Alcohol abuse affects every aspect of life, from your health and your relationships to your career and your finances. And the cost may be more than you bargained for.
Find out what alcoholism is costing you—and commit to making a change.
The Cost to Your Physical Health
You’re probably already aware of the short-term effects of excessive drinking, including loss of coordination and poor judgment. But the long-term effects of alcohol abuse are even more severe, particularly for your liver and your heart. Heavy drinkers are at increased risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer, stroke, and heart attack. Excessive alcohol use can also deplete your body of the nutrition it needs to function properly. You may develop problems like thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, which can lead to serious neurological issues such as impaired movement and memory loss.
The Cost to Your Mental Health
As your physical body suffers, your mental health will follow. Alcohol abuse affects brain functioning, altering its chemistry and hormones. It can even hinder new brain cell growth. In fact, alcoholism puts you at increased risk of developing or worsening co-occurring mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Not only that, but liver disease (which can result from excessive alcohol use) also harms the brain, leading to changes in mood and personality, as well as anxiety and depression.
The Cost to Your Relationships
We don’t live in a vacuum — everything we do affects the people around us, particularly those in our inner circle of family and friends. Alcoholism can lead to mood swings, erratic behavior, and even verbal or physical altercations, which are a major source of tension in relationships. Marriages suffer under the weight of alcoholism, and children may bear the brunt of neglect or abuse. Excessive alcohol use may cause you to disengage and not be fully present in your life, as well as in the lives of the people you love.
The Cost to Your Career
If excessive alcohol use affects your health and your behavior, you can be sure that it affects your job performance, too. It’s hard to climb the career ladder when your mind is dulled from the effects of alcohol. Alcoholism can dampen your career prospects, making you unable to hold on to a job or advance in the workplace. When you’re hungover, you’re either staying home from work or underperforming on the job. And a pattern of absence or poor performance could lead to your termination. Plus, having a DUI or other alcohol-related offense on your record could reduce your chances of getting another job.
The Cost to Your Finances
If you want to get a clear picture of how much your drinking is costing you financially, try using an alcohol spending calculator. You might be surprised how high those numbers can climb, particularly when you account for drinks at bars and restaurants. For example, if you have 5 drinks a day, 5 days a week, for $5 per drink, you’re spending $6,500 per year on alcohol. That money could have been spent on a vacation or a car, or saved in an emergency fund. And if you drink and drive, you can be charged with a DUI, which will cost you money for bail, an attorney, court-mandated classes, and more. Plus, you’ll be paying higher insurance rates, as well as fees to reinstate your driver’s license.
Clearly, the cost of alcoholism to your health, relationships, finances, and career prospects is steep. But by going to rehab and starting your journey to sobriety, you can reverse the toll alcohol abuse has taken on your life.
What is alcoholism costing you? Contact our trained admissions counselors at 888-984-5288 to find out how you can reclaim your life at Beachside Rehab’s luxury treatment center.