Alcohol addiction has a significant impact on a person’s life, causing problems such as impaired judgment, liver disease, high blood pressure, and depression. It affects relationships with family and friends, as well as work performance.
Sometimes, it becomes a compulsive need to consume alcohol despite the negative effects it has on one’s life, health, and relationships. It leads to physical dependence on alcohol and withdrawal symptoms when alcohol consumption is stopped.
If you are facing any of the following signs, then it means you are an alcohol addict.
1. Continued Drinking
Continued drinking despite having negative consequences such as relationship or job problems. Some people continue to drink despite physical or mental health problems related to alcohol use.
2. Drinking in Secret
Drinking on your own is never a good idea, especially if you tend to drink a lot. That is the reason it’s viewed as an indication of liquor addiction.
3. Drinking Heavily Regularly
Do you ever find yourself justifying your drinking? For instance, it’s one thing to drink too much to celebrate a small victory, but it’s entirely different to get so drunk at regular intervals.
It is worse than social drinking binges. Specifically, due to its covert nature. As such, you’re starting to want to take care of your liquor propensity furtively.
4. Uncontrollable
You tried to cut down on alcohol use but have been unsuccessful. Do you frequently set a limit of one or two drinks but end up drinking a lot more than that? Never drink until your body can no longer handle it.
Being able to set boundaries for yourself and stick to them is an essential part of controlling your alcohol consumption. However, it is extremely challenging for alcoholics to achieve. Drinking more than intended or for longer periods than intended is a symptom of alcohol addiction.
Consequently, regardless of how drunk you are, think it through if you start to crave another drink after having a few glasses.
5. High Tolerance
Developing a tolerance to alcohol requires more alcohol to achieve the same effect. It is not a good sign if you gradually increase your tolerance to alcohol.
When you don’t need as much, you drink more and more alcohol without feeling the effects. It indicates that your body has become accustomed to the presence of alcohol.
6. Memory Loss
After a night of drinking, memory loss is a sign of alcohol abuse. After a night out, if you notice gaps in your memory, two things are going on:
- Because you have consumed so much alcohol, you have temporarily lost memory.
- Either you already have a bad relationship with alcohol or you’re on your way to having one.
One of the most common signs of alcoholism is memory loss. The scary thing is that if you drink a lot for a long time, you could end up with permanent forms of amnesia.
7. Shame
Do you frequently experience feelings of shame or embarrassment when you drink? You may have crossed the line between social drinking and alcoholism if this happens frequently.
8. Symptoms of withdrawal
Are you experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, sweating, and nausea when not drinking? if you’ve had a few too many drinks after a night out with friends, it’s normal to feel hungover.
Even if you didn’t drink the night before, if you start to feel hungover when you wake up, you might be experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
9. Drinking Daily
Spending a lot of time drinking, recovering from drinking, or thinking about drinking. Even if you only consumed a few cans of beer, this is a warning sign of developing alcoholic tendencies.
No one ought to drink liquor consistently. If you have to get drunk every day, you probably are losing control of your ability to control how much alcohol you drink.
10. Neglecting important activities
Are you neglecting responsibilities or activities because of drinking? You should check yourself if you have begun to neglect hygiene and appearance because of drinking.
If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, it may be a sign of alcohol addiction, and it’s important to seek professional help from a doctor, addiction specialist, alcohol addict anonymous, or mental health professional. They provide an assessment, and treatment options, and help to develop a recovery plan.