What Happens If You Drink Everyday?
A sip of alcohol or a beer bottle once in a while doesn’t sound like a bad idea. However, when you begin to drink alcohol every day, you’re slowly impacting your body adversely.
The speed of impact depends on your body system and the amount of alcohol you consume. If you drink a large amount of alcohol every day, then you’ll start seeing the effects of alcohol soon.
The effects of alcohol on your body system — physically and mentally — are numerous, in ways you can’t exactly imagine. And it can have dire consequences. Between 2011 and 2015, excessive drinking was responsible for more than 90,000 deaths.
Not everyone who loves to drink alcohol every day is at immediate risk; it depends on many factors. This article will show you what will happen if you drink alcohol every day. We’ll also explore options to help you stop alcohol abuse.
Is Drinking Everyday Bad?
The answer to this question, “is it good to drink everyday?” is not too straightforward. It depends on some factors, including the person, type of alcohol, and amount. If you take tiny amounts of alcohol every day, you can feel safe. However, when you increase the amount of alcohol you consume daily, you are at high risk.
According to a study, you’re still at risk if you drink alcohol every day, irrespective of the quantity. In most cases, what you know as little amounts of alcohol will start increasing gradually. Before you know it, you’re slowly getting addicted to drinking alcohol daily.
Soon enough, a day without alcohol will feel incomplete. As a result, you begin to buy more alcohol, which will only increase the quantity of alcohol you take.
So you see, it’s better to steer clear of alcohol. If you get addicted to alcohol, you’re throwing an open invitation to the long-term side effects of alcohol.
What Are The Effects of Drinking Every day?
Taking one drink per day may seem responsible and in moderation. There are reports of people who consume little alcohol daily having lower cardiovascular risks than heavy drinkers.
There are research studies debunking the cardiovascular safety claim associated with alcohol. These studies claim there’s still a health risk, even if you take a small volume of alcohol.
The one thing we know for sure is that drinking alcohol consistently comes with side effects. Of course, there are direct effects on your health, but we’re not even referring to these health effects. Here’s what we mean:
Addiction
The primary danger of drinking alcohol every day is developing an addiction to the substance. Of course, you may try to stay disciplined and maintain the one drink per day philosophy.
While you may experience success with your effort to stick to one glass every day, there’ll be some exceptions. On some occasions, you’ll break the one drink a day rule.
For instance, say you invite some of your friends to your house. In this gathering, you’ll likely break the one drink per day rule. Some days, you may feel down and resort to alcohol for “comfort.” Soon enough, the amount of alcohol you drink will increase naturally.
The more alcohol you drink every day, the closer you get to addiction. Alcohol is the third most addictive substance on the globe. Also, alcohol is the most commonly available and legal addictive substance in the world. So, the more you drink alcohol every day, the more you’ll continue to want more.
Overwork your body
Usually, alcohol doesn’t remain in your body system for too long. Your body needs to get rid of it. Hence, when you drink alcohol every day, it means your body needs to get rid of alcohol every day.
Your body will get rid of alcohol through a process known as metabolism. Metabolism is a process your body system performs to get rid of unwanted substances in the blood.
The issue is that when you drink, your body’s natural metabolism sees alcohol as the priority. As a result, almost every other activity like digestion will need to pause.
So you see, after going through the rigour of metabolizing the alcohol in your system, there’s still more work for your body system. So you’re overworking your body system, which is why you may want to stop drinking alcohol every day.
Increases Cancer risk
Cancer is a disease that attacks your body cells. This disease, to date, has no cure, although there is lots of ongoing research for a treatment. Cancer is a disease that can affect almost any organ in your body system.
When you drink every day without any breaks, the alcohol will settle into some of your cells. As a result, it makes those cells more prone to cancerous infections.
In some cases of long-term alcohol addiction, alcohol may be the foundational cause of cancer. When you drink every day, the mouth, esophagus, and liver are at a high risk of developing cancerous cells.
Weak immune system
The immune system fights infections and diseases. When you drink alcohol every day, it weakens your immune system. Sooner or later, you may notice yourself getting sick very frequently.
The sicknesses may start looking neglectable, but they can lead to severe diseases in the long term. For example, about 10% of tuberculosis cases happen due to the influence of alcohol consumption.
Physical Effects of Drinking Everyday
The effects of drinking every day may be evident on your physical appearance, or it may affect your mental and emotional wellbeing. The type of effects that will affect you for daily drinking depends primarily on your person.
For instance, if you have an underlying health condition, daily alcohol intake will worsen it. Similarly, if you have emotional instability and keep drinking, it’ll affect your mental and psychological state. Some of the physical effects of drinking alcohol include:
Health effects
As you know, no matter how good you look on the outside, if you’re not healthy on the inside, you’re not physically fit. The crucial physical effects of drinking every day come in the form of health problems.
Alcohol intake, no matter how small, will affect some organs in your body system. Some of these include;
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Liver:
The liver is the organ in the body responsible for disposing of alcohol. In case you don’t know, alcohol has a flammable property. Hence, regardless of the amount of alcohol you drink every day, the volatile property of the alcohol will affect your liver.
The liver can get bruises and other forms of damage due to alcohol. The liver situation may bring about illnesses like fibrosis, hepatitis, and in some cases, liver cancer.
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Heart
With daily alcohol intake, you’ll reduce the amount of water in your body system. A reduction in the amount of water in the body often leads to overworking the heart.
It means the heart will need more energy to pump the usual amount of blood every day. Sometimes, this heart situation may cause ailments like high blood pressure, heart diseases, and sudden cardiac death, in some cases.
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Reproduction
When you drink alcohol every day, it can affect your reproductive organs. For the male gender, alcohol can cause erectile dysfunction, while the female gender may have pregnancy complications.
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Bones
The bones in your body system require calcium to stay strong. For your body to take in enough calcium, you need enough vitamin D.
When you drink every day, your body’s natural vitamin D production will suffer setbacks. As a result, your body may not produce or absorb calcium adequately, which will cause weak bones.
Physical injuries and lawlessness
The influence of alcohol can hamper your normal thinking process. If you get intoxicated, you lose the ability to make smart decisions. Most people who drink every day have a hard time differentiating right from wrong while they’re under the influence.
Alcohol can cause you to flaunt laws and regulations in your locale. A good example is when someone who drinks every day thinks it’s a good idea to drive after drinking.
Disarranged speech and reputation
Drinking every day may be your little secret if you stay alone. But if you stay with family and friends, they may start to regard you as an alcoholic.
You may start to drink even when you have responsibilities. For example, you may start to drink before going to work or school. Because you’re now addicted to alcohol, you may see it as normal. However, drinking when you have responsibilities is a slippery slope that can affect your reputation.
Mental Effects of Drinking Everyday
Below are the mental effects of drinking every day:
Changes brain behaviour
Your brain is one of the most flexible organs in your body system. In layman’s terms, the brain tries as much as possible to get used to a new situation and change. The flexibility of the brain is what makes you adaptable, irrespective of the scenario.
Drinking alcohol every day only misleads the brain to get used to the situation. So, your brain may adapt to alcohol intake every day. On days you don’t drink, you’ll have withdrawal symptoms because your brain has adapted to regular alcohol intake.
Depression and anxiety
Sometimes, drinking alcohol can make you extremely happy, and other times, alcohol intake can make you confident.
However, when you stay without alcohol for a while, you may start to feel sad immediately. On another note, you may grow anxious and scared of the unknown when you’re without alcohol. These are withdrawal symptoms that develop because you drink every day.
Confusion and memory loss
Have you ever gotten drunk, and you can’t remember things you said? When you drink alcohol every day, you may begin to experience short-term memory loss.
How to Stop Drinking Every Day
Deciding to drink alcohol every day may be an easy decision for you to make. But, stopping yourself from drinking alcohol every day can be more complex.
If drinking every day is a long-term habit, you may even develop a medical condition known as delirium tremens during the withdrawal phase. Delirium tremens can be life-threatening. Therefore, it’s best to undergo withdrawal under the supervision of alcohol addiction experts.
So you shouldn’t try to stop drinking on your own. Some steps you can take include;
- Seeking certified professional help
- Speaking to a trusted family member
- Join an addiction support group
- Choose who you want in your circle.
Related Article: Symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal: How Serious are they and How do They Affect You?
Final Thoughts
If you decide to drink alcohol every day, you are at risk of developing a severe addiction.
You may think taking one or two cups per day does little or no harm. But over time, it’ll add up to abuse and dependence.
The best way to save yourself from a potential addiction problem is by getting professional help. Instead of making mistakes, let’s help you walk your way out of addiction.
Here at Inspire Change Wellness Centre, we are home to experts with the professional experience to ignite and sustain your alcohol abuse recovery. Get in touch with us today!