It is one of the most common medical illnesses seen by physicians. If you are dependent on alcohol, you feel or show a need for it when it is stopped. If you crave alcohol, or feel distressed without it, you are said to be psychologically dependent.
Many factors contribute to alcohol dependence.
Examples of such factors are personality characteristics, stress, family environment, heredity, and the addictive nature of alcohol. Alcohol dependence takes many forms, including intermittent drinking, continuous drinking, and binge drinking. Many alcoholics become able to drink ever larger quantities of alcohol before feeling or appearing drunk. Alcohol users commonly medicate themselves with alcohol, using it, often daily, to help them relax, as a confidence booster, or in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Many doctors fail to consider the possibility of alcohol dependence or tend to overlook it.