Are You An Alcoholic?

Do you know the difference between a social drinker, someone who abuses alcohol and an alcoholic? They embody 3 different individuals. The person who is a social drinker only drinks when they are in a social situation, they do not drink alone and they may not even finish one entire drink. A person who abuses alcohol uses alcohol irresponsibly such as drinking and driving or drinking while operating dangerous machinery or someone who intentionally consumed too much alcohol while at a party on a dare or to intentionally get drunk. Someone who is an alcoholic has a disease in which they crave alcohol and suffer withdrawal symptoms if alcohol is not available.

The person who is an alcoholic has become dependent on alcohol in order to cope with life or to feel "normal". The habit of drinking alcohol is having a direct affect on the individual’s ability to function in life.

The person who is an alcoholic will exhibit the following signs of alcohol dependency:

• They have developed a tolerance for alcohol that requires that they consume increasingly higher amounts of alcohol to attain the same level of influence or ability to "feel normal" that drives them to consume the alcohol in the first place.
• They experience withdrawal symptoms if alcohol is not available such as feeling anxious, shaky, sweating, or feeling nauseous.
• The individual will end up drinking more than they intended to drink when they started out drinking that day.
• When they attempt to cut down on the number of drinks they consume or try to stop all together they are unable to be successful and may have had numerous unsuccessful attempts to quit drinking   
• A lot of time and effort is expended towards the need to acquire alcohol
• The individual will miss opportunities for professional activities, social activities or recreational activities with family, co-workers and friends in order to consume alcohol
• They will continue to consume alcohol despite obvious evidence that drinking alcohol is causing them to be physically sick or to have psychological problems that are associated with drinking alcohol.

There are signs that a medical professional will look for when diagnosing a patient with alcoholism.

The individual must exhibit 3 out of these 7 signs to be considered to be dependent on alcohol:

1. There is evidence that alcohol is contributing to loss of work/employment time or performance
2. The individual is angry or sad a good deal of the time
3. There is a history of physical abuse or violence towards others (other drinkers, family members, co-workers, friends or strangers)
4. There is a history of emotional abuse towards family members or others
5. The individual has suffered from one or more "blackouts" after drinking
6. The individual experiences "hangovers" after drinking
7. The individual suffers from tremors, tachycardia or bouts of perspiring

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