Have you found this blog because you are concerned about your level of drinking or your reliance on alcohol? Or, are you concerned for a loved one, friend or family member? If so, please read on.

Drinking alcohol is socially acceptable. The truth is, you can’t turn your TV on without there being some positive advert or programme featuring alcohol in one way or another. What often isn’t talked about quite so frequently is that alcohol is an extremely addictive drug with the ability to destroy lives. What can start off as a casual drink can quickly escalate into daily heavy drinking and this can severely negatively impact your physical and mental health.

I have decided to put together the top 5 warning signs that you have problem with drinking. This isn’t a checkbox exercise where you have to experience all 5 to have a problem. It could be that just resonating with one of the warning signs means that you have a problem with drink. This isn’t a lecture; just my advice I want to pass on and I hope it helps you.

#1 Warning Sign – Failing to stop or moderate drinking

A glaring warning sign that you have a problem with alcohol is not being able to stop drinking. If you have previously been concerned about your level of drinking and have tried to stop but the need and want to drink takes over, then this is a sign that an addiction may be present.

This can sometimes be difficult to recognise and relies upon complete brutal honesty with yourself. If you have woke up from a night of drink and told yourself you are no longer doing that to yourself, but then find yourself drinking again that evening, then it’s a sign that alcohol is taking control of your desire to quit. It also doesn’t have to be in a single 24hr period. You may have tried to commit to Dry January, but failed to remain sober after a few days or a week of trying.

It’s also important to look at the level of drinking. Have you previously convinced yourself you are only having 1 drink, but it quickly transpires you have drunk multiple pints of beer, glasses of wine or spirits? This again is a sign that alcohol is controlling how you behave and you are not in control of drinking.

#2 Warning Sign – Other people’s concerns

Have you noticed that you are getting other people telling you their concerns with your drinking? This can be extremely difficult to hear and something you completely choose to ignore as you don’t want to face up to the severity of addiction or you may believe you are completely in control of your alcohol consumption. However, if you have people close to you telling you they are concerned that you are drinking too much and/or too often and they are worried for you, then this should be ringing alarm bells in your mind that you may have a problem with drinking.

For me, it was the other way around. I didn’t have many people telling me their concerns with my drinking but that was because I would have a social group of friends around me where alcohol was the central theme and we all drank. It was only when I stopped drinking that people then started to notice the positive impacts of me sober.

#3 Warning Sign – Alcohol is taking over

I recently created a video which I posted on Instagram where my wife was included to get her thoughts on me becoming sober and what life was like when I was in the depth of my addiction to alcohol. On the video we both recalled of a time I went to a fireworks show at my son’s school and I was in an awful mood throughout. Why? Because, there was nowhere for me to get alcohol from and I just wanted to get home so I could make sure I had enough time to enjoy a bottle of wine. I also can’t count the number of times I have been to an event, whether that’s a wedding, concert or something else, and missed everything because I would have spent the entire time queuing at the bar for another drink, or having to constantly go to the toilet due to over-drinking. It was taking over my life. I was in such denial that I thought this was fine at the time, but looking back, alcohol took so much from me that I can’t replace and I knew I had to get my life back into my control and this was a clear warning sign for me.

Do you recognise this in yourself? Do you plan events or certain parts of your day around alcohol to make sure you have enough time for it or you can get somewhere in time to get alcohol? If so, then this is a warning sign that you have an addiction to alcohol.

#4 Warning Sign – Breakdown of relationships

Alcohol can unfortunately destroy relationships with family and friends. This can be caused by your behaviour when drunk, or how you are with others when you are wanting to drink or your mood when experiencing a hangover. If you have noticed that people who were once close to you have started to distance themselves, or your partner and you are continually arguing about your alcohol consumption or your behaviour around alcohol, then this is another clear signal that you likely have a problem with alcohol.

This can be extremely difficult to manage. As, when you are in the grips of an addiction and self-denial, then you can put other’s people’s behaviour towards you down to them being the ones with the problem. However, if you are noticing that it is happening with more and more people who were once close to you, then I urge you to consider whether it is in fact the alcohol that is causing the problem.

#5 Warning Sign – Deterioration of health (physical and mental)

Another big warning sign for me was the physical impact on my body with drinking alcohol. I noticed that my hands were starting to shake and I felt awful all of the time. Low mood, inability to properly sleep, hungover, increased anxiety, all were physical and mental symptoms of my inability to stop drinking.

These issues did not start overnight. Sure, years ago with a heavy night on the booze I would wake up with a hangover, but over the course of hours this would improve and I would start to feel fine again. However, over the years, that awful feeling never really went away, I just learnt to live and function as best I could with it, without having to face the fact that maybe the thing I thought I loved doing (drinking) was actually making my life worse in all aspects. You only truly realise how much of a negative impact alcohol has on your mental and physical health once you have stopped drinking and for me, it’s what makes staying sober completely worth it.

These are just some of the warning signs that I and others within my sober community have experienced when we were drinking alcohol before changing our lives for the better with sobriety and I really do hope that they help you. Help is out there with dealing with alcohol addiction and whilst it can feel like a lonely place to be in right now, I guarantee you that if you commit to sobriety, you will thank yourself as will the people you care about.