Hormonal Changes in Women and Alcohol Addiction

The research over the past ten years by leading alcohol treatment centers have found that women resort to alcohol abuse in accordance with their changing hormone levels. In fact, women themselves are not aware of the hormonal fluctuations. When this is combined with other factors of stress in life like relationship issues, job changes, health concerns etc, women find themselves abusing alcohol.

It is a fact that more and more women are addicted to alcohol driven by hormones and stressful cycles as compared to men who go for a round of drinks as a means to socialize. Let us look at how the hormones of women dictate their interest towards alcohol. During the phase from teens to their early 30s, the ovaries and adrenal glands produce a type of estrogen known as estrodiol. Then from the mid 30s to the early 50s, the ovaries produce less estrogen and a huge part of the hormone production moves on to the adrenal glands. Since the adrenal glands now do more work the estrogen level dips, spikes and dips again; leading to erratic production of estrogen. This is the time where women tend to become more moody and forgetful. For women, the brain tends to work better when the estrogen levels are steady. When they dip during menopause or stress, women tend to resort to alcohol to do away with the discomfort.

A leading alcohol treatment center that attends to women in Jacksonville says that though menopause is something that strike a woman between the ages of 45 and 55, there are times when the menopause can come earlier leading to a state known as premature menopause. Some of the factors that lead to early menopause include heavy drinking that exceeds more than 1 glass of wine, 1 .5 oz of liquor, 12ozs of beer daily; heavy smoking, poor nutrition and unbearable stress.

Heavy alcohol consumption is actually a major contribution to the early onset of menopause by as many as five years. Due to drinking and subsequent early menopause the estrogen production dips from 75 to 90 percent; with the body experiencing signs like hot flashes, moodiness, tiredness and loss of libido. In the normal menopause, it is normal to experience sleep problems, hot flashes etc but alcohol compounds the issue more. The matter becomes all the more complex when we come across a theory put forth by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that establishes connection between alcohol consumed and cancer in women. Post menopausal breast cancer is one of the biggest consequences of drinking alcohol post menopause.

Alcohol also leads to other problems like osteoporosis due to decline in bone density as the calcium is excreted in the urine. Not to speak about other equally deadly diseases like liver cirrhosis, falls etc and societal problems that arise due to heavy drinking like motor vehicle accidents. All of these hints at one thing: STOP DRINKING. In case, you are addicted to alcohol and you are above 40s or nearing it, it is best to go to an alcohol treatment center and seek rehabilitation at the earliest.