A-Z Warning Signs and Risk Factors Symptoms of Alcoholism Alcohol is America's number one drug problem. Although more than 10 million people are estimated to be alcoholics and many more have alcohol problems, recognizing who has an alcohol problem can be difficult because not all people have the same symptoms . An alcoholic may not drink for months or even years, but when they do, they drink excessively, and are unable to cut back or control their use of alcohol.
Loss of control is a signal that a person needs an assessment from a professional.
Many use alcohol to boost their self-confidence and to relax around others. They may drink to forget their problems or to relieve stress and often want just one more drink, even when their friends have stopped drinking. As the alcoholism progresses, they may begin to have financial, work or family problems, get drunk without planning to, and make promises to limit or stop drinking but fail. They may also lie about their drinking, try to hide it, sneak drinks at work or school, have blackouts, personality changes or drink in the morning to cure a hangover . After a period of time, they may develop physical symptoms such as malnourishment from not eating regularly, violent shakes, hallucinations or convulsions when they do not have alcohol in their system.