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Beach House Recovery Center » Blog » How Do You Know if You’re an Alcoholic?
Many people who consume alcohol regularly secretly wonder if they are an alcoholic. Although many people experience alcohol-related problems or concerns, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are an alcoholic. Understanding the differences between alcohol abuse and alcoholism requires greater knowledge and discernment.
Unlike alcohol abuse, which is characterized by drinking that causes clinically significant impairment, alcohol dependence, or alcoholism, is a more severe disorder that must meet strict diagnostic criteria. According to the America Psychological Association (APA), alcoholism includes clinically significant impairment in addition to tolerance, withdrawal, and compulsive use. In this respect, it is a separate and distinct entity— one that leads to serious personal and socioeconomic consequences.
Alcohol’s devastating impact on society cannot be understated. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that in 2015, approximately 90,000 people died annually from alcohol- related causes. Of the 17 million Americans suffering from an alcohol use disorder (AUD), approximately seven percent received treatment within the past year. In other words, 93 percent of those suffering from clinically significant impairment did not receive professional help.
Other alarming findings include the following:
Casual drinking is a socially popular habit that is not problematic for certain people. As a result of genetics, excellent physical health, and a balanced approach to life (or all of these factors combined), they are able to indulge in recreational drinking without crossing the line into excessive and irresponsible behavior. What constitutes normal recreational drinking for certain people may be limited to two or three beers during happy hour on Saturday afternoons, or perhaps a couple of martinis on New Year’s Eve. For others, however, what is perceived as normal is actually immoderate and excessive. Two objective criteria exist that help distinguish between normal and excessive drinking:
Once someone transitions from casual and occasional recreational indulgence to regular binge or heavy drinking episodes, they become physically and psychologically dependent on alcohol. In other words, their alcohol use has become a compulsion and no longer a mere urge.
Alcoholics frequently find that they are unable to make it through an entire day without a single drink, and become obsessively preoccupied with alcohol as their primary focus. At this point, brief lapses in between use or total cessation will result in withdrawal symptoms. Even in early stage alcoholics, withdrawal symptoms may be severe and include:
If left untreated, the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can become debilitating and produce seizures, hallucinations, fever, coma or even death. This contradicts the socially pervasive idea of alcohol as a relatively harmless recreational beverage. It is, in fact, a highly dangerous, excessively abused legal poison.
Additional warning signs can be used to help determine whether someone meets the criteria for alcohol dependence. These include the following:
Research has established a causal link between genetics and alcoholism. In people with strong family histories of alcohol abuse, they may be born genetically predisposed for susceptibility to the disease. Such individuals are more easily triggered by social and environmental triggers than in those without the same genetic wiring. Other people suffer from alcoholism that develops primarily as a result internal and/or external stressors. For example, in people who are employed in highly demanding jobs, suffering from interpersonal relationship problems, or beset by mental or physical health conditions, their risk factor is dramatically increased. A significant percentage of alcoholism is the result of a complex interplay between all of these contributing factors.
Just as there are multiple causes of alcoholism, there are also multiple subtypes of the disorder that are useful for clinical and diagnostic purposes. The following five subtypes are:
For those individuals who may be suffering from an AUD but are not ready to be formally evaluated and diagnosed, understanding these five subtypes can provide an excellent window of insight into the development and progression of their alcoholism. It can also help normalize their experience and alleviate the heavy burden of guilt and shame that often accompany the disease.
Alcoholism requires early intervention and aggressive professional treatment— preferably as soon as possible following an official medical diagnosis. The following treatment options provide a basic guideline:
If you or someone you love is suffering from alcoholism, contact a substance abuse professional today and begin the process of seeking help. Research proves that delaying treatment often leads to suboptimal outcomes and an increased risk of complications. Alcoholism is a chronic, relapsing disease that requires total personal commitment and a strong network of familial, social, and spiritual support in order to battle, and eventually, overcome. It also requires additional steps beyond the successful completion of a medically managed treatment program in order for the long-term benefits to be sustained.
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