STOP STRESSING!

What is stress? The definition of stress is, a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. In common terms, stress is basically the result of life and the problems that unfortunate comes with it. Stress has been found to be the number one cause of alcohol relapse. Then again this should not be a surprise because stress is usually the reason why people begin depending on alcohol. Since alcohol withdrawal triggers the stress system in the brain, it causes individuals dealing with alcoholism to increase stress and increase their craving for alcohol, thus leading to relapse.

Chronic alcohol use increases anxiety, negative emotions, changes in sleep, changes in appetite, aggressive behavior, and cravings for more alcohol. Chronic use of alcohol also secretion of stress hormones such as corticotrophin releasing factor, norepinephrine, and cortisol. Since stress is increasing in the mental state of the alcohol dependent individual, the cravings for more alcohol is also increasing because the dopaminergic signaling in the ventral striatum and ventral tegmental area have been altered by chronic alcohol abuse. All these changes caused by chronic alcohol use factors into increased stress in the individual trying to abstain from alcohol.

 

Stress in of itself is difficult to manage and will leave an individual depressed, but when someone has added stress because of alcohol dependency, it will only ruin the life of that individual. The added stress that comes from alcohol dependency will lead an individual towards relapse and physical destruction. The more alcohol that is being consumed the more stress is accumulating, the more stress that is accumulating, the toxins in the alcohol physically destroy that person. Alcoholism becomes a cycle that is full of factors that depend on each other, such as alcohol, stress, and physical deterioration. The best way to get rid of this cycle is abstinence from alcohol because once you get started it is generally hard to stop.

ABSTRACT 

Reference

Sinha, R., PhD. (2012). How does stress lead to risk of alcohol relapse? Alcohol Research, 34(4), 432-440. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1430978914?accountid=12085