Substance abuse of any kind can be very dangerous to a person’s health and quality of life. Addiction to alcohol or alcoholism is one such substance abuse that affects millions of people world wide. A lot of people consume alcohol in limited quantities and only occasionally. This is known as ‘social drinking’ and this form of drinking alcohol isn’t considered an addiction. It is only when you can’t live a day without consuming alcohol are you considered to be in danger of addiction. However, most people fail to notice when they or someone around them is bordering on alcoholism. Even if they do notice, most alcoholics refuse to accept that they have a drinking problem. Here is a list of characteristics that an alcoholic or a person on the verge of an addiction displays:
1. Feeling an uncontrollable urge to consume alcohol.
2. Getting irritated or aggressive when someone doesn’t let you drink.
3. You are unable to control the amount of alcohol you consume and generally end up drinking till you are completely intoxicated.
4. Your drinking habit is taking a big chunk out of your income and is causing financial problems.
5. When you don’t have money to buy alcohol, you tend to borrow it or have considered stealing the cash.
6. You have difficulty performing jobs that you were good at otherwise.
7. You are having problems with personal relationships and regularly have fights over your alcohol consumption.
8. You feel depressed if you don’t have alcohol for two or three days.
9. You feel the need to have alcohol to feel ‘normal’ and consume it to forget your day to day problems.
10. You avoid people who object to your drinking and often remain in isolation so that no one interferes with your habit.
If you are having a combination of the above symptoms, you may be on the verge of becoming an alcoholic and should refrain from consumption.