Let’s face it, alcohol is a big part of our culture, but the effects can sneak up on you. Recent stats show that 1 in 8 Americans struggle with alcohol use disorder – that’s a whopping 15 million people. Whether you’re sipping wine with dinner or hitting the bar on weekends, it’s time to get real about how booze impacts your health down the road. Stick around as we dive into the sobering facts about alcohol’s long-term effects and explore treatment options that could be game-changers for you or a loved one.
Call Evoke Wellness at Miramar today (833) 819-6066 or reach out online.
What are the long-term effects of alcohol?
Liver Damage
That glass of wine with dinner or beer after work may seem harmless. But over time, heavy alcohol use can severely damage your liver – the organ responsible for filtering toxins from your body. As reported by the CDC, excessive drinking is a leading cause of preventable death in the US.
Brain Changes
Alcohol doesn’t just affect your physical health; it can also rewire your brain. Long-term alcohol abuse may lead to difficulty with learning, memory, mental health issues like depression, and struggles with emotional control. In extreme cases, it increases the risk of dementia.
Heart Troubles
Your heart pumps harder when you drink alcohol. Over many years, this added stress can cause irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, stroke, or heart disease. Studies show that people who drink heavily have a 1.4 to 1.7 times higher risk of heart-related issues.
Cancer Link
Numerous studies have established connections between alcohol consumption and elevated cancer risks, including:
- Breast cancer
- Colon and rectal cancers
- Liver cancer
- Esophageal cancer
The more you drink, the higher your risk. Even moderate drinking may increase your chances.
The long-term effects underscore why alcohol addiction treatment is so vital. Early intervention gives you the best chance at mitigating or even reversing some of alcohol’s permanent damage.
How alcohol affects your body
Wreaks havoc on your organs
Chronic heavy drinking takes a massive toll on virtually every organ system in your body. The liver gets pummeled, with alcohol exposure increasing cancer risk and potentially leading to cirrhosis – permanent scarring that impairs liver function. Your heart also suffers, as alcoholism elevates blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Even your brain gets battered. Long-term alcohol abuse actually shrinks brain volume over time, impairing coordination, memory, and decision-making abilities. Your immune system weakens too, leaving you more susceptible to infections and diseases.
Adds empty calories galore
You know those late-night beer binges don’t do any favors for your waistline. But the reasons why alcohol leads to weight gain are more insidious than just the liquid calories. Alcohol actually:
- Increases appetite and impairs your ability to sense fullness
- Prioritizes metabolizing alcohol over burning fat stores
- Disrupts quality sleep, lowering your metabolism
So those “empty” liquid calories get compounded by overeating and your body’s reduced ability to burn what you consume. Not a winning formula for staying slim.
Can prolong intoxication
Even after you sober up from a night of heavy drinking, alcohol can linger in your system for an alarmingly long time. Factors like age, body weight, gender, and drinking pace all impact how quickly your body clears alcohol.
While effects like slurred speech and poor coordination may wear off within 24 hours, alcohol can remain detectable:
- In your breath for 12-24 hours
- In urine for 3-5 days
- In hair follicles for up to 90 days
So that hangover you’re nursing could be just the start of alcohol’s effects on your body and mind.
The long-term effects of alcohol on the brain
Cognitive & Memory Impairments
You may have already noticed how binge drinking leads to temporary memory lapses or “blackouts.” But with long-term heavy alcohol use, these cognitive effects can become more permanent. According to the National Library of Medicine, chronic alcoholism causes brain dysfunction and nerve damage that impacts concentration, decision-making, learning, and memory.
Alcohol essentially scrambles how neurons communicate, leading to deficits in cognitive functioning over time. This could mean struggling with simple tasks, forgetting important details, and making poor choices.
Structural Brain Changes
It’s not just your mental abilities that suffer – alcohol actually shrinks and damages areas of the physical brain. Long-term abuse can decrease the size of the prefrontal cortex responsible for decision-making as well as the nucleus accumbens that processes reward and pleasure.
The more you drink over months and years, the more these vital brain regions deteriorate. This makes it harder to experience joy from normal activities while impairing judgment and self-control.
Risk of Permanent Damage
The long-term effects get increasingly severe with continued alcohol exposure. You could permanently lose cognitive abilities and motor skills. Vision problems, lack of coordination, mood disturbances…the list goes on.
Alcohol is toxic to the brain, plain and simple. Untreated, alcoholism can progress to dementia, hallucinations, and even life-threatening conditions. But with comprehensive addiction treatment, some of this brain damage may potentially be reversible if caught early enough.
The long-term effects of alcohol on the heart
A Dangerous Combination
You’ve heard that excessive drinking can wreak havoc on your liver. But did you know that alcohol also takes a major toll on your heart? That’s right – the more you drink, the higher your risk of developing serious cardiovascular problems down the line.
An Overworked Muscle
With each alcoholic beverage, your heart has to work harder to pump blood through your body. Over time, this added strain can:
- Weaken and thin the heart muscle
- Cause irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias)
- Lead to high blood pressure
- Increase risk of heart failure
A Deadly Duo
Things get even riskier if you drink heavily and have other risk factors like smoking, obesity, or diabetes. This toxic combination dramatically raises your odds of a heart attack or stroke. The message is clear – the more you can cut back on booze, the healthier your heart will be.
A Chance to Recover
The good news? Much of the alcohol-related heart damage can be reversed if you stop drinking. Within a year of giving up alcohol, your cardiovascular disease risk starts declining. So isn’t it time you gave your heart the break it deserves?
The long-term effects of alcohol on the liver
A Serious Threat
Your liver is one tough cookie – but even it can’t handle constant alcohol abuse. Drinking too much, too often puts this vital organ through the wringer. Over time, the effects add up to some nasty consequences.
Fatty Liver Disease
One of the first stops is fatty liver disease. As the name implies, excessive drinking leads to a buildup of fat in the liver cells. This makes it harder for your liver to function properly.
Early symptoms are easy to miss – fatigue, abdominal discomfort. But left unchecked, more severe scarring and cirrhosis can occur.
Alcoholic Hepatitis
This inflammatory condition arises from your liver’s attempts to fight the toxic insult of alcohol. Symptoms like fever, jaundice and abdominal pain are unmistakable red flags.
If drinking persists, alcoholic hepatitis can lead to liver failure. Around 35% of alcoholic hepatitis cases prove fatal.
Cirrhosis – The Point of No Return
The final stage of alcohol-related liver disease is cirrhosis – permanent scarring that impairs blood flow and kills liver cells. At this advanced stage, the liver struggles to perform vital functions like filtering toxins and producing crucial proteins.
Once cirrhosis sets in, the damage is irreversible. Patients face high risks of liver cancer, liver failure requiring transplant, and potentially fatal complications like internal bleeding.
The toll is staggering – alcohol accounts for nearly half of cirrhosis deaths in the US each year. But early treatment can help prevent or even reverse some alcohol-related liver harm.
Does excessive drinking cause cancer?
We’ve all heard the warnings about alcohol’s potential to damage our health. But does too much booze really increase cancer risk? The short answer: yes, unfortunately it does.
A Carcinogen by Definition
Alcohol is considered a class 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. That’s the highest risk category, meaning there’s strong evidence that drinking excessively over time can directly cause cancer in humans.
The more you consume regularly, the higher your risk. Having more than 2 drinks per day for men or 1 for women is considered excessive and ups the odds of developing alcohol-linked cancers.
How Alcohol Harms Cells
So how exactly does knocking back too many brews lead to deadly cancers? There are a few ways:
- It produces acetaldehyde, a chemical that damages DNA and prevents cells from repairing that damage properly.
- It depletes nutrients like folate that help maintain DNA integrity and prevent mutations.
- The toxins in alcohol can allow cancer-causing agents to more easily permeate cells.
Reducing Your Risk
The good news? Cutting back on alcohol or giving it up entirely can help lower your cancer risk over time. Maintaining a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle also plays a big role in cancer prevention.
So think twice before having that next round – your cells will thank you. When it comes to excessive drinking and cancer, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment Program
Struggling with alcohol addiction? You’re not alone. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, over 14 million adults in the U.S. have an alcohol use disorder. But there’s hope – evidence-based alcohol addiction treatment programs like the one at Evoke Wellness can help you break free.
A Personalized Path to Recovery
At Evoke Wellness’ alcohol addiction treatment program, your journey starts with a comprehensive assessment to understand your unique needs. From there, their team of experts creates a customized treatment plan combining proven therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
You’ll have access to medical detox services to safely and comfortably withdraw, as well as dual diagnosis support if you’re also struggling with a co-occurring mental health condition like depression or anxiety. Our residential treatment program offers intensive, round-the-clock care for those needing a more immersive level of treatment.
Skills for Lifelong Sobriety
But it’s not just about getting sober – it’s about developing the tools you need to maintain that sobriety long-term. Through individual and group therapy, you’ll build healthy coping mechanisms, identify your personal triggers, and learn relapse prevention techniques.
The program also incorporates holistic therapies like yoga, art, and mindfulness to promote overall wellness. And with family therapy, your loved ones can get involved in supporting your recovery journey.
Starting Your Alcohol-Free Life
Making that first step can be daunting, but the caring professionals at Evoke are here to guide you every step of the way. Reach out today to start building the life you deserve – one free from the grips of alcohol addiction. You’ve got this!
Long term effects of alcohol FAQs
Prolonged heavy drinking takes a toll on your physical and mental wellbeing. According to research, excessive alcohol use leads to around 95,000 deaths annually in the US, cutting short lives by an average of 29 years. Some major long term risks include:
How does alcohol impact weight gain?
Those extra beers and cocktails are sneaking in more calories than you realize. As alcohol provides empty calories, frequent or heavy drinking can easily lead to overconsumption and weight gain over time.
Here’s how alcohol affects your waistline:
- Alcohol slows down fat metabolism as the body prioritizes breaking it down first
- It provides little nutritional value but plenty of added sugars and calories
- Binge drinking episodes can have an especially negative impact on metabolism
Can alcoholism develop later in life?
Yes, late-onset alcoholism refers to developing problematic drinking patterns after age 63. Contributing factors include:
- Increased alcohol sensitivity with age-related bodily changes
- Using alcohol long-term to self-medicate chronic pain or mental health issues
- Genetic predisposition triggered by major life events or transitions
It’s never too late to seek help. Professional treatment addresses the root causes while providing tools to develop healthier coping mechanisms.
Conclusion
So there you have it – the sobering truth about alcohol’s long-term effects. Pretty eye-opening, right? But here’s the good news: it’s never too late to make a change. Whether you’re considering a detox program, residential treatment, or outpatient care, Evoke Wellness at Miramar has options to fit your needs. From our veterans program to extended residential stays, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Remember, taking that first step towards recovery is the hardest part. But trust us, your future self will thank you.
Begin Your Journey with Evoke Wellness at Miramar
If you or a loved one is considering treatment, Evoke Wellness at Miramar invites you to contact us. Our compassionate team is ready to answer your questions, discuss your needs, and help you take the first steps toward recovery. In Miramar, you’ll find more than just a treatment program – you’ll discover a community dedicated to your wellness and success. Together, let’s embrace the journey to recovery and the promise of a new beginning. Call us at (833) 819-6066 today or reach out online.
