Symptoms of Alcoholism

A large proportion of deaths due to accidents, murders and suicides are alcohol related. Alcohol abusers and dependents experience a wide range of social and interpersonal problems and are at risk for many serious health problems.

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Women drink less alcohol than do men in most cultures and are less likely to have alcohol-related disorders than are men. Symptoms of alcoholisms can be mild or so severe as to be life threatening.

People who are suffering from alcoholism slur their words, walk with unsteady gates, have trouble paying attention or remembering things and are slow and awkward in their physical reactions. They may act inappropriately, becoming aggressive, saying rude things or taking off their clothes in public. Their moods may swings from exuberance to despair. With extreme intoxication they may fall into stupors or comas. Often, they do not recognize they are intoxicated or may flatly deny it, even though it is obvious.

Other behavioral effects of alcoholisms are impaired judgment and reaction time, feelings of relaxation, release of inhibitions, impaired motor functions, sensory and motor impairment, staggering and inappropriate sexual and aggressive behavior.

At increasing doses, however, alcohol induces many of the symptoms of depression including fatigue, lethargy, decreased motivation, sleep disturbance, depressed mood and confusion. Also, although many people take alcohol to feel more sexy even low doses of alcohol can severely impair sexual functioning.

People who are dependent on alcohol can experience severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms which can be divided in three stages.

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• The first stage which usually begins within a few hours after drinking has been stopped or sharply curtailed includes:

• Tremulousness, weakness and profuse perspiration.

• A person may complain of anxiety, headaches, nausea and abdominal cramps.

• He or she may begin to retch and vomit.

• The person’s face is flushed and he or she is restless and easily startled but alert.

• The person’s EEG pattern may be mildly abnormal.

• He or she may begin to see or hear things at first only with eyes shut but with time also with eyes open.

People whose dependence on alcohol is relatively moderate may experience only this first stage of withdrawal and the symptoms may disappear within a few days.

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• The second stage of withdrawal involves convulsive seizures which may begin as early as12 hours after stopping drinking but more often appear during the second or third day.

• The third stage of withdrawal is characterized by delirium tremens or DTs. Auditor, visual and tactile hallucinations occur. The person may also develop bizarre, terrifying delusions such as the belief that monsters are attacking. He or she may sleep little and become severely agitated, continuously active and completely disoriented. Fever, profuse perspiration and an irregular heartbeat may develop. DTs is a fatal condition on approximately 10 percent of cases, death may occur from hyperthermia or the collapse of the peripheral vascular system.

Fortunately, only about 11 percent of individuals with alcohol dependence ever experience seizures or DTs. Seizures and DTs are more common among people who drink large amount in single sittings and who have additional medical illness.

There is increasing evidence that alcohol dependence is heterogeneous disorder and that different subtypes of alcohol dependence have different causes and prognosis. Antisocial alcoholics have more severe symptoms of alcoholisms tend to remain alcoholic for longer, have poorer social functioning, have more marital failures and have heavier drug involvement. Antisocial alcoholics are more likely to come from families with alcoholism and to have begun drinking earlier than non antisocial alcoholics. In turn, the children of antisocial alcoholics are more likely to have behavior problems than are the children of non antisocial alcoholics.

Finally, people who have used alcohol excessively for many years may die from alcohol-related discusses before they reach old age.