Alcohol Use Disorder: From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

Answer 3 out of 4 questions correctly on the post-test to earn 0.75 credits. People should also note that those with AUD may already be dehydrated, and further dehydration due to exercise may place people at an increased risk of seizures. Additionally, alcohol may cause inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. This can impair absorption of essential nutrients, particularly vitamin B1 (thiamine). Thiamine supplements can help restore proper levels in the body. Over time, you’ll notice a need for more alcohol to become intoxicated and a diminished effect from the same amount of alcohol that used to be necessary to become intoxicated.

How Therapy Can Help With Alcohol Use Disorder

Another way to look at your drinking habits is to think about how much you have during an average week. For women, “heavy” or “at risk” drinking means more than seven drinks per week or more than three in any day. For men, it’s more than 14 drinks in a week Alcohol Use Disorder or more than four in a day. It means drinking so much at once that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is 0.08% or more. For a man, this usually happens after having 5 or more drinks within a few hours. For a woman, it is after about 4 or more drinks within a few hours.

How to Help Yourself or a Loved One Struggling with Alcohol

Talk to your healthcare provider about proven strategies. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Active participation in a mutual support group can benefit many people as well.

Related Issues

• A recent literature review suggests that frequent aerobic exercise may complement behavioral therapy used for AUD, leading to reductions in alcohol intake.
• People with this condition can’t stop drinking, even if their alcohol use upends their lives and the lives of those around them.
• If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.
• An intervention is a structured conversation that expresses concern and offers support to help a loved one understand the impact of their drinking while encouraging them to seek help.
• Inpatient and outpatient programs offer higher levels of support for those who need more than weekly therapy sessions to manage AUDs.

Therapy, whether alone or as part of a group, can help you understand your disorder and what may have caused it. You’ll get assistance staying away from alcohol and sticking with your treatment plan. The support of your loved ones is important, so they might need or want to be involved too. Depending on your case, you can get one or more types of treatment for alcohol use disorder. The main goal is to avoid alcohol and find a better quality of life.

It can be life-threatening, causing serious medical issues like seizures and hallucinations that require immediate medical care. Studies show most people with this condition recover, meaning they reduce how much they drink, or stop drinking altogether. They may start drinking to cope with stressful events like losing a job, going through a divorce, or dealing with a death in their family or a close friend. Talk to your healthcare provider if you’re under stress and think you may be at risk for relapse. The NIAAA Core Resource on Alcohol can help you each step of the way. Therapy for alcohol use disorder is personalized and based on the client’s needs.

Learning more about therapy for alcoholism is a valuable first step toward recovery. If you’re interested in learning more about recovery or are curious about how to help an alcoholic, you’re on the right path simply by exploring your options. The term alcoholism is used to describe a chronic mental and physical health disorder in which a person cannot control their alcohol consumption, despite experiencing negative consequences. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders says someone has alcohol use disorder if they meet two or more of 11 criteria in one 12-month period. AUD may be mild, moderate, or severe, based on how many of the criteria are true. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain.

Learning Objectives

• Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.
• They can provide reinforcement and motivation techniques.
• People should note that some support groups can be stigmatizing for certain individuals, and can adversely impact a treatment plan or progress towards recovery.
• It’s important to work with licensed therapists when seeking help with AUD.
• Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder.

Diagnosed AUD can have mild, moderate, and severe sub-classifications. If you think you may have alcohol use disorder, you’re not alone. Realizing you may have an issue is the first step toward getting better, so don’t hesitate to talk to a healthcare provider. They’ll recommend treatments and resources to help you recover from alcohol use disorder. People with severe or moderate alcohol use disorder who suddenly stop drinking could develop delirium tremens (DT).

A health care provider might ask the following questions to assess a person’s symptoms. We invite healthcare professionals to complete a post-test to earn FREE continuing education credit (CME/CE or ABIM MOC). This continuing education opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA. Following diagnosis, a healthcare professional will work with a person to determine the best course of treatment.

Risk factors

Not everyone who binge drinks has an AUD, but they are at higher risk for getting one. AUD can range from mild to severe, depending on the symptoms. Severe AUD is sometimes called alcoholism or alcohol dependence. More resources for a variety of healthcare professionals can be found in the Additional Links for Patient Care.

It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male has five or more drinks within two hours or a female has at least four drinks within two hours. Binge drinking causes significant health and safety risks. In support of improving patient care, CME/CE activities offered have been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA. Peer support groups can help people reduce or stop drinking.

One size does not fit all and a treatment approach that may work for one person may not work for another. Treatment can be outpatient and/or inpatient and be provided by specialty programs, therapists, and health care providers. It is the inability to control drinking, even when it negatively affects a person’s life. The person consuming alcohol may develop tolerance and experience withdrawal symptoms when trying to cut back. Learning about alcohol use disorder, expressing concern without judgment, and encouraging your loved one to get professional health care are all valuable ways to show support. Getting help for yourself can help identify and stop enabling behaviors that inadvertently hurt your loved one.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. It encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term, alcoholism. Considered a brain disorder, AUD can be mild, moderate, or severe. Lasting changes in the brain caused by alcohol misuse perpetuate AUD and make individuals vulnerable to relapse. National surveys show that millions of Americans have AUD.