What Is Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical diagnosis, not a moral verdict. NIAAA defines AUD as a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. It encompasses conditions some people call alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term alcoholism. NIAAA also describes AUD as a brain disorder that can be mild, moderate, or severe.

This page is informational only. It is not a self-diagnosis tool. People who drink heavily or daily should involve a clinician before stopping. Severe withdrawal symptoms (seizures, hallucinations, delirium tremens) are medical emergencies. For urgent help, see crisis resources.

What clinicians mean by alcohol use disorder

NIAAA's glossary states that DSM-5 describes AUD as a single disorder with mild, moderate, and severe subclassifications based on how many criteria are met. Health professionals use those criteria to assess whether AUD is present and how severe it is.

Symptom domains NIAAA lists for clinician questioning include drinking more or longer than intended, failed cut-down attempts, time spent on alcohol, craving, role interference, social problems, reduced activities, hazardous use, continued use despite health harm, tolerance, and withdrawal. The full informational list lives on DSM-5 AUD criteria.

Risk factors NIAAA highlights

NIAAA notes that risk depends in part on how much, how often, and how quickly a person drinks, and that alcohol misuse over time increases AUD risk. Other listed factors include drinking at an early age, genetics and family history (heritability accounting for approximately 60%, interacting with environment), mental health conditions, and trauma history. That is population risk language, not destiny language for any one reader.

CDC states that most people who drink excessively do not have alcohol use disorder. Excessive drinking still carries injury and chronic disease risks even without an AUD label. For a non-diagnostic pattern check, see am I drinking too much.

Treatment existence (not a menu to self-prescribe)

NIAAA states that evidence-based care can include behavioral therapies, mutual-support groups, and/or medications, and that one size does not fit all. FDA-approved medicines named on that page for helping people stop or reduce drinking and prevent return to drinking are naltrexone (oral and long-acting injectable), acamprosate, and disulfiram. Naming them documents that medical options exist. It is not dosing advice and not a matchmaking guide for which medicine is "right."

SAMHSA likewise frames treatment as varying by need and potentially including counseling, medications, and/or mutual-support groups. For navigation toward help options, see alcohol help.

Withdrawal caution

NIAAA states that people with severe AUD may need medical help to avoid alcohol withdrawal if they decide to stop, and that alcohol withdrawal is a potentially life-threatening process after heavy drinking for a prolonged period. Doctors can prescribe medications to address symptoms. That sentence is a reason to involve clinicians, not a home detox plan.

What this page will not do

• No self-scoring diagnosis
• No taper schedules
• No medication dosing
• No claim that apps replace treatment

What to do with this definition if it hits close to home

If several NIAAA symptom questions sound familiar, the useful next step is a conversation with a clinician or a structured screening visit, not a late-night self-verdict. CDC's point that most people who drink excessively do not have AUD is not permission to ignore harm. It means pattern risk and diagnostic criteria answer different questions, and both can matter.

Bring specifics: how much, how often, prior withdrawal, mental health history, and what you have already tried. NIAAA emphasizes that treatment can be outpatient or inpatient and that medicines, therapy, and mutual support can combine. Matching care to severity and goals is clinical work. An app streak can support daily structure after that plan exists. It cannot replace assessment when control is slipping or withdrawal risk is on the table.

Practical takeaway

AUD is a clinical construct with severity bands based on symptom counts. Recognizing yourself in the wording is a prompt to talk with a professional, not a label you must assign alone. Change is possible with evidence-based support; setbacks are common and do not erase the value of care.

Orlyn, which we make, is an iOS app with a live sober streak, daily check-ins, craving tools, and a 24/7 AI coach labeled as AI, not medical care. Use it only as a complement to professional support, never as a replacement for assessment or treatment.

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