Alcoholism Symptoms

Alcoholism is a disease that affects a person's mind and body negatively in relation to alcohol. People who suffer from this condition often have a variety of alcoholism symptoms, which change throughout a person's disease. When people first start to experiment with alcohol there may or may not be consequences, but invariably if a person is an alcoholic there will be consequences in the future. Alcohol is a heavily abused substance that is classified as a depressant. People enjoy its effects because it causes a feeling of euphoria and makes people feel like they fit in or are able to better cope with life circumstances. Alcohol is often used in social situations to create a feeling of comfort or community but people who abuse the substance often find that they cannot control and enjoy alcohol. People who sense that they have a problem usually try to control their use but find that they are unable to do so. If this is the case, these people try to hide their use from others.

Obsessing and craving alcohol is one of the first noticeable symptoms of alcoholism along with an increased tolerance. People who use alcohol frequently and have alcoholic tendencies also find that they have a higher tolerance when they drink. Tolerance means a person's mind and body do not react the same way they did in the beginning and they must take in more alcohol to feel the same way. In some cases these people also experience times when they drink just one or two drinks and become drunk immediately. These fluctuations in a person's mental state as a result of drinking are uncommon in normal drinkers and may be reason for concern. Once a person becomes dependent on alcohol, the cycle of alcoholism is very difficult to stop. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, meaning it gets worse over time. If a person stops using alcohol for a period of time but then goes back to the substance, his/her behavior is likely to get more unruly and unhealthy instead of better because of the period of abstinence.

Alcoholism symptoms can be found in all types of people, as this disease does not discriminate based on age, gender, race or financial status. Fighting addiction alone is extremely trying and often times unsuccessful. People who have struggled with alcoholism and its symptoms suggest substance abuse treatment as the most viable means for recovery. Recovering from alcoholism means complete abstinence from alcohol and all other mind-altering substances. Alcoholism is not curable but it can be treated on a daily basis in order to keep it from reemerging as a problem.

<back to drug index