Alcohol & Health
Treatment
Helping Alcoholics
Medically Reviewed by Dr P. E. Pancoast, MD
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Anxiety is one of the most common symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. After you stop drinking alcohol, you may experience anxiety between a few hours to a few days.
Here are some ways to manage anxiety during alcohol withdrawal:
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Alcohol withdrawal occurs when a person stops drinking alcohol after prolonged and heavy use. Long-term alcohol users expose their brains to alcohol so often that the brain has to adjust to compensate for the sedating effect of the substance.
An alcoholic’s brain produces serotonin and norepinephrine in higher quantities than a non-alcoholic’s brain. If that person stops drinking suddenly, their brain becomes overstimulated with too much of these naturally occurring chemicals.
Sudden stoppage of alcohol after long-term, heavy intake causes changes within the body that trigger various alcohol withdrawal symptoms. These include:
About one in every 20 alcoholics experience delirium tremens (DTs), the most dangerous withdrawal syndrome risk. It is a severe medical emergency and can occur during withdrawal in 3 to 5% of people with extreme alcohol dependency.
Untreated DTs can lead to death. The condition includes:
Alcohol withdrawal can last anywhere between 8 hours to 5 days after your last drink. It occurs in stages, and each one has risks of varying severity.
The risks increase based on how long a person has been drinking and how much they drank. It also depends on their biological predisposition and whether or not there are any co-occurring disorders. For instance, some people have genes that make alcohol withdrawal treatment more difficult.8
Acute withdrawal is the first stage of alcohol withdrawal. It occurs within two weeks after you stop using alcohol. The health conditions you experience during this time tend to change frequently and are unpredictable.
The stages of alcohol withdrawal are as follows:
Not everyone experiences all these symptoms. However, most heavy drinkers experience a combination of many of them. Seek professional medical attention when detoxing from alcohol after heavy long-term use.
Here’s the timeline of symptoms after alcohol withdrawal:
| Time After Drinking | Symptoms |
| 6 to 12 hours | Vomiting, abdominal discomfort, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, and depression |
| 12 hours to 1 day | Sweating, sleeping problems, headache, nausea, mild anxiety |
| 1 to 2 days | Hallucinating, memory loss, racing pulse, irregular heartbeat, and possible seizures |
| 2 to 3 days | Delirium tremens (DTs), hallucinations, seizures, fever, extreme agitation, confusion |
| 3+ days | Delirium tremens (DTs), severe blood pressure spikes, intense cravings, heavy sweating, fever |
If you’re a heavy drinker who regularly consumes alcohol and you stop, you’ll feel much better after two weeks.
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It is not safe to detox from long-term, heavy alcohol use at home. Your brain and body are highly vulnerable to various risks when you stop alcohol consumption and begin detox.
Medical supervision ensures that they can address any emergencies appropriately and as quickly as possible. Once you’ve completed the initial detox and critical withdrawal phase, you can begin treatment and seek help from support groups.
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The only safe way to detox from heavy, long-term alcohol use is addiction treatment at a center with professional medical supervision. Detoxing from alcohol is a complicated process and makes your body extremely vulnerable.
Changes occur in the brain during the hours and days that follow heavy alcohol use that must be monitored by a medical professional. Successful, medically supervised detox increases the odds of successful long-term recovery.
Heavy drinking to the point of alcohol dependence affects your body, from the brain to the central nervous system to individual organs. In many cases, this damage is not repairable.
Stopping heavy alcohol use might reverse some memory loss, but there are no guarantees an alcoholic’s brain will ever fully recover.
One thing is sure: your body functions will deteriorate if you continue to drink—the longer and more intense your alcohol abuse, the lower your odds of complete repair.
Alcohol withdrawal occurs when a person stops drinking after prolonged or heavy alcohol use. It can cause unpleasant physical symptoms and mental disturbances. Alcohol withdrawal timelines vary depending on various factors.
If you experience severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, seek medical help immediately. Detoxing at a professional treatment center can help reduce the risk of serious medical issues.
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