You may be surprised to learn that drinking can cause mental illness. What is it that has such magic? I’m telling you, it’s alcohol. You may not believe, alcohol is a common substance can make people suffer from mental illness? To tell you two true stories will understand. Niu Mou, male 42 years old, was a good student with good academic performance. After graduating from college and joining the workforce, he originally did not drink because of his work, socializing more, often accompanying leaders to dinner and drinking. At first, he did not feel that drinking was a good thing. Two years later has become a habit, every time at home to drink on 3-4 two. As a result of hard work, good people, was promoted to the company’s subsidiary a hotel manager. With the convenient conditions, cattle daily drinking, a year later the development to not drink on the uncomfortable, drink on the drunkenness of the point. Daily do in front of the desk hands do not leave the wine, alcohol all day long, grumpy behavior strange, can not do the job. Forced by family members, leaders sent to hospital to quit drinking treatment, about two months after the cattle situation improved, the Spring Festival home visits. The first 3-4 days can still insist on not drinking, to the fifth day despite the opposition of the family, again booze caused by a fall, resulting in brain hemorrhage death. Liu Mou, male 50 years old, a simple farmer. Since childhood, under the influence of his parents, he occasionally drank a small amount of alcohol. After becoming a family to relieve fatigue 2 taels of liquor daily, continued for more than 20 years after feeling that 2 taels a day does not relieve the strength by increasing the amount. Because of the family’s financial difficulties, no more money to buy alcohol, and his lover opposed to its large amounts of alcohol. Liu found various opportunities to buy wine, even lying, borrowing money, credit. Most people in the village have been borrowed money, always do not return, once you get the money to buy wine to drink. Fearing that his family would find out, he hid the wine under his bed, inside his cotton shoes or in the graveyard outside the village. The family always smells the wine, but can not find the wine. After 2-3 years of this, Liu was unable to work competently, had hallucinations, saw ghosts, had delusions, and always felt that someone was bad for him and wanted to kill him. Once after drinking alcohol, he felt that someone was after him and had no way to escape, so he hanged himself at the cemetery. Drinking wine has a history of several thousand years and has formed a culture of wine. Wine occupies an extremely important place in people’s minds. Drink a little when you are tired, drink a little when you are happy, drink a little at parties, drink a little when you are sad, in short, there is always a reason to drink a little. The public also has the idea that wine can nourish the body and dispel diseases, and drink it every time as a health product. With the reform and opening up, people’s living standards continue to improve, the demand for wine has increased year by year, and the drinking population is expanding. Most people only know the benefits of drinking alcohol, and know little or nothing about its hazards. In fact, inappropriate drinking can cause extremely serious consequences to the body and even life. The author has been a medical doctor for more than 20 years and has treated a large number of people with various physical and mental illnesses caused by long-term alcohol consumption, most of whom have a common drinking experience. Since adolescence, due to the influence of family and society, they started to drink alcohol occasionally in small amounts. At first, they may not feel that drinking alcohol is a good thing, such as: bitterness and spiciness, stomach burning, talking too much, dizziness, blushing, and so on. As the drinking experience increases, the tolerance to alcohol increases, and the uncomfortable feeling is gradually accepted, so you get used to drinking. After working as an adult, due to a certain economic base, coupled with the impact of the work environment, to relieve fatigue, for social functions, for work, for family and friends, at any time to go to appointments, gradually developed to habitual drinking, that is, the daily must drink, as little as 1-2 more than half a catty ranging. Due to the formation of habits and daily drinking, the effects of alcohol on the body gradually appear. The first is the increase in tolerance, that is, the original 1-2 taels can play a role, now may need 3-4 taels to show, due to the role of liver enzymes. After a certain period of time, the drinker will have a period of uncontrolled drinking, that is to say, boozing without getting drunk and refusing to come. This time signals the beginning of chronic alcoholism. Empirically, the uncontrolled drinking phase lasts for 2-3 years at most, after which the amount of alcohol consumed decreases year by year, at which point the dependence on intoxication is already very obvious. After a small drink, the energy is increased, like a new person, but the maintenance time is not long again the above symptoms, then drink again and disappear, and repeatedly cycle, resulting in a small amount of daily multiple drinking. At this time, in addition to the obvious physical changes, more importantly, the psychological changes, not caring about the work, no sense of responsibility for the family, other than alcohol interests are significantly reduced, unable to perform their work, the central activity is drinking. In order to drink alcohol, they can lie, miss work, borrow money and take credit everywhere, and even steal and commit crimes. Due to the damaging effect of long-term alcohol consumption on the body, it leads to a lack of brain power, memory loss, thinking ability, intelligence is affected, sexual function decreases, affecting the life of the couple, and finally causing divorce. In severe cases, a large number of psychiatric symptoms, hallucinations, delusions, behavioral disorders, anxiety and depression occur. This eventually leads to physical and mental disability or death. Generally speaking, the average time from occasional drinking to habitual drinking to alcohol dependence to chronic alcoholism and alcoholic mental disorder is 7-11 years. The short period is 2-3 years and the long period is 20-30 years. Among them, the age of starting habitual drinking is very important, the younger the age, the faster the development of its poor self-control; secondly, drinking large amounts of alcohol, easy to form alcohol dependence and chronic alcoholism in the short term. In addition to the psychological harm caused by alcohol, long-term alcohol consumption can also cause direct damage to the body or induce many physical diseases. Such as: alcoholic hepatitis, gastritis, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, hypertension, diabetes, vitamin B1 deficiency, silver night disease, malnutrition and so on. From the clinical point of view, alcohol dependence and chronic alcoholic toxic psychiatric disorders have a tendency to increase year by year and to develop at a younger age. I have seen the youngest one who started drinking alcohol at the age of 14 under the bad influence of parents and classmates, and by the age of 19 had already developed serious physical impairment and psychotic symptoms, with serious impairment of memory and intelligence and loss of working ability. Because of the importance of alcohol in people’s minds, it is simply a nightmare to completely ban alcohol. As a doctor, we can only warn people: do not drink alcohol, drink less, drink in moderation, not greedy. Take 50 proof liquor as an example: men should not exceed 100 ml (2 taels) per day, and women should not exceed 50 ml. Control within this range is relatively safe, more than this amount, uncontrolled booze is easy to form alcohol dependence, resulting in chronic poisoning, it is time to quit drinking. New pharmacological alcohol cessation treatment is carried out. Through a combination of therapies including psychological support, 80-90% of patients can quit drinking within 10-15 days. However, there is a high relapse rate and a tendency to return to drinking. Therefore, having a good family and social environment is a prerequisite for reducing relapse.