Alcohol addiction is a real public health problem in many countries, since it costs the lives of millions of people around the world and is also linked to various phenomena that constitute a social problem, such as traffic accidents or domestic violence..
This addiction appears in increasingly younger people in Spain, which represents an even greater threat to the health of citizens.
However, the normalization of alcohol consumption means that in many cases there are problems in identifying the beginnings of addiction to this substance. Therefore, in this article we will see what they are the main warning signs of alcoholism
What are the main warning signs in people with alcoholism?
Alcohol abuse is one of the most common addictive behaviors throughout the world, since is based on the consumption of an easy-to-obtain drug in almost all countries, and whose consumption is legal and very normalized in most cultures.
Like most addictions, it is a very harmful disorder for the person who suffers from it, which progressively increases its destructive effects on the affected person and which can become lethal if not treated in time through the support of professionals. healthcare professionals.
In this sense, let’s see a list of the most common warning signs that can help detect the development of an alcohol addiction in yourself, in friends or family. Of course, they do not have to occur all at the same time and, in some cases, the existence of a single one of them does not imply that there is an addition; The definitive diagnosis can only be made by professionals.
Frequent mood changes in the affected person, especially irritability, bad mood and changes in mood, are usually a useful sign to detect pathologies such as addiction, since It is linked to the “monkey” after several hours of not consuming
If this situation continues over time, the person with alcoholism also tends to develop aggressive behavior towards the people around them, mainly in those moments when they do not have access to alcohol.
2. Change in drinking habits
Another warning sign that may indicate an addiction to alcohol is the change in habits and customs regarding the times when alcohol is consumed such as, for example, drinking at times when one did not drink before, either very early in the morning or very late in the morning.
Likewise, changing the schedules of each day to have time to drink, drinking alone or getting together with certain friends just to drink can also be clear signs that we are facing a case of alcoholism.
3. Control available alcohol
People with alcoholism often have obsessive control over the alcohol reserves in their own home Likewise, when preparing for a trip, they also usually check in advance if they will have alcohol at their destination.
Obsession with the availability or not of alcohol at all times, as well as symptoms of annoyance or anger when it is not available, are also fairly clear signs of a possible case of alcoholism.
4. Hide alcohol at home
In this same regard to the obsession with available alcohol, People with alcoholism also tend to hide reserves of alcohol in various parts of their home/s to consume it later.
This custom has a double function; on the one hand, to ensure the future reserves of alcohol in one’s own home, and on the other hand, to hide the addiction problem they suffer from from other family members.
5. Self-deception
There are many ways that people with alcoholism deceive themselves, and all of them are a good indicator that there is a real problem of indiscriminate alcohol consumption.
Permanent self-justifications about one’s own excesses considering that if one is not very drunk “it does not count as having consumed alcohol” or denying that one has a problem by pointing out that other people have a more established addiction, are some of the most classic examples.
You may be interested: “Why do we deceive ourselves? The usefulness of this psychological phenomenon”
6. Alteration in relationships
Alcoholism brings with it a global deterioration in the life of the person who suffers from it, and This wear and tear occurs both at a personal and physiological level and at the level of interpersonal relationships themselves
Both the friendships of those who suffer from alcoholism and their family and couple relationships are usually affected in many ways, either by the person’s mood changes or by situations of violence and aggression, or even by the incompatibility of lifestyles..
7. State of agitation without clear external triggers
One of the essential characteristics of alcohol addiction is withdrawal syndrome characterized by a series of internal and external physical symptoms present in the person if they do not have access to an alcoholic beverage for a certain time that goes beyond what usually passes between consumption and consumption.
Some of these physical reactions characteristic of withdrawal syndrome are excessive sweating, nausea, tremors, or chills.
8. Work problems
In addition to affecting the personal sphere of the affected person, alcoholism also usually has a direct impact on their professional or work sphere.
Lack of performance or productivity, loss of ability to concentrate and relationships with co-workers These are some of the signs that you have an addiction problem.
Related article: “Psychology of work and organizations: a profession with a future”
9. Increased tolerance
Alcohol addiction also leads to an increased tolerance to that substance; that means the affected person needs an increasingly higher dose to obtain the same intoxicating effect.
Needing to drink more and more progressively is another good way to detect whether or not a person has an alcoholism problem.
10. School failure (in the case of the youngest)
In the case of alcoholism in adolescents or minors, a very common indicator that there may be a case of alcoholism is significant decline in academic performance
It is important to note that school or academic failure can be both a precipitating factor to consume alcohol from a very young age and also a warning sign that must be taken into account in itself.
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If you want to start a therapy process to overcome alcohol addiction or any other pathology linked to drug addiction, contact us.
In Llaurant la Llum We specialize in intervention in addictive disorders, both in outpatient support and through admissions in our fully equipped residential module. You will find us in Picassent, Valencia.
