The average adult drinks 9.7 liters of pure alcohol per year, which is equivalent to about 18 units of alcohol per week. Specialists recommend drinking no more than 14 units a week, spread over three days or more.
So it’s clear that many of us are drinking an unsafe amount. These are the 13 signs that you are not an occasional drinker and you are addicted to alcohol.
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In its simplest form, alcohol addiction can occur when a person is unable to control or moderate the amount they are drinking.
This can sometimes happen over a slow period of time that starts with social drinking and progresses to binge drinking and then dependency.
Having a few drinks with your friends from time to time won’t do you much harm, but it’s worth noting that drinking alcohol regularly is a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions.
This includes deadly diseases like cancer of the mouth, throat, stomach, liver, and breast; high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver; and depression.
The experts said: “Alcohol addiction is at the chronic end of the spectrum of alcohol use disorders for which there is no cure.
«However, it can be successfully treated and the sooner treatment is done, the better for the affected person and their loved ones.»
Alcohol abuse is defined as drinking in a harmful or alcohol-dependent way, and the NHS has advised everyone not to drink more than 14 units per week to prevent this from happening.
It’s easy to turn a blind eye to how much you’re drinking, but counting your units could actually prevent you from becoming addicted to alcohol or harming your health.
One unit of alcohol is 8g or 10ml of pure alcohol, which is equivalent to about a half pint of lager, light or regular strength beer or cider, a single small shot of spirits, or a small glass of wine.
If you’re already drinking more than that and feel like you can’t stop, you may be addicted.
If you’re not sure whether your drinking habits or those of a loved one count as alcohol dependence or addiction, watch for these signs:
13 signs you’re not just an ‘occasional drinker’
- Compulsive urge to drink and difficulty controlling how much you drink
- Drinking in the morning or feeling the urge to drink first thing in the morning
- Worrying about where your next drink will come from
- Suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, and shakiness that go away when you drink alcohol.
- Isolating yourself from family and friends
- Spending less time at work or doing other activities because of drinking.
- Acquiring tolerance to alcohol and having to drink more to reach intoxication
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms like shakiness and restlessness when not drinking
- Turning to alcohol or similar substances to avoid withdrawal
- Using alcohol for longer than planned and in larger amounts
- Not being able to cut down on alcohol despite attempts to curb your use
- Continue to drink despite being aware of the problems it may be causing
- Drinking or thinking about Alcohol most of the time.
Alcohol abuse has both short-term and long-term health risks.
For example, when you drink, you increase your risk of accidents and injuries requiring hospital treatment, violent behavior, unprotected sex that could lead to unplanned pregnancy or STIs, and alcohol poisoning.
In the long term, it increases the risk of premature death and life-threatening diseases.