Alcohol intoxication often causes a person to experience emotional changes such as moodiness or irritability. The person may also experience such physical changes as slurred speech and poor coordination. Alcohol withdrawal follows the discontinuation of the heavy use of alcohol. The person in alcohol withdrawal may have such symptoms as rapid pulse, sweating, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, and seizures. Although alcohol abuse is seen widely in the United States, there is a higher rate of alcohol related disorders among lower socioeconomic and poorly educated groups.
Females tend to begin drinking alcohol at a later age than males.
However, once alcohol becomes a problem for women, the problems associated with alcohol progress more rapidly than in men. A vast majority of adults in the United States have used alcohol. More than half of all men and about a third of all women have had some adverse effect on their lives because of the abuse of alcohol. The most common adverse events involve driving while intoxicated, domestic violence, or missing responsibilities because of severe hangovers. It is important to the therapist to learn the details of that person's life.