Signs of alcohol dependence

It's not possible to tell if and when someone will become dependent on alcohol. Everyone’s situation is different.

Signs and patterns of alcohol dependence

Signs of alcohol dependence (alcoholism) include:

• not being able to function without alcohol - for example, do your job or carry out daily tasks
• drinking has become an important, or the most important, thing in life
• continuing to drink despite the negative effects for you or your loved ones
• finding it hard to control how much, or when, you drink
• finding it hard to stop drinking when you want to
• not being able to plan how much you are going to drink on an occasion
• becoming tolerant to alcohol so you need to drink more to feel its effect
• craving alcohol or having withdrawal symptoms and drinking to avoid these symptoms
• not seeming to be drunk after drinking large amounts

Patterns of drinking if you are dependent on alcohol

Alcohol dependence affects different people in different ways.

If you are dependent on alcohol, you may drink:

• every day
• first thing in the morning
• every evening

You may also stop drinking for many weeks or months, but lose control when you start drinking again.

Harmful patterns of alcohol use

Some people might not be dependent on alcohol, but may drink in a harmful or hazardous way. For example, you may have periods of not drinking but then times when you drink a lot in one go (binge drink).

How dependence affects how you feel

If you are dependent on alcohol, you may:

• spend a lot of time thinking and planning what and when you will drink
• feel anxious, unhappy or tense until you have a drink
• feel physically unwell until you have a drink

While you are drinking

Alcohol acts quickly on the brain. It can change how you are feeling and your behaviour, depending on the amount you drink.

You may like the effects of alcohol and want to keep drinking to keep experiencing those effects.

But you may also:

• do things you regret
• get aggressive
• take risks

How alcohol can affect your brain while you drink

If you cannot get a drink immediately

If you are dependent on alcohol but cannot get any alcohol, you may:

• feel anxious and upset
• feel irritable or angry
• have difficulty sleeping
• have withdrawal symptoms, such as shaking (tremor), sweating and sickness (nausea)

You may also have more severe symptoms, such as seizures (fits) or hallucinations. This is when you see, hear or feel things that are not there.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms

How alcohol dependence develops

Alcohol dependence usually develops after many years of heavy drinking.

Sometimes it begins with social drinking. This becomes more frequent, until you can no longer control your drinking.

In other cases, you might use alcohol to cope with problems or difficult times. Over time your drinking increases until you can no longer manage without it.

Why it is hard to stop

It can be very difficult to give up when you are dependent on alcohol. But it is possible to stop drinking.

There are 2 main types of dependence which make it hard to stop:

• physical dependence
• psychological dependence

Physical dependence

Physical dependence is when your body needs and craves alcohol. It can mean you feel very ill when you do not have alcohol.

Symptoms of physical dependence include:

• shaking hands (tremor)
• feeling sick (nausea)
• sweating
• seizures (fits)
• anxiety
• insomnia

You may need medicine to help you stop drinking alcohol safely.

Psychological dependence

You may have a psychological dependence on alcohol.

This is when you find it hard to face the world without alcohol. For example, you may use alcohol as a way to try to cope with difficult emotions. But alcohol is not a solution. Its effects are temporary.

Alcohol dependence treatment and recovery