Chronic alcohol abuse—heavy drinking over a long period—can seriously damage a person's well-being, not only physically but mentally. A chronic drinker may lose the ability to pay attention and concentrate. He or she may become anxious and depressed, and behave in ways that pose risks to health and safety.

Long-term heavy drinking can also lead to impaired cognitive abilities. This means that the long-term heavy drinker of alcohol may not be able to think clearly about complex issues or concentrate in order to solve problems. These impairments include:

• Visual-spatial deficits: difficulties with recognizing actual distances between objects or with depth perception
• Language (verbal) impairments: confusing or mispronouncing previously known words, or having difficulty expressing ideas
• Memory impairments (alcoholic amnestic syndrome): the inability to recall words, names, or previously familiar basic ideas. Also a reduced capacity to...