With alcohol abuse and alcoholism being so prevalent in the world today, chances are you know someone who’s struggling with an alcohol problem. However, it’s not always easy to know the signs someone has a drinking problem.
Maybe you have a family member, friend, or co-worker who seems to have their life together, but they actually may be struggling with an alcohol addiction.
The experts have come up with the following ways to identify an alcoholic or someone with problem drinking:
1. A High Tolerance
If your loved one is drinking a lot more than they used to and out drinking others by far, maybe even without feeling the effects, they have built up quite a tolerance. This is exactly how alcohol works. Someone who starts out drinking can catch a buzz after a couple of drinks, but the more often they drink, the more accustomed their body is to the alcohol, building a tolerance. This means that they won’t feel anything after two drinks, so they’ll have to drink two or three more to even get a little buzz. The longer this type of drinking goes on, the more tolerance they build. If your loved one is drinking a lot more than everyone else or a lot more than they used to, they certainly could be struggling with a drinking problem.
2. Becoming Lax in Responsibilities
Another one of the signs someone has a drinking problem is that they begin to ditch some of their responsibilities specifically due to their drinking. Maybe they are a manager at a store and were too hungover to get up and open the store on time. Or they could become lax in their responsibilities at home with their spouse or the children because of their drinking habits. Sooner or later, someone with a drinking problem will begin to slack one way or another in their life.
3. Hiding Alcohol From Others
A great indicator that someone has a drinking problem is when they start hiding alcohol from others. Somewhere deep inside they’ll start to feel self-conscious about the amount their drinking or how frequently they’re drinking. Maybe they don’t want their spouse or their parents to know how much they’re drinking, so they hide alcohol around the house, in the garage, at work, or they may stop at the bar on the way home and lie about it. The sneaking around, lying, and hiding can be indicators that they certainly have a drinking problem.
4. Missing Work or School
Drinking problems can cause individuals to begin to missing work days or school. They may be out late partying so much that they just feel horrible in the morning and cannot get up to attend to their duties. Alcohol is also a depressant, meaning that it can make feeling motivated difficult, and can increase how tired individuals feel on a daily basis.
5. Withdrawing From Others
Some people that develop a drinking problem begin isolating from others. Maybe they used to go out and socialize with their friends and family members, but now they’d rather just stay home and drink by themselves. Of course, there are those that love to be out to party, but there’s also another group of individuals that prefer to drink at home alone.
6. Going Through Withdrawal Symptoms
Someone with a drinking problem may begin to go through withdrawal symptoms if they don’t drink regularly. This may cause some people to always revolve their life around alcohol, making sure that they have booze close by, meet the guys at the bar often, be sure that their vacation includes a way to drink alcohol, and so on.
7. Poor Decisions
Drinking problems can lead to people making poor decisions, such as driving under the influence of alcohol. Or they may get into fights or verbally abuses their spouses or children. Others may get online and spend thousands of dollars while their intoxicated. There’s many things that inebriated individuals do that would not do if they weren’t drinking.
8. Moodiness
Someone with a drinking problem maybe moodier than someone who isn’t. They may have days where they’re feeling pretty good about themselves and then the next day they sink into a depression for no apparent reason. Alcohol can take its toll on the emotional and physical body, and the days where drinking was fun can be long gone and the individual is now living life on this roller coaster ride of emotions.
Now, it’s not always easy to know for sure whether someone has a drinking problem or perhaps going through a phase that will end soon. Some college kids can go through that phase of partying and then stop once they graduate or just decide enough is enough.
If you recognize some of these signs of problem drinking in a loved one, perhaps you can sit down and have a conversation with him/her about your concerns. Let them know should they want to stop drinking, but are having trouble, there are treatment options and professionals that can assist them in stopping drinking.
