With April being national Alcohol Awareness Month, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) has made the first weekend in April (April 5-7, 2013) an alcohol-free weekend. This is an effort raise awareness about alcohol abuse and how it may affect individuals, families, businesses and communities. The NCADD invites all Americans to participate in an alcohol-free weekend.
This experiment is a good opportunity to see if you or a loved can go 72 hours without drinking. If you or a loved one finds this difficult to do, it may be an early warning sign of an alcohol problem. If this is the case, you are strongly encouraged to contact an addiction specialist to discuss alcoholism and its early symptoms.
According to The Alcoholism Guide, some common warning signs of alcoholism are:
- An individual will make any excuse to drink, whether to celebrate good news, get over bad news, or indifferent news.
- An individual will hide their stashes of alcohol around the house.
- An individual may become only interested in attending parties or social gatherings where there will be alcohol involved.
- An individual will often go to bed after their spouse to be able to “drink in peace.”
- An individual will start drinking earlier in the day or more frequently to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
- An individual may get defensive when questioned about their drinking.
- An individual may neglect their responsibilities in order to drink.
One of the common early symptoms of alcohol abuse is the inability to abstain from alcohol without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Watch for some of these symptoms of withdrawal when you abstain from drinking alcohol:
- Feeling of jumpiness or nervousness
- Feeling of shakiness
- Anxiety
- Irritability or changes in mood (esp. volatile or rapid changes)
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Difficulty thinking clearly
- Bad dreams
- Headache
- Sweating or clammy skin, esp. palms or face
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Insomnia
- Hand tremors
- Cravings
