Author: John Carter
Alcoholism: Causes, Risk Factors, and Symptoms
While alcoholism is a complex disease and diagnosing it isn’t an exact science, several signs and symptoms can indicate when your drinking has crossed the line into addiction. Today, we know that the symptoms of alcoholism can vary from one person to the next. Because the condition is progressive, these symptoms may increase over time in terms of the number of symptoms, their severity, and their impact.
- The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and AlcoholScreening.org offer more comprehensive self-tests.
- Taking an alcoholism screening quiz can help you determine whether you have the symptoms of an alcohol use disorder.
- But a good indicator of an alcohol addiction is when something is “out of whack” in your life, according to Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
- Your health care provider or counselor can suggest a support group.
Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. To learn more about alcohol treatment options and search for quality care near you, please visit the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator. By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Because alcoholism rewires the brain and affects a person’s mood, thinking and behaviors, it’s classified as a mental illness. Thus, many of the hallmark signs of alcoholism involve changes in behavior. A health care provider might ask the following questions to assess a person’s symptoms. Severity is based on the number of criteria a person meets based on their symptoms—mild (2–3 criteria), moderate (4–5 criteria), or severe (6 or more criteria). Treatment for alcoholism often involves a combination of therapy, medication, and support.
John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Alcoholics Anonymous is available almost everywhere and provides a place to openly and non-judgmentally discuss alcohol problems with others who have alcohol use disorder.
Physical Symptoms of Alcohol Addiction
People with alcohol use disorder will continue to drink even when drinking causes negative consequences, like losing a job or destroying relationships with people they love. They may know that their alcohol use negatively affects their lives, but it’s often not enough to make them stop drinking. Alcoholism, referred to as alcohol use disorder, occurs when someone drinks so much that their body eventually becomes dependent on or addicted to alcohol. When alcoholism is severe, an individual may develop a physical dependence on the drug. In order to be diagnosed with AUD, a person must experience any two of these symptoms within the same 12-month period. You can prevent alcohol use disorder by limiting your alcohol intake.
Here’s some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your health care provider or mental health provider. For serious alcohol use disorder, you may need a stay at a residential treatment facility. Most residential treatment programs include individual and group therapy, support groups, educational lectures, family involvement, and activity therapy. You’re likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider. If your provider suspects that you have a problem with alcohol, you may be referred to a mental health provider.
Alcohol use disorder can cause serious and lasting damage to your liver. Your liver is responsible for removing toxins from your blood. When you drink too much, your liver has a harder time filtering the alcohol and other toxins from your bloodstream. Alcohol use disorder develops when you drink so much that chemical changes in the brain occur. These changes increase the pleasurable feelings you get when you drink alcohol. This makes you want to drink more often, even if it causes harm.
Low platelet counts affect the body’s ability to make clots to stop bleeding. Alcoholism can be difficult to detect from the outside, particularly early in the course of the disease. But as it progresses, the disease has an array of effects on the body, and a number of physical signs may become apparent.
Anemia (Low Red Blood Cell Count)
If you’re worried that you might have alcohol use disorder, don’t try to quit cold turkey on your own. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal. Get cost-effective, quality addiction care that truly works. People who are addicted to alcohol may also show a deteriorating physical appearance from poor nutrition and personal neglect. Many individuals with alcoholism are in denial or unaware that they have a problem.
Alternative medicine
Symptoms of alcohol use disorder are based on the behaviors and physical outcomes that occur as a result of alcohol addiction. Alcoholism has been known by a variety of terms, including alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. While there’s no specific blood test that can diagnose an alcohol use disorder, certain lab results can point to chronic alcohol abuse and possible alcohol addiction.
Not everyone with an alcohol use disorder develops a physical dependence to alcohol, but people may exhibit other physical symptoms. Your health care provider or counselor can suggest a support group. Alcohol use disorder is considered a progressive disease, meaning that the effects of drinking alcohol become increasingly more severe over time. Those who use alcohol may begin to show early signs of a problem.
They can help you cope, make a treatment plan, prescribe medications and refer you to support programs. Diagnosis is based on a conversation with your healthcare provider. The diagnosis is made when drinking interferes with your life or affects your health. Genetic, psychological, social and environmental factors can impact how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior.
The combination of increased MCV levels and elevated GGT levels has a 90 percent sensitivity for detecting alcohol abuse, according to a study published in Current Psychiatry. Needing a drink first thing in the morning — or even in the middle of the night — to stave off nausea or stop the shakes are signs of dependence and withdrawal. Typical alcohol withdrawal symptoms include sweating, shaking, nausea, anxiety and insomnia. In severe cases, a person may develop delirium tremens, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes hallucinations, confusion, seizures and psychosis.
Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. That said, regular heavy drinking is an important warning sign for alcohol addiction, according to addiction experts at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Heavy drinking in conjunction with other behaviors can also signal a problem.