What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Long-Term Alcohol Abuse?

Long-term alcoholism can lead to significant problems in a person's life. If you or your family member experience alcoholism, treatment can help in learning how to control the addiction. Knowing what signs and symptoms relate to alcohol abuse will help you understand whether treatment becomes necessary for relief from the addiction.

Tolerance

• MayoClinic.com states that one of the symptoms of long-term alcohol abuse includes your tolerance level rising. When you continue drinking, your body adjusts to a certain amount of alcohol. You then need to drink more and more alcohol to feel the desire effects.

Brain Damage

• More than one year of heavy alcohol use can lead to irreversible brain damage, according to Virginia Tech Student Affairs. Alcohol can cause the connection between the nerve cells and the brain to rupture. Symptoms of alcohol-related brain damage can include memory loss and a change in personality.

Withdrawal

• Long-term alcohol abuse can lead to withdrawal symptoms, according to The Partnership at Drugfree.org. This means that if an alcohol addicted person stops using alcohol for any length of time, he can experience shaking, vomiting or hallucinations. In extreme situations, alcohol withdrawal might even lead to death.

Legal Problems

• Continued alcohol use can lead to legal problems. Many people who abuse too much alcohol experience significant impairment for much of their day. This means that they might choose to drive after drinking. Continually obtaining driving under the influence (DUI) charges can lead to jail or prison time.

Drinking Alone

• A sign of long-term alcohol abuse can include drinking alone. Many alcoholics do not want people to know about their addiction. This causes them to hide alcohol from friends, family members and coworkers. A sense of shame might accompany their alcohol abuse.

Liver Problems

• Long-term alcohol use can impede the liver's ability to function properly, which can lead to malnutrition, according to Virginia Tech Student Affairs. You can also get a disease called cirrhosis of the liver, where scar tissue forms around the liver and replaces healthy tissue.