Ways to Tell You Have a Drinking Problem

No.10 - You regularly drink more than you intend to.

"I’ll just have one,” you say. Yeah, right. If you can’t help yourself from indulging on a regular basis, and find yourself irresistibly drawn to your watering hole every single day, then you have a drinking problem.

No.9 - You gulp your drinks

Drinking to get drunk can be lots of fun, just not all the time. If you think everyone around you is constantly drinking so slow, then maybe, it could be that you are drinking too fast because your tolerance for booze is so high. And your tolerance gets high because you drink too often and too much.

No.8 - Regularly missing work due to drinking

There are sick days leave, but not for treating hangovers.  The nausea and poisoning get you close to qualifying for sick leave, but seeing as it’s self-inflicted, it doesn’t count. If you end up using all your sick days for hangovers, then you are certainly suffering from alcohol-sickness, a.k.a, drinking problem. 

No.7 - Causing trouble at home

Whether it’s over finances, lies, stealing, or just plain intolerance of others, trouble at home is a red flag. If the people that know you best start making comments or losing patience with your drinking, you are most certainly putting alcohol before loved ones? Alcohol has become closer to you than family.

No.6 - You drink because you have problems

Maybe you drink because you hate your job. Maybe you drink because you don’t have a job. Maybe it’s your crazy girlfriend who drives you to drink, maybe your landlord. Whatever it is, if drinking is the solution to your problems, you just found yourself one more problem.

No.5 - Tried to quit but failed

Ten points for trying to quit, but this is a sign that the alcohol really has its claws in you. As tough as it may sound, it is time to ask for help to get that monkey off your back.

No.4 - Lying about drinking

You hide bottles of liquor, you tell little white lies to cover your drinking trail and soon, you are waist deep in your own deceit. Lying to yourself or others about your drinking is an indicator that deep inside you know you have a drinking problem, and are headed for rock bottom.

No.3 - You drink alone

We’re not talking about having a couple of beers after work -- that’s fine -- however, this can become a problem when you regularly get wasted all by yourself. Not only is this sorry and sad, it’s a worry. Drinking alone forms a close relationship with alcohol, and before you know it, you are seeing it as a close friend and comforter, a way to escape from the harshness of life.

No.2 – Blackouts

Unlike passing out, blackouts cause gaps in your memory because of too much consumption of alcohol. Drinking affects memory formation, hence the occurrence of amnesia in heavy drinkers. Each blackout increases the likelihood of further blackouts, along with your chances of making bad decisions or injuring yourself or others. Regular blackouts are considered an indicator of alcoholism.

No.1 - Taking a morning drink "eye opener” to stop the shakes

Do you see that flashing red light? That is a major problem. If you need to drink to stop alcohol withdrawal symptoms like shaking, nausea or anxiety, you are in serious need of professional help. This doesn’t get better, it only gets worse.

Ends