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If you are thinking about stopping alcohol abuse, you may want to become familiar with some of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms you may experience. Alcohol withdrawal is the changes your body goes through when you suddenly stop drinking after prolonged or heavy alcohol abuse. Alcohol has a slowing effect on your brain. If you drank heavily for a long time, your brain is almost continually exposed to the depressant effect of alcohol. As time goes on, your brain can adjust its own chemistry to compensate for the effect of the alcohol. Most alcohol withdrawal symptoms occur when your brain is overstimulated.
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
If your brain has adjusted to your heavy or prolonged drinking habits, it can take time for your brain to adjust back to its original healthy state. Withdrawal from alcohol includes both psychological symptoms as well as physical symptoms. Some common alcohol withdrawal symptoms may include:
Mild to Moderate Psychological Symptoms
- Shakiness
- Feeling anxious
- Feeling irritable or easily excited
- Emotional volatility or quick emotional changes
- Feeling jumpy or nervous
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Trouble thinking clearly
- Having bad dreams
Mild to Moderate Physical Symptoms
- Headaches
- Sweating—usually in the hands or face
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Insomnia, trouble sleeping
- Rapid heart rate, heart palpitations
- Enlarged or dilated pupils
- Tremor of the hands
- Involuntary or abnormal movements of the eyelids
- Joint pain
- Muscle weakness
- Panic attacks
Severe Symptoms
- Being in a state of confusion
- Hallucinations
- Instability of the autonomic nervous system
- Feeling agitated
- Fever
- Convulsions
- Thoughts of suicide
How long do alcohol withdrawal symptoms last?
Everyone responds to alcohol withdrawal differently. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms generally improve within five days. There are a small number of patients who may have prolonged withdrawal symptoms that can last weeks.
Time for Treatment
Because alcohol withdrawal symptoms can worsen rapidly, it’s important to seek medical attention immediately. With the right medical care, you can greatly reduce any alcohol withdrawal symptoms—or even eliminate them altogether. At 2nd Chance Treatment Center there are treatments available for alcohol use disorder.