When do you know when someone is an alcholic?

Answer 1

If you know someone who is having a problem with drink, it is best to get advice early, than to wait until you are certain they are an alcoholic. The most famous organization is Alcoholics Anonymous. I believe they have a number of sister organizations for people who are concerned about alcoholics.

For yourself the most important thing is your safety. Typically alcoholics are violent when they are drunk. Fortunately they are not drunk all the time.

Generally the test for an alcoholic is one drink. A person who can keep to one drink is not an alcoholic, but an alcoholic cannot keep to just one drink.

There is no cure for alcoholism, but a reformed alcoholic is one who admits they are an alcoholic and voluntary refrains from having that one drink.

Answer 2

Addiction is a funny thing and works in diffrent ways on diffrent people. As with many things there are definetly diffrent levels of addiction. Mainly if the person seems to be drinking constantly out of need rather then a few drinks on ocasional social events. An alcoholic will feel like he or she has to drink in order to get through the day and feel normal enough to try and do the day to day things. Alcoholics can and do actually become physicaly dependent on the alcohol and will go through a nasty withdrawal if they stop drinking. For some of the more out of control alcoholics withdrawal can actually be fatal if not supervised by knowledgeable doctors. The main indicator of addiction though is if the person concerned only with drinking and when the next drink will be. If they dont get there usual drink they will become cranky and irritable. They may deny any possible problem with drinking and try to hide or cover up how much they are actually consuming. They will tend to start putting off or ignoring all together any responsibilities they might have. A good way to check is to see if they are willing to go out and do things with friends that do not involve any kind of drinking or are they only interested in going to places with a bar.

Answer 3

You know some one is an alcoholic when their drinking gets in the way of living. When they miss appointments because of drinking. Drinking becomes more important than family, friends, work.
Unfortunately you may know they are an alcoholic but until the other person knows he is an alcoholic nothing changes.

Answer 4

When their verbs change from "I want a drink" to "I need a drink," that's a BIG red flag. The change is subtle, and they don't even notice it.

More broadly, when it starts to interfere with their lives, it shows that they've lost control. For example, if the person starts cancelling social plans because he's drunk and/or hung over, then that's a sign of a person with a problem.

Answer 5

Daily use of alcohol to drown emotional stress. An inability to cope when not having access to alcohol.

Answer 6

when they lose a job because of alcohol, when they're always getting drunk, when they think they need alcohol to get them through the day..when if they don't drink they go through withdrawals and have serious medical problems

Answer 7

Definition of Alcoholism

"Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial."

"Primary" refers to the nature of alcoholism as a disease entity in addition to and separate from other pathophysiologic states which may be associated with it.

"Primary" suggests that alcoholism, as an addiction, is not a symptom of an underlying disease state.

"Disease" means an involuntary disability. It represents the sum of the abnormal phenomena displayed by a group of individuals. These phenomena are associated with a specified common set of characteristics by which these individuals differ from the norm, and which places them at a disadvantage.

"Often progressive and fatal" means that the disease persists over time and that physical, emotional, and social changes are often cumulative and may progress as drinking continues. Alcoholism causes premature death through overdose, organic complications involving the brain, liver, heart and many other organs, and by contributing to suicide, homicide, motor vehicle crashes, and other traumatic events.

"Impaired control" means the inability to limit alcohol use or to consistently limit on any drinking occasion the duration of the episode, the quantity consumed, and/or the behavioral consequences of drinking.

"Preoccupation" in association with alcohol use indicates excessive, focused attention given to the drug alcohol, its effects, and/or its use. The relative value thus assigned to alcohol by the individual often leads to a diversion of energies away from important life concerns.

"Adverse consequences" are alcohol-related problems or impairments in such areas as: physical health (e.g., alcohol withdrawal syndromes, liver disease, gastritis, anemia, neurological disorders); psychological functioning (e.g., impairments in cognition, changes in mood and behavior); interpersonal functioning (e.g., marital problems and child abuse, impaired social relationships); occupational functioning (e.g., scholastic or job problems); and legal, financial, or spiritual problems.

"Denial" is used here not only in the psychoanalytic sense of a single psychological defense mechanism disavowing the significance of events, but more broadly to include a range of psychological maneuvers designed to reduce awareness of the fact that alcohol use is the cause of an individual's problems rather than a solution to those problems. Denial becomes an integral part of the disease and a major obstacle to recovery.

Answer 8

You know when someone is an alcoholic, if they end up falling down drunk and if they can only handle two beers.

Answer 9

when they drink alcohol in excess and they are a total d*ck when they drink

Answer 10

when they are totally dependant on alcohol, and can't do without it