Daniel had been engaging in excessive drinking behavior since her senior year in college. Now, nine years later, she drank more than ever.  One Monday night when she was feeling a bit nauseous, Daniel decided to stay home, loosen up, and watch TV.

While seeking to find a special program to watch that she would find exciting, she instantly became fascinated with a program about teen and young adult drinking issues.

When The Usual Alcohol Addiction Signs and Symptoms are Exhibited by Alcohol Dependent People

The narrator talked about the difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction and then got into the topic of alcohol addiction symptoms and alcoholism warning signs. When the commenter went into detail about a person’s alcoholic behavior and some of the more widespread alcohol dependency symptoms and signs that people dependent on alcohol manifest, Daniel got quite worried because it basically seemed as if the spokesperson was talking directly to her.

After watching the television special, Daniel made a promise to herself that she would telephone her doctor the next business day and make an appointment to discuss her drinking problem.

When the next business day arrived, true to her word, Daniel called her health care provider and made an appointment.  While she was waiting for the day of her appointment to arrive, she went online and did a search for alcoholic symptoms.  Especially noteworthy were the following symptoms or signs: making excuses to drink at almost every chance, sneaking extra drinks before social activities, increasing irritability, substantial relationship and employment problems, and sleep issues.

Stated simply, due to the fact that Daniel exhibited all of these signs she went into greater detail in her online search and found several websites and blogs that discussed different alcoholism warning signs and symptoms.

One of the symptoms that really caught her interest was the following: “Do you frequently drink after stating to yourself that you won’t?”  While Daniel never figured out that she may have a major drinking difficulty, after reading about the various alcoholic warning signs and symptoms, she couldn’t deny the fact that for the past nine or ten months, she frequently tried but failed at greatly reducing her drinking or quitting entirely.

When Friends Get on Your Nerves by Objecting to Your Abusive Drinking Behavior

Another alcoholism symptom that grabbed her attention was the following:  “Have friends pestered you by passing judgment on your drinking?”  When Daniel read this she instantly thought about a recent spat she had with her best girlfriend about her hazardous drinking behavior.  Moreover, Daniel plainly recalled a recent squabble she had with her parents about her abusive drinking behavior.  Since Daniel honestly believed that she didn’t have a drinking issue, when friends talked about her drinking she of course got aggravated and mad.

A third alcoholism symptom was the following:  “Do you desire a drink when you first get up in the morning?”  Until now, Daniel had been deceiving herself about her drinking situation.  After reading about the aforementioned alcoholism warning signs, however, she knew if she was really frank with herself that she was facing a major drinking difficulty, especially given the fact that she now believed that she required a drink the first thing in the morning to reduce her nervous tension.

Not only this but the next alcoholism warning sign really got her thinking about her drinking: “Do you drink to keep away from trouble or anxiety?” When she reflected on her life for a few minutes, she comprehended that just about in every difficult circumstance in the past two or three months, she told herself that she needed a drink to help cope with her life.

The final alcoholism symptom that made her feel fairly uneasy about her drinking difficulty was the following:  “Has your energy shrunk since you started drinking on a more routine basis?” When Daniel read this sign she clearly realized that drinking had become a significant issue in her life because of her diminished energy level and also because she gave up pursuing her passions and her goals.

Conclusion:  When Sadness Turns Into Something Wonderful and A Sense of Hopefulness

After thinking about all of these unhealthy alcoholic symptoms and signs, Daniel at first felt dejected. Then something wonderful  happened.  She reflected on the fact knew that she was going to see her doctor about her problem drinking and she also knew that she would discuss all of the above alcohol addiction warning signs and symptoms with her. As a matter of fact, for the first time in quite a few months, Daniel sincerely felt a sense of hope because she was confronting her drinking problems and was at last ready to make the needed modifications so that she could regain the life that was sliding away.