Alcohol Use Disorder in the United States

The term alcohol use disorder has replaced the term alcoholism, reflecting how the medical and psychological understanding of addiction is changing. People who have problems related to alcohol may feel helpless or unable to stop drinking when they attempt to. They may also experience problems involving alcohol on a regular basis, such as injuries, social difficulty, being late to work, or feeling the need to drink in order to relax.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six American adults binge drinks about four times per month; binge drinking is defined as consuming more than five or more alcoholic beverages in two hours for men and four or more for women. While binge drinking can quickly lead to alcohol poisoning, hospitalization, car accidents, and other injuries, other types of problem drinking include heavy drinking, which is 15 alcoholic beverages for men and 8 alcoholic beverages for women per week. To avoid problematic drinking, the average adult who is at least 21 years old in the United States, is recommended to drink no more than seven drinks per week, per the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

According to NIAAA, in 2012, about 7.2 percent of American adults (17 both short-term and long-term health problems, includingoss memory l, financial instabilitmillion individuals) reported struggling with alcohol use disorder. This serious condition can lead to y, reduced quality of life, worsening mental health, liver damage, cancer, alcohol poisoning, and death.

It is important to get help as soon as possible, and the best way to do that is to safely detox with medical supervision and ener a rehabilitation program. A physician may help ease withdrawal with small doses of prescription medications, whilet therapy at a rehabilitation program will help to rebuild family relationships, understand the root causes of addiction, and develop better coping mechanisms for stress. If a person struggling with alcohol use disorder has a mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety, that led to the substance abuse problem, treatment for all co-occurring disorders is required.