Alcohol Abuse Symptoms

Alcohol abuse can be very difficult to understand.

One reason for this is many people believe drinking is a fact of life.

They believe drinking is the way to relax, socialize, and celebrate.

It can be difficult to know where the line between having a drink and abusing alcohol is. There are some common alcohol abuse symptoms that can clear up the confusion, and help you see if someone in your life has a problem.

The person who is addicted to alcohol needs to drink. He or she has little if any control over the matter. Whether your friend always seems to be in places where alcohol is readily available, or keeps his or her own supply at home, this is one way of noticing that drinking has turned into alcohol abuse. The inability to control intake is another symptom. It does not matter what the setting or occasion may be, he or she is simply unable to easily stop after he or she has started.

If your friend is unable to have one drink without wanting more, and you notice this pattern on a regular basis, it is a sign that abuse has become full-blown alcoholism. Individuals who are controlled by alcohol addiction often show irresponsibility in various areas of their lives. Not only does this include irresponsible behavior, but the inability to accept responsibility for consequences.

Whether your friend drinks and drives, starts fights with others, or does not go to work, alcohol abuse symptoms involve blaming someone else. In many instances, this can proceed to expecting other people to take on the responsibility or blame. Your friend may ask you to cover for him or her when he or she has an accident, or pay his or her bills after he or she has used his or her own money for alcohol.

You would not be helping him or her by agreeing to do these things. Enabling an alcoholic means turning his or her problem into your problem. Alcohol abuse symptoms can also be physical. While anyone can experience headaches or nausea from drinking foolishly, a person who is addicted may show physical symptoms on a regular basis. If he or she is someone who has enjoyed good health in the past, physical symptoms can be easier to notice.

If he or she has started to have frequent headaches, hangovers, or other physical symptoms associated with alcohol abuse, drinking has begun to affect his or her health. This can result in your friend being less able than before to function properly in his or her daily life. If you see these alcohol abuse signs in your friend, you may be wondering what you can do to help him or her. If these signs are already evident, it is not too soon to encourage him or her to seek treatment.

Alcohol abuse will not disappear by itself, and all of the problems associated with it can only get worse. Your friend may insist that he or she needs to drink to relax, that he or she cannot have fun without drinking, that he or she needs alcohol in order to feel at ease in social situations, or that any celebration requires alcohol. Whether he or she believes these excuses or not, you need to know they are only excuses. It should help you see that alcohol is running his or her life, and he or she cannot function without it.

Helping your friend get into treatment is the best thing you can do for him or her. If he or she insists he or she does not have a problem, you can approach his or her physician for advice. Many alcoholics listen to their doctors when they will not listen to anyone else. They know doctors are objective professionals. The sooner your friend starts treatment, the better his or her chance of beating his or her addiction.

It will also prevent unnecessary complications from occurring. If your friend drinks tonight, he or she may cause a highway fatality. His or her health and personal life can worsen with every day that he or she continues to drink. If you see alcohol abuse symptoms in your friend, you can be a good friend by not waiting for it to get worse. Make the decision to help him or her contact a treatment center.

Comments are closed.