What are the Physical Signs of Alcoholism?

Physical symptoms of alcoholism are those that affect the body.

Sometimes, the most obvious signs of alcoholism are physical. This is because drinking too much alcohol can actually change the way you look.

Here are ways that alcohol changes your physical appearance:

• Weight Gain - alcohol has a surprisingly high number of calories per volume. A single pint of beer is just as fattening as a cheeseburger. If you’re drinking too much alcohol, you’ll likely gain weight faster than you would expect.
• Bloating - apart from straight weight gain, alcohol can cause both your belly and face to appear puffy. If your face or belly is often bloated, perhaps it’s because you’ve been drinking too much.
• Skin Irregularity - alcohol dehydrates the body, and one of the first signs of continuous dehydration is skin quality. Additionally, rosacea (the tendency to flush or blush quickly or often when drinking alcohol) is sometimes linked to permanent disfigurement of the face.
• Smells - alcohol is processed in the liver when it goes through your body, but it also comes out in your sweat, urine, and breath. When you drink more, these smells become stronger.
• Bloodshot Eyes - alcohol swells the blood vessels in your eyes, causing them to appear red. This can cause other, more serious problems later on, but has an immediate effect on your physical appearance. If your eyes appear red or bloodshot often, you’re likely drinking too much alcohol.

Abusing alcohol for an extended period of time can also lead to physical symptoms that are more harmful. These symptoms of alcoholism include:

• High blood pressure
• Nerve Damage
• Cirrhosis
• Gout
• Anemia
• Cancer

As you can see, there is a range of physical symptoms of alcoholism. Some symptoms of alcoholism are purely cosmetic, while others can be painful or life-threatening if not treated.

What are the Physiological Signs of Alcoholism?

Physiological refers not just to the body itself, but to the processes that occur within the body. These processes help the body to run normally, so it works as it should and stays alive. Alcoholism often interrupts or changes these processes, causing the body harm.

Some physiological symptoms of alcoholism include:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Seizures
• Frequent loss of consciousness or blacking out
• Stomach pains
• Insomnia
• Loss of coordination
• Slurred speech
• Impaired thinking
• Poor memory

As you can see, these changes in the body can be very painful or harmful. They can affect your ability to work or carry out everyday tasks. What’s more, the body can get so accustomed to the physical and physiological symptoms of alcoholism that it learns not to function without them. This can make it even harder to withdrawal from alcohol or detox from alcohol.

What are the Psychological Signs of Alcoholism?

In addition to affecting the body of a user, alcoholism affects the mind of a user. The most obvious psychological symptoms of alcoholism are those that make it clear that the user has lost control of how much they drink alcohol or how often they drink alcohol.

For example, an alcoholic who has lost control over how much or how often they drink may:

• Feel they always need to finish a bottle of alcohol once they open it
• Feel they cannot leave a drink - theirs or someone else’s - unfinished
• Spend a lot of time thinking about alcohol, obtaining alcohol, or drinking alcohol
• Spend a lot of time thinking about the next time they can drink alcohol
• Think of stopping or curbing their drinking, but find they are unable to

These psychological symptoms of alcoholism can have more serious effects, too. Many of the behaviors demonstrated by alcoholics can lead to further psychological issues or issues with mental health. Take, for example, the comedian Robin Williams who committed suicide in 2014:

“As an alcoholic, you will violate your standards quicker than you can lower them.”

~ Robin Williams

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common psychological symptoms of alcoholism, and often they are caused by the behaviors people resort to to hide their alcoholism.

Depression, for instance, could be caused by the loneliness one feels when they realize they are always drinking alone. It could also be caused by the realization that you’ve violated your own standards or those of the people you care about, as explained by Williams. Or perhaps you’re depressed because you’ve lost your job, money, or relationship as a result of your alcoholism.

Anxiety can come from some of the same places. Often, anxiety is caused by worrying when one is unable to drink in a social situation. Other times, someone is anxious because they can’t remember what they could have done to hurt someone when they were drinking. Additionally, you become anxious upon realizing that you don’t seem to have the strength to quit drinking alcohol.

As you can see, there are many ways that alcoholism can affect your psychological health.

What Do Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms Look Like?

As mentioned above, alcoholism can look very different for different people. It can be hard to tell if someone is an alcoholic, because it may look so different for them than for you.

The one thing in common between all of those struggling with alcoholism, though, is that withdrawal will be difficult. Withdrawal symptoms are the body’s way of telling the brain that it needs alcohol to function normally.

The more often and more that an individual drinks, the faster they will experience this common symptom of alcoholism. People who drink more are also more likely to see more intense signs of withdrawal, since the substance has taken a heavier toll on their brain and their body.

The good news is that withdrawal symptoms do not generally last very long. On average, the most extreme symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol end within three days. That said, an individual who has been drinking alcohol for a long time might continue to feel uncomfortable from the symptoms for several weeks.

It is also important to note here that alcohol withdrawal is one of the most easiest alcoholism symptoms to look for. This is because it has very little to do with behavior and everything to do with physical dependence on the substance. Withdrawal from alcohol is the first sign that alcohol addiction is present.

Some of the symptoms of alcoholism include:

• Strong cravings for an alcoholic drink
• Increased anxiety, in social situations or otherwise
• Depression
• Extreme fatigue or exhaustion
• Irritability, especially around the time of the day that the user would usually consume alcohol
• Extreme mood swings
• Signs of confusion
• Unclear or disordered thinking
• Rapid heart rate
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sleep problems (insomnia or extreme sleepiness)
• Sweating, fever, or other signs that the body is having a hard time regulating temperature
• Headache
• Loss of appetite.

As you can see, the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal are not pleasant. That’s part of why it’s so important to withdrawal or detox from alcohol under a doctor’s supervision.

Should I Get Help for Alcoholism?

After reading about the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, you may be wondering why you should go through alcohol withdrawal or alcohol detox at all. You might ask if it really matters if you go through alcohol withdrawal, because you feel you’re only hurting yourself when you use alcohol.

The physical, physiological, psychological, and social symptoms of alcoholism can be deadly. These signs of alcoholism affect not just the user, but everyone around them and everyone who cares about them.

By getting help for alcoholism, you could be helping to unravel years’ worth of damage to yourself, your family, your friends, and your coworkers.

Alcoholism happens to even the most successful and strong-willed people. The following celebrities, and many more, have struggled with alcoholism:

• Daniel Radcliffe
• Russell Brand
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Robin Williams
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Alec Baldwin
• Anthony Hopkins
• Jada Pinkett Smith

The important thing to remember is that these celebrities sought help for their alcoholism, and you have that same opportunity if you or a loved one is an alcoholic.