Faces of Alcoholism

To speak to a counselor please call; 1-877-744-3536

In todays society alcoholism is sometimes difficult to identify. Are you a social drinker, a heavy drinker, a problem drinker or an alcoholic. The confusion comes with the fact that alcohol is legal, other drugs which are illegal it seems the addiction process more easily identified.

There are other confusing factors about alcoholism;

I can drink all I want but I have never had any withdraw symptoms from alcohol.
I have never had withdraw from alcohol but I have lost my license because of drunk driving 3 times.
I have never had a drunk driving but I spent my whole paycheck at the bar last week.
My wife told me I had to quit or she would leave me, I did okay for a couple of weeks but then I went out after work, when I came home she was gone.

I could go on for hours with different examples but you get the idea, yes anyone of these people could be an alcoholic. Just because you still have a home and a job and your not sleeping in the gutter or seeing pink elephants does not make everything okay. I have been in Rehabilitation centers were there where alcoholics that drank a six pack of beer every once in a while but everytime they did it they lost control and did something that made their life miserable. They had tried to stop drinking all together but it just seemed that they could not stop the urges and cravings to drink sometimes.

This type of issue is hard to identify with because of the laws in this country, you can say yes I drink but so what its legal and everyone has to agree. So when is it that you become and alcoholic? Well if you have issues in your life that have been cause by drinking then start paying attention to your actions. When I started drinking I was 16 years old, the first time I was in trouble for my drinking was in the military at 19 years old. I lived with my alcoholism until I was 35 before I began seeking help, at that time I had lost several good jobs and was close to losing my home. I had to drink in the middle of the night and I had to drink all day long just to function.

In looking back now, if I had sought treatment back in my early twentys when I first started getting into trouble because of my drinking, my life could have been much more productive and peaceful. If you are have trouble with alcohol or if you know someone who is please contact us and speak to one of our counselors.

To speak to a counselor call 1-877-744-3536

To find an A.A. meeting in your area click here: Alcoholics Anonymous