Alcoholic beverages are one part of the substances that, despite being highly addictive, have great social acceptance. This makes alcohol an element with a very widespread presence in all kinds of events; from weekend parties and family celebrations to meetings in the homes of friends, including dinners and meals at home or in restaurants.

However, this has a great disadvantage, the use and abuse of these drinks is so standardized that it is difficult to detect the first signs of alcohol addiction . This is a fact with serious consequences for the health of a large part of the population.

Warning Signs of Alcohol Addiction

Below you can find a series of signs and symptoms that warn of the onset of alcohol addiction . They are indicative and do not exactly cover all the dimensions of alcoholism, but they can serve to prevent and act quickly in risk situations.

1. Saving time with alcohol

People who have alcoholism problems, or who are starting to have them, tend to drink in anticipation of moments that “justify” the possibility of drinking more . For example, if you are waiting for friends to come home to watch a football match by drinking cans of beer, you start drinking a bottle of wine when there is still an hour to go.

This is a way of “stretching” the socially accepted excuse so that it also covers the times when there is really no social reason to consume alcohol.

2. Certain drinks are beginning to be considered “non-alcoholic”

With alcoholism, the use of this substance becomes so commonplace that what I miss is drinking something that does not contain alcohol. This is why many people with this health problem start to consider low-grade drinks such as beer as not being true alcoholic drinks . Therefore, they have an excuse to consume more.

3. In social contexts, always with a glass in hand

This happens not only at parties, but also during momentary visits to neighbors’ houses and, in general, in any social context. Any moment when it is not possible to drink, even very briefly, is experienced as something that produces discomfort, especially if there are bottles in sight .

4. Checking drink reserves

One of the daily chores is to make sure that there are bottles left over and that there will be no situation where there is no alcohol left and nowhere to buy it . It is something that requires spending some time and breaking moments of concentration to go and check the pantry, but it is considered that it would be worse to run out of stock.

5. When you arrive at a hotel room, check the mini-bar

This is one of the first moves you make when you arrive at a new room, and it is curious, as normally this kind of room has many new features that can be explored long before you open the place where you usually find the bottles.

Moreover, before deciding on the hotel in question, will have sought confirmation that there is a mini-bar .

6. A logic is used that allows “subtracting bottles”

One of the signs of alcoholism has to do with the way you think about the amount of alcohol consumed per day or week. Thus, in some cases it is made as if one bottle less has been drunk because it is thought that having been walking at a brisk pace for ten minutes has compensated for the influence of alcohol, etc. The idea is to find excuses , however original they may be, to believe that you don’t have a problem drinking and still have a good image of yourself.

7. Drinking too fast

This is one of the most striking warning signs of alcohol addiction, and is often seen at meetings. Alcoholic people tend to drink more quickly than others, as others tend to give sips as “support” for the social context, and not as if it were one of the main tasks of the meeting.

Therefore, where there is alcoholism, the action of drinking is in itself one of the main actions to be performed on a daily basis, and therefore there is no time to lose.

8. Contact with non-drinking friends is broken

People with alcohol addiction structure their entire social life around meetings where drinking is the default. In this way, contact with people who are teetotalers, or who drink little, will gradually deteriorate.