How to determine if you are addicted to alcohol. How to understand that you are an alcoholic? How to determine the initial stage of alcoholism

From this article you will learn the easiest way to identify the first signs of alcoholism in a person. Is it worth sounding the alarm already or is it not so scary yet?

The list contains 5 main signs of alcoholism. Even if one sign is present, we can say with confidence that a person has an alcohol addiction.

If you want to help a person, first of all, you yourself need to understand what alcoholism is in order to be able to convey this message to the drinking person.

The person himself often denies that he is suffering. After all, few people want to admit their addiction. Therefore, a person protects himself in every possible way from attempts to convict himself of alcoholism, this is how he protects his addiction, depriving himself of his chances of recovery.

I wrote in the article how to destroy all excuses for addiction.

Remember that recognizing the signs of alcoholism is the first step towards sobriety.

Awareness of the problem is already half the solution.

And as long as a person denies his addiction, nothing will move.

So, here is a list of signs of alcoholism by which you can clearly determine that a person has an alcohol addiction.

Signs of alcoholism. List

Sign No. 1. Loss of control over drinking

The first sign of alcoholism is that a person loses control over drinking.

• Once he starts drinking it's hard for him to stop
• A person often gets drunk to a deep drunken state,
• More often he drinks until he is physically unable to drink alcohol,

It is called loss of control.

It doesn't matter how often a person drinks alcohol or what type of alcohol they prefer (it could even be beer). Another thing is important, keep an eye on:

• Does a person lose control over drinking?
• Can a person drink one bottle of beer and stop?

If not, and you notice frequent breakdowns when a person drinks much more than he originally planned to drink, this is a clear sign of alcoholism.

Sign No. 2. Always depressed mood in sobriety

The second sign of alcoholism is associated with the fact that a person feels depressed and depressed most of the time when sober.

When he doesn't have access to alcohol, his mood most of the time depressed, irritated, a person is always dissatisfied with something. This is a clear sign of alcoholism.

The predominant negative state in sobriety is associated with withdrawal syndrome.

It is also typical for an addicted person aggressiveness and isolation in sobriety.

He is experiencing pain from not drinking alcohol, and therefore projects this negative internal state onto external circumstances: onto nearby people and life circumstances. It is called .

The person does not understand that the pain is caused by past alcohol use.

And to stop experiencing internal torment, you just need to stop drinking alcohol and go through a period of withdrawal.

I wrote about how long the withdrawal period lasts in the article?

Sign No. 3. Sudden mood swings when given the opportunity to drink

The next sign of alcoholism. When a person has the opportunity to drink, his mood suddenly changes to positive, and his thinking temporarily clears up.

The addict begins to behave energetically and cheerfully.

This sign of alcoholism is due to the fact that a person subconsciously planned a drink before and looked forward to it in order to satisfy the internal alcohol craving.

When he's not drinking, he's in standby mode and was detached from reality, waiting to escape into the alcoholic world.

Having received the long-awaited opportunity to quench his alcohol cravings, he unconsciously begins to rejoice.

Also included in this sign of alcoholism is the fact that only in a drunken state do you see a person joyful and cheerful.

Sign No. 4. Denial of alcoholism

The fourth sign of alcoholism.

• The addicted person himself denies his dependence in every possible way,
• Denies his addiction to alcohol
• He defends and justifies his use.

Alcoholism is, first and foremost, a disease of denial.

• How more people is in alcoholism, the more he denies his addiction,
• A person has his own set of compelling reasons why he needs to drink alcohol,
• When trying to point out to a person his addiction, he reacts sharply and aggressively.

Sign No. 5. Taking advantage of every opportunity to drink

The last sign of alcoholism is:

• Whenever an opportunity arises, a person tries to drink,
• He uses any excuse to pour alcohol into himself.

For example:

• Going to visit
• Dinner in a cafe
• Weekend,
• Holidays,
• Free time,
• Vacation.

All a person’s thoughts revolve around the idea of ​​drinking in order to relieve the tension born alcohol addiction. Therefore, he is looking for any social occasion to disguise his addiction and alcohol cravings.

Gradually, a person’s whole life begins to be built around:

1. drinking alcohol,
2. getting rid of the effects of alcohol,
3. preparation for use.

It is called cycle of addiction.

Progressive signs of alcoholism

Over time, new progressive signs of alcoholism appear:

• Alcohol tolerance increases - a person needs more and more alcohol to get the same buzz.
• A person stops getting the same effect from drinking.
• His mental health problems become apparent: isolation, aggressiveness, irritability, apathy, depression in sobriety they become permanent.
• Parallel dependencies are developed: , .
• A person develops rigidity of thinking (inflexibility), expressed in the inability to adapt to circumstances, change his behavior and change his approach to solving problems.

All this is due to the fact that alcoholism and addictive behavior itself always progresses and over time ceases to give a person the desired relaxation.

I hope that with the help of this article you have gained knowledge about how to identify signs of alcoholism.

Human life is full of surprises and unexpected turns of fate. She is sometimes beautiful, sometimes demanding, sometimes testing a person’s strength. She gives him the opportunity to feel grief and despair so that he learns to appreciate happiness and joy. But not always and not all people today know how to deal with their failures on their own. They often resort to drugs and alcohol in order to forget themselves and distract themselves from the negativity of the world. And at this moment something terrible occurs - something that creeps up unnoticed, something that is not fully realized by the unfortunate victim of circumstances. How to understand that you are an alcoholic?

Alcoholism concept

Speaking about such a problem as alcoholism - and this is nothing more than a serious problem - we need to consider it from the perspective of a pathological health condition in which a person wants to drink alcohol every day, nightly, hourly. This is a physical dependence on the desire to alleviate one’s feelings, if any, or to plunge into the mood of euphoric ecstasy, which a person comes to after drinking several glasses of a high-proof drink. This is a snake that sits in a person’s head and, on a subconscious level, pushes him to take the next “life-giving” dose. After all, this is a serious illness that requires emergency intervention and immediate treatment.

Who is an alcoholic

But how can you tell if a person is an alcoholic? And who is an alcoholic anyway? This is not only that unfortunate tramp without a permanent place of residence in torn, dirty clothes with an eternally blue, swollen face, who constantly hangs around the next “liquor”. A completely healthy, educated, intelligent person can become an alcoholic without even suspecting it.

The desire to drink and the activation of the desire occur synchronously, without delaying the information in the mind that this is the first “alarm bell.” Some kind of trouble in life, divorce, financial insolvency, loss of a loved one - all this is accompanied by a bottle of whiskey or cognac, which over time becomes a kind of lifeline for a suffering person. He is increasingly drinking a glass of harmful drink, no longer delimiting for himself the time frame and place of committing alcoholic violence against himself. He doesn’t look at the fact that today is not Friday or Saturday, that tomorrow he needs to rush to work, be fresh and cheerful, but not intoxicated. He is deeply convinced that such drinking bouts are so-called rehabilitation or a course of some kind of therapy, or something. And in no way does he think that he won’t be able to stop in time and that he needs to stop at all, in principle. But alas, this is the deepest self-deception.

How to understand that you are an alcoholic

People very rarely come to the right conclusions in a timely manner and even less often can get out of the vicious circle of alcoholic drinking on their own. But how can you understand that you are an alcoholic without allowing the disease to progress to the point of no return? After all, it is not even necessary to be plunged into confusion or sadness on any occasion in order to “wash down” your failures in this way. This can happen in moments of joy, with or without reason. This moment is especially dangerous for modern youth. When going to a nightclub for a party on Friday evening, young people necessarily use a high-grade recreational substance. A similar situation is repeated on Saturday evening as the weekend continues. Subsequently, an urgent need develops to consume it on weekends; this is a great way to “relax” and escape from the drabness of everyday life and work problems.

Young people themselves do not notice how Friday and Saturday “relaxations” become more frequent, repeating on Wednesday while watching a football match with a beer, and on Thursday about meeting friends, and even on Sunday - after all, “a new hard work week will begin tomorrow” . Thus, people, completely unnoticed by themselves, are exposed to a disease called “alcoholism.” They don’t even ask themselves the question of how to understand that you have become an alcoholic. Although the answer to this question is quite simple: abstaining from alcohol for a couple of months or the inability to abstain even for a week from a fraught potion will make it possible to find out who is who.

Symptoms of alcoholism

Concerned people should take note of a number of factors that may indicate that their loved one has fallen into the trap called “alcohol addiction.” How can you tell if your husband is an alcoholic? How to find out that a young son is excessively fond of alcoholic beverages? How to protect an unmarried sister who has fallen into depression from alcoholism? How to understand that you are an alcoholic? manifests itself in the following symptoms:

• the presence of a regular desire to drink, regardless of whether there is a reason for this or not;
• the drinker does not care at all what kind of alcoholic drink to drink, because the point is not that he wants to enjoy the taste of real live beer or high-quality cognac aged for many years, his main goal is to indulge in the euphoria of intoxication;
• sudden mood swings from deep confusion in a sober state to exuberant joy after drinking alcohol;
• the appearance of a kind of immunity to alcohol: increased resistance to large doses and their constant increase;
• absence of gag reflexes after consumption large quantity alcohol;
• manifestations of withdrawal syndrome and severe hangover;
• noticeable deterioration in appearance: dry skin, dilated veins on the extremities, yellowed whites of the eyes and burst capillaries in the eye sockets, swelling and yellowness of the face, bruises under the eyes, tremors of the hands;
• deterioration of attitude towards one's appearance, especially in women: a careless appearance, fatigue on the face, a roughened voice.

A person asking himself the question: “How can I tell if I’m an alcoholic?” - you just need to look in the mirror and analyze the listed signs. If the symptoms converge, the affirmative verdict is obvious.

Causes of alcoholism

Why do people become alcoholics? This is mainly influenced by negative events that occurred in the life of a drunken person the day before:

• divorce or separation from a loved one - this is one of the massive reasons why people go into an alcoholic “marathon”;
• loss of ability to work due to physical injuries - many people, becoming disabled, have a very hard time with this kind of incident in their lives, so they turn to alcohol in order to somehow forget;
• loss of a loved one - even more frequent cases of people turning to binge drinking are a consequence of the death or death of one of their relatives;
• financial insolvency - it often happens that fairly wealthy people who were afloat suddenly become bankrupt or lose their savings due to job loss, and then another bottle of high-proof alcohol becomes their friend for a fairly long period;
• weakness of will - sometimes the cause of alcoholism is the most common inability of a person to resist the desire to drink, even if there is no special reason for this.

The listed prerequisites for destructive addiction explain the initial reason for a person becoming addicted in combination with symptomatic signs. How to understand that you are an alcoholic? It is enough to analyze the events preceding binge drinking and compare your behavior with the listed symptoms.

Consequences of alcohol addiction

Many people abuse alcohol, but not everyone thinks about the consequences. And they are quite unpleasant, and sometimes scary. What can alcoholism lead to?

• Deterioration of the psycho-emotional state - a person becomes irritable, emotionally excited, he is tormented by insomnia and constant lack of sleep.
• Malicious influence on the nervous system - alcohol destroys brain cells, spreading its activity to nerve endings. A person develops hand tremors and deteriorates motor skills.
• Negative Impact on the cardiovascular system - many drunken members of society often experience heart attacks and strokes.
• Localization of the reproductive system - women who constantly drink beer reduce their opportunity to become mothers, and men experience initial signs of sexual dysfunction.

Help from relatives

Relatives and friends are the only lifeline for people who have become dependent on alcohol. How can you tell if a guy is an alcoholic? How to help him get out of the web of alcoholic tendencies? Only patience, diligence and a great desire to help can influence the situation and cope with an illness that is unpleasant for a person and his environment.

A comprehensive fight against alcoholism should include several of the most important aspects, namely:

• family intervention - only relatives can influence an alcoholic and help him get out of the “alcohol hole”;
• mandatory hospitalization - medical care and long-term therapy together with coding are simply necessary in especially advanced cases;
• the desire of the alcoholic himself is that only those who strive to cope with their illness, and do not try to indulge it, can overcome the pathology called “alcoholism.”

Dependence on strong drinks has long been the scourge of modern society. The sooner treatment begins, the faster specialists will help the person. Often, relatives pay attention only when the disease has already entered the second and third stages. IN brief overview we'll tell you how they manifest themselves external signs alcoholism.

Alcoholism is the scourge of modern society

First manifestations

Patients often deny their addiction, so they refuse not only treatment, but also consultation with a narcologist. Time passes, and the disease gradually evolves. In order not to miss precious minutes, you should take a closer look at your loved one. Lack of attention is the main reason why alcoholism is actively spreading.

“Alcohol is a universal poison that destroys all human systems and organs. With the growth of constant intoxication, a person loses a sense of proportion and control over the alcohol consumed. As a result, the central nervous system is damaged, which leads to psychosis and neuritis.”

Craving for drink

The first signs of addiction appear after a couple of regular drinking sessions. During this period, dangerous changes begin in the body, leading to the destruction of cells of the nervous system and brain. The pleasure hormone is transformed in such a way that without alcoholic drinks the feeling of satisfaction is lost.

The patient claims that he drinks only on holidays or to relieve nervous tension. But the attraction to alcohol is the foundation for the disease. How to understand that a person has a craving for drinking?

• A large number of reasons. The end of the work week, a good bonus or the inability to refuse the director become reasons for drinking. Gradually, the circle of friends changes to drinkers, and communication does not take place without alcohol. When asked by loved ones about drinking, the drinker finds more and more new reasons. The desire for intoxication is disguised under any pretext.
• Anticipation of drinking. A person in anticipation of the upcoming libation is in high spirits. In order not to be late for the party, he completes things faster.
• Positive attitude towards alcohol. Drunkenness is assessed with positive side, and all obstacles are negative. The right to drink is strictly defended, and all talk about addiction is suppressed.
• Comfort while drunk. Psychological and physical comfort in alcohol intoxication.
• Restructuring of life values. Everything related to drunkenness becomes a positive thing, and everything that interferes (family, work) becomes negative. The patient often jokes about the superiority of drinking over usual traditions.
• Lack of critical evaluation. A person does not consider everyday drunkenness dangerous and reprehensible, and therefore refuses to change anything in life.

The patient claims that he drinks only on holidays

The patient does not recognize the above signs of alcohol dependence. Any attempt to hint about the problem is suppressed. If loved ones insist on examination or consultation with a specialist, then scandals break out in the family.

Uncontrollable drinking

How do you know that the disease is already on your doorstep? The inability to control oneself and stop at small doses of drinking is a sign of alcoholism, which manifests itself at all stages of the evolution of the disease. The patient does not control the amount of alcohol he drinks, so the drinking continues until he loses consciousness. Promises to family are forgotten after the first glass.

Why does a person stop controlling himself? Doctors have identified a number of reasons that force an alcoholic to drink.

• Unsatisfactory degree of intoxication. Patients strive to achieve the desired level of intoxication, so they drink more.
• Time. Datura goes through a certain period. To constantly keep the body “under the influence”, it is necessary to increase the number and frequency of doses.
• Inability to determine your norm. Every alcoholic is sure that he knows how long it takes to switch off. But in reality it turns out that after another drink you lose consciousness.

The inability to stop drinking small doses is a sign of alcoholism

Loss of defensive reflex

The main component of all alcoholic drinks is ethanol, a rather toxic substance. To cope with poisoning, the human body has developed a natural defense - vomiting. The reflex helps to quickly and painlessly get rid of dangerous components in the digestive system.

Casual drunkenness is characterized by the presence of a natural defense mechanism that stops the drinker from taking a dangerous dose. A violent reaction to ethanol indicates the maximum dose after which the body can no longer cope with alcohol. Trying to increase the amount of drink will result in vomiting.

If the body reacts to excess alcohol with a defense mechanism, then there is no addiction yet. But the more often a person drinks, the weaker the response to the poison. The body is rebuilt to function with ethanol, so vomiting is no longer necessary. Now the drunkard gets drunk until he loses consciousness, but no rejection occurs.

Narcologists pay attention to the symptoms of alcoholism when the patient boasts of increasing the amount of alcoholic beverages he drinks. Often a person does not realize that this is a wake-up call for the body. The more often ethanol is consumed, the more it is needed to become intoxicated. Increasing the usual dose by 3 times takes everyday drunkenness to a new, more dangerous level.

Systematic drinking

The first signs of alcoholism are almost invisible to strangers. To understand that a person needs help, you need to carefully observe their behavior. The more often a patient drinks alcohol, the more problems he has. Drinking libations once a week signals the first stage of the disease. Regular drinking is the result of dangerous changes in the body.

At first, the patient hides from his family and hides his addiction from friends and colleagues. Lack of money will force you to make savings for a rainy day. Often relatives pay attention only when external signs of alcoholism have left marks on the patient’s face.

If the drinking lasts more than a day, it’s binge drinking.

Regular drinking does not necessarily mean drinking until you lose your pulse. A couple of shots of vodka for your appetite or a glass of wine for Have a good mood force the body to adapt to work with a dangerous substance. In its properties, ethanol resembles drugs, since the body quickly gets used to it and is not able to function normally without the next dose. A teaspoon of cognac in coffee will gradually grow into a bottle in one sitting.

If the drinking lasts more than a day, then doctors declare binge drinking. To remove unpleasant symptoms hangover, the patient drinks a small amount of alcohol in the morning. But the relief is temporary and after two to three hours the painful manifestations return.

Behavior change

Strong drinks deform a person’s personality, so even at the beginning of the disease, the first signs of transformation can be discerned. Uncontrollable outbursts of aggression and unjustified cruelty appear more and more often. A successful businessman or a responsible father of a family turns into a monster in one minute.

Attacks of anger occur in drunken and sober states, often accompanied by assault. After the outbreak, the patient does not understand the reason that led to the unreasonable aggression. A drunk gets turned on for any reason, and anger is very destructive.

Amnesia

Intoxication is the result of the death of cells in the nervous system and brain. The more a person drinks, the less strength the body has to recover. Small amounts of ethanol do not cause memory loss. But if you take strong drinks with high content alcohol, then amnesia is guaranteed.

Scientists are confident that lapses in memory after drinking are the result of “turning off the record” of information. The pause lasts seconds or hours, depending on the amount drunk and the physical condition of the person. Dropped fragments are rarely restored.

Woman with signs of alcoholism

External signs

How to determine if a person has an addiction? This is not always a definitive diagnosis, but there are physical symptoms of alcoholism that cannot be hidden. The longer the disease evolves, the easier it is to recognize a drunkard.

• Flabbiness of facial skin. Deformation of the collagen structure of the dermis, in which muscles lose tone. When sober, the face of a drunkard looks saggy. The symptoms disappear after drinking the next dose of ethanol.
• "Stars" of capillaries. Poor circulation due to constant drinking leads to the destruction of the structure of blood vessels, which is reflected in the form of marks on the nose, neck or cheeks.
• Bags under the eyes. The diuretic effect of alcohol affects water and electrolyte balance. Poor circulation of fluid and improper functioning of the kidneys lead to edema.
• Red face. After ethanol enters the bloodstream, the body continuously tries to get rid of the poison. The pressure increases, the pulse quickens, and the blood rushes to the head. Alcohol abuse causes purple or bluish hematomas in areas of the body where oxygen does not reach.
• Yellowness of the skin, sclera, nail plates. Disruption of the internal organs (liver and gall bladder) leads to painful staining.
• Blue lips. Danger sign, which signals the possibility of blood clots.
• Rough voice. Alcohol burns the ligaments and eventually they become deformed. The symptom is especially pronounced in women.
• Tension of the frontalis muscle with complete relaxation of the face. The nasolabial fold deepens, resulting in an unhealthy expression on the face. Convolutions appear at the inner corner of the eyes, and as a result, the organs of vision appear sunken. The shape of the lips changes due to constant being in a closed state.
• Tremor of the limbs. The tendons in the fingers shorten, which is why drunkards have crooked hands. In an advanced state, the patient cannot fully open his hand.

Signs of alcoholism appear earlier in women than in men. The characteristics of the body of representatives of the fair sex quickly diagnose dangerous symptoms. Remember: the disease destroys the human body, so physical changes appear. The more often a patient drinks strong drinks (especially of low quality), the faster the evolution of the disease occurs.

“The specificity of the way of life of the strong half of humanity is such that it is customary to simply not notice the oncoming illness, justifying it with difficult life situations, the need to relax and rest. Meanwhile, an outwardly strong organism is already exposed to the destructive effects of the “green serpent.”

Treatment of alcoholism

What to do

If you discover signs of alcoholism in a loved one, then the question immediately arises about further actions. The sooner treatment begins, the less time it will take for rehabilitation. The disease goes through three stages.

• First. During this period, loved ones hardly notice the symptoms of impending disaster. Minor changes in behavior do not draw attention to themselves. There are always excuses for frequent drinking.
• Second. Pathological craving for alcohol becomes unhealthy with regularity. Days of heavy drinking give way to painful hangovers. Memory and intelligence deteriorate due to destruction of the nervous system and brain. Unreasonable outbursts of anger.
• Third. Physical and mental degradation of personality. The poisoned body cannot cope with the poison, so intoxication comes after a small dose of alcohol. A painful hangover can be treated with ethanol or professional medications.

We do not recommend self-medicating or turning to charlatans. The longer the process of addiction to alcohol drags on, the more the body is poisoned. In the last stage, the patient is a wreck, since all life-support systems are damaged. While relatives are engaged in “treatment” using photographs or casting spells, the disease moves to the next stage of development.

How to convince an alcoholic to understand the danger of the problem? Often, drunkards do not perceive addiction as a disease, so they refuse help. We recommend that you consult a narcologist to explain the situation. Consulting with a psychologist and visiting anonymous groups will shed light on the subject of attention.

Adding or adding any substances that reduce the craving for drinking is a dangerous activity. Most of the components are toxic and therefore are ambiguously perceived by the human body. If the patient finds out about the treatment, then the “cook” will be punished physically or legally. A professional narcologist will prescribe a suitable drug after a complete examination of the patient.

Alcoholism is a dangerous disease that spares neither women nor men. To prevent the disease from evolving into a more severe form, you need to know what the signs of addiction are. Effective treatment is based on rapid diagnosis.

Alcoholism has always been considered a dangerous disease that claims thousands of lives every year. Therefore, it is important for a person who loves to drink alcohol to give up this dangerous hobby in time. But how to overcome your favorite habit? To do this, it is important to pay attention to the signs that allow you to recognize alcohol dependence. Today, doctors identify obvious symptoms by which they can correctly identify an alcoholic - moreover, thanks to them, people can immediately take the path of correction, understanding what kind of life awaits them in the future.

How to determine alcoholism in people? To do this, it is important to know the causes of addiction, as well as the rules for how to distinguish ordinary person from an alcoholic.

It is important to remember that alcohol addiction manifests itself in several stages, each of which is endowed with certain symptoms. With their help, it is possible to accurately assess the patient’s health status, as well as understand whether he is becoming like an alcoholic or not?

To find out for sure that a person is addicted to strong drinks, you should not miss the first signs of the development of the disease, which clearly characterize the state of drunks. Narcologists say that many loved ones of people who like to drink strong drinks overlook the symptoms of alcoholism. As a result of this, it goes into an advanced form, which is quite difficult to cure.

As the disease progresses, the alcoholic begins to worsen the course of mental and physical dependence - in this case, the person already becomes a drunkard with a serious health disease. Over time, this category of people develops tolerance to strong drinks, develops withdrawal syndrome, and also develops palimpsests (memory lapses, but maintaining the adequacy of the personality).

Attention: the sooner dependence on alcoholic beverages is identified and measures are taken to eliminate it, the faster it will be possible to achieve long-term remission, as well as completely cure alcoholism.

How to understand that you are an alcoholic? To do this, it is important to find out the causes and signs of the disease, which will allow you to understand whether a person is an alcoholic or not.

Reasons for the development of alcoholism

It is believed that the external environment can cause the development of persistent dependence on strong drinks. But still the reason this phenomenon lies much deeper. Today many people use alcoholic drinks, however, not everyone develops alcoholism and painful addictions. Ethanol, which is part of any type of alcohol, has a serious toxic effect on nerve cells, while constantly changing metabolism. This is most difficult for women, adolescents, and people with unfavorable heredity. It is not difficult to identify alcoholism in a person belonging to one of these groups, since its signs immediately begin to appear in the body, while greatly changing behavior and appearance personality.

To understand how to quickly recognize an alcoholic, as well as correctly distinguish him from a drunkard, it is important to familiarize yourself with the causes of addiction. Modern medicine divides them into 3 main groups:

• Physiological. These include unfavorable heredity and a painful attraction to strong drinks. Statistics say that children of parents who often drink alcohol suffer from addiction much more often and more severely. This is especially noticeable if the ancestors were diagnosed with severe alcoholism.
• Psychological. The first intake of a large dose of alcohol causes euphoria in people, so they quite often drink when they find themselves in a severe stressful situation, or during times of severe nervous tension they smooth out their psychological state with the help of wine or vodka. Over time, a person gets used to such stress relief (this is especially true for alcoholics who have poor resistance to stress or a low pain threshold), as a result of which he adapts to relaxation only with the help of strong drinks.
• Social. Drunkenness of loved ones, the individual’s attitude towards bad company, poor living environment - all this refers to the social reasons for the development of alcoholism.

To determine whether a person is an alcoholic or not, perhaps it is enough just to know the reasons for constant drinking. However, it is not always possible to understand from them alone whether he is becoming an alcoholic or is just drinking strong drinks for the sake of pleasure.

To know for sure whether a person has become dependent on alcohol, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the signs of the development of this disease.

What are the signs of addiction development?

Alcoholism - how to determine its development? This is not difficult to do; you just need to notice two or more symptoms of this disease in a person. These include:

• frequent drinking of alcohol;
• the emergence of body resistance to drinking alcohol;
• no vomiting after taking the next dose;
• sleep disturbance;
• sudden mood changes;
• frequent aggression, irritability or psychosis;
• change of hobbies;
• lack of desire to perform household duties;
• finding any reason to drink;
• the appearance of a severe hangover.

If these symptoms were noticed in a person, then he can be considered an alcoholic, since he develops zero or first degree of dependence. If such signs have long been noted in a loved one or family member, it means that the disease has already progressed to chronic form, and occurs in stages 2 or 3 of alcoholism.

Attention: a person can independently determine whether he is an alcoholic or not. To do this, it is important to carefully monitor the condition of the body, as well as identify the main signs of the development of the disease.

Stages to detect addiction

The first two stages of the disease clearly characterize the course of alcoholism in people. This is the zero and first degree. The second and third stages no longer show that a person is an alcoholic, since during their course the patient is considered a drunkard. What are the characteristics of the first two forms of pathology?

• Zero degree. The second name for this stage is prodromal. As it develops, gatherings with relatives or friends become regular and do not take place without a large amount of alcohol. When the zero form of the disease develops, people always buy a lot of alcohol “so that there is enough for everyone.” At this time, alcoholics become noticeable symptoms of addiction such as psychosis, memory loss, craving for alcohol, and deterioration in general health.
• First degree. Unlike the previous form of the disease, this stage is characterized by consciously taking strong drinks. That is, a person consciously wants to get drunk and goes towards his goal. The amount of alcohol consumed becomes even greater, and the symptoms of alcoholism become more pronounced. At the first stage of the disease, drunks can drink alone if the entire drinking company has gradually dissolved.

As it turned out, identifying an alcoholic is not difficult. The main thing after this is to persuade him to undergo a course of treatment in order to restore personal health and regain interest in life.

Modern recovery from drunkenness is carried out by several methods, the most famous of which is the use of special medications.

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It's hard to be objective when you have to figure out whether you or your other half have a drinking problem. Emotions run high, rationalization and denial are confusing, and it seems difficult to draw a clear line between what is still acceptable and what has gone too far. Here are 10 of the most important warning signs that could be a serious cause for concern.

1. Deception or concealment of the fact of drinking alcohol

Denial is common for someone with a drinking problem. Alcoholics can either hide the fact of drinking or downplay the amount they drink. This is a warning sign that there is a serious problem.

2. Drinking alcohol to relax or feel better

Almost all people struggling with alcohol addiction do not recognize that alcohol is the root cause of their emotional problems. Turning to alcohol to relieve negative feelings such as stress, depression or anxiety is a risky habit. The resulting “relief” brings only a temporary effect, but in the future the situation worsens. If large quantity do you drink alcohol or stressful situation, or to feel truly relaxed - this is a serious sign that alcohol is acting as your emotional crutch.

3. Regular blackout

The next sign that you have a problem with alcohol is drinking large amounts of alcohol to the point where you don’t remember what happened to you. Simply put, you regularly overdo it. If you notice this happening to you or someone close to you, ask yourself: what is causing the excess? It's clear that you're not doing this for fun. Try to figure out what the reason is?

4. Inability to stop once you start

If you always empty an open bottle of wine or drink all the beer in the house, this is another sign that your drinking situation is getting out of hand and you may have a problem.

5. Drinking in a dangerous environment

You drink when it is inappropriate. For example, before going to work, before traveling in a car, ignoring your doctor’s orders, or while taking medications. This is another sign that you have a problem. Regularly risking your life, you must clearly understand that alcohol comes first for you.

6. Neglect of your responsibilities

If you start having problems with work or school, if you drink instead of cleaning the house or cooking dinner, you have a problem. Alcohol has already crossed the line where you could occasionally afford to drink: now it is already seriously affecting your life.

7. Relationship problems

Directly related to the previous point. If your drinking problem is affecting your relationships with friends, significant other, family and relatives, it is a symptom that alcohol is the highest priority in your life, outweighing even the most important people. The last two points are typical for any type of addiction. This may mean that you are already beyond the stage of an ordinary drinker, inevitably moving towards alcoholism.

8. Alcohol tolerance

Alcohol tolerance is another cause of addiction. If, to achieve the desired effect, you need to drink more than you usually drink and your dose is steadily increasing, this is a clear sign that you are becoming an alcoholic.

9. Withdrawal syndrome

Do you know the difference between withdrawal syndrome and an ordinary hangover? With withdrawal symptoms, without being able to drink, you feel very irritable, depressed, tired, depressed, nauseated and restless. Other signs include trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, and a feeling of shaking and tremors in the body.

10. Trying to quit to no avail

If you (or someone who cares about you) have realized that drinking has become a problem, but trying to stop drinking on your own is not getting you anywhere, you should seriously consider trying to

Please note that if you have one of the above signs, this does not mean that you are addicted to alcohol or are an alcoholic. But if you have noticed several signs in yourself or a loved one, then perhaps your passion for alcohol has gone too far. A history of the last five points eloquently indicates that you are a dependent alcoholic, and not an occasional drinker.

It may not be an easy path ahead of you, but one day you will realize that the day has come when life began to change for the better.

Translation Nastya Cheryomushkina from the site recoveryranch.com