The majority of Americans drink at least sometimes. We drink with dinner, we drink with friends, we drink with strangers, we drink to celebrate, and we drink to mourn. With so many culturally acceptable reasons to drink, it can be hard to tell when you or someone you know has a problem. Here are some indications that normal drinking may have become an addiction.
You hide how much you drink.
If you hide how much you drink, it indicates you think you have a problem, or at least you think others would say you have a problem, which amounts to the same thing. This could be lying about how much or how often you drink or it could be something more subtle, like having a few drinks alone before going to dinner with friends so they won’t see how much you really drink.
You protect your drinking time.
If you look forward to work being over so you can go home and drink, you probably have a problem. This indicates that drinking is important enough to you that you have a special place for it in your schedule. You may decline to make plans, or become inflexible when something interferes with your drinking time.
You tried to stop drinking but you couldn’t.
A clear sign of addiction is when you try to stop drinking but you can’t. You might have had bad withdrawal symptoms that made you start drinking again for relief, or you might have just “decided” you really didn’t want to quit after all. Or perhaps you quit for a few days or a week and having proven you could do it, went right back to old habits.
You prioritize drinking over more important things.
Another clear sign of addiction is when you know drinking interferes with more important things but you do it anyway. This could mean missing work because you’re hungover, leaving work early to drink, drinking instead of studying, or blowing off plans with friends or family because you’d rather stay home and drink.
You need to drink more than you used to to feel it.
Needing to drink more to get drunk indicates you’ve built up a tolerance, which is another way of saying you’ve become physically dependent on alcohol. Physical dependence is not exactly the same as addiction but the two often go together and it’s something to be concerned about.
You frequently black out.
Ironically, even though you may have built a tolerance for alcohol, you may be more likely to experience blackouts. You certainly will have more opportunities. Blackouts are typically caused by drinking too quickly and they may happen more easily when you are addicted. If you frequently wake up and can’t remember what happened the night before, it’s a clear sign of a problem.
If you’re struggling with substance use, Recovery Ways can help. We offer intensive outpatient treatment as well as residential treatment. Recovery Ways is a premier drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our mission is to provide the most cost-effective, accessible substance abuse treatment to as many people as possible. Request information online or call us today at 1-888-986-7848.
