Actress Song Ji-hyo (44) confessed that she drinks alcohol five days a week.
On the 11th, SBS 'Running Man' featured Song Ji-hyo, Haha, Apink's Eunji, and Hayoung forming a team to play a game where they had to guess the answers by looking at picture cards. However, as Song Ji-hyo kept making mistakes, Haha initially encouraged her but eventually couldn't hold back and asked, "Do you want to quit drinking or not?" suggesting she should stop drinking.
When the production team asked, "You don't plan to quit drinking, do you?" Song Ji-hyo replied, "No, absolutely not," but added, "I looked at the office calendar and had a reality check. I thought I should reduce my drinking a bit as the New Year started." When asked how many times she drinks a week, she hesitated for a moment and then revealed, "Until two weeks ago, I drank five times a week."
Many people who enjoy drinking like Song Ji-hyo often resolve to quit or reduce their drinking as the New Year begins. Let's take a look at the risks of alcohol addiction.
If You Can't Control Your Drinking as You Wish, There’s a Risk of Addiction
Whether someone is addicted to alcohol is not simply determined by the amount or frequency of drinking. The key is whether one can control their drinking according to their will. To get an accurate diagnosis of addiction, one should get tested at a hospital, but there is a rough self-diagnosis method. If you meet two or more of the following 11 criteria, you are likely to be addicted to alcohol.
The self-diagnosis criteria are as follows: △Often drink more than intended or for a longer period than planned △Have a desire to reduce or control drinking and have tried but failed △Spend a lot of time obtaining or drinking alcohol △Have a strong craving for alcohol △Experience problems at work, home, etc., due to repeated drinking △Have interpersonal problems that worsen due to alcohol but cannot quit △Give up or reduce professional or leisure activities due to alcohol △Cannot quit despite health deteriorating due to alcohol △Know that physical and psychological problems may arise and worsen due to alcohol but cannot quit △Need to drink increasing amounts to feel satisfied, indicating tolerance △Experience withdrawal symptoms.
Medication Treatment Reduces Cravings for Alcohol
Continuing to drink excessively due to alcohol addiction increases the risk of dementia, fatty liver, and various cancers.
Drinking heavily damages brain cells due to alcohol in the bloodstream. If blackout symptoms occur frequently, one should suspect alcohol-related dementia. Alcohol-related dementia, which accounts for about 10% of all dementia patients, progresses very quickly and can easily develop into senile dementia.
Excessive drinking promotes the occurrence of gastritis, gastric ulcers, pancreatitis, and hepatitis, and is known to increase the risk of sudden death by weakening heart muscles.
Patients with alcohol addiction experience various withdrawal symptoms when they suddenly stop drinking. Symptoms can include anxiety, sweating, and hand tremors, and in severe cases, body convulsions may occur.
If alcohol addiction is suspected, the first priority is to make an effort to quit drinking as much as possible. If self-control is difficult, one should seek professional treatment at a hospital. Alcohol addiction treatment is broadly divided into psychotherapy and medication treatment. Psychotherapy is conducted through counseling that motivates one to want to quit drinking. Medications used in alcohol addiction treatment work by reducing the pleasure felt from drinking or reducing the cravings for alcohol itself.
However, those who do not take prescribed medications properly and cannot quit drinking may need inpatient treatment. The typical hospitalization period for alcohol addiction treatment is usually 7 to 10 days.
