Epsilon type alcoholism: symptoms, causes, and how to overcome it

Epsilon-type alcoholism, also known as dipsomania or periodic alcoholism, is the one that occurs in those cases in which a person drinks alcohol sporadically but when he does, he consumes compulsive, having a loss of control and can even trigger behavioral problems associated with the state of drunkenness.

In this article we will see what Epsilon-type alcoholism consists of and what its main characteristics are.

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What is alcoholism?

Alcoholism is a disease caused by prolonged and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages., having created a psychological and/or physical dependency that causes health problems and usually affects various areas of the life of the person who suffers from it (work, families, etc.).

Alcohol, as we well know, is a socially accepted substance, so there is a high percentage of consumption among the population and, when this consumption occurs in excess, it can trigger alcoholism.

those who suffer they develop dependence on this substance, so that they often feel the need to consume this class of substances and find it very difficult not to relapse into drinking

; For this reason, they suffer serious health problems, both physical and psychological, something that often even affects their personal relationships. In addition, there are several types of alcoholism: Epsilon, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta alcoholism.

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What is Epsilon type alcoholism?

Epsilon-type alcoholism, according to the Jellinek classification, is a type of alcoholism in which the person drinks excessively sporadically, periodically. In other words, it is the one suffered by people who are able to stay for several days, and even weeks, but when they drink alcohol are not able to stop, being able to drink in an uncontrolled way and could even have serious problems of conduct.

People with Epsilon-type alcoholism do not usually experience withdrawal symptoms in their daily lives., so they do not need to resort to alcohol consumption to calm them down and that is why they do not normally try alcohol on a day-to-day basis.

These people usually lead a full and satisfying life without the consumption of alcohol; however, it is enough for them to try alcohol one day, either for a celebration or for any other reason of a social nature to that alcohol abuse is triggered, and can last for long hours and even days without being able to stop drinking alcohol.

It should be noted that Epsilon-type alcoholism is not that of a social drinker, as is the case with Beta-type alcoholism, where there is usually only an abuse of alcohol exclusively in social situations and there is no alcohol dependence that causes a lack of control; On the other hand, in the Epsilon type, there is a loss of control when alcohol is tasted that causes that person to drink much higher amounts of alcohol than he had planned.

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Symptoms of alcoholism type Epsilon

When a case of Epsilon-type alcoholism occurs, there are a series of symptoms that tend to appear, usually giving several of the following:

• Consumption of large amounts of alcohol on an episodic basis.
• When the person consumes alcohol he loses control, so he is not able to stop consumption.
• Uncontrolled alcohol consumption can cause behavioral problems.
• Although the person is able to stop using for several days or weeks, he tends to start using again.
• He is not able to drink socially and in moderation, because he often loses control.
• Excessive alcohol consumption can trigger an ethyl coma.

It should be noted that Epsilon-type alcoholism presents similarities with the "alcoholic drinker", according to the classification of Fernández Ballesteros, which refers to that drinker who consumes alcohol with a fairly irregular frequency, but when he drinks, he is not able to stop until he gets drunk; therefore, we are faced with a person who is able to go for a long time without drinking, but when he starts drinking, he is not able to stop until he is drunk.

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What to do to face it and overcome it?

It should be noted that when someone has developed Epsilon-type alcoholism, they are essentially an episodic drinker, but that nuance does not detract from the seriousness of the problem, since this way of abusing alcohol on certain occasions can lead to serious problems, both at the health level, as well as at the social level and maybe legal in those cases in which the person has behavioral problems every time they are drunk.

In addition, Epsilon-type alcoholism, if control is not learned (either as a result of learning and maturity of the person, among other things, or thanks to the help of a specialized professional), could lead to chronic alcoholism, so it is highly recommended that those who find themselves in a similar situation seek professional help and support from family members, trusted friends and/or your partner in order to try to solve the problems of lack of control when trying alcohol before it worsens situation.

It is also important to note that people with Epsilon-type alcoholism many times they are not aware of the disease. That is to say, they do not consider that they have problems with alcohol, since they can forget the mechanism by which they lose control at time to drink, not being able to stop, because between episode and episode several days can pass as a "drinker sporadic".

And it is that the loss of control with alcohol consumption can happen to anyone, especially young people, but the problem happens when this happens frequently and does not subside over the years.