Signs of Alcoholism
Signs Of Alcoholism
Alcoholism is when a person crosses from abusing alcohol into becoming dependent on it. Alcoholism can have a huge, destructive impact on a person’s life and well-being, as well as on the people close to them. Alcoholism is a progression, not something that happens over night.
For this reason, many people don’t even realize that they have crossed that line, and may deny it even if it is pointed out to them, because the change has been slow and gradual enough that they don’t even perceive such a large difference.
There are a number of warning signs that a person might be suffering from alcoholism, including tolerance, withdrawal, and loss of control, among a number of other factors. It is important to be aware of these factors, so that if you or a loved one is at risk for alcoholism or has already become inflicted by the disease, you will know what to look for and when it’s time to get help.
The first factor to look for when trying to determine if a person is an alcoholic is tolerance. Tolerance is when it takes progressively more alcohol to get the same effect. People can develop a tolerance to many things, such as prescription and over the counter drugs. It’s the same with alcohol.
Many people may say that they can drink heavily and have no problem with it, using this as an excuse to continue drinking. However, this is not just being able to hold their liquor. Being able to easily drink much more than a normal amount of alcohol before displaying noticeable effects is a sign of having built up a tolerance, and should be considered a red flag.
The second sign of alcoholism to look for is symptoms of withdrawal. Just like the withdrawal that many smokers feel when they go too long without a cigarette; alcoholics will also go through symptoms of withdrawal after a period of time without alcohol. When a person consumes large quantities of alcohol on a regular basis, their body gets used to it and learns to function with it. At that point, no longer having the alcohol upsets the balance that your body has developed around the presence of alcohol.
Warning signs of going through withdrawal from alcohol include anxiety, sweating, depression, trembling, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, and a lessened appetite. Severe withdrawal can also lead to more dangerous symptoms, such as confusion, fever, hallucinating, and even seizures.
Another warning sign for alcoholism is the loss of control of a drinking habit. Even when a person says that they can stop drinking anytime they want, many times that is not necessarily the case. An alcoholic individual might not even realize that they have lost the ability to stop drinking. At that point the drinking has become so habitual that they don’t even stop to think about it anymore before they take the next drink.
When a person has lost control of their drinking habit, they may start to drink more heavily than they wanted or intended, or for a longer amount of time. An alcoholic may also even have a desire to lessen their drinking or stop altogether, but find that they can’t.
