Many people wonder, is alcohol a drug? For the answer to this question, consider the way we define other drugs. According to addiction experts, a drug is a substance that causes a physiological effect upon consumption. Overall, alcohol addiction causes devastating changes to your body and lifestyle.
Is Alcohol a Drug?
According to the above definition, alcohol is a drug. However, there’s more to the substance than its classification among other drugs. The depressant slows down your body’s important functions. For example, it causes slurred speech, altered perceptions, slow reactions, and unsteady movement.
Additionally, alcohol affects the mind. Therefore, when wondering, “Is alcohol a drug?”, consider that alcohol reduces your ability to clearly think. It also clouds your judgment. You may make poor decisions and suffer the consequences.
Further, how much alcohol you drink determines how the drug affects you as well. Drinking only a little makes you feel energized. However, taking in more than your body can handle causes sluggish, clumsy behavior. You become visibly drunk, uncontrolled, and uncoordinated.
The worst depressant effects develop from alcohol overdose. When in this state, you suffer possible symptoms like vomiting, numbness, unconsciousness, coma, and even death.
About Alcohol Content and Potency
Ethyl alcohol, the substance in alcoholic beverages, comes from fermented grains and fruits. Fermenting creates the alcohol through natural chemical processes. How much alcohol is in a specific drink determines its potency.
For example, beer and wine contain from two percent alcohol to 20 percent. Distilled drinks, also called liquor, contain 40 percent alcohol or more. Cider is four to eight percent alcohol and liqueurs range between 15 to 60 percent. Tequila, rum, brandy, gin, and whiskey range between 40 and 50 percent.
Knowing Your Limits
The best way to know your alcohol limit begins with understanding how alcohol affects your body, specifically. When you drink alcohol, the potent drug enters your bloodstream through your stomach and small intestine. Merely minutes after drinking it, alcohol reaches your brain and slows nerve cells. You then begin feeling the drug’s effects.
Alcohol travels through your blood to your liver, as well. The liver works hard to clean it from your blood by metabolizing the alcohol and converting it to a safe substance. But since your liver can only handle so much at once, leftover alcohol continues to pulse through your bloodstream and affect your body. How much leftover alcohol courses through your arteries depends on the amount you drink in excess.
When Alcohol Is Your Drug
If you or someone you love suffers from a drinking problem, alcohol is clearly your drug of choice. Maybe you even combine alcohol with other drugs. Alcohol addiction means you need detox and rehab treatment for drinking to stop controlling your life. With the right treatment, recovery is always possible.
Fortunately, addiction therapy of Hawaii Island Recovery includes:
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Dual diagnosis
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Psychotherapy
- Individual and group therapies
- Holistic services
In Kailua-Kona, Hawaii the treatment you need is always available. Hawaii Island Recovery provides men’s and women’s rehab through residential and outpatient treatment programs. These methods take place in a tranquil setting for full focus on your individual needs. For your best chance of recovery, call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-390-5070.
