How familiar are you with the impact of alcohol both physically and mentally?
This infographic from the website Visual.ly highlights some important information:
Let’s breakdown the impact of alcohol and see how this could affect you.
Blood Alcohol (BAC) Level 1
At a BAC between 0 and 0.03 you’re still feeling pretty normal. It would be hard to tell at this level you had drunk anything. There are some tests that can be done which can still figure out you’ve drunk alcohol.
Blood Alcohol (BAC) Level 2 – 0.03 to 0.06
Things start to get worse around this level. The impact of alcohol is definitely more visible and you’re going to be experiencing some mild euphoria, relaxation and in general being a more sociable person. Lots of people at this stage still aren’t thinking of themselves as heavy drinking even though they might do this level of drinking a couple of times a week.
It’s important to note there are many people who don’t realise the long term effect of alcohol even if they are only drinking this much. The problem is many people drinking this much multiple times a week. It adds up over time and the health issues compound.
We’re still only talking about 2-3 drinks right now.
How often are you drinking 2-3 drinks a week?
Blood Alcohol (BAC) Level 3 – 0.06 to 0.09
By the time you’re at this level thinks are taking a marked turn for the worst. Your alcohol consumption is somewhere between 3-6 drinks depending on a bunch of different factors. Both physically and emotionally you’re going to be impacted significantly. Think about things such as wildly varying emotion swings from anger to sadness and everything in between.
Physically speaking you will be dealing with much slower reflexes, reaction times and potentially staggering around. We all know what we look like at this stage (or friends/family members). It definitely isn’t pretty. Even if this doesn’t regularly describe you, it does describe potentially binge drinking episodes which can have even greater harm potential for instance.
Blood Alcohol (BAC) – 0.11 to 0.20
Here is where the dangers really start to escalate. Between 6-11 drinks can do the trick here depending on your weight, age and sex. Although, I would caution that these amounts should not be taken at face value. If you’ve ever blacked out or lost consciousness, chances are your BAC level was somewhere around this level.
If you do drink heavily and consistently experience things like memory loss, impaired sensations or a general stupor, the likelihood of developing liver disease is exponentially greater. Your immune system is also taking a major hit at this level. You might find that if you regularly drink alcohol to this level you are also getting cold, flu or infections much more frequently.
Blood Alcohol (BAC) – 0.21 to 0.29
The amounts of alcohol required to get to this level of blood alcohol will vary considerably between people so I’m not going to put a specific number of drinks. However, I will direct you the fact that death is very possible at this level. Major, massive physical effects are apparent at this level.
You’re very likely to become unconscious at this level at some point and you’ll be dealing with escalating issues surrounding your heart rate and breathing. The impact of alcohol at this level simply cannot be underestimated.
Your central nervous system is definitely under attack and likely to become severely depressed.
Blood Alcohol (BAC) – 0.30 +
A blood alcohol level of more than 0.3 is likely to produce death.
While other physical factors may be evident that preclude death, the ultimate destination at this escalating level is the only thing that matters. Even if you were to make it to this level of alcohol consumption, and the alcohol itself did not kill you, the withdrawal symptoms alone could result in your death too.
Alcohol and drug addiction treatment are often thought of as two different things. It is very easy to go out to a local shop in the United States and legally buy large amounts of alcohol. In fact, you can purchase enough to die from for under $20 in most states.
Can the same be said for cocaine or heroin?
No.
The danger then becomes that the concept of substance abuse in most people’s minds doesn’t extend to drinking alcohol. The modern media and society glorifies a drinking culture and stigmatizes other drugs. However, this chart alone, should be enough to highlight just how dangerous this kind of thinking is.
I assume that those of you reading this blog post might be able to identify at least a few times where these situations have happened to you. In fact, I also think quite a few of you might have even had drinking sessions where more than 10 drinks were consumed you passed out.
How close were you to dying that time?
You might never know. And, that’s one of the most dangerous aspects of alcohol addiction. Because of the relaxed approach to alcohol consumption around the world, it becomes easy to get caught in a cycle of alcohol abuse.
There is a way out.
When you think of alcohol addiction treatment, the first thing that probably pops into your mind if a treatment center. But, that doesn’t have to be the case.
At Live Rehab we realised that there was a need to help people get sober and quit alcohol from the comfort of their own homes without having to visit a treatment center.
Our Sobriety Success platform provides you with live video courses designed to take you through a complete recovery program. It doesn’t require an expensive, inpatient program. You won’t have to leave your friends at family for 30 days and you don’t have to visit countless support groups to get health.
And, you can get started for just $1.
