5 Signs of a Drinking Problem
Alcohol abuse is about more than just how much we drink.
How does someone know that they have a drinking problem? When does drinking cross the line from a little excess to a serious concern? These are the questions that used to keep me up at night, and I know that many others have struggled with the same worries.
In answering this question, I used to focus on the amount of drink I had. I’d read recommendations for the maximum number of drinks a person should have each day, or each week, and compare my own drinking against it. When I found myself in excess (which I always was), I’d work on cutting back to stay within the guidelines.
As I’ve written before, this obsession with the amount I drank was a way for me to avoid answering the more important questions: how was my drinking habit actually affecting my life?
Psychiatrists use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM) to aid in diagnosing Alcohol Use Disorder. Interestingly, the DSM never mentions specific numbers of drinks. Instead, the questions are all about the patient’s relationship with alcohol. How is drinking actually affecting their life.
From my own experience, this is a much better way of thinking about drinking problems than simply counting the number of drinks…
