7 Warning Signs It's Time to Quit Alcohol and Reclaim Your Health

Alcohol consumption can harm your life and health even when it seems like you have control. In collaboration with a national health initiative, we highlight key signs indicating when it's time to reconsider drinking.

1. Noticeable Skin Deterioration

Dryness and wrinkles aren't always just signs of aging. Alcohol causes dehydration, leading to morning thirst after a night of drinking. It accelerates water loss from beneath the skin, reducing elasticity. You can test this by pinching your skin and observing how slowly it returns to normal after drinking. Alcohol also enlarges pores, softens cheekbones, and causes skin sagging and flaking.

Initially, makeup might conceal these changes, but prolonged drinking depletes vitamins essential for collagen production—a protein vital for smooth, elastic skin. Over time, alcohol dependency often leads to persistent redness and visible capillary damage due to blood thickening.

2. Unexplained Weight Gain

Alcohol stimulates brain cells that trigger hunger, often leading to late-night fast food cravings. Even without extra snacks, alcoholic drinks add many calories—for example, half a liter of beer contains roughly 239 calories, comparable to 100 grams of pastry.

Weight gain also results from alcohol’s damaging effects on the digestive system. High-proof drinks increase risks for cancers of the mouth, intestines, and throat. Most are aware that alcohol harms the liver and pancreas.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle is always possible with belief and support. If alcohol is disrupting your life, national programs offer free medical aid through government addiction centers. You can assess your health impact and get lifestyle advice by calling the helpline at 1-800-200-0200. Health Centers nationwide also provide consultations; their locations are available on the official health portal takzdorovo.ru.

This portal also offers resources on alcohol’s effects, calorie calculators, exercise logs, healthy recipes for weight loss, video tutorials, and expert interviews.

3. Your Social Circle Shrinks to Only Drinkers

Dependency often narrows friendships to those who drink. Responsibilities like work, family, and pets become burdensome. Social gatherings shift from "What shall we do?" to "What shall we drink?"

Concerns from loved ones may cause irritation—another sign of dependency. Alcohol temporarily boosts endorphins, but the effect fades quickly, prompting more drinking. Attempts by family to intervene might be met with hostility due to the brain’s craving for pleasure.

4. Frequent Memory Lapses and "You Don’t Remember?" Comments

It's not just about forgetting fun moments after drinking. Alcohol kills brain cells and impairs memory. Research from Oxford shows alcohol harms the hippocampus, crucial for emotions, converting short-term to long-term memory, and attention. It also reduces gray matter density and volume.

Alcohol damages sensory perception channels—vision, hearing, touch, memory, emotions, and speech. If you often misplace keys, lose your phone, or leave stores without purchases, consider your recent alcohol intake and adjust your lifestyle accordingly.

5. Increasing Tolerance to Alcohol

Our bodies adapt to repeated exposure, but this can lead to harmful tolerance. Initially, a few sips may induce mild euphoria; later, a full glass is needed, and eventually, even a bottle might feel ineffective. This shows your body is losing its ability to recognize alcohol as a toxin.

6. Morning Cravings for Alcohol

Drinking champagne for breakfast is a sign of dependency, not luxury. If mornings smell more like alcohol than coffee or breakfast, it's time for honest self-reflection. Alcohol doesn’t cure hangovers; the only way to avoid them is to abstain.

During hangovers, drink only still water to rehydrate. Symptoms like shaking and headaches result from poisoning and dehydration. Restoring hydration helps your liver and excretory system eliminate alcohol toxins faster.

7. Drinking Alone Becomes Normal

Alcohol harms the body regardless of company or setting. A critical red flag is drinking alone, as social contexts impose natural limits. Solo drinking removes these boundaries and often leads to daily consumption.

Drinking alone increases risks of accidents without anyone to assist. According to WHO statistics, alcohol causes about three million deaths annually worldwide.

Alcohol damages not only the drinker but also their families and society. It reduces workforce productivity, negatively impacts economies, and affects mortality rates, congenital diseases, reproductive health, and lifespan. Combatting alcohol dependency is a national priority and a key focus of the "Demography" project.

Free consultations with specialists at Health Centers and support services at addiction clinics help individuals pursue healthier lives.

Understanding symptoms and risks is essential for overcoming dependency. The portal takzdorovo.ru offers articles, self-tests, and resources debunking alcohol myths. The "Demography" project’s motto, "Zero is the best degree for meetings," encourages embracing a sober, safer, and more enjoyable lifestyle.

Learn more about healthy living.

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