What is an Alcoholic?
A social drinker has an occasional drink and can take alcohol or leave it. A binge drinker can go for days or weeks without alcohol, then get majorly drunk in one sitting every few weeks or so. What then, is considered to be an actual alcoholic?
An alcoholic is someone who can not stop. The next day, after what may be considered a binge drinking episode? He craves more. He needs more alcohol. Some alcoholics will literally drink beer in the morning when they first wake up along with their coffee. They will take a bottle of liquor and hide it in their car. They will have a plastic cup that others might mistake for coffee or some other drink that is in reality hiding booze of some type.
An alcoholic will immediately hit the beer or liquor when he arrives home from work. His entire weekend will be spent sitting at home drinking instead of socializing with friends or going to family functions. Life is all about the next drink to an alcoholic.
An alcoholic would rather drink than eat, drink than sleep, drink than have sex. An alcoholic would rather drink than go to his child's play or sporting event. An alcoholic wakes up one day and realizes that little one is suddenly grown with a child of his or her own.
An alcoholic denies he is an alcoholic. He gets upset when confronted with it. He gets angry and often argues with his spouse and loved ones. Then he wonders why he is getting the silent treatment the next day because he can not remember the fight from the night before.
An alcoholic spends more and more money every month on alcohol. What was once a 12-pack of beer for the weekend turns into a case and a bottle of vodka. What once was the occasional credit card bill at the convenience store for a six-pack becomes a $400.00 bill for hard liquor last month.
An alcoholic finds himself facing serious health problems after a while. They can include damage to the brain, the stomach and esophagus, kidney failure and liver damage. An alcoholic is slowly killing himself over time. He is losing interest in all areas of life, his job eventually suffers and his family life can be torn apart. Yet he never sees it coming in his own eyes.
If you would rather stay at home drinking, if you no longer like to go out with family and friends and enjoy a good dinner, a movie and an evening out because you prefer to sit home and drink, you need to realize that you are quite likely an alcoholic. Staying home and drinking is the number one warning sign of alcoholism. Consider how your life has changed since you began drinking and then seriously accept the likelihood that you are an alcoholic and seek help today.
