HealthInfo Canterbury

Overview of alcohol addiction

Tirohanga whānui ki waranga me whakamanioro waipiro

  

Three important features are present in people with addictive or abusive patterns of drinking alcohol. These are:

• dependence
• tolerance
• compulsion to drink.

Dependence means they can't stop drinking without unpleasant effects. This makes cutting down or having alcohol-free days very challenging or impossible.

Tolerance means they need to drink more alcohol over time to get the same effect. This means the daily amount of alcohol they drink gets higher and higher.

Compulsion to drink means that the desire to drink alcohol is uncontrollable and drinking alcohol starts to take over their life. They choose to drink even when they see and experience damaging consequences.

Signs of alcohol addiction include:

• drinking alone
• drinking in the morning
• drinking at work
• drinking when they're operating machinery, driving or in charge of young children.

With long-term alcohol addiction, people may notice physical effects on their bodies.

Finding out if your drinking is low risk

You can find out if your drinking is low risk by doing this test. Also see Alcohol & reducing your risks from drinking for information about how to drink alcohol safely.

New Zealand has a binge drinking culture. This means that many people accept unhealthy or abusive patterns of drinking. But this doesn't change the fact that our bodies can only cope with a certain amount of alcohol before it starts to cause us problems.

If you're addicted to alcohol you may need to cut back or totally quit to get well.

When someone is addicted to alcohol, their brain chemistry changes. The changes in the brain make quitting or cutting down very hard. They develop a need for alcohol that is both mental and physical.

When an addicted person craves alcohol, they think things like "I can’t cope without it" or "It isn't a problem, it makes me feel good". Also, their body sends them messages telling them they need to drink. Drinking usually takes away the physical symptoms of craving.

The physical symptoms of craving can be very unpleasant. For heavy drinkers, stopping or reducing alcohol results in withdrawal symptoms. This can be quite dangerous. It can include symptoms like tremors, fainting, seizures and rarely hallucinations. In severe cases it can cause death.

Most people who are heavily addicted to alcohol need help from health professionals. They also need support from whānau (family) or friends to withdraw and become sober.

Getting free of alcohol addiction

Getting free of alcohol addiction is extremely hard. You need determination and must commit to doing the hard work. Before anything else, you need to acknowledge that you have a problem and commit to change.

See Helping myself with my alcohol or drug addiction for ways you can help yourself. This page also tells you about community support groups who can help.

If this doesn't help, see your general practice team. Your general practice team is likely to encourage you to try self-help programmes and join community support groups. They may refer you to a support agency that specialises in addiction. In some cases, they might offer you medication. See Treating alcohol or drug addiction for more details.

Most people who try to give up alcohol need to try several times before becoming permanently sober. It's part of the normal cycle of recovering from addiction.

  HealthInfo recommends the following videos

• Alcohol Drug Helpline

  You can call the helpline on 0800-787-797 or txt 8681. The website also provides details of a Māori helpline, Pasifika helpline and Youth helpline. You can follow the links to search for publicly funded alcohol, drug and gambling treatment agencies in your region.

• New Zealand Drug Foundation – Did you know: alcohol

  This video is part of a series aimed at teenagers. The videos have everything a Kiwi teenager needs to know about alcohol and common drugs in New Zealand. The videos can also help give adults confidence to start conversations about alcohol and drugs with a young person.

  This video is also available in Māori.

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed June 2023.

Sources

Page reference: 520821

Review key: HIADG-47857