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STRONG ANSWERS. COM |
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Is My Drinking Causing Problems?
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The following information about the use of alcohol is not all-inclusive. Below is a brief explanation of some of the most common events that occur in the course of high-risk drinking. It is presented in the order of risk, not in the order that the symptoms develop.As you answer each question you will be given information about your responses. You are the only one who will see the responses and explanations. All information is erased as soon as you press Erase or the BACK command. If you use BACK, you will return to the question you were on. If you use Erase you will open at the top of this page. You are the only one who will see if there is a pattern to your responses and the level of risk described in the information. If you see a pattern, don't ignore it. This is serious information and high-risk drinking affects your health and emotional well-being. There are suggestions and resources available at the end of the article if you decide to reduce or stop high-risk drinking. If you are answering these questions for another person, please remember that the person you care about may not answer the questions in the same way you have. This is because of denial. (That is a whole other topic, that I can't begin to explain here.) Let me briefly say that denial limits what someone can clearly see. It is not lying. No one can't tell you what is true if he/she can't see the truth.
So, here are the directions:
Please answer "yes" or "no" to the following questions:
Question # 1
Do you drink to get relief? Someone who drinks for relief is using alcohol to reduce discomfort. The discomfort could be a painful feeling (such as rejection). It could be a sense of frustration (like not getting a pay raise). It could be a situation you didn’t cause (such as a car accident), or an overwhelming negative mood, to give a few examples. Whatever the reason; do you drink to get relief?
Question # 2
Do you have a high alcohol tolerance? The ability to drink larger and larger amounts of alcohol is called high tolerance. Can you drink larger amounts of alcohol than you could before, without the same effects as before?
Question # 3
Have you experienced a blackout? A blackout is memory loss about something that happened while you were drinking that you can no longer remember.
Question # 4 As alcohol tolerance develops, the need for increased amounts of alcohol also develops. This happens because body cells are both irritated by alcohol and sedated by alcohol. As the sedating effect wears off, the irritation effect is left and a drink is one way to ease the discomfort. Have you started to have an urge to drink about six to eight hours after your last drink?
Question # 5
Do you
sneak or hide the amount that you drink?
As drinking increases in frequency and
quantity, an uneasy feeling about possible disapproval begins to develop.
Comments about how much you had to drink or how often you are drinking can
lead to sneaking or hiding.
Have you started to sneak or hide the
amount that you drink?
Question # 6
Once you have started drinking,
do you continue to drink until the time you go to bed?
It doesn’t matter if you usually start drinking in the late
afternoon, the early evening hours, or by one o'clock in the
afternoon. Do you continue to drink until you go to bed?
Question # 7
Have you made plans to limit or
control your drinking and discovered that you are ignoring your
plans once you start drinking?
Thank you for your interest in this article. All of these articles are available for your personal use. If these articles are copied, they must include the entire article and the credits for the article’s source. You may make these articles available to others for any non-commercial purposes. If you would like to be notified by e-mail when each new article is available, please use our free subscription service. Subscribe to our free newsletter so the latest updates will be sent directly to your e-mail address. I will always include the following caution at the end of each article. If having information like this delivered to your regular e-mail address is likely to be a cause for conflict, then your problem is more complex and your safety is at risk. Consult a professional who can help you with issues of codependence, abuse, and domestic violence risk assessment. There is a progression of domestic abuse that goes from verbal / emotional to physical over time. When that is combined with impairment the risks for assault or injury increase. Please get additional help if you are not allowed to read information without the risk of conflict. The larger issue you are dealing with is control and your longer-term safety is involved. Copyright © Stephen Buchness 2005 | |