When Drinking Becomes an Issue and a Mental Health Problem
Sunday, November 8th, 2009How do you know that you have a drinking problem? When is it plain to see that you are involving yourself in excessive drinking?
If you have ineffectively tried to discontinue your drinking or if you promised yourself that your drinking days are gone and then you recognized that you were drinking in an excessive way just a few days later, the probability is extremely good that you have drinking problems. The bottom line is that if you have tried to quit drinking and cannot do this, then your drinking is controlling you, instead of the other way around.
In much the same way, if it takes larger amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” more likely than not you need to recognize the fact that you have a drinking problem.
You may be telling yourself that the reasoning for your drinking is so that you can lower your stress or get rid of the pain that you feel. In much the same way, you may be trying to avoid an unsafe situation and may be looking for something better, more constructive, or less mournful.
As you continue your drinking, then again, you will realize that drinking does not bring about the same high and you will also become aware that drinking doesn’t help stamp out whatever elicited your sorrow in the first place.
As you continue to drink in a hazardous manner, regrettably, you may become addicted to alcohol and, as a consequence, you may add another pivotal issue to cope with rather than learning about more productive and healthy ways of coping with your alcohol-related issues.
An Alcohol Assessment is Probably Needed
If you have determined that you have a problem with your drinking, conceivably the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself is to call your physician or healthcare professional and arrange for an appointment for a thorough physical and for an appraisal of your drinking circumstances.
If you openly think that you have a critical problem with your drinking, it may be a good idea to get prepared to hear that you need to get alcohol counseling.
At this point in time, what are your alternatives? You can unquestionably refuse to see your general practitioner and persevere with your pattern of hazardous drinking.
It actually doesn’t take a mastermind, nevertheless, to understand that repeated, heavy drinking, if left untreated, will get worse over time and doubtless result an early death. Therefore, your most positive option is to face your drinking situation and get the alcohol counseling you need.
The Pretense of the Functioning Alcohol Dependent Person
It is somewhat paradoxical to note the fact that numerous alcohol addicted individuals lead busy and active lives and have families, jobs, houses, vehicles, pets, and any number of material possessions similar to non-alcoholics.
Many of these “functional” alcohol dependent people may have never been apprehended for a DUI and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol-related legal difficulties. In spite of this fortunate situation, to the contrary, these alcohol dependent people need to drink in order to operate on a daily basis while upholding their facade as they interact with the outside world.
Ask anyone who has seen them when they are bingeing or in a drunken stupor or ask a family member about the problem drinker’s alcohol addiction, however, and they will be quick to assert the authenticity of the drinker’s situation and the facts about the alcoholic’s drinking circumstances and about his or her alcohol-related predicaments.
Why Do Alcohol Addicted People Fail to See Their Drinking Difficulties?
As alcohol dependency research and statistics on alcohol abuse have accentualted, no matter how evident the alcohol-related predicaments seem to those who interact with the alcoholic, alcohol dependent people regularly deny that drinking is the source of their alcohol-related difficulties. Not only this, but alcohol addicted individuals regularly blame their alcohol-related issues on other people or upon other situations around them rather than seeing their part in the issue.
The source of the issue is that alcohol dependency is a disease of the brain. Once the problem drinker has become addicted to alcohol, he or she typically resorts to denial, manipulation, and dishonesty as a way of dealing with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make the situation more complex, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms frequently circumvents the alcohol addicted person’s rare attempts to abruptly abstain from drinking. As cheerless as the alcohol dependent individual’s existence is, to the contrary, the good news is that professional help is commonly accessible – if the alcoholic reaches out and seeks alcohol therapy.
Conclusion
Acknowledging the fact that drinking is causing difficulties in your daily functioning is conceivably the easiest way to find out if you have a drinking problem. Stated more precisely, if your drinking is eliciting issues with your health, with your employment, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the legal system, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be tackled.
If you have a drinking problem, moreover, this means that you are engaging in abusive drinking.
While some people may be able to pinpoint their “alcohol signs,” pinpoint their problems, and significantly diminish the amount and occurrence of their drinking, other individuals, nevertheless, need to address their drinking problems by getting quality alcohol counseling. Additionally, due to their penchant to deny the facts and alter the truth, alcohol dependent people definitely need competent alcoholism therapy for their excessive drinking.