Alcohol Abuse: Recognising The Signs

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Most of us drink. Some of us may even binge every other weekend. But where do you draw the line between moderate/social use and alcoholism? Generally a good indicator is when friends and family start to worry about you, or when you personally start to worry or feel ashamed about drinking. Talking a doctor or counsellor will allow you to properly determine whether you have a problem. In the meantime, it may be worth reading into these signs to see if you fit the bill.

Your drinking has got you a criminal conviction

If you’ve been arrested or warned by police for drunken behaviour, this is generally a sign that you need to tone things down a bit. This could include being drunk and disorderly, trespassing into an area whilst intoxicated or drinking under the influence. It may pay to think back to any previous dangerous or unlawful situations that you’ve found yourself, whether or not you got caught in the act. If you can easily identify such situations, then this a sign that alcohol is taking control of your actions for the worse.

There are many things you can do to wipe clean your criminal convictions and start fresh. Whilst they may haunt you forever on a DBS check, you may be able to legally contest having to pay fines or serve sentences by showing that you’re making a recovery. There are specialist lawyers that can deal with individual charges such as DUI attorney for a drink driving charge.

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Your drinking is causing you to neglect responsibilities

Failing to turn up at work or school because you were drinking, neglecting your kids or forgetting important commitments are all clear signs that alcohol is negatively affecting your life. Such behaviour when taking to the extreme could result in getting fired, suspended or having social services intervene.

Start to record the amount of times this is happening, and start setting alarms and keeping calendars so that you’re on time to events and know when to limit your drinking. If you still find it hard to keep by this code, you may need to seek help elsewhere.

Drinking is damaging your relationships

If your family or partner does not like your drinking habits and it is resulting in arguments, ultimatums, splits or physical violence, alcohol could be ruining your personal life. Of course, relationship problems can be due to a number of factors, but if alcohol is the running theme, then it may be worth taking the advice of your friends and family. There are also counselling services that can help with this area.

You need to drink to de-stress

A lot of us may use a glass of wine or a few beers to unwind after a hard day’s work, but you shouldn’t have to rely on these things to de-stress. If your first reaction to every argument or bit of bad news is to hit the bottle, this could masking problems or creating an unhealthy reliance. Start experimenting with other methods of de-stressing such as exercise, listening to music, meditations, reading, gaming or simply going for a walk – whatever gives you comfort without involving alcohol.