Spotting alcoholism isn’t easy, especially if you’re unaware that you’re developing an addiction. It may take a DUI or the loss of a job to shake you, but we don’t want life to get that messy before you come to the realization.
So if you think you’re developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) or you’re beginning to wonder if drinking alcohol is a problem for you, check out these telltale signs. Hopefully by the end of the blog, you’ll be one step closer to figuring out your relationship with the substance.
You Often Drink More Than You Planned
If you trip up once in a while and drink a couple of alcoholic beverages more than you intended, it’s not a big deal. But if this behavior is becoming a regular offense, you may want to pump the breaks on ordering another cocktail.
Enter: Early warning sign. In other words, if you can’t stop once you start, you have trouble controlling your drinking habits.
A Lot of Your Time Is Monopolized by Alcohol
That can include purchasing alcohol, drinking alcohol, and recovering from alcohol. All three take up a boatload of time, drawing you away from everyday responsibilities that need to get done.
Think about it: If you’re always consuming beverages at a bar, you’re not home doing chores around the house. Then, if you wind up overdrinking, you’re likely to experience lack of motivation the next day. Splitting headaches, nausea, fatigue, etc. Overall, this may simply seem like a temporary problem. But if you get stuck in the hangover loop, you could damage your lifestyle.
You Spend Most of Your Time Thinking About Drinking
Chronically obsessing about when you’re going to have your next drink is a clear warning sign that you have a problem with drinking. What’s a good example of this? If you go into work and can’t wait for that 5 o’clock margarita Monday through Friday… Here’s your sign.
You should be able to get through the day-to-day grind without jonesing for your next beer, glass of wine, or tall Jack and Coke.
Your Tolerance Is Getting Higher and Higher
Now this one will look different for everybody, but you’ll be able to recognize that you have a problem when your body starts to feel and show the effects. Slowly over time, you’ll see that your alcohol consumption rate will rise. In response to the increase of toxins in your bloodstream, you’ll notice things like weight gain, memory loss, tremors, and even blackouts. As soon as your health starts taking a deepdive, you should start peacing out from the alcoholism as best you can.
You Start Swapping Your Fave Things With Drinking
You have hobbies, we have hobbies. Like, we wouldn’t give up things like reading, writing, cooking, and staying active, for a tall bottle of Pinot Noir. But if you have a problem with alcohol, you’ll be super tempted to leave the things you love behind to get drunk.
Pay attention to your habits, and whether or not you’re chucking things that usually make you happy out the door. If drinking has pushed out your fav things, or if it’s prevented you from doing them due to frequent hangovers, it may be time to seek help.