Casual drinking is a normal part of society. A glass of wine with dinner or sharing a drink or two with your friends occasionally is usually not a problem. However, drinking too much or for the wrong reasons may be signs of alcohol abuse.
No one is eager to admit that they are addicted to alcohol or need help, but if you feel like alcohol may be a problem in your life, you should be honest with yourself and reflect on how your drinking affects you and those around you.
Here are 10 signs of alcohol addiction. If you feel like you identify with any of these signs, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.
No one can overcome alcohol addiction on their own. There is no shame in admitting you have a problem and need professional support to help you take back control of your life.
10 Signs You May Be Addicted to Alcohol
- You lie to others about your drinking — Denying to others (and even yourself) how much you drink is a common sign of addiction. If you hide your drinking or downplay how much you drink to others or yourself, you may have a serious problem with addiction. Alcoholic’s tend to lie even when they don’t want too, at the end of the day they have too, in order keep their alcohol secret.
- You drink to relax or cope with emotions — Most people who abuse alcohol don’t do so for no reason. They do it to cope with stress, trauma, mental health disorders or other issues. If you find you cannot relax or cope with issues without alcohol, you may be struggling with addiction.
- You crave alcohol when you are not drinking — You think about drinking whenever you are not drinking. It might be the first thing on your mind in the morning, or it might be the last thing you think of before going to sleep. Parents who suffer from alcohol use disorder often times are thinking about alcohol even if they are in the middle of an activity with their child.
- You’re unable to stop once you start — Once you open a bottle of wine or whiskey or start a new six- or 12-pack, you find it hard to stop until it’s all gone. The average drinker will be able to put down the bottle when they want too. The true alcoholic literally can’t control if they are going to drink even if they wanted too.
- Your drinking affects your responsibilities — Your drinking affects your ability to work, study or give attention to other responsibilities. This includes the way that craving alcohol affects you’re thinking or struggling with withdrawal symptoms. Someone that is addicted to alcohol will put their alcoholic needs before the needs or eating, sleeping or other normal daily needs.
- Your drinking affects your relationships — Your drinking is a source of strain on your personal relationships, including your friends and family. It is almost always a sign of addiction when your drinking starts to affect other people besides yourself. Most people will end up loosing the people closest to them, alcoholics are like tornadoes they destroy anything in its way.
- You need to drink more to achieve the desired effect — As you drink more and more, you start to build a tolerance to alcohol and how it affects you. You find yourself having to drink a lot more to achieve the desired effect. This creates serious medical complication when someone tries to stop on their own.
- You want to drink less or stop, but cannot — You recognize you are drinking too much and should drink less or stop, but you are unable to. Most people would be able to pass a lie detector test saying they want to stop drinking, they continue to drink every day though.
- You experience withdrawal symptoms — Once your body builds a dependency on alcohol, you suffer from withdrawal symptoms whenever you haven’t had a drink in a while. Withdrawal symptoms include:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
- Sweating
- Hallucinations
- Shaking or trembling
- You black out regularly — You drink so heavily that you wake up the next day with large gaps in your memory of what happened while drinking. You could even be trying to black out on purpose as a means to escape from stress or another issue.
Alcohol Rehab In Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Once you start down the road to addiction, it can feel impossible to turn back. It is difficult to break free of addiction on your own, but with the right support from a team of professionals, you can overcome active addiction and live more freely.
At Tulip Hill Recovery, we focus on more than treating addiction. We use a dual-diagnosis approach to treating both addiction and the co-occurring mental health disorders that drive addiction. With this more integrated approach to treatment, we can help you develop healthier skills for coping with the challenges of a mental health condition.
Are you ready to talk to someone about treatment from alcohol addiction and building a better future for yourself? Please contact us online or call us at 877-845-8192 to get in touch with our team and start the recovery journey.
877-845-8192
Call Us