Symptoms Can Range from Mild to Life-ThreateningBy Buddy T, About.com GuideUpdated June 02, 2011About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
When heavy or frequent drinkers suddenly decide to quit "cold turkey" they will experience some physical withdrawal symptoms -- which can range from the mildly annoying to severe and even life-threatening. The severity of these withdrawal symptoms is usually dependent upon how "chemically dependent" the chronic drinker has become. Those who drink heavily on a daily basis of course have developed a high level of dependency, but even those who drink daily, but not heavily and those who drink heavily but not daily, can also be chemically dependent upon alcohol.
Take the Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms Quiz. When someone who has become "alcohol dependent" decides to stop drinking, he will experience some level of physical discomfort. For this reason, it is extremely difficult for him to merely stop drinking "on their own" without assistance and support. 'Never Again'The scenario has been played over and over many times. After a particularly damaging or embarrassing binge, the hungover person will make an oath to himself and others to drink "never again" and quite often is sincere about quitting. But with the onset of withdrawal symptoms, also comes the "craving" for more alcohol. The body is telling the drinker that it "needs" alcohol. As the physical symptoms of withdrawal begin to increase, taking another drink simply becomes less painful than not taking one -- or so it seems at the time. For those who have committed themselves to not drinking again, or forced by circumstances to not have access to alcohol, the struggle to fight the withdrawal symptoms can become a dangerous battle, one that can actually become life threatening. The ShakesFor some, who are less chemically dependent, withdrawal symptoms might be as "mild" as merely getting the shakes, or the sweats -- or perhaps nausea, headache, anxiety, a rapid heart beat, and increased blood pressure. Although these symptoms are uncomfortable and irritating, they are not necessarily dangerous. But they are often accompanied by the "craving" for more alcohol, making the decision to continue abstinence much more difficult to make.
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