A glass of alcohol may not seem like a bad thing. But when drinking starts dominating your thoughts, you may have a problem. Even drinking a small amount can cause dependency, a situation in which your brain becomes reliant on the chemicals in alcohol when you drink consistently. When this happens, drinking is no longer social or occasional but a necessity. As the problem grows, you may need Florida addiction treatment to stop drinking.
As your tolerance to alcohol deepens requiring you to drink more frequently or stronger drinks, individuals may rightly ask themselves, “Am I addicted to alcohol?”
You Can Function Well and Still have Alcohol Addiction
It is a misconception that a person with alcohol addiction spends all of their time drinking. It is common for a person to live day-to-day life seemingly normally and still have an addiction. You may go through your day doing the work in front of you, but still relying on alcohol. How do you know, then, that you have an addiction?
Symptoms of Addiction to Alcohol
For men and women with alcohol addiction, it is not always easy to see what’s happening on the surface. Yet, if you look deeper and ask yourself some questions, it is possible to see trends that indicate you may need some help.
- Do you think about drinking alcohol every day, even if you don’t drink?
- Are you drinking more than you used to?
- Do you hide your alcohol use from friends or family?
- Have you drunk alcohol at work or when you have other responsibilities?
- Do you want to stop but haven’t been able to do so?
It is also important to think about your overall health. Over the last few months or years, have you seen your health worsen? Some people suffer from alcohol-related overdoses, but this is not common. You may have trouble remembering things. You may have developed digestive problems and liver concerns. Because alcohol is damaging to your body’s organs, you may also experience a feeling of a loss of energy. Think about what’s changed in your life physically over the last year.
Consider the Motivations Behind Drinking
Another way to realize that you may have alcohol addiction is when you realize why you are doing so. For some people, a few beers with friends is just the way you watch the big game. For others, you may feel as though you have to drink just to deal with the stress in your life.
Alcohol can often be used as a way to self-medicate. Some people with mental health disorders may feel unable to cope with day-to-day stress, anxiety, and frustration. A few glasses of alcohol can tame their nerves and allows them to get through it.
Other times, you may be drinking because you don’t want to think. It may be a past trauma. It could be a poor relationship. You just do not want to deal with something in your life. You drink because it helps take the edge off and makes it harder to think about those things.
The question to ask yourself here is why. Why do you drink? Is it just a social tool, or do you drink because you crave it, need it, and cannot deal with everything around you without it?
Finding the Way to Help
If you think you may have an alcohol addiction, now is the time to take that first step. Alcohol rehab in Florida is not meant to be hard on you physically or emotionally. Rather, you will learn about your addiction and why it is happening. You will then learn how to control it. Taking these steps can significantly help you to achieve your best overall outcome – living a sober life that you control.
Don’t put off getting help for alcohol addiction. The sooner you reach out for help from a Florida outpatient treatment center, the more likely you are to find the treatment plan that enables you to live a healthy lifestyle.