Problems With Drinking: Should I Be concerned?

According to healthcare providers, your drinking habits start to become medically unsafe when you drink:

• 5 or more alcoholic beverages on one occasion, or every week;

• 3 or more drinks in one day; or

• Several times a week or month.
  
  

You may have problems with drinking if you meet at least two of the following criteria:

• You spend a significant amount of time drinking, or getting over the effects of drinking, or being sick from drinking;

• You have not been able to stop or reduce your drinking on your own, despite your best efforts or intentions;

• Your urge to drink is extremely strong, so much so that you cannot focus on anything else;

• You spend less time engaging in activities that you used to enjoy; instead, you use that time to drink;

• You cannot stop drinking even though you are well aware it’s causing problems with your loved ones;

• You don’t do what you are expected to do at home, school, or work as a direct result of your problems with drinking;

• You need to consume more alcohol than you did before to get the same effect;

• Your drinking habit makes you forgetful, depressed, or anxious, but you continue drinking;

• Your drinking has resulted in situations where you or someone else could have been seriously injured, like having unsafe sex or driving while drunk; or

• You experience withdrawal symptoms when the effects of alcohol start wearing off. These symptoms include insomnia, nausea, sweating, full body tremors, hallucinations, and seizures.