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Alcohol is one of the most popular psychoactive drug. It comes in three forms: beer, wine or distilled spirits. Drinking too much alcohol is a significant cause of accidents and injuries and can lead to liver diseases, certain types of strokes, abnormally high blood pressure (hypertension), various cancers and birth defects among other adverse effects.
The misuse of alcohol as a drug comes with a couple of complications and some major ones are on the brain (psych). With alcohol use comes alcohol induced disorders and these are toxic effects of alcohol that mimic mental illness in ways that can sometimes be hard to distinguish from mental health, these include:
Alcohol intoxication
Alcohol withdrawal
Delirium tremens
Dementia
Amnesia
Psychotic disorders (delusions, hallucinations)
Mood disorders (anxiety, depression, bipolar)
Sexual dysfunctions
Sleep disorders
Alcohol induced disorders are usually treated hand in hand with the process of recovery from alcohol use. Treatment usually starts with proper assessments and diagnosis, this is in order to get a detailed history and use to test for dependency and the kind of program required for a smooth healing process. The tests include CAGE and AUDIT
The treatment process then moves to detoxification stages which are to manage withdrawal symptoms and then one has to go through a six stages of a behavior change program that involves:
Pre-contemplation
Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance
Relapse
Termination