How Does Alcohol Affect People Differently

Alcohol affects people differently. The alcohol in your body will metabolize depending on your body mass and the size of your liver and there’s only so much your body can metabolize each hour. There are two main enzymes that break down alcohol: alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The speed of your alcohol metabolism depends on how much of these enzymes you have in your body (Hart & Ksir, 2012). Alcohol has a way of altering your brain functions by interacting with neurotransmitters. This can make you feel euphoric and give you a feeling of pleasure. People who get that feeling out of alcohol may want to keep drinking it so they can constantly have that euphoria. Alcohol dependence is also common with people who have depression and alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholism (“Alcoholism,” 2013). Women and men have different effects when it comes to alcohol. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women react differently to alcohol then men because of their body composition. Women typically have a smaller weight than men so that …show more content…
If you have a family history of alcoholism, you are four times more likely to develop an alcohol addiction than the general public. Although genes do play a role in alcoholism, more than half of people who have alcoholism in their families don 't become alcoholics themselves. These people could develop an addiction through their environment like having to watch your parent constantly drink alcohol at a young age and that would potential create some conflict in your family. Your environment is a big factor. Drinking excessively can also heighten your risk of becoming an alcoholic if you have a family history of it (“A Family History of Alcoholism,” 2012). When watching a family member drink uncontrollably, it causes a lot of distress on a person and that can make you escalate to alcoholism