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Published on 1/11/2023

What if your life were at risk and you didn't even know it?

Every year, about 95,000 people die due to alcohol-related causes. And one thing many people who die have in common is that they don't think they have a real drinking problem.

Why wouldn't they think they have a problem with alcohol abuse? Most of the time, it's because the signs of alcoholism are often much more subtle than anything you'd find in a typical movie or TV show.

It's important to be honest with yourself if you have a habit of abusing alcohol. Wondering what the signs are you may have a drinking problem? Keep reading to find out!

1. Drinking More Than You Planned to Drink

Sometimes, the signs you may have a drinking problem are more subtle than others. For example, one of the biggest signs is simply drinking more than you originally planned to drink.

It's one thing if this happens every now and then. For example, maybe you linger at the bar for another hour or two because your friends really want you to stay.

However, it's a bad sign when this is a regular habit, especially when you are drinking alone at home. If you keep telling yourself you just need a nightcap, for instance, and then stay up drinking into the wee hours, this is one of the signs of alcoholism. 

2. Lying About Drinking Habits

You don't always have to overthink evidence that you have a problem with alcohol. For instance, if you find yourself lying to other people about how much you drink, you probably have a problem.

Why? If you are lying to others about drinking habits, then on some level, you are ashamed of them. In addition to that, you likely know that if you are honest with others about how much you drink and how often, they might tell you that you have a drinking problem.

In other words, if you are actively lying to other people so they don't tell you that you are abusing alcohol, then you already know that you are, in fact, abusing alcohol and may be worrying about others staging an intervention. And now is the time to be honest with yourself about your habits.

3. Alcohol Impacts Your Daily Life

Another sign that alcoholism may be creeping up on you is that drinking begins to affect your daily life on a regular basis. For example, maybe you skip a nephew's birthday party because you'd rather stay home drinking. Or maybe you have to cancel a date you were looking forward to because you are too drunk to leave the house.

In these scenarios, you basically have two choices: to do the fun thing you were planning to do or to focus on alcohol instead. On a very literal level, if drinking affects your ability to do these fun things, then you are choosing alcohol over other important things.

At the end of the day, there's your real life and there's your drinking habit. And if the drinking is keeping you from enjoying planned activities and daily life in general, then the drinking habit has become a full-on drinking problem.

4. Drinking Occupies Much of Your Schedule

One of the reasons people often have difficulty realizing they are abusing alcohol is that it is difficult to quantify certain things. For example, the answer to how much drinking is too much drinking may vary from person to person.

However, some things are easier to quantify than others. For example, ask yourself: just how much of your regular schedule does alcohol consume?

This doesn't just include the act of drinking itself. It includes buying alcohol (do they know you by name at the alcohol store?), drinking it, recovering from drinking (dealing with hangovers), and so on.

Add it all up and you'll know how much drinking occupies your schedule. And if the amount worries you, then you probably have a drinking problem.

5. You Need a Drink to Relax

Sometimes, people describe alcoholism quite simply. They say it's the difference between wanting a drink and needing a drink.

What does that mean in practical terms? Most drinkers will say the reason they drink is to relax. And if you are drinking every now and then to help you relax, it may not be an issue.

However, problem drinkers eventually get to a point where they cannot relax at all without alcohol. If you can't wait to get home and start drinking each day after work, or you can't sleep unless you've "relaxed" for several hours by drinking each night, then the drinking has become a problem.

6. You Can't Stop the Cravings

Another sign that you have a drinking problem is that you have cravings for alcohol that you cannot control. And these are cravings that go well beyond a sudden desire for hot chips in the middle of the night.

Many alcoholics find themselves unable to think about much else besides their next drink. This can affect their ability to concentrate on everything from relationships to work.

This is a bit like the distinction between wanting and needing a drink. If you can't wait until the next drink, then you have a problem on your hands.

7. Enhanced Drinking Tolerance

Drinking tolerance is something we often joke about. For example, when someone has a very low tolerance, they might joke about being a "cheap date" because it doesn't take much alcohol for them to get a buzz.

However, your own drinking tolerance is no laughing matter. It's important to keep track of whether you have been increasing how much you drink in order to get the buzz that you once had.

This is important because if you need to drink more than you usually do, it means your body is developing a heavy tolerance to alcohol. And you wouldn't have such a heavy tolerance if you weren't drinking too much to begin with.

8. Forgetting What You Did While Drinking

One of the biggest signs that you have a drinking problem is getting "blackout drunk." This is a term that means that your mind effectively blacked out and you do not recall anything that happened after a certain point.

Of course, many alcoholics may not get fully black-out drunk. But if you are starting to forget certain things you did while drinking, then you likely already have a problem.

Should you wake up and discover evidence that you did certain things while drinking that you have no memory of today, treat that as a wake-up call for your problem. And don't hesitate to seek support from others as you recover from addiction.

9. Changing Mood

Have you ever heard the phrase "he's a different person when he's been drinking?" This refers to mood changes that affect certain heavy drinkers. And such mood changes are a major sign that you need to stop drinking.

What's really bad is that if you already suffer from issues that affect your mood (this can include depression and anxiety), alcohol may make those issues worse. And even if you don't suffer from such issues, alcohol may bring about mood changes on its own.

Part of what makes this such an important sign is that mood changes usually happen to those that have been drinking too much for a very long time. But it's never too late to put down the bottle and return to your old self.

10. Drinking Replaces Many of Your Favorite Activities

When alcohol is beginning to take over your life, you can't always see that happening. But ask yourself: are there activities you previously enjoyed doing that have now been replaced by drinking?

For example, maybe those Friday nights reading at the local coffee shop have been replaced by drinking at home. Or maybe you don't play rec league sports anymore because once you get home from work, all you want to do is kick back and drink.

If drinking is something you do on occasion, that's one thing. But if drinking is steadily replacing many of the activities that you used to do, then likely have a problematic relationship with alcohol.

11. Scary Withdrawal Symptoms

If you're reading this, then chances are you are worried that you have been drinking too much. Have you ever tried to stop drinking, even temporarily? If this results in any withdrawal symptoms, this is one of the major signs of alcoholism.

When you drink enough, it makes your brain effectively reliant on alcohol due to how drinking affects your neurotransmitters. And if you stop drinking for a time, this can result in sickness, tremors, hallucinations, anxiety, seizures, and the DTs.

Those who experience these symptoms from cutting back on alcohol have become chemically dependent on drinking. Keep in mind that you will likely need professional help to safely wean off of alcohol because quitting cold turkey might prove fatal to you.

12. Alcohol Affects Your Work or School Life

Earlier, we discussed how problematic drinking may start to replace some of the fun activities you were planning to do. On a related note, you need to pay close attention to whether alcohol is starting to affect your work life or, if you're a student, your school life.

For example, someone who is hungover may be late for work or even have to miss work altogether. When this happens, it means you are willing to risk getting fired rather than drink less. Continued drinking may result in other work-related problems, including you missing important deadlines.

If you're a student, then drinking too much (something easy to do in a college environment) may cause you to miss classes and cause your grades to slip. From work to school, one thing is clear: when alcohol is affecting your life like this, then it clearly has too much control over you.

13. Engaging in Risky Behavior

One of the best and worst things about alcohol is that it makes you lose your inhibitions. Sometimes, people think they need a little "liquid courage" to do things like ask someone out on a date. However, lower inhibitions can also result in you taking unnecessary risks.

For example, someone very drunk may be likelier to start fights with people for no reason or even to take drugs from strangers. In extreme cases, drunk people get behind the wheel, putting countless others at risk.

And that's the real bottom line: if alcohol is causing you to risk your life and the lives of others, then it's important to stop drinking.

14. Driving a Wedge in Your Relationships

It's bad enough that drinking too much can get you fired from work or expelled from your college. But on top of that, alcohol may start driving a wedge into some of your most important relationships.

This may stem from you refusing to do certain activities in favor of drinking. For example, missing date night with your wife because you got too drunk in the middle of the day. Or missing your son's big football game because you are in no condition to drive to the stadium.

Eventually, alcoholics often end up pushing all of their loved ones away. And if you are ever tempted to choose to drink over spending time with friends and family, it means you are prioritizing alcohol over your relationships.

15. You Have Trouble Stopping

Our last sign that you have a drinking problem is quite simple and quite definitive. If you have tried to stop drinking before but couldn't, then you very likely have a problem.

It's the classic cry of the drinker: "I can quit anytime!" However, once many people actually stop drinking, they experience negative emotions. These emotions were already present, but the person was using alcohol to mask them in an attempt to feel better.

Long story short? If you want to quit drinking but can't do so on your own, that's the biggest sign you have a major drinking problem on your hands. Fortunately, you don't have to embrace the sober life on your own.

Get Help For Your Drinking Problem Today!

The hardest part of any drinking problem is recovering from it. But we're here to make sure you don't have to recover on your own.

Here at Progress House, we offer residential treatment plans to help you recover. Ready to take back control of your life? All you have to do is fill out this form today!