressure
• Living as a carer
• Financial difficulties

Trauma

Trauma (especially childhood trauma) is ‘strongly associated with developing mental health problems, including alcohol dependence.’

Exposure to the following kinds of events:

• Sexual abuse
• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Financial abuse
• Domestic violence
• Living with a parent with a substance use disorder

Comorbid conditions

Alcohol and mental health have a very strong link. For some people, their relationship with alcohol brings along a range of difficult psychological symptoms. For others, a psychiatric condition may have already been present, and alcohol may have been used as a way to self-medicate.

This means that unfortunately, alcohol problems and mental illness are often comorbid. When someone experiences both at the same time, this is known as a dual diagnosis.

Common examples include:

• Anxiety disorders
• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Borderline personality disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder

Age

A report on treatment entry between 2022 and 2023 highlights that less than 10% of people seeking help for alcohol issues were below 30. That suggests that 90% of people in treatment for alcohol addiction in this period were aged 30 or above.

With this being said, early onset of addiction symptoms is associated with poor treatment outcomes. This suggests that the younger someone is when they start abusing alcohol, the more resistant these ingrained patterns of behaviour can become.

Financial insecurity

Financial stress is often a catalyst for turning to alcohol. 5% of adults in treatment for alcohol addiction in 2022-3 said they ‘had a risk of homelessness in the next 8 weeks.’ There is a large crossover between individuals experiencing financial precarity and those living with substance use disorders.

The physical dangers

Alcohol is associated with a broad range of diseases and conditions. Heavy drinking can increase the risks of developing:

• Specific cancers
• Stroke
• Seizures
• Coma
• Cardiac arrests
• Heart failure
• Liver failure
• Kidney failure
• Muscle wasting
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Hypertension

The psychological risks

As a depressant, excessive use of alcohol can be linked to various emotional and cognitive changes, including:

• Memory loss
• Decreased concentration
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Alcohol induced psychosis
• Aggression
• Hallucinations
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Trouble sleeping
• Paranoia
• Suicidal thoughts

Experienced together, the psychological and physical effects of alcohol can be very difficult to live with and directly impede quality of life.

The social complications

Addiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum – this means problems with drinking will eventually start to impact the social side of things, too.

This could look like:

• Straining relationships
• Social isolation
• Serious financial issues
• Reduced performance at work or school
• Disciplinary action at work or school
• Criminal activity
• Difficulty maintaining responsibilities (i.e. childcare and running a home)

For a lot of people, the social consequences of alcohol addiction can hit the hardest. They can leave us feeling that we have lost a lot of what is important to us. But these effects do not have to be permanent.

Support for excessive drinking

Alcohol can take over lives. Whether you are looking for advice for yourself or a loved one, there are many resources available. Support for drinking problems comes in all forms – at UKAT, there is an appropriate route to recovery for everybody. Contact us today to seek judgment-free, specialist advice from a member of our admissions team. Make today the day you move forward.