7 signs that you have a problem with alcohol

Functional alcoholism is the set of problematic drinking patterns that do not seem obvious. before the person and his environment. Many people have problems with alcohol and have begun to develop dependence, but seeing themselves as "functional" in their day-to-day life, they have a very low awareness of risk.

Most people, when they think of "alcoholism" imagine homeless people drinking out of a carton of wine at the next to some garbage cans, or they imagine a person who has lost his job after her family abandon.

People often imagine the most extreme and obvious cases that appear in the movies, but they do not suspect that alcohol problems can be much more subtle and that they do not start out of the blue. overnight: alcohol problems develop over several years, normalizing a series of behaviors and creating habits and rituals around alcohol consumption alcohol.

7 Signs You Might Have Functional Alcoholism

Here are some symptoms of alcohol problems that may go unnoticed by many people.

1. Do you drink alcohol often?

Any excuse seems good to you to get a beer from the fridge or open a bottle of wine. There are people who drink alcohol with meals, because they have been led to believe that this is part of the "Mediterranean diet" and that it is even good for health (it's a lie: alcohol consumption is toxic and carcinogenic at any dose, no matter how moderate you seems).

There are people who have normalized their alcohol consumption so much that they drink on any day or anywhere, not just on weekends or at social events or parties.

• Related article: "5 tips to enjoy a party without alcohol"

2. You drink alcohol in large quantities

I have worked in therapy with hundreds of people who "couldn't stop drinking" after ordering their first drink. And those behaviors didn't set off his alarms because many of his friends were doing the exact same thing, drinking a lot of alcohol. It is like in that popular saying: "evil for many, consolation for fools." When we live in an environment that views extreme alcohol consumption (binge drinking) as normal, it is much more difficult that we consider our relationship with alcohol, because we will compare ourselves with other people and we will think “there are people worse than me” or “I am not the one who drinks the most in the group”.

3. Almost all your plans revolve around alcohol

There are many people with functional alcoholism who they don't know how to enjoy life without alcohol.

They may be people who appear to be "athletes" but who drink a few beers after all the training sessions, or who despite traveling several kilometers on a bicycle every weekend, they still have a big “beer belly” because they only use physical activity as an excuse to drink large amounts of alcohol after work. exercise.

They can also be people who feel unable to go out to dinner or eat with their friends or partner without ordering alcoholic beverages. They also don't mind being the only ones at the table to drink alcohol.

• You may be interested in: "These are the 9 effects that alcohol has on the brain in the short and long term"

4. You surround yourself almost exclusively with “heavy drinkers”

As I said before, it is very common for people with alcohol problems to get together. Drinking alcohol is a very social thing, and most people feel much less guilty about drinking alcohol if they do it in a group and if their friends get as drunk as they do.

5. You pressure other people to drink alcohol

There are people with functional alcoholism who feel very uncomfortable when coming across people who are abstainers or who drink little alcohol. This often makes them think about their own difficulties in choosing not to drink alcohol, so they tend to pressure other people to drink. And if they don't drink, they walk away from them or don't call them back. For them, drinking alcohol regularly is an essential requirement to befriend someone.

6. Some people have shown concern about your drinking

If someone around you has ever been concerned about your drinking, in 99% of cases they are right. For you, alcohol consumption is so normalized that it has become a "blind spot" for you, even though your alcohol dependence is already obvious to the people around you.

If someone has hinted that you sometimes drink too much, listen to them and change it before it's too late.

• Related article: "Addiction: Disease or Learning Disorder?"

7. You keep drinking despite the problems

For many people with functional alcoholism, blackouts, fights, or drink driving are completely normal. But they almost always find excuses to blame other people for their problems.

They will avoid at all costs taking responsibility for their “accidents” and linking them to their relationship with alcohol. Unfortunately, many people with alcoholism only react when they have hit rock bottom or a loved one gives them an ultimatum (the most common is that their partners threaten to end the relationship if they do not stop to drink).

How to overcome functional alcoholism (before it's too late)

If you meet any of the signs that I have described in this article, ask for help. My name is Luis Miguel Real, and I am an addiction psychologist who has helped hundreds of people to give up alcohol and get back to enjoying life without drinking. Get in touch with me and I will help you take the first steps to stop depending on alcohol to be happy.