One of the first symptoms of alcohol abuse is the inability to finish the designated work on time even though the person has a good record of punctuality. Apart from this, the person also starts to fumble with work, leading to low performance, bickering at work place, and downfall of reputation.

A sane person while going downhill in a relationship will try to stop things that are causing such an effect. But a person victimized by alcohol abuse will continue drinking in the event of relationship turmoil, even if it is the very cause of all the problems.

When a person is diagnosed with alcohol abuse, he/she starts drinking after getting up in the morning in order to come out of a hangover, to get his/her eyes open or steady the nerves. In such cases, alcohol is acting as tea or coffee for them in the morning.

A person who is facing alcohol abuse will have trouble sleeping at night, even if he/she is extremely tired. Moreover, he/she will start feeling sleepy at odd hours.These symptoms, along with others related to insomnia arise, even though he/she has no past record of the problem.

Due to alcohol abuse, the person starts to lose concentration at work, leading to reduced efficiency in delivering complete and correct work.

In the grip of alcohol abuse, the person starts drinking nearly all the time regardless of the risks involved; for example, even while driving when he/she is to focus with complete attentiveness and concentration. What makes this symptom unique is the fact that the person fails to realize that he is in a hazardous situation.

A person diagnosed with alcohol abuse will start facing blank periods, so that is he/she will not be able to remember the events which happened not so long ago. He/she finds it difficult remembering events and people, thus badly affecting his/her social interaction with other people.

The person starts drinking just to steady his/her nerves, even when he/she is not in a high pressure situation. He/she starts drinking at odd hours, such as in morning and afternoon, just to steady the nerves instead of going for other recreational activities he/she may have been involved with earlier.

The person tends to face pressures of life, such as family matters, decision making or even socializing, by drinking alcohol heavily. The more the person is subjected to pressure, the more he/she drinks, instead of trying to find the solution to the problems.

People diagnosed with alcohol abuse start to take the law lightly. Most of the drivers caught in drink-and-drive cases are victims of alcohol abuse. They also start to fall into illegal actions, such as sexual assault, violence, vandalism, and binge drinking.

The last and the main symptom of alcohol abuse is that the drinker starts to feel guilty about drinking frequently. He/she gets a gnawing feeling about drinking but is unable to stop himself/herself.