5 Signs You May Be An Alcoholic
This year, 75,000 people will die from alcohol-related illnesses. The sad thing is most, if not all of these deaths are preventable. If you think you or someone you know may be an alcoholic, look for these 5 signs:
Tolerance. Can you or someone you know drink an insurmountable amount of alcohol before it is effective? Did this person used to drink only a few beers and now can kill a whole six pack, or two? This might be a sign of alcoholism.
Withdrawal. Are there any noticeable signs of withdrawal such as shakiness, sweating, fatigue or a loss of appetite? If your body feels it needs alcohol, then the drug is being abused.
You can’t stop. Can you go without drinking in a social situation where others are drinking? Can days go by where having a drink isn’t clouding your thoughts?
Blacking Out. If drinking has caused a blackout to the point where there is no recollection of what happened prior this may be a sign that the drinking is out of control.
Mood Change. Do you or this person have a drastic mood change when drinking? Perhaps from calm to violent, from nice to crazy or from silly to seductive? If this is the case alcohol is becoming a problem.
Most of us don’t want to admit when there is a problem and it’s easy to lie to ourselves. However, this is a sign too, just in case you or the person in question fits the description.
Ways people deny drinking problems are:
- grossly underestimating their intake of alcohol
- acting as if the negative consequences aren’t a big deal
- adamantly arguing that everyone is exaggerating concerning their drinking
- by blaming others for their problems with alcohol
With all of the media surrounding the recent deaths of celebrities Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse it’s impossible to know if either of them realized just how close to dying they were, to know if they had a problem, and if they would have changed anything had they been informed.
If you are concerned that you or a loved one has a problem there are several options to get back on the road to recovery. The good thing about getting help for alcohol addiction is that you have access to assistance anytime, day or night. TreatmentLine.com offers this type of assistance and their number is 1-800-703-7838.
If money is an issue, there are many free services made available by state-supported agencies and faith-based institutions. How the help is received is not what’s most important. What is important is taking that first step of realization because without it, nothing will ever change.
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Great article, Si Si. A lot of people know someone who needs help. Now they can share this article with them in hopes that it may save their life.
Thank you Kevin! I hope this really did help people.