One thing I get asked a lot from friends, along with people on my Facebook Support Group and YouTube Channel is, what is the definition of being an alcoholic? For example, is it an addiction to have one alcoholic drink every day if you are then able to stop? My answer always remains the same and that’s, it is impossible to define an addiction across for board for everyone. Some people may just enjoy having a single drink every day but they have the control to stop. Other people need to have at least one drink to minimise the cravings and others have one drink and are not able to stop once they start. My view is that if alcohol is controlling what you are doing at any time, then it is a concern that there is a drinking problem present.

Your Mind

Speaking from my own experience with problem drinking, I knew deep down in the back of my mind way before I quit alcohol that my drinking felt out of control. Over the years it had grown from something that was a social nicety, to a daily need. For me, I was never that fussed about alcohol when I was young. However, when I was first introduced to wine, I suddenly got why people enjoyed to drink and from that point, it didn’t take long for me to be constantly stock piling on wine and having it prioritise over everything else in my life.

The blurry line for me was my mind. I kept convincing myself that I didn’t have a problem and I made sure that my inner circle were other people who liked to drink, so I felt comforted with my own addiction and could avoid any awkward questions.

My mind became sober to the realisation of an addiction when I really started to look into my level of drinking. I researched actually what an addiction is and what symptoms you experience as a result and when I realised too many things were ringing true, I knew that my drinking had been a problem for a number of years.

Your Actions

Alcohol controlled everything for 2 decades of my life! Looking back now with hindsight, how I acted around alcohol and in fact, my entire relationship with drinking booze was a major red flag for a long period of time. I was trying to convince myself that just the odd drink I thought I was in control of, was not an issue when in fact it was an out of control addiction.

I would spend my time planning when and where I would be getting my next drink from. If I was at a place where no alcohol was available, I would cut my time short to get home and have the wine open as soon as possible. Alcohol was dictating what my schedule was. Whilst at the time I thought it was me choosing, it wasn’t. It was the craving to drink that I could never budge and I would do what I could to stop negative feelings and drink as soon as possible. My actions at the time were clear that my drinking had gone from casual to dependency.

The Result

What is the result of your drinking? Do you find yourself waking up most days with a hang over? Have you noticed that relationships are starting to become more strained due to your own decline in mental health and wellbeing and frustrations from those closest to you that alcohol seems to take the highest importance? Have you found that you are arguing more with the people closest to you?

The result of drinking alcohol is rarely a positive one, especially if you are not able to control the amount you drink and how often you drink. By looking at your life truthfully you can understand if your level of drinking is something that has become an issue for you and those around you.

It certainly is true to say that the lines between a daily drink and an alcohol problem are certainly blurry and even if an addiction is currently not present, it can be a slippery slope. If you are concerned about your alcohol consumption, then my advice would be to see if you can break the habit and not drink for a period of time. If, for example, you have a drink without fail every night when you are home, then don’t. How easy do you find it not to have that drink for one night, 2 nights, then a week? If you find that alcohol starts to consume all of your thoughts then it is an indicator that the lines aren’t blurry and an addiction is present.

If you have realised this is the case for you, then you are certainly not alone. There are some fantastic resources out there to help. I would also love for you to check out my free Facebook Support Community, along with my YouTube Channel, where there is lots of information to help you research into alcohol addiction and get any help that you need.