Alcohol Symptoms
How do you know if you or someone in your life is an alcoholic? That question can best be summed up in the words of the First Step: "We were powerless over alcohol, and our lives had become unmanageable." It is necessary, however, to take that statement apart and fully understand what it means.
A person who is powerless over alcohol does not have control over his intake of alcohol. This is said to be a "bodily allergy," in that an alcoholic has a much different reaction to alcohol than the reaction that non-alcoholics have. The bodily allergy, which is also known as a compulsion, is that in a person who is a true alcoholic, once he has put alcohol into his system he cannot stop of his own free will. An alcoholic who takes one drink will feel the need to drink more and more. This is why alcoholism is sometimes summed up as "one is too many, and a thousand is not enough." After introducing one drink of alcohol into his system, the alcoholic will feel compelled to continue drinking until he no longer can-- such as running out of alcohol, getting sick or passing out, or being forcibly made to stop.
The 12-Step Program Alcoholics Anonymous presents the best and most accurate way of diagnosing whether or not a person is an alcoholic. One is told to simply take a drink and see if he is easily able to stop. A non-alcoholic will have no difficulty in doing this, but an alcoholic will very clearly lack that ability.
It does not matter whether a person drinks daily, rarely, or on certain occasions; it is the inability to willingly and easily stop once one has begun drinking that adds up to the word "powerless." With that fact in mind, it is not usually difficult to know for certain whether or not a person is an alcoholic.
A lesser-understood symptom of alcoholism is known as "dry drunk." While many people misinterpret this to mean an alcoholic who simply has not been drinking, that is not the case. The fact is a dry drunk refers to the state of an alcoholic who, while not drinking, exhibits the same types of behavior and problems which he had when he was actively drinking. The state of dry drunk usually occurs in someone who has stopped drinking, either temporarily or even permanently, but has done nothing constructive in his own behalf to resolve his problems and learn to develop appropriate behavior and means of interacting with other people. For example, he may be just as irresponsible, obnoxious, self-important, or agitated, as he was when he was consuming alcohol on a regular basis.
Whether a person is actively drinking or in a dry drunk state, he may insist and fully believe that he does not have any problem at all. Just as someone who has recently been arrested for a drunk-driving accident can come up with an endless list of excuses other than alcohol, one who is in a dry drunk state usually does not recognize how destructive his attitudes and actions are to himself or to others. This is referred to as being "in denial."
Despite occasional opinion to the contrary, there is no such thing as an "alcoholic personality." The fact is that the only measure of whether one is an alcoholic is whether or not he is powerless to stop drinking once he has begun.
A person who is powerless over alcohol does not have control over his intake of alcohol. This is said to be a "bodily allergy," in that an alcoholic has a much different reaction to alcohol than the reaction that non-alcoholics have. The bodily allergy, which is also known as a compulsion, is that in a person who is a true alcoholic, once he has put alcohol into his system he cannot stop of his own free will. An alcoholic who takes one drink will feel the need to drink more and more. This is why alcoholism is sometimes summed up as "one is too many, and a thousand is not enough." After introducing one drink of alcohol into his system, the alcoholic will feel compelled to continue drinking until he no longer can-- such as running out of alcohol, getting sick or passing out, or being forcibly made to stop.
The 12-Step Program Alcoholics Anonymous presents the best and most accurate way of diagnosing whether or not a person is an alcoholic. One is told to simply take a drink and see if he is easily able to stop. A non-alcoholic will have no difficulty in doing this, but an alcoholic will very clearly lack that ability.
It does not matter whether a person drinks daily, rarely, or on certain occasions; it is the inability to willingly and easily stop once one has begun drinking that adds up to the word "powerless." With that fact in mind, it is not usually difficult to know for certain whether or not a person is an alcoholic.
A lesser-understood symptom of alcoholism is known as "dry drunk." While many people misinterpret this to mean an alcoholic who simply has not been drinking, that is not the case. The fact is a dry drunk refers to the state of an alcoholic who, while not drinking, exhibits the same types of behavior and problems which he had when he was actively drinking. The state of dry drunk usually occurs in someone who has stopped drinking, either temporarily or even permanently, but has done nothing constructive in his own behalf to resolve his problems and learn to develop appropriate behavior and means of interacting with other people. For example, he may be just as irresponsible, obnoxious, self-important, or agitated, as he was when he was consuming alcohol on a regular basis.
Whether a person is actively drinking or in a dry drunk state, he may insist and fully believe that he does not have any problem at all. Just as someone who has recently been arrested for a drunk-driving accident can come up with an endless list of excuses other than alcohol, one who is in a dry drunk state usually does not recognize how destructive his attitudes and actions are to himself or to others. This is referred to as being "in denial."
Despite occasional opinion to the contrary, there is no such thing as an "alcoholic personality." The fact is that the only measure of whether one is an alcoholic is whether or not he is powerless to stop drinking once he has begun.