Long-Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse

The Sly Seduction of Alcohol

A situation where you have a houseguest who overstays their welcome doesn’t start that way. It starts with an invitation. The person comes over because you asked them to. Then, time goes by, and life gets cluttered. The welcome wears thinner with each passing hour. Or for this analogy’s sake: day or week or year. Eventually, you find yourself asking: “How did this happen?” When covering the long-term effects of alcohol, how things started might not even matter. But it started somewhere, and you probably weren’t thinking things would get here.

Though it was innocent enough, you probably weren’t thinking of long-term effects when you took that first sip of wine. Now, things have changed. That one-time guest is a permanent resident. With lots of demands. As it turns out, it also causes quite a bit of damage.

Here’s a chilling stat to start: Around 5.3% of deaths globally are linked to alcohol consumption (WHO). Think of that next time someone brushes off the long-term effects of alcohol. It doesn’t get any more definitive than death to sober things up a bit.

Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on The Body

Alcohol is a poison. Not exactly the kind of poison you see in a medieval fantasy movie where a person empties a vile of a dark liquid into the king’s drinking goblet. And everyone at the banquet then watches him choke. The actual part of alcohol that affects you is called ethanol. Without it, you could drink beer all day long and not worry about toxicity (or intoxication). But with it, first, you have the psychoactive effect of feeling buzzed. Then you have the poison.

What makes alcohol or ethanol a poison is what it gets turned into at its next stop in your body—your liver. Your liver turns alcohol into poison: acetaldehyde. If you had a vile of this, it would get the job done if you put it in a goblet.

The Poison

As a result of drinking alcohol, the relatively small dosage of acetaldehyde that is created means you don’t die from one beer, but you are releasing it into your body, where it damages whatever it can. Acetaldehyde damages cells and DNA, contributing to the development of conditions like cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists ethanol as a Group 1 carcinogen, right alongside asbestos and tobacco smoke.

When you repeatedly drink or drink heavily, you are creating a cumulative poisonous situation—overloading the liver, damaging organs, and disrupting vital systems.

Here’s a short list of the long-term effects of alcohol on your body:

Liver: Inflammation, cirrhosis, and eventual failure.
Heart: Increased risk of arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, and hypertension.
Immune System: Weakens over time, making infections more likely.

Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on Your Brain

It doesn’t stop there. Research shows that long-term heavy drinking can shrink the brain by up to 1.6% per year, compared to 0.5% for non-drinkers (PubMed). Brain shrinkage is never a good thing. Besides the shrinking, alcohol messes with your neurotransmitters. With long-term drinking, you are going to find your memory getting worse, your decision-making getting out of control, and your motor control slipping away.

Then there is something called “wet brain.” This is actual brain damage that is a long-term effect of alcohol. With this condition, symptoms start with confusion but get quite a bit more serious from there. Think memory loss, confusing fiction with reality, eye problems, walking problems, and irreversible brain damage.

Alcohol and the Brain

Memory Loss: Damage to the hippocampus makes forming and retaining new memories difficult.
Cognitive Decline: Accelerates brain shrinkage, increasing dementia risk.
Neurotransmitter Disruption: Causes mood disorders like anxiety and depression.
Wet Brain (Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome): Severe memory loss and motor issues from thiamine deficiency.
Emotional Instability: Alters brain circuits, leading to aggression and impulsivity.

How Alcohol Affects Your Appearance

You might not care if your face gets droopy or ashy in color. But most people do. If you have been drinking for a long period of time or heavily drinking for a moderate period, you can believe your mirror is showing signs.

You may be familiar with the broken capillaries that spider their way across a person’s face. Or you may have heard of the puffiness or redness (ruddy complexion). But there is also the fact that alcohol depletes collagen. Wrinkles showing up in your selfies more than they used to? It could be a result of your alcohol intake.

Then there is the weight issue. Alcohol is calorie-dense, and they are empty calories. One beer could be like eating a candy bar. And would you pack away seven candy bars a day and expect to keep your six-pack intact?

Other ways alcohol Can affect your appearance:

Hair Thinning and Brittle Nails: Alcohol dehydrates the body and depletes nutrients like zinc and biotin, essential for healthy hair and nails.

Puffy, Bloated Appearance: Alcohol causes fluid retention and inflammation, leading to puffiness in the face and extremities.

Dark Circles and Tired Eyes: Poor sleep from alcohol consumption contributes to under-eye bags and a perpetually fatigued look.

Teeth and Gum Health: Sugar and acidity in alcoholic drinks can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath.

The Addiction and the Slow Unraveling

Back to our original idea, if you have had alcohol in your life for a long period of time, it’s likely the one calling the shots. You may see all these changes to your body, to your mind, and your overall health, but if addiction is a factor, it doesn’t matter.

Alcohol abuse disorder needs more than wanting to feel better or look good to overcome.

It is a chronic brain disease that overwhelms your will and your control to keep you coming back to the bottle no matter what you really want.

Get Help With Long-Term Alcohol Abuse Today

Alcohol doesn’t have to keep calling the shots in your life. If you’re ready to take back control, Palos Verdes Outpatient Addiction Treatment offers expert care, evidence-based treatments, and compassionate support to help you reclaim your health and future.