What are the symptoms of alcohol use disorder?
What are the symptoms of alcohol use disorder?
Signs of alcohol use disorder include:
- Blacking out or not remembering things that happened.
- Continuing to drink even if it causes distress or harm to you or others.
- Drinking more or longer than you planned.
- Feeling irritable or cranky when you’re not drinking.
- Frequent hangovers.
- Getting into dangerous situations when you’re drinking (for example, driving, having unsafe sex or falling).
- Giving up activities so you can drink.
- Having cravings for alcohol.
- Having repeated problems with work, school, relationships or the law because of drinking.
- Needing to drink more and more to get the same effect.
- Not being able to stop drinking once you’ve started.
- Spending a lot of time drinking or recovering from drinking.
- Wanting to cut back but not being able to.
- Obsessing over alcohol.
A person who is alcohol dependent also might experience symptoms of withdrawal when they cut back or stop drinking, such as:
- Anxiety.
- Depression.
- Irritability.
- Nausea, dry heaves.
- Racing heart.
- Restlessness.
- Shakiness.
- Sweating.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Seizures.
- Seeing things that aren’t there (hallucinations).
- Delirium tremens.
- Coma and death.