Alcoholism symptoms

You have an alcohol problem if you are a heavy drinker.  I would therefore really like you to have a look at the alcoholism symptoms on this page so that can make an informed decision next time you decide to another glass, can or bottle.  The impact of an alcohol problem can be huge, with implications for your health and your relationships.

You are an alcoholic if, despite the severity of your symptoms, your desperate desire and 'absolute' intention to give up drinking, you reach for the next drink yet again.  Your relationship/marriage is falling apart, your job/career prospects are greatly diminished, you cannot help yourself however hard you 'try'.  You are caught in an unremitting cycle of distress and inability to give up.

List of alcoholism symptoms - the warning signs

Weight reduction or weight gain Low self-esteem/ low self confidence Need to find reasons why you are drinking Depression - nothing seems worthwhile anymore Anxiety - that constant feeling that there is a tiger on your heels Loneliness - your only 'real' friends are your drinking buddies who won't care if you're sick as long as they have someone else to join them on their next binge Obsession with drinking Paranoia - you don't trust a soul and everyone is out to get you Denial - "I'm not an alcoholic"

Excessive absenteeism Lying about drinking Not wanting to lie about drinking any longer Abandoned hobbies/interests Failed relationships Financial ruin - yours and that of your family Living in squalor Irresponsibility - poor decision making, leading to accidents, rape/allegations of rape, accidents Impotence

List of alcoholism symptoms with medical terms

The effects of alcohol poisoning after binging:

• your nervous system as directed by your brain is slowed down (Central Nervous System depression)
• your blood vessels become wider, which causes your blood pressure to drop (vasodilation)
• your body temperature drops (hypothermia)
• your heart beat increases beyond the normal - under 100 beats per minute for an adult (tachycardia)
• your heart works less than optimal (myocardial depression)
• your pupils constrict or widen abnormally (variable pupillary responses)
• your breathing slows down leading to a reduced oxygen intake (respiratory depression)
• you urinate more, losing more fluids than you take in due to the alcohol's effect on hormones (diuresis)
• your blood sugar levels drop (hypoglycemia)
  
• you are unable to make precise movements (loss of fine motor control)

You can see from the above list that all systems in your body are in a bad state after a binge.  You are doing it untold damage and you could die.  Whilst you may appear to recover - your hangover will disappear eventually - the damage to your body accumulates.  There comes a point at which your body no longer has the capacity to heal itself.

Read on to find out what happens next ...

Chronic alcohol exposure

• blood diseases (hematologic disorders)
• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• heart disease
• cancer
  
• inflammation of the organ that helps to regulate your blood sugar (pancreatitis)
• lack of vitamins and minerals that help your body to function normally (malnutrition)
• extreme weight gain (obesity)
• liver failure (hepatic dysfunction)
• your unborn child is already dependent on alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome)
• premature aging of your skin
  
• addiction

See  also: Alcoholism stages, Alcohol and depression

Guest article by Chris about the warning signs of alcoholism

During my time as a drinker there were certain things that I noticed happening to my body, my mindset and my lifestyle.  These things were pointing towards what was to become an undeniable fact – that I was an alcoholic.  Some of these symptoms of alcoholism I can only recognise with hindsight, but they were there nonetheless.

These alcoholic symptoms were only as I experienced them and may not appear in any of the symptom lists belonging to the many alcoholic recovery agencies.  However you may recognise some of these in yourself

Physical alcoholism symptoms

Poor skin condition.

More dehydrated skin and more prone to acne.

Weight reduction

I was still eating on a fairly regular basis but as I wasn’t looking after myself correctly it was rarely nutritious food.

Besides I would often skip meal times in favour of drinking (either alone or in a social setting).  During an alcoholic binge I would only eat when I was really hungry.

Alcohol can also destroy some of the amino acids required for growth and repair.

Weight gain

I know alcoholics who gained weight due to the additional calories that drinking brings (These were then lost with the onset of alcoholic recovery).  I personally did not experience any weight gain.

Mental signs and symptoms of alcoholism

Low self esteem/self confidence

I was often convinced that I wasn’t good enough for many things – i.e. talking to girls (I’ve often heard alcoholics say that they needed drink to do this.  However I found that even drunk I rarely had the courage to do so).

This transferred into other areas of my personal relationships such as thinking I was a bad boyfriend and that I was a bad lover in bed.

Looking for the underlying factors of my alcoholism

When drinking got bad I often used to look for answers as to why I drank heavily. So if a daytime TV show had an alcohol special I would make sure I watched it.  Or if Men’s Health had an article on alcohol I’d turn straight to it.

This alcoholism symptom I recognise in ‘hindsight’.  Looking back I can see I was looking for answers.

Depression

A long time member of AA once told me that he didn’t believe that the human brain was supposed to be unhappy – I believe him.

Drinking brought me to low self esteem, under achievement, loneliness and a general feeling of worthlessness. When this state of mind existed for long enough in me the inevitable result was depression. Sadness and self pity became a habit.

I then entered a cycle – I drank because I was depressed and I was depressed because I drank (see: Alcoholism and depression).

If you’re currently experiencing this alcoholism symptom it’s probably time to get help.

Loneliness

Alongside depression I found this symptom the hardest to bear. It didn’t matter if I was on my own or surrounded by people I was always lonely. I later found out that this was because the loneliness was in my head.

Everyone else seemed to be more comfortable than me, be having a better time than me and manage life better than I did.

Obsession with drinking

I would always be looking forward to the next drink when not drinking.  If out with my friends I was always at my most comfortable once a drink was in my hands or when I knew a drink would be coming soon. “Let’s start lunch early at that pub over there.”

When drinking already I would either think about how I was going to stop – “It’ll start on Monday” or I’d be planning how I would continue for that night/weekend.

Paranoia

After a failed attempt at sobriety I found myself relapsing in a pub.  Not only was I deeply ashamed and depressed, I was also convinced that everyone else in the pub was looking at me and instinctively knew that I was a relapsing alcoholic.  They didn’t know that, they’d never met me before; but that was my state of mind at the time.

Denial

I didn’t want to admit I was alcoholic – at first I wasn’t even sure I was one. Besides, alcoholic was a dirty word and once I’d admitted I was one there would be no going back.

Then I reached a point where I was willing to admit that I had ‘some sort of problem….’

I still had a long way to go.

The lifestyle of an alcoholic

Excessive absenteeism as a sign of alcoholism

I regularly didn’t show up for work (not necessarily a warning sign of alcoholism of course).  Either because I was too hung over, couldn’t face being around people or just wanted to carry on drinking.

I faced several disciplinaries (verbal and written warnings) and eventually had to leave one job before they could sack me.

Lying about drinking - not lying about drinking

This is perhaps one of the most common and expressed symptoms of alcoholism.

I didn’t usually lie about that fact that I had been drinking, but I would sometimes lie about the amount.  More often though I wouldn’t lie at all because ‘only an alcoholic would do that’ and I desperately didn’t want to be one of those.

Giving up on hobbies

Activities that I formerly took part in and vouchsafed that I enjoyed were pushed aside in favour of drinking.

Failed relationships - another sign of alcoholism

I would often start a romantic relationship in a fairly confident way and the girl in question would seem content.  I wasn’t an abusive boyfriend, either verbally or physically (drunk or sober), but with my chronically low self-esteem I would gradually deteriorate my own mental image of myself until I felt that I wasn’t good enough for my girlfriend – insecurity.  Eventually she would invariably tire of my insecure nature (lets face it, it’s not attractive is it?) and the relationship would end.  It would never even have occurred to me to get any relationship advice!

The surroundings of an alcoholic

I’ve heard it said that one’s physical reality is a reflection of one’s mental state.  This was certainly true and self evident when I was drinking.  My flat was messy – washing up rarely done, floor dirty, bed left unchanged.  Like my mental state – messy, dirty and unchanged.

This can also be reflected in your appearance too.  My clothes should have been washed more often, sometimes I smelt.

No money - always broke

I found it hard to meet even the most basic of rent agreements.  I was always in overdraft (often unauthorized overdraft).  My money didn’t usually last until the end of the month.

The greater part of my money went on drink.

When I was desperate I would search high and low all over my flat looking for change so that I could scrape together enough for a drink.  I’ve even resorted to taking money that wasn’t mine.

Elly's comments:

Invariably the partner/spouse of an alcoholic carries the burden of the financial responsibility.  Often he/she will go without - food, clothes, opportunities, hobbies, etc in order to safeguard the children's needs at the very least.  The drinking partner consumes the majority, if not all, of the spare cash - if there is any 'spare' at all.

Irresponsibility - one of the worst signs of alcoholism

I liked to think of myself as a reliable person (flying in the face of all evidence).  However one time I remember baby sitting my niece and nephew. I needed a drink.  So I went to the off-license leaving them asleep in bed telling myself that I’d only be gone a few minutes.  Indeed I was only gone a few minutes, but that hardly makes it acceptable behaviour.

If anyone had asked I would have said that of course I loved my niece and nephew more than alcohol – but if that’s true, how could I have been so irresponsible?

This is one of the worst symptoms of alcoholism - and one of the hardest to come to terms with.  When we put alcohol before those we love, it’s an attack on everything that as human beings we know, instinctively, to be true.

Elly's comments:

Again it is often left to a partner to compensate for the difficulties created by the drinking partner.  When I first trained there was all the talk of collusion and co-dependency.  However, the thinking around how partners contribute to the maintenance of the problem - or not - is now far more sophisticated. 

From my perspective - life stages, the stage of the relationship, level of maturity of the individuals, whether there are responsibilities for children or vulnerable adults, financial dependency and many more factors, all play a role in how a partner behaves and reacts to the excessive drinking of the other.

Treating an alcohol problem

A really helpful way of tackling an alcohol problem/addiction is to use hypnosis - a painless, easy and comfortable treatment.  No visit to anyone required with an hypnosis download.  No having to join groups if that is something you would never even want to consider.

I have interviewed the CEO from HypnosisDownloads - see the results here: Hypnosis online faq.

You may also be interested in:
How to get lucky How to deal with depression How to get over someone Problem solving techniques Divorce advice for men Veterans and PTSD

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Other helpful links:

The Wall Street Journal/Health Journal - In search of alcoholism genes
Download this PDF: Rethinking Drinking if you are in the US - useful workbook and helplines and organisations
Download this PDF: Alcohol and mental health if you are in the UK - helpful organisations

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News about alcoholism:

23 Juli 2011 - BBC: Amy Winehouse, RIP Camden's finest
2 June 2011 - Radio Australia: High levels of Alcoholism in the Solomons

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