In the world, 3.3 million people die each year due to alcohol abuse; despite this, Mexicans consume about 5.5 liters of this beverage annually.

Alcoholism is related to two factors: a withdrawal syndrome and a tolerance symptom, which trigger everything that happens in the body of an alcoholic.

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Substance that Alters

Withdrawal syndrome means that the organism needs the substance to function normally, and when it doesn't have it, it experiences reactions such as trembling, restlessness, and despair, which only disappear when the person resumes consuming alcohol.

On the other hand, the tolerance symptom appears when the body adapts to consuming larger amounts of alcohol, generating biological and biochemical changes that allow the person to ingest more and more of this substance.

Internal Changes

Alcohol provides a calming effect related to neurobiological circuits of reward and pleasure, says Benjamín Guerrero López from the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the Faculty of Medicine of UNAM.

When consumption increases, changes occur in these circuits that in turn provoke modifications at the cerebral, hepatic, and bodily levels.

As dependency on the substance increases, the brain gets damaged and disorders similar to dementia or psychosis, such as schizophrenia, may appear.

External Changes

For an alcoholic to become aggressive, uninhibited, or violent, it depends on the time and amount of alcohol consumed, as well as how damaged their brain is.

Abuse of alcohol is considered when a person consumes it in risky situations, for example, if despite ingesting large quantities, they decide to drive, or express changes in their social functioning, causing impacts on their family and work environment.

Adolescents are the age group that presents the highest levels of habitual alcohol consumption, that is, drinking at least once a week or large amounts on a single occasion, indicates Guerrero López.

Some disorders such as depression or anxiety generate problems of alcoholism or vice versa. More and more women are consuming alcohol as a way to decrease emotional pain during their depressive states.

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