Signs & Symptoms of Alcoholism How to Know if Someone Has a Drinking Problem

Heavy drinking in and of itself doesn’t make someone an alcoholic. In fact, an estimated 40 million adults in America drink
too much, and most — 90 percent — are not alcoholics. Many individuals with alcoholism are in denial or unaware that they have a problem. Others may realize something is wrong
but go to great lengths to hide their problem out of fear or shame.

Enrolling in a recovery program with the help of an addiction specialist will give you the most excellent chance for long-term sobriety. Treatment professionals and substance abuse counselors guide you through every step of the recovery process and help you set attainable 5 Tips to Consider When Choosing a Sober Living House sobriety goals. After rehab, your alcohol addiction specialist will put you in touch with alcohol abuse counselors and support groups, like Alcoholics Anonymous. This will ensure you keep your sobriety and allow you to meet other peers who have overcome alcohol abuse.

Warning Signs from Commonly Misused Drugs

After all, studies have shown that almost 50% of adults wish to reduce their intake without giving up alcohol altogether. While alcohol sends you into dreamland quicker, there’s a good chance that having too much will lead to a night of tossing and turning once its sedative effects wear off. Heavy drinking can lead to easy bruising and bleeding, and not just because you’re more prone to falling and hitting table corners when drunk.

Alcoholism is a complicated disorder and often develops gradually. For example, alcoholism often goes through an exploration phase, an abuse phase, and a dependency phase. Alcohol can also be determined to be mild, moderate, or severe.

Health Solutions from Our Sponsors

Long-term alcohol addiction can wreak havoc on one’s emotional and physical health. From impairments in work performance to financial difficulties to strained relationships, alcohol addiction can be an insidious- but destructive- force in overall functioning. The affects can range from dementia and intellectual functioning to debilitating conditions that require long-term care, even if a person has been sober for a period of time. It’s not a definite diagnosis, but it can help you figure out whether you or someone you love has an addiction to alcohol. If you notice a loved one struggling with a drinking problem, consider staging an intervention to halt this destructive cycle.

Binge drinking causes significant health and safety risks. Delirium tremens (DTs) refers to a group of withdrawal symptoms experienced by people with severe alcoholism and includes confusion, hallucinations, and seizures. It is important to understand that not everyone who experiences these short-term effects of alcohol have Alcohol Use Disorder. Moreover, these short-term effects do not only occur in alcoholics. Drinking alcohol, even in moderation, can have potentially harmful effects on the brain. While these effects of alcohol abuse may be harder to spot, they are equally as dangerous as the physical effects.

Drugs & Supplements

Severe abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea, as a result, is not fixable. Studies show that a large percentage of early-onset dementia cases are triggered by AUDs or alcohol abuse. More than 33% of the early-onset dementia cases researched were directly linked to alcohol. This relationship and correlation between dementia and alcohol abuse are strongest among women.

When people become dependent on alcohol, they experience withdrawal symptoms once reducing or abstaining from drinking. These withdrawal symptoms vary in severity, but they can be severe and even fatal. Women are also more vulnerable to alcohol-induced brain damage than men. These damages can include brain shrinking, memory loss, or learning difficulties. Many studies often look at alcoholism in men rather than women.