Recognising Signs of Alcohol Substance Abuse
The chances are that if you’re searching the internet for information about alcohol substance abuse then you’re concerned about your own or somebody else’s drinking.
If this is the case then please take heart in knowing that there is effective help available. Contact us for more information on alcohol rehab centres close to you.
Independent research by has shown again and again the alcoholism treatment works! There is hope that addiction rehabs are able to effectively treat this condition, don’t delay in seeking help.
Alcohol substance abuse can be formally diagnosed by doctors and psychiatrists who look at a number of different symptoms. Because this is a medical illness we cannot assign blame or moral culpability if a person is diagnosed with this disease.
This “no fault illness” view of alcohol substance abuse makes it easier for drinkers to accept that they have a problem and need help to overcome their alcoholism problem.
The first possible sign of alcohol substance abuse is failing to meet important obligations at work, school, or home. This can include neglecting to feed children or take them to school, absence from work or school, or poor work performance. Of course the reason for missing out on these responsibilities needs to be related to using alcohol or another substance.
The next sign of alcohol substance abuse is drinking in situations where it is physically dangerous. This includes driving a car or using heavy machinery while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Possibly related to the former sign is the presence of legal problems that arise from drinking alcohol. Two examples of this could be being arrested for driving while drunk or getting involved in a fight. Being arrested for inappropriate behavior as a result of drinking or drinking in public could also count towards a diagnosis of alcohol substance abuse.
The next sign of alcohol substance abuse is continuing to drink in the face of persistent social or interpersonal problems that are caused by or made worse through drinking. This could include having arguments with a spouse, disagreements with friends, getting into physical fights, or avoiding social situations that don’t involve alcohol (or other drug) consumption.
Lastly in order to be diagnosed with an alcohol substance abuse disorder the person can never have been considered an alcoholic or addict. In other words once you’ve been diagnosed as an alcoholic you can never go back to being considered for the less serious diagnosis of alcohol substance abuse disorder.
This unpleasant fact of once having ‘crossed the line’ has been the experience of many people and confirmed through academic research. Even after a prolonged period of abstinence a person is not “cured” of addiction to alcohol. In fact they are at a very great risk of relapsing into dependence on the substance if they try to use it again.
The difference between alcohol substance abuse and dependence is worth discussing. Dependence on a substance is commonly known as alcoholism or addiction and includes two physical symptoms in addition to the signs we’ve explored in this article. The two physical symptoms are tolerance and the presence of withdrawal symptoms if the substance is discontinued.
Tolerance is the situation where the person requires a larger quantities of alcohol in order to achieve the same effect. Withdrawal symptoms occur as a result of physical dependence – the body actually adjusts itself to require the presence of alcohol or drugs. Both of these conditions are the result of chronic alcohol substance abuse.
Alcohol addiction and substance abuse is no respecter of age, race, creed, religion (or lack of religion) sexual orientation, financial and social status. The best way to predict who is at risk of becoming an addict is to look for people abusing substances.
If you are worried about your alcohol substance abuse spiralling out of control then please don’t delay in contacting us for help. The consequences of leaving alcoholism untreated will get worse and worse until it leads inevitably to jail or the grave.
You can find a happy and contented recovery for substance abuse by receiving effective treatment – call us now to find an effective alcoholism rehab close to you. Get help today.