The Küsnacht Practice

Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to alcohol. They mistakenly view alcoholism as a social problem and may characterise those who become alcoholics as morally weak. One very common belief is that alcoholics should be able to just stop and stay stopped drinking if and when they want to. What people often underestimate is the complexity of alcoholism—that it is a disease that changes the brain and because of that, stopping is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific advances we now know much more about how alcohol works in the brain, and we also know that alcoholism can be successfully treated and once abstinent, alcoholics can have productive lives.

• here is our alcoholism test

Prolonged, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction as is the case with many other drugs.
But long before the symptoms of long term, chronic alcohol addiction occur, an individual will be addicted to alcohol. And if they can stop drinking in their early addiction they can avoid long term physical damage.

Sudden cessation of long term, extensive alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms that occasionally lead to death. Withdrawal symptoms include severe anxiety, tremors, hallucinations and convulsions. Consuming large quantities of alcohol, especially when combined with poor nutrition, can lead to permanent damage to vital organs including the brain and liver. In addition, mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities. In addition, research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming alcoholics.

Think you know the facts about alcohol abuse? If you consume alcoholic beverages, it's important to know whether your drinking patterns are safe, risky or harmful. If you haven't done so already, you may want to take our Self Test.