Most are aware of male alcoholism and few are aware of female alcoholism. This is understandable, because alcoholics try to hide their addictions from others as long as possible. This happens due to the fact that the drinking man will always come to the rescue and try to return him to the true path. The role of saviors is taken by women close to this man. In the case when a woman drinks, she has every chance to stumble upon misunderstanding and rejection. She will meet only censure and refusal of help and support from others. This attitude has been established at the level of instincts for centuries. This makes female alcoholism more dangerous than male alcoholism.
As for the alcoholic beverages that women consume, these are, first of all, various kinds of cocktails, beer, gin and tonic and other low-alcohol drinks. It is believed that such drinks are harmless, so they are consumed in unlimited quantities. However, the small degree of the drink is misleading, because it is difficult for a woman to notice that she has become addicted to alcohol and is embarking on the path of an alcoholic. According to statistical studies of alcoholism in women, a quarter of women drinking alcohol regularly, about half drink hard drinks, and a third alternates abstinence with daily drinking.
It is known that women have a higher resistance to alcohol than men, but this trend is observed only at the initial stage of alcoholism. After a certain time, such resistance quickly decreases, and at the last stage of alcoholism in women, a lady needs 300 g of a weak alcoholic drink for intoxication. The woman falls first into a mental, and then into a physical dependence on alcohol. The development of full-fledged alcoholism is preceded by the formation of a persistent hangover syndrome. Thus, alcoholism in women develops rapidly, in 1–3 years.
Symptoms of alcoholism in women include the emergence of a physiological craving for alcohol, the appearance of hangover symptoms (fever, cold, chills, headaches, nausea, vomiting, etc.). A woman becomes rude, irritable and selfish, prone to depression and frequent mood swings. Further, decreases in intelligence and memory are noticeable. The final stage of alcoholism is the moment when all the thoughts of a woman are occupied only with finding funds to buy a drink.
There are many reasons for the formation of alcoholism in women. Loneliness is called the main reason. Women also drink from melancholy, uselessness. At the same time, the craving for alcohol does not depend on social status or marital status. Both housewives and business women can drink. About half of alcoholics drink already at the age of 20. 50% of alcohol addicts are single women, divorced women, widows, etc. among the reasons for the development of the disease may be problems, mental trauma, desperate situations, the influence of friends, the team at work, the emotional instability of a woman.
Another case of the formation of alcoholism in women stands apart. Namely, family. Often, a similar phenomenon is observed in women whose husbands are alcoholics or drunkards. At first, the woman did not attach any importance to this, believing that after the wedding or the birth of a child, everything would change. However, time passes, nothing changes. Moreover, it is not a woman who changes a man for the better, but he changes her for the worse. Thus, a woman, in order to keep her beloved, begins to drink with him and gets drunk even earlier than the faithful.
There are many cases when alcoholism in women was formed during menopause. This phenomenon is accompanied by both physical and mental discomfort. In order to get relaxation and relieve stress, women start drinking alcohol. However, the further, the more difficult it becomes to control oneself, the amount of alcohol increases, which becomes the cause of alcoholism. Female alcoholism also depends on the character of the woman. Capricious, selfish, hysterical women are tempted by the “green serpent” just like timid, insecure and shy women. Some ladies react too violently to what is happening around them, worry about every little thing, which indicates their unstable mood.