What are the causes of alcohol addiction?

There is a growing awareness of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, dangers that health authorities constantly emphasize through campaigns advertising.

However, despite the gradual awareness (or, at least, its attempt) there is an evident rise in the abuse of this substance. Why does this phenomenon occur in a society where the risks of excessive alcohol consumption are becoming clearer? What are the causes of alcohol addiction? Let's find out.

Alcohol: a highly normalized drug

Perhaps we should start with the following question: What is, in fact, alcohol?

Is about a substance that causes our central nervous system to slow down and, what is worse, generates dependence. The regularity with which our society resorts to alcohol (at lunches and dinners, parties, social events, etc.) increases the risk of being dependent on it, as it becomes commonplace in life daily.

When, in a drink, we find the presence of ethanol or ethyl alcohol in an amount equal to or greater than 1%, we are talking about an alcoholic beverage. Among the most common alcoholic beverages we find wine and beer; Other types of drinks, such as rum or vodka, are becoming more frequent given their presence in nightclubs.

• Related article: "Types of drugs: know their characteristics and effects"

Variables that can cause alcohol addiction

Although it is true, then, that alcohol is very present in our daily lives, why do some people become addicted and others not? Well, because for an addiction to alcohol to occur, it is not only necessary to consume assiduously, but other variables are also important, such as those detailed below.

1. Presence of mental disorders

It has been proven that people with mental disorders are more likely to become addicted to alcohol. Among the possible causes we cannot forget one of the most important: escapism. psychological disorders such as major depression or the traumas they cause a lot of pain in the person, and alcohol is an escape door for this suffering. The problem is that this person's body will be asking for more and more of the substance to feel relief, so alcohol consumption will skyrocket until it becomes a real problem.

• You may be interested in: "Mental health: definition and characteristics according to psychology"

2. Family and school environment

It is evident that the environment can influence when falling into an addiction. Both family problems and a conflictive school environment can cause the person to see alcohol as the only escape tool from it.

The family's way of communicating and the way of expressing emotions have a lot to do with all of this. If since childhood we have lived in a distant and cold family environment, with little or no ability to emotional expression, we will not know how to connect with our interior in adult life, which can lead to issues; among others, addiction to alcohol.

In the same way, children brought up in a broken family, with a lack of focus or non-existent sense of life, may have the feeling that their life lacks meaning. It is a serious internal crisis that can end in excessive alcohol consumption; again, to escape and disconnect from the anguish.

Not only the family is important for the child in the first years of his development; The school also has an important role in this regard. Thus, children who have been victims of bullying or who have suffered school failure are at high risk of becoming addicted to alcohol as adults. In this sense, teachers must become a reference and support for these children.

3. Unemployment

Being unemployed or having an unstable job are situations that can generate anxiety and worry and, therefore, can lead to alcohol abuse. The lack of job opportunities entails certain levels of frustration and hopelessness that can also lead to alcoholism.

• Related article: "What is social psychology?"

4. Professions with close contact with alcohol

Of course, working in the hospitality industry does not necessarily imply developing problems with alcohol, but it does is a setting where people who are prone can easily access the substance.

5. The actual society

We live in a world where alcohol is constantly present in our daily lives, and access to this type of substance is very easy and fast.

Alcohol is so fully accepted in society that we often forget that it is really just another drug. Precisely this normalization means that we are not aware of the risks that, as a drug, its consumption entails.

Not only that: an ideology has been generated according to which people who do not drink do not know how to have fun. This leads to the appearance of a series of prejudices that reinforce consumption.