What is Alcohol Abuse?

Learning the signs of alcohol abuse, can save your life.

Many people that drink do not abuse alcohol, so what is alcohol abuse? Alcohol abuse is when drinking adversely effects a person’s life and it can affect many aspects of their life. The problems can be minor or major depending on how much the person drinks. How severe a person abuses alcohol will depend on how much a person drinks, how long the person has been drinking for, and the type of alcohol a person drinks. Alcohol abuse has a wide range of both physiological and psychological dangers.

Alcohol abuse effects different people in different ways, as people that are moderate drinkers are not abusers and use alcohol as a way they can relax. However, just as with any type of substance alcohol can be abused. Alcohol abuse can be seen when a person has problems with various aspects in their life whether it be at work, school, or at home. Someone that abuses alcohol will have problems with drinking in situations that can cause them to get in problems whether they are in relationships or legal problems, such as drunk driving. It should be stated that alcohol abuse is not alcohol dependence, which is the term of alcoholism, but it can lead to it very easily.

Alcohol Abuse is Not Alcoholism

Alcohol abuse is different from alcoholism, as a person that is an alcoholic will need alcohol to get by and they have a dependence on it. The drinking controls the life of an alcoholic and it can be a bit hard to differentiate between a person that is abusing alcohol and one that is an alcoholic, as they symptoms and the effects can be the same.

Signs of Alcohol Abuse

One of the first signs of alcohol abuse is denial. The person wants to drink so much that it can make them think differently and can make a person deny that they have a problem. Denial adds to the problem, as the person does not think they even have a problem to begin with. Does the person play down how much they drink? Do they play down the negative consequences of their drinking? Do they blame drinking on an outside source such as family, job, or other relationship? A telltale sign of alcohol abuse is when a person tries to cover up their drinking and makes excuses on why they are drinking in the first place.

The stresses of life befall everyone and if a person that is drinking blames others for their stresses and uses alcohol as a crutch they may be abusing alcohol. Any time a person’s friends or family is worried about a person’s drinking there in a good chance they are abusing alcohol.

Many times a person does not even realize that they are abusing alcohol and are not sure what is alcohol abuse. Even if a person does not drink to excess or they go some time without drinking they still may have a problem with alcohol abuse if their life is adversely affected when they drink. This is the case with many abusers and if it goes unchecked it may turn into alcohol dependence, which has far worse consequences.