Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsDiagnosisCauses and Risk FactorsTypesTreatmentCopingNext in Your Relationship With Alcohol GuideHow Much Alcohol Is Safe to Drink?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Causes and Risk Factors
Types
Treatment
Coping
Next in Your Relationship With Alcohol Guide
According to the National Institutes of Health, an alcohol use disorder (AUD) is defined as a “chronic relapsing brain disease” that causes a person to drink compulsively despite adverse consequences to daily life and overall health.
Alcoholuse disorder replaced the designations that had previously been separately defined as “alcohol abuse” and “alcohol dependence.”
It is common for people to deny that they misuse alcohol. Furthermore, you may not recognize the signs of an alcohol use disorder in yourself or in someone else.
The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition,” (DSM-5), published in 2013, has created a list of 11 symptoms that indicate an alcohol use disorder. The more symptoms you have, the more urgent the need for help.
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Roughly 15 million people in the United States were diagnosed with an AUD in 2018, including 19.2 million men, 5.3 million women, and 401,000 adolescents ages 12–17.
If you suspect that you or someone you love has an alcohol use disorder, your healthcare provider can conduct a formal assessment of your symptoms.
What an Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis Means
An alcohol use disorder can result from a combination of genetic, environmental, psychological, and social factors, many of which are still being researched. Some of the most common risk factors include:
Another important factor that influences the risk of alcohol on the body is nutrition. Alcohol and nutrition can interact in a number of ways—heavy alcohol use can interfere with nutrition while alcohol/nutrition interacts can impact gene expression.
Alcohol use disorder is sub-classified into mild, moderate, and severe categories.
The good news is that most people with AUD can benefit from treatment, which often includes a combination of behavioral treatment, medication, and support. The bad news is that less than 10% of people actually receive treatment , often due to fear of stigma or shame, denial or lack of problem awareness, skepticism about treatment, and lack of accessibility to affordable treatment.
If left untreated, alcohol use disorders can be harmful to your health, relationships, career, finances, and life as a whole. They can even be fatal, so it’s important to get help as early as possible.
A good first step is talking to your primary care physician, who can assess your overall health, evaluate the severity of your drinking, help craft a treatment plan, refer you to an addiction specialist or treatment program, and determine if you need any medications for alcohol.
Detox and Withdrawal
Depending on the severity of your AUD, you may need to undergo medical detox to help treat the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, which can range from mild to severe.
Detox can be done on an in-person or outpatient basis and include intravenous (IV) fluids to prevent dehydration and medications to minimize symptoms and treat seizures or other complications of alcohol withdrawal.
Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Behavioral Treatment
A big part of AUD recovery is working with a trained professional to better understand your relationship with alcohol and to learn how to cope with daily living without alcohol. Behavioral treatment can also help with anyco-occurring mental illnessescontributing to the AUD.
Medications
Support Groups
Online and community-based recovery groups can also be helpful during alcohol withdrawal and addiction treatment. A support group, likeAlcoholics AnonymousorSMART recovery, can help you feel less isolated and provide an opportunity to learn from and connect with others with similar problems and shared experiences.
What Are the 12 Steps of Recovery?
In addition to getting appropriate AUD treatment, there are things that you can do on your own that will make it easier to cope with and sustain your recovery.
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Recognize Your Triggers
Understanding what might trigger you to relapse and having a plan in the place for such triggers is important for staying sober during and after treatment for an AUD.
Some common triggers may include:
5 Relapse Triggers and How to Prepare for Them
Practice Self-Care
A big part of recovery is building resilience toward life stressors without turning to alcohol, and practicingself-care(focusing on your physical, social, mental, and spiritual well-being) can help. Taking steps to care for your mind and body will better equip you to live your best sober life.
Seek Support
Social support from friends and family as well as online or in-person support groups can help prevent feelings of isolation and shame and provide a sense of security and hope about your sober future. Family members and loved ones can also benefit from this type of support and may consider groups likeAl-Anon and Alateen.
If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or addiction, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or addiction, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
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7 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Alcohol Use Disorder.
U.S. National Library of Medicine.Alcohol use disorder.
Yang P, Tao R, He C, Liu S, Wang Y, Zhang X.The risk factors of the Alcohol Use Disorders-through review of its comorbidities.Front Neurosci. 2018;12:303. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.003
Barve S, Chen SY, Kirpich I, Watson WH, Mcclain C. Development, prevention, and treatment of alcohol-induced organ injury: the role of nutrition.Alcohol Res. 2017;38(2):289-302.
National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse.Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help.
Probst C, Manthey J, Martinez A, Rehm J.Alcohol use disorder severity and reported reasons not to seek treatment: a cross-sectional study in European primary care practices.Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2015;10:32. doi:10.1186/s13011-015-0028-z
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