Not all alcoholics have the same symptoms, but many - at different stages in the illness - show these signs: They find that only alcohol can make them feel self-confident and at ease with other people; often want "just one more" at the end of the party; look forward to drinking occasions and think about them a lot; get drunk when they are planning not to; try to control their drinking by changing types of liquor, going on the wagon, or taking pledges; sneak drinks; lie about their drinking; hide bottles; drink at work (or in school); drink alone; have blackouts (that is, cannot remember from the previous day what they said or did); drink in the morning, to relieve severe hangovers, guilty feelings and fears; fail to eat and become malnourished; get cirrhosis of the liver; shake violently, hallucinate, or have convulsions when withdrawn from liquor.
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