Substance addiction is one of the most difficult diseases to treat because this kind of addiction is chronic and progressive in nature, which means that the longer and more you are hooked on the substance, the harder it is to overcome. One example of this kind of addiction is alcoholism, which is an illness that is characterized by excessive ingestion of ethyl alcohol in the form of alcoholic drinks or other substances that contain it.  

Studies on the disease have shown that there are a number of factors that can cause alcoholism, which can be psychological, social, genetic or physiological. Studies have also shown that some people use alcohol as a coping mechanism in response to various stresses such as psychological and emotional stresses What causes the problem is when the addiction lasts for a prolonged period of time to the point of physical dependence.

Alcoholism is usually characterized by four common symptoms. The first symptom is the craving for alcohol, wherein a person usually feels a strong urge to drink. The second symptom is loss of control, where the person feels that he is unable to stop drinking once he starts to drink. The third symptom is physical dependence, wherein the person exhibits withdrawal symptoms when he does not drink, which includes nausea and anxiety. The fourth symptom is tolerance, which is described as an urge to drink more in order to get a certain “high.”

By Jennifer Bailey