You enjoy some tequila or whiskey every now and then, and it’s no biggie. It helps you to relax after a stressful day and have fun with your friends, drinking and laughing together. But, are you sure you’re not reaching for the bottle a little too much? Here are 11 signs that you drink too much (sorry!) and it might be becoming a problem you need to nip in the bud before it wreaks havoc in your life.
1. You Need More Booze To Feel Good.
Maybe you used to feel good about everything after two glasses of booze, but now you need four to get a little more high. Yikes. You could be getting caught up in escalated drinking, which can lead to an unhealthy dependence on alcohol. Instead of the happiness you’re chasing, all that booze will make you feel depleted and depressed.
2. You Forget Stuff That Happened When You Were Drunk.
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You drank a few too many shots at a party, and the next day your friend tells you that you were dancing on the table or getting into an argument with a stranger at the bar. Meanwhile, you have no recollection of these events. You might even be having complete blackouts. These indicate excessive drinking, which can be harmful to your health and safety.
3. You’re Feeling A Tad Lazy.
If you’re drinking a lot, you might start to reassess your priorities. Maybe you have to clean your kitchen or do some work before Monday but you couldn’t care less right now. You’d rather drink and have fun, right? Well, if you’re always pushing your deadlines and chores aside because you’d rather drink, that’s a bad sign booze is becoming too much of a distraction.
4. You’re Spending More Time Alone.
If you love hitting the bottle, you might feel embarrassed to do it in front of others, especially if your friends don’t drink as much as you do. This can cause you to want to spend more time alone — with your bottle, of course. The second you start avoiding other people, such as family or friends, because of your drinking habit, you could be spiraling into addiction.
5. You Can’t Seem To Cut Down On Drinking.
Maybe you’ve tried a few times to stop drinking or reduce the quantity of alcohol you drink every week. This is a sign that things are starting to become wobbly. You can’t stop any time you want, even though you keep telling yourself that you can, and it’s probably time to reach out to a health professional to get things back on track.
6. Â You’re Looking Worse For Wear.
Since you’ve started drinking, you’ve noticed that you care less about your personal hygiene and appearance. Although you might tell yourself this is empowering and liberating, it’s actually a red flag of too much drinking. You might not brush your hair or look after your skin, and it shows. Drinking too much also harms your health, such as by causing cardiovascular, liver, and immunity problems.
7. You’re Taking More Risks.
It might seem like fun to take a few more risks – liquid courage! – but you could be putting your life in danger. It’s not cool to drive under the influence or try to jump off a roof into a swimming pool. If you’ve started taking dangerous risks after a few drinks, this should be a wake-up call that your drinking’s getting out of hand.
8. You’re Being Told You Drink Too Much.
Although it might feel like people are targeting you when they tease you for being so wild when drunk, you should really listen if the bottom line is that they’re worried about you. This is especially the case if more than one person is expressing concern for your drinking habit. Instead of arguing with them, try to consider if what they’re saying is true so you can deal with the issue.
9. You’re Feeling Sick.
If you’re having hangovers on a regular basis, you could be experiencing physical symptoms, such as nausea and headaches. It’s not fun. Even worse, it’s making you unhealthy and unprepared for tasks you have to get through in your day. No one wants to rock up at work feeling like they were slammed into by a truck.
10. You Can’t Cope With Stress.
You’re drinking so much lately that you find you can’t deal with stress or negative emotions if you don’t have a bottle of whiskey in your apartment. If someone says something nasty to you or you have to prepare a presentation for work, you might feel like a few drinks will help you out. But this is dangerous. You don’t want to fall into the trap of feeling like you can’t function without alcohol.
11. You Rationalize How Much You Drink.
If you regularly tell yourself that you’ll stop drinking so much when your life isn’t so stressful or busy, you could be in denial about your habit. You might find reasons why it’s totally okay to drink right now, but the problem is that it’s not okay if you’re relying on alcohol so much. Stop drinking and see how well you cope. If you don’t, it’s time go off the booze and seek help so you can get your life back on track.
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