What Are the Long-Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse?

Alcohol is something so many people consume that’s often considered a key part of social gatherings and cultural rituals. While moderate drinking can, for some people, stay part of a balanced lifestyle, there is often a line between casual consumption and problematic use that blurs quickly, underscoring the risks of the long-term effects of alcohol.

Over time, what starts as a harmless habit can become a serious issue with major consequences. Long-term alcohol abuse can impact not only physical health but also mental well-being, relationships and your overall quality of life.

Understanding the potential long-term effects of alcohol can help with recognizing the signs of abuse and seeking help.

Short-Term Effects of Alcohol

In the short term, alcohol can have a range of effects on the body and mind. These can depend on how much is consumed, individual tolerance and other factors.

Potential immediate alcohol effects include:

• Euphoria and relaxation: Initially, alcohol acts as a depressant, and it can induce relaxation as well as lowered inhibition and euphoria. These are reasons it’s often used in social situations.
• Impaired coordination and judgment: As there’s an increase in alcohol consumption, it impairs cognitive functions. It can lead to problems with decision-making, lower coordination and slower reaction times. This makes activities like driving when drinking dangerous.
• Drowsiness: Since it’s a depressant, alcohol can cause sleepiness.
• Slurred speech and blurred vision: With higher levels of alcohol in the bloodstream, physical symptoms like slurred speech and blurred vision can start occurring.
• Nausea and vomiting: Alcohol is irritating to the lining of the stomach and can cause nausea and vomiting, especially if large amounts are consumed.
• Dehydration: Since alcohol is a diuretic, it elevates urine production and can lead to dehydration and associated symptoms like fatigue, headache and thirst.
• Lowered inhibitions: Alcohol can lower social inhibition, so a person might do things they wouldn’t otherwise if they weren’t drinking.
• Memory impairment: In the short term, alcohol can affect memory formation and lead to blackouts.
• Hangovers: Once the effects of alcohol start wearing off, a person might have hangover symptoms, including fatigue, headache, thirst, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.

Short-term effects of alcohol can vary widely by individuals, and factors like gender and body weight influence them.

Long-Term Effects of Alcohol

Long-term effects of alcohol can lead to a wide range of serious issues. The consequences and health effects of heavy drinking can be profound.

Physical Health Effects of Heavy Drinking

Physically, some of the consequences of long-term and heavy drinking include:

• Liver damage: Fatty liver can occur during the early stages of liver damage from alcohol. Fat accumulates in liver cells, and the condition can progress to more serious liver diseases like alcoholic hepatitis. This is liver inflammation, and it can lead to inflammation of the liver that can cause jaundice, fever and liver failure. Over time, chronic drinking can cause serious liver damage, including cirrhosis, which impacts the liver’s function and can lead to failure.
• Cardiovascular problems: Chronic drinking can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease. Alcohol can weaken the heart muscle. This can lead to cardiomyopathy, where the heart can’t pump blood efficiently. It can also disrupt the heart’s electrical signals, leading to irregular heartbeats known as arrhythmia.
• Pancreatitis: Heavy drinking can inflame the pancreas and cause abdominal pain and digestive problems.
• Gastrointestinal issues: Chronic drinking can irritate the stomach’s lining and lead to gastritis or the development of ulcers.
• Immune system suppression: Long-term alcohol use weakens the immune system and makes someone more susceptible to infection.
• Cancer: Alcohol is a known carcinogen with long-term effects of alcohol raising the risk of mouth, throat, liver, colon, breast and other cancers.
• Neurological damage: Prolonged alcohol abuse can cause issues like peripheral neuropathy and cognitive decline. Also linked to heavy alcohol use is Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. It’s a serious brain disorder caused by a deficiency in thiamine.

Mental Health Effects of Long-Term Alcohol Use

Mental and psychological long-term effects of alcohol can include:[5]

• Depression and anxiety: Alcohol can initially provide temporary relief from anxiety or stress, but chronic drinking tends to make these conditions worse. Heavy drinkers are more likely to have mood disorders like anxiety and major depressive disorder.
• Cognitive impairment: Long-term abuse can cause cognitive decline. This can include problems with concentrating, memory loss and impaired decision-making. In severe cases, dementia can stem from alcohol-related brain damage.
• Sleep disorders: Over time, your mind and body can start depending on alcohol, and that can lead to alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder is a chronic disease where your drinking is out of your control.
• Social and behavioral problems: Chronic alcohol abuse can affect your relationship, behavior and your performance at school or work.

Signs Alcohol Is Negatively Affecting Your Health

Recognizing the signs that your health is being negatively affected by drinking can be necessary for early interventions. Indicators include:

• Getting sick frequently.
• Chronic fatigue that doesn’t get better even when you rest.
• Digestive issues like nausea or stomach pain.
• Changes in appearance like facial redness, sudden weight gain or loss or yellowing of your skin.
• Mental health symptoms.
• Increased tolerance means you’re drinking more to get the same effects.
• High blood pressure.

Alcohol Abuse vs. Addiction

You can experience any of the physical long-term effects of alcohol above, even if you aren’t addicted.

Alcohol abuse describes drinking patterns that lead to harm to your health, relationships or ability to work. Unlike addiction, alcohol abuse doesn’t necessarily involve physical dependence, but it can still be harmful and lead to addiction over time.

Signs of alcohol abuse include continuing to drink despite negative outcomes, binge drinking and neglecting responsibilities.

Addiction often progresses from abuse, as your body and mind become increasingly dependent on alcohol.

If you notice any of the signs above in yourself or a loved one, help is available, and the sooner you reach out, the better the outcomes will be. Archstone Behavioral Health can help, so contact us to learn about our continuum of care and addiction treatment programs.

References:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Alcohol Use and Your Health
2. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): Alcohol’s Effects on Health
3. National Institute of Health (NIH): Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Various Systems of the Human Body: A Systematic Review
4. National Cancer Institute: Alcohol and Cancer Risk
5. Practical Neurology: The Cognitive Consequences Of Alcohol Use