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Signs of Alcohol Dependence

by | Jul 27, 2024 | Info | 0 comments

Alcohol Dependence (Alcohol Use Disorder) Overview

Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems. 

This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.

Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism.

Recognizing the signs of alcohol use disorder

It can be easy to tell when a person has been drinking. Signs include slurred speech, uncoordinated movements, lowered inhibitions, and the smell of alcohol on the breath. However, identifying an addiction may not be so black and white.

People with  alcohol use disorder (AUD) may be able to hide many of the more obvious symptoms of addiction for a long period of time. People with AUD and the people around them may also choose to ignore the signs.

Warning signs of alcohol use disorder

Pay attention to the warning signs if you suspect that a loved one has a problem with alcohol. Certain behaviors may indicate a person’s pattern of drinking is the result of addiction.

Signs of AUD include:

  • Being unable to control how much you drink
  • Continuing to drink despite negative consequences in your personal or professional life
  • Drinking alone or in secret
  • Experiencing blackouts, or periods of time when you can’t remember what you did, where you were, or who you were with
  • Feeling compelled or having uncontrollable cravings to drink
  • Having a “tolerance” to alcohol so that you need to consume increasingly larger amounts of alcohol in order to experience the same effects
  • Irritability if you can’t drink when you want to
  • Having to drink in order to feel “normal” or “good”
  • Being unable to control when you drink
  • Preferring to drink over engaging in other activities and hobbies, including spending time with friends and family
  • Storing alcohol in hidden places, such as at work, in your car, or in unusual places in your house

Physical Symptoms

Physical symptoms may occur when the person is unable to drink. This is known as withdrawal. These symptoms are signs of a physical addiction. The body feels it’s unable to act and function as it should without the alcohol. Withdrawal symptoms may include:


Alcohol Intoxication

Alcohol intoxication results as the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream increases. The higher the blood alcohol concentration is, the more likely you are to have bad effects. Alcohol intoxication causes behavior problems and mental changes.

These may include inappropriate behavior, unstable moods, poor judgment, slurred speech, problems with attention or memory, and poor coordination. You can also have periods called “blackouts,” where you don’t remember events.

Very high blood alcohol levels can lead to coma, permanent brain damage or even death.

Alcohol Withdrawal

Alcohol withdrawal can occur when alcohol use has been heavy and prolonged and is then stopped or greatly reduced. It can occur within several hours to 4 to 5 days later. 

Signs and symptoms include sweating, rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, problems sleeping, nausea and vomiting, hallucinations, restlessness and agitation, anxiety, and occasionally seizures.

Symptoms can be severe enough to impair your ability to function at work or in social situations.

What is Alcohol Abuse?

Although the term is no longer used in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), many articles and discussions about AUD refer to alcohol abuse.

Alcohol abuse is different from AUD, the more “severe” of the two conditions. People who abuse alcohol but aren’t physically addicted may experience the same signs and symptoms as people who have AUD.

But people who abuse alcohol often don’t have the same cravings or need to drink that a person with AUD does. Instead, a person who abuses alcohol isn’t able to control their drinking when they do drink.

Alcohol abuse can come with many health complications and can lead to AUD if left untreated.

What is Considered One Drink?

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines one standard drink as any one of these:

  • 12 ounces (355 milliliters) of regular beer (about 5% alcohol)
  • 8 to 9 ounces (237 to 266 milliliters) of malt liquor (about 7% alcohol)
  • 5 ounces (148 milliliters) of wine (about 12% alcohol)
  • 1.5 ounces (44 milliliters) of hard liquor or distilled spirits (about 40% alcohol)


Diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorder

There’s no simple diagnostic test to confirm AUD. Rather, addiction is a diagnosis of exclusion.

When all behaviors and health problems are taken into consideration, a doctor may determine that a person’s drinking is in fact an addiction.

 

 

 

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