What Are The Symptoms Of Alcoholic Use Syndrome (Alcoholism)

Alcoholism is also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol dependencesyndrome, is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in harms and complications. It is a pattern of alcohol use that involves a person drinking large amounts of alcohol, face problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, alcohol is strongly desired or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, usage results in social and health problems, having to drink more to get the same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male consumes five or more drinks within two hours or a female downs at least four drinks within two hours. Binge drinking causes significant health and safety risks.

You likely to have alcohol use syndrome if your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life. It can range from mild to severe. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important.

Alcoholism Symptoms

Alcohol use disorder can be mild, moderate or severe. The risk of alcohol dependence begins at low levels of drinking and increases directly with both the volume of alcohol consumed and a pattern of drinking larger amounts on an occasion.  A depressed mood is a common symptom. Signs and symptoms may include:

• Being unable to limit the amount of alcohol you drink
• Wanting to cut down on how much you drink or making unsuccessful attempts to do so
• Spending a lot of time drinking, getting alcohol or recovering from alcohol use
• Feeling a strong craving or urge to drink alcohol
• Failing to fulfill major obligations at work, school or home due to repeated alcohol use
• Continuing to drink alcohol even though you know it's causing physical, social or interpersonal problems
• Giving up or reducing social and work activities and hobbies
• Using alcohol in situations where it's not safe, such as when driving or swimming
• Developing a tolerance to alcohol so you need more to feel its effect or you have a reduced effect from the same amount
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms — such as nausea, sweating and shaking — when you don't drink, or drinking to avoid these symptoms

Long-term alcohol abuse can cause a number of physical symptoms, including cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, epilepsy, polyneuropathy (a general degeneration of peripheral nerves that spreads towards the centre of the body), alcoholic dementia, heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, peptic ulcers and sexual dysfunction, and can eventually be fatal.

Women develop long-term complications of alcohol dependence more rapidly than men and have a higher mortality rate from alcoholism than men. Long-term complications include brain, heart, liver damage and an increased risk of breast cancer. Heavy drinking over time has been found to have a negative effect on reproductive functioning in women. This results in reproductive dysfunction such as anovulation (decreased ovarian mass), irregularity of the menstrual cycle, and early menopause.