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Withdrawal Risk Self-Check: 10 Questions

    A person stands at a fork in the road between the clinic and home—a symbol of different paths in alcohol withdrawal

    Alcohol withdrawal can be mild — or medically dangerous. Especially with regular heavy drinking, a history of withdrawal symptoms, or existing health conditions, the risk of complications such as seizures, blood pressure crises, or delirium tremens increases.

    Withdrawal Risk Self-Check: 10 Questions

    This self-check is intended solely to help you assess the medical risk of alcohol withdrawal. It does not replace a medical evaluation. Regardless of your result, please talk to a doctor or an addiction counselor about your personal situation.

    Privacy: Your results are calculated anonymously in your browser. No personal data is collected, and no answers are stored or transmitted. Once you close this browser window, the data is gone.

    1) Have you consumed alcohol in the last six months?
    2) Have you had alcohol intoxication in the last 90 days?
    3) Have you ever been treated for or monitored due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms?
    4) Have you ever had a withdrawal seizure — that is, a seizure caused by stopping alcohol?
    5) Have you ever experienced delirium tremens?
    6) Is your current blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above 0.10%?
    7) Have you regularly taken sedatives, hypnotics, or other GABA-acting medications in the last 90 days?
    8) Is your withdrawal happening in, or expected to lead to, an inpatient setting (e.g., planned surgery, ER visit, incarceration)?
    9) Do you currently have symptoms such as tremor, sweating, rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), or high blood pressure (hypertension)?
    10) Do you have other conditions — such as liver disease, electrolyte imbalances, infections, or trauma — that could worsen withdrawal symptoms?
    Please answer all 10 questions so we can calculate your result.

    This assessment is based on the PAWSS system, developed at Stanford University School of Medicin.

    Learn more in our sober dictionary. .

    Please note: If you experience significant symptoms without alcohol — such as shaking, anxiety, sweating, nausea/vomiting, or sudden sleep disturbances — please answer this questionnaire honestly, for your own sake. These could be symptoms of alcohol withdrawal that requires immediate medical supervision.

    If a doctor advises you to drink moderately for the time being, that is a completely standard recommendation at this stage — not something out of the ordinary. It’s meant purely to stabilize you until medically supervised detox can begin. This approach can temporarily suppress withdrawal symptoms and bridge the time until professional care takes over.

    Bernd Guzek, MD/PhD
    Bernd Guzek, MD/PhD Physician & Science Journalist

    Editorial content is reviewed by Bernd Guzek, MD/PhD. Nothing on this site replaces professional medical advice.

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