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What are the symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD)?

Having even a couple symptomsï¿½which you might not see as trouble signsï¿½can signal a drinking problem. It helps to know the signs so you can make a change early. Doctors diagnose AUD when a patient has two or more of the symptoms listed below. AUD can be mild (the presence of two to three symptoms), moderate (the presence of four to five symptoms), or severe (the presence of six or more symptoms). See if you recognize any of these symptomsï¿½or others, such as feeling low, dysphoria, or malaiseï¿½in yourself. And don't worryï¿½even if you have symptoms, you can take steps to reduce your risks. (For more information about AUD, see What Are the Consequences?)

In the past year, have you:

  • Spent a lot of time drinking, or being sick from drinking or getting over other aftereffects?
  • Found that drinkingï¿½or being sick from drinkingï¿½often interfered with taking care of your home or family? Or caused job troubles? Or school problems?
  • More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or engaging in unsafe sexual behavior)?
  • Continued to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem? Or after having had an alcohol-related memory blackout?
  • Found that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, restlessness, nausea, sweating, a racing heart, anxiety, or a seizure? Or sensed things that were not there?

If you don’t have any symptoms, then staying within the limits provided in the 2020ï¿½2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans could reduce your chances of having problems in the future.

The questions listed above are based on symptoms of AUD in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. The DSM is the most commonly used system in the United States for diagnosing mental health disorders.

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