What Are the 5 Reasons People Drink Alcohol?
People drink alcohol for 5 documented reasons: to escape stress, for enjoyment, under peer pressure, to self-medicate a mental health condition, and because genetics and environment predispose them to it.
Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, which produces the relaxation people drink for. Sustained drinking produces alcohol dependence.
The 5 reasons are set out below.
1) To Escape Problems or Stress
Alcohol slows the central nervous system, which produces relaxation, and that effect is what makes it a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety and other unpleasant emotions.
Alcohol distances a person from the stressors in their life. People going through difficult or stressful periods find coping easier when they drink.
Alcohol consumption reduces anxiety temporarily, and it fails as a long-term strategy: the anxiety returns, and tolerance means it takes more alcohol each time to reach the same relief.
2) For Enjoyment
People drink for enjoyment because alcohol produces relaxation and lifts mood, and social drinkers who consume at events and restaurants are not necessarily heavy drinkers.
Social drinkers drink at social events, restaurants and holidays. Most social drinkers have no problem with alcohol and handle it well.
Alcoholic drinks make people feel more relaxed and happier. Drinking reduces nervousness for people who feel anxious in social settings. Alcohol enhances the experience, and excessive use turns that enhancement into harm.
3) Peer Pressure/Social Influences
Peer pressure to drink exists at every stage of life, not only among young people, because alcohol consumption is socially acceptable and legally permitted.
Alcohol consumption is widespread in our society. That acceptance means people who do not otherwise drink will drink when the people around them are drinking.
4) Mental Health Disorders
People with a mental health condition drink to self-medicate, and alcohol use disorder alongside that condition is a co-occurring disorder requiring dual diagnosis treatment.
People living with mental illness find coping without substances such as alcohol and drugs difficult. Alcohol use disorder alongside depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder forms a co-occurring disorder, and treating one without the other leaves the person where they started.
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5) Genetics and Environmental Factors
Genetics and environment together determine alcohol use disorder risk, and neither one accounts for it alone.
Studies record genetic factors as a determinant of whether a person develops an alcohol use disorder. Hereditary influences shape the development of alcohol use disorder alongside other factors including environment and life events.
Scientists record the risk as a combination of genes and environmental factors. A person with a genetic predisposition toward addiction carries a greater risk of developing an alcohol use disorder where they also experience environmental or personal stressors.
When Does Drinking Become a Problem?
Drinking becomes a problem when tolerance develops and the amount that once produced an effect no longer does, which drives consumption upward toward alcohol use disorder.
Patterns of harmful alcohol consumption, including binge and heavy drinking, advance into an alcohol use disorder. People who consume large amounts of alcohol develop cravings for the effects drinking produces. Over time the compulsion to drink more grows to satisfy those cravings.
People who consume alcoholic beverages in large quantities develop a tolerance to alcohol. Once tolerance sets in, the quantity a person used to consume no longer produces the feeling they want. Increasing consumption to close that gap is the route into alcohol addiction.
How Do You Get Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder?
Treatment for alcohol use disorder starts with medical detox for physical dependence, then residential care that addresses the underlying causes.
The most effective treatment programs for people living with alcohol use disorder address their individual needs and history. A personalized approach produces better results from a treatment program.
People with alcohol use disorder require medical detoxification for physical dependence before addressing the underlying causes of the addiction. After detox, people transition to our residential treatment program. Inpatient rehab is the strongest option for people with alcohol addiction.
Contact Riverside Recovery of Tampa’s admissions team today to learn more about our treatment options for alcohol use disorder.