ORGANUM
Alcohol is a potent drug that causes both acute and chronic changes in almost all neurochemical systems. Thus, alcohol abuse can produce severe, temporary psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, and psychoses. Increasing levels of regular alcohol consumption can cause tolerance.
Chronic use can cause such intense adaptations of the body that stopping drinking can precipitate withdrawal symptoms; insomnia, autonomic nervous system hyperactivity and anxiety. Therefore, in an adequate evaluation of life problems and psychiatric symptoms in a patient, the clinician must consider the possibility that the clinical situation reflects the effects of alcohol.
The DSM-5 and ICD-10 include several diagnoses related to alcohol; they follow the template for all substance use disorders.