Alcoholism – doesn’t this word remind you of the typical picture of a boorish man with reddened cheeks and nose making the rounds at an office party with everyone simultaneously staring and trying to ignore him?
You will find many AA members relating their own similar experiences at your local AA meetings. The sad part is, in many cases, they don’t even remember just how uncomfortable they made the others feel.
Are you an alcoholic?
Many people scoff at the mere idea that they could be alcohol dependent. This condition has a lot of social stigmas attached to it, and many people may realize they have a problem and yet they are far too embarrassed to acknowledge it.
In case you are thinking about this, you can ask yourself the following questions. These four questions are from a questionnaire known as CAGE. If your answers are in the affirmative, the chances are high that you are indeed an alcoholic, in which case it is imperative that you seek medical assistance immediately. You can also use an AA meeting locator to find a convenient meeting you can attend and start on your journey to abstinence.
Here are the questions:
- Do you feel disgruntled when your family, friends, etc., criticize your drinking?
- Do you feel guilty when you drink?
- Do you feel you must reduce your alcohol intake?
- Do you drink the minute you wake up, either to manage your hangover or to calm your nerves down?
Does any of this feel familiar? If yes, you know what you must do – seek professional assistance before it is too late.
You can start by attending an AA meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and seeing how you like it. If it seems like something that might help you beat this habit, keep attending them till you reach your goal of sobriety.
Alcohol Abuse – Some Common Symptoms
Every single substance that is abused will exhibit certain symptoms in the user’s body. While all users may not face the same symptoms, they will experience one or another, or even several, over time.
Some of these are:
- You may suffer from short-term memory loss or even have temporary blackouts.
- You will start drinking alone to avoid comments on your drinking. You may even drink secretively.
- You may experience irritability and extreme annoyance, along with having mood swings.
- You will start ignoring responsibilities in order to drink.
- You will make excuses, however flimsy, to drink.
- You will prefer isolation over family or friend meetings.
They may be others too. You might hear these being discussed in AA meetings in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Just like there are several diagnostic tools that help one to determine alcoholism, there are some that help an ex-alcoholic to keep a check on their sobriety. This is called a Sobriety Calculator.
It tells you how much time has elapsed since you last had a drink. This motivated you to move forward and refrain from relapse by preventing the urge to drink get to you.
click here for more articles
