Many people enjoy a drink to relax, celebrate a special occasion, or socialize with friends. Having an occasional alcoholic beverage usually won’t cause any harm, being addicted to alcohol — a condition called alcohol use disorder (AUD) — can cause serious health issues and have a devastating effect on the rest of your life.
How can you tell when your drinking is more than an indulgence and crossing over into addiction and abuse?
As a leading provider of treatments and therapies for substance use disorder, Harbor Community Health Centers is committed to helping patients lead healthier, more fulfilling lives without addiction. Our team reviews some of the signs of alcohol addiction:
There’s nothing wrong with looking forward to having a drink or two with friends and loved ones. The problem arises when drinking becomes your primary reason for getting together in the first place. When you look forward to socializing because it means you’ll get to drink, that’s a sign to be aware of, especially if you find yourself prioritizing drinking events over other activities you enjoy.
Maybe you plan on having a drink or two to relax — but you wind up having several drinks or polishing off a six-pack or a whole bottle of wine. Or maybe you plan on meeting with friends for an hour or two at a local bar, but wind up staying until closing time. While an occasional overindulgence might not be anything to worry about, if it happens repeatedly, it’s worth paying attention.
Are you becoming secretive about your drinking to avoid comments from friends or loved ones? Do you find yourself lying to friends and family about how much or how often you’re drinking? These could be signs that you are developing a problem. Secretive behaviors are a common theme in alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder.
If you find you need to drink more to experience the same effects you once felt with fewer drinks, you could be developing tolerance. Tolerance is a sign that your body is adapting to alcohol and needs more to reach the same feeling. Tolerance is a major component of addiction.
It’s one thing to have a single drink to relax, but if you’re reaching for alcohol when you’re anxious, angry, lonely, or stressed out, that’s a red flag. Alcohol might provide short-term relief, but in the long run, drinking can make matters a lot worse, and it can increase your risk of depression and other health conditions.
If you’re spending more and more time with a drink in your hand or dealing with the after effects of drinking, that’s a sign you’re drinking too much, and you might have an alcohol use problem. The same is true if you find yourself thinking about alcohol and planning how and when you’ll get your next drink.
Like all types of substance use disorders, AUD can take a toll on other aspects of your life, and that toll can happen faster than you might think. If you’ve ever missed a deadline, overslept due to last night’s drinking, or gone to work or school dealing with a hangover, that’s a clear sign that alcohol may be a problem in your life.
This is one of the biggest indicators of alcohol use disorder. If you’ve set limits or tried to stop drinking but couldn’t follow through, that’s a strong sign your drinking may be out of your control. The same is true if you swear off drinking only to “break” your abstinence, or if you think you can get by with just one drink, but can’t stop at one drink.
Many people think that if they have a job or take care of other responsibilities, that means they don’t have a drinking problem — but that’s not necessarily the case. AUD affects people from all walks of life, including people who “look” fine on the surface. Alcohol use disorder is a serious condition and needs support from experienced medical providers and addiction specialists.
If you are suffering from AUD, early treatment is the key to taking back control of your life. To learn how we can help, call 310-547-0202 today to schedule an appointment with the Harbor Community Health Centers addiction medicine or behavioral health team at one of our two locations in San Pedro, California. We have specialists who focus on alcohol use disorder and counseling to support you or your loved one.
