Am I Alcohol Dependant?
If you’re worried you might be becoming dependent on alcohol, try going a few days without drinking. If you find it difficult to cut out drinking on a regular Monday evening for example, that is a sign you may need to address your relationship with drinking. You can also take our Alcohol Test
to check your drinking, see how risky it is and what help is available to you locally to make positive changes.
Symptoms of alcohol dependence
Alcohol can be both physically and psychologically addictive, here are some of the signs that you maybe becoming dependent on alcohol.
Tolerance
Basically tolerance means that, over time, you need more and more alcohol to feel the same effects.
When you drink heavily, your body gets used to the alcohol and experiences withdrawal symptoms if it’s taken away. You may find that you drink to avoid or relieve these feelings. Withdrawal symptoms include:
- Anxiety or jumpiness
- Shakiness or trembling
- Sweating
- Nausea and vomiting
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Headache
In severe cases, withdrawal from alcohol can also involve hallucinations, confusion, seizures, fever, and agitation. These symptoms can be dangerous, so please seek advice before trying to cut down or stop drinking.
You’ve lost control over your drinking.
You often drink more alcohol than you wanted to, for longer than you intended, or despite telling yourself you wouldn’t.
You want to quit drinking, but you can’t.
You have a strong desire to cut down or stop your alcohol use, but your efforts to quit have been unsuccessful.
You have given up other activities because of alcohol.
You’re spending less time on activities that used to be important to you (hanging out with family and friends, going to the gym, pursuing your hobbies) because of your alcohol use.
Alcohol takes up a great deal of your energy and focus.
You spend a lot of time drinking, thinking about drinking, or recovering from its effects. You may also only interact socially when alcohol is involved.
You drink even though you know it’s causing problems.
For example, you know that alcohol use is damaging your marriage, making your anxiety worse, or causing health problems, but you continue to drink anyway.
Get help with your drinking
If you are alcohol dependent you will generally require outside help to stop drinking, which could include detoxification, medical treatment and other forms of professional rehabilitation. You can call us
or talk with your GP to determine the best course of action for you.
If you’re worried about someone else’s drinking it is important to have as much information as possible before you speak to them about your concerns. You can call us for advice or there is further information here.
Want to know how risky your drinking is?
Alcohol can have a big impact on your health - take the test to see how your drinking measures up.
The service is free and open to all Brent residents aged 18 or over, as well as their families and carers.
