Am I An Alcoholic?

What does an alcoholic look like?  I picture an old man who sits around, has a whiskey and coke in his hands at all times, and yells at his wife constantly.  The reality is that alcoholism is not designated to any age group, but can affect anyone.  Another reality to consider is that it is a disease.  Doctors can diagnose and subscribe medication for alcoholics.  It is also not directly passed from one generation to another. 

So, how do you know if you are an alcoholic?  Some causes of alcoholism are heavy drinking, alcohol tolerance, dependence, drinking alone, and depression.  Anyone who has five or more drinks per occasion once a week is considered an alcoholic. They often experience withdraws when they don’t drink like nausea, sweating, and shaking which constitutes dependence.  There are many other symptoms that can help identify an alcoholic.  They tend to drink for the sole purpose of getting drunk or to relieve emotional stress.  They can also become irritated when they run out of alcohol or when it’s last call at a bar.  Alcoholics have problems at home do to their excessive drinking.

From this information it seems that a lot of people are alcoholics because they experience a few of these symptoms.  There are times when I have a couple of the symptoms, like drinking to get drunk or relieve stress, drinking alone, or drinking often.  I think that most college students do these things as well.  We may drink three or four times a week and have at least five drinks a night. 

Does this mean that we are all a bunch of alcoholics?  Just because we drink often does not mean that we are alcoholics.  Alcoholism is a serious condition and a doctor uses a number of factors to determine if a person is truly an alcoholic.  So, you should not worry unless you experience many of these symptoms and feel that you are at risk for becoming an alcoholic.  It is always advisable to be aware of your amount and frequency of drinking.