Don’t ignore early signs of alcoholism if you recognize them in yourself or someone close to you. All too often, people with a dependency on alcohol downplay the problem. The longer they stay in denial about it, then the worse it gets. Over time, alcohol addiction impacts all areas of a person’s life. However, addiction treatment can give them hope for a better future.
3 Early Signs of Alcoholism
To many people, alcoholics only look like that homeless man on the street drinking out of a paper bag. They don’t believe they have a drinking problem because they have jobs and families. They’re also successful in their careers. Therefore, there’s no way they can suffer from alcoholism.
What these people don’t realize is that it’s not how much or how often someone drinks that points to alcohol addiction. It’s the effects of their drinking that signal a serious issue.
Three early signs of alcoholism to watch out for include:
- Increased tolerance: You have to drink more to feel a buzz or get drunk
- Withdrawal symptoms, including irritability and depression, when you can’t drink
- An inability to control drinking: Despite your best intentions, you don’t stop at one or two drinks
Other warning signs include making excuses to drink, such as the “need” to relieve stress. You might also hide your drinking or lie about how much you drink to concerned family members.
Problems Alcoholism Leads To
If you or a loved one don’t take action at the early signs of alcoholism, the problem will very likely become worse. Not only does alcoholism impact your physical health, it negatively affects your mental health, too.
Alcohol use disorder increases your risk of developing liver disease, heart problems, bone damage and many types of cancer. Even when people with alcohol addiction know about these issues, they continue to drink. They also drink despite the problems alcohol is causing in their professional and personal relationships.
Someone who’s able to hold down a great job while dealing with alcohol dependency may be a functional alcoholic. That doesn’t mean he has his problem under control. It just hasn’t caught up to him yet.
Entering alcohol addiction rehab is the best way to overcome addiction and truly regain control of your life.
Tailored Treatment for Professionals
Providence Treatment offers outpatient addiction treatment in the Philadelphia area. We treat men and women with demanding, high-pressure careers. With the flexibility we provide, you can finally get help for drug and alcohol addiction that fits into your life. We’re the only program targeting professionals from DC up to Massachusetts.
Our services include:
Are you ready to turn things around for the better? Let us help. The experienced team at Providence Treatment can start you on the road to recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Call us today at [DirectNumber] to find out more.
