There are twelve questions that only you can answer. If it is equal to or more than 4, you may have an alcohol problem.

1. Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or a certain period of time, but only stopped for a few days?

2. Do you expect people to stop paying attention to your drinking and stop telling you what to do?

3. Have you ever alternately drank different types of wine in the hope that you wouldn’t get drunk?

4. In the past days, did you need "spiritual drugs" to wake you up?

5. Do you envy those who drink a lot and don't get drunk and get into trouble?

6. Have you had any troubles caused by drinking in the past few years?

7. Has alcoholism brought trouble to your family?

8. Have you ever been at a party and asked for "extra" wine because you felt you didn't drink enough?

9. Even if you don't want to, you keep getting drunk. Do you still tell yourself that you can stop drinking whenever you want?

10. Have you ever missed school or work due to drinking?

11. Have you ever been "dark"? /p>

12. Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you didn’t drink?

How to determine if you are really an alcoholic?

< p>Only you can make up your own mind on this matter. Many people who are now in A.A. have heard someone say in the past that all it takes is more willpower to stop drinking. A change of scenery, more breaks, or more hobbies, but these people end up joining A.A. because deep down they feel that they have been overcome by alcohol and are prepared to do whatever it takes to free themselves from their irrepressible addiction. The desire to drink.

There is a saying in A.A.: It is impossible to be even slightly addicted to alcohol. A person is either an alcoholic or not. Only the drinker himself will know if he has reached the point where his drinking is out of control.

Self-evaluation for alcohol dependence

If you really want to stop drinking but find that you can't quit completely; Or, if you have trouble controlling the amount of alcohol you drink and always get drunk; or if you don’t like the taste of alcohol and drink heavily and seek the intoxicating feeling it brings, you may be suffering from alcohol dependence. p>

Alcohol dependence does not necessarily mean drinking every day

Mild dependence:

1) The cumulative amount of liquor consumed in one day is <250ml or less than 4 bottles of beer. .

2) The formal history of drinking is within 4 years, and the history of aggravation is within 1 year.

3) The frequency of daily drinking is increasing, and the amount of alcohol is increasing.

4) After drinking, you become emotional. Irritable, lose control of your behavior, fight, cause trouble, throw things, etc.

5) Increased tolerance to alcohol.

6) Arguing with family members because of drinking.

7) Delaying normal work because of drinking.

8) Not only do I feel physically uncomfortable after drinking, but I also regret, blame myself, and feel depressed.

9) Sometimes you don’t have to drink, but once you drink, drink in large doses for several days until your body can’t bear it anymore, and then drink again after an interval of half a month, a month or more.

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Second Moderate Dependence:

1) The cumulative amount of alcohol consumed in one day is 250ml < liquor < 500ml. or 4-8 bottles of large beer.

2) The formal drinking history ranges from 4 to 8 years, and the history increases from 1 to 2 years.

3) Unable to control drinking, and the frequency of drinking alone increases.

4) Drinking every day has become the most important thing in life.

5) There is a behavior of stealing and hiding alcohol.

6) Once you don’t drink, That is, you feel physical discomfort, palpitation, sweating, restlessness and other symptoms, and the symptoms are relieved after drinking.

7) You are thin and have gastrointestinal discomfort and other reactions.

8) Work and family life are greatly affected by drinking.

9) There is a desire to quit drinking but cannot.

10) Sometimes you don’t need to drink at ordinary times, but once you drink, you will drink in large doses for several days until your body can’t bear it anymore, and then drink again after an interval of half a month, a month or more.

Three Severe dependence:

1) The cumulative amount of liquor consumed in one day is >500ml. Or more than 8 bottles of large beer.

2) The formal history of drinking is more than 8 years, and the aggravation is more than 2 years.

3) Drink on an empty stomach every morning.

4) Every day You must drink every day, and you will get drunk every time you drink. You will not eat or drink after drinking, and your body will be weak.

5) There are trembling hands, sweating, insomnia, and walking in a diagonal or S-shape.

6 ) has been forced to quit drinking in vain or has been hospitalized multiple times due to physical reasons caused by drinking.

7) has suffered from gastric bleeding, high blood pressure, cerebellar atrophy, fatty liver, alcoholic liver, liver cirrhosis, bone disease due to drinking. Complications such as femoral head necrosis.

8) Personality changes have occurred, suspiciousness, temper changes, no sense of responsibility for the family, and indifference to family members (wife and children).

9) For any I lose interest in things and don't want to interact with others. Drinking is the most important thing in my life.

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10) Memory loss, tinnitus, high blood pressure.

11) Mental disorders such as visual hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and hallucinations.

12) Sometimes You can also not drink at ordinary times, but once you drink, drink in large doses for several days until your body can't bear it anymore, and then drink again after half a month, one month or more.

13) Due to long-term heavy drinking, mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and mania have developed.

14) Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is obvious: Once you stop drinking, symptoms such as vomiting, convulsions, tremors (hands, face, tongue), delirium, epilepsy, etc. will appear, which will be relieved after drinking.

3. Can an alcoholic drink "normally" again?

After a period of abstinence from alcohol, alcoholics will feel that drinking a few cans of beer or a few glasses of light wine is no problem. However, this can lead him astray and develop a tendency to drink at every meal. Before long, the alcoholic will return to binge drinking and relapse. If you are an alcoholic, you have only two options: either make your drinking problem worse and suffer all kinds of disasters it brings; or you can quit drinking completely and keep your mind clear. Live life in a new and meaningful way.

4. As a member of the AA, are you not allowed to drink beer?

Not many people get drunk after just one or two bottles of beer. Alcoholics know this as well as anyone else. However, alcoholics mistakenly believe that they can control themselves to just two or three beers a day and then stop drinking. Occasionally they do manage to do so within a few days or weeks. So they will come to the conclusion that they can "get by with ease" even if they drink. However, you may drink more beer or wine each time, or switch to hard liquor. Finally, they relapsed.

5. I can stay clear-headed for a long time during two drinking binges. Do I need to seek help from the AA?

Many people who drink excessively may go weeks, months, or even years without a binge. They can put alcohol to the back of their minds when they are sober, drink or not drink at this time, without having to overcome many psychological or emotional difficulties, and are more willing to choose not to drink. Then, for some inexplicable reason or no reason at all, they suddenly started drinking heavily. Work, family, and other civic and social responsibilities are all put aside. This drinking binge may last just one night, or it may last from days to weeks. Once a binge has passed, the drinker often feels exhausted and regretful, and is determined never to let it happen again. But it will happen again.

A person who is an intermittent alcoholic may or may not be an alcoholic. But if drinking becomes overwhelming and the intervals between binge drinking become shorter and shorter. If the alcoholic admits that he is an alcoholic, he will be one step closer to becoming sober, as thousands of A.A. members have been.

6. Others say that I am not an alcoholic, but my drinking problem seems to be getting worse day by day. Should I join the Mutual City Association?

When many members of the AA had not yet given up drinking, their relatives, friends and doctors may not have considered them to be alcoholics. Alcoholics themselves are often unwilling to seriously face the reality of alcohol addiction, thus compounding the problem. It bears repeating that the judgment of the question "Am I an alcoholic?" must be made by the alcoholic himself. made. Only I (not a relative, friend, or doctor) can make this conclusion. But once this judgment is made, the effort to stop drinking and stay sane becomes 50% certain. By waiting to let others make decisions, alcoholics may needlessly endure more of the dangers and pain that alcoholism brings.

7. Can I quit drinking alone just by reading books and materials about quitting drinking?

Some people quit drinking after reading the classic AA book, Alcoholics Anonymous. But almost everyone who is able to do so immediately seeks out other alcoholics with whom they can share their experiences and help them quit drinking.

The best way to make AA's alcohol treatment program most effective for an individual is for others to understand, accept, and participate in the program's content. By working with other alcoholics in local A.A. chapters, alcoholics can gain a deeper understanding of their problem and how to solve it. They discover that the past experiences, existing problems, and hopes of those around them are similar to their own. They can thereby overcome the loneliness that may be an important factor in their craving for the drink.

It is often seen that some people with alcohol dependence have many adverse effects on their health, family harmony and work because of drinking, and even engage in some illegal behaviors after drinking. Although they feel guilty and regretful about these consequences, they still cannot stop drinking completely, quit drinking repeatedly, and then return to drinking again and again. Are they hopeless or do they lack perseverance? No, this is because alcohol dependence is a disease, and it is also a disease that keeps getting worse. This disease, like diabetes, hypertension and other diseases, cannot be completely eradicated. But it can be contained.

The reason for resumption of drinking is related to the body's sensitivity to alcohol, coupled with the psychologically difficult to get rid of the compulsive desire to drink. No matter what adverse consequences resumption of drinking will bring, it cannot be overcome by one's own perseverance alone. Just like other diseases, there are some characteristic clinical manifestations. Once you become dependent on alcohol, you will experience many physical discomfort symptoms when you suddenly stop drinking or suddenly reduce your drinking, which is called alcohol withdrawal syndrome. For the sake of convenience, some people divide alcohol withdrawal syndrome into three stages according to the time of occurrence and severity: First-stage alcohol withdrawal syndrome: usually appears 6 to 12 hours after drinking, manifested by tremors in both hands, and in severe cases, it can accumulate to The entire upper limbs and even the trunk may be affected. In severe cases, tongue extension tremor may occur. In addition, symptoms such as anorexia, insomnia, and irritability are also common. Second-stage alcohol withdrawal syndrome: It occurs 24 to 72 hours after stopping drinking. In addition to the above symptoms, auditory hallucinations often occur, and the content is often abusive or persecutory. Impulsive behavior can be secondary, and the excitement is relatively mild. Third-stage alcohol withdrawal syndrome: delirium tremens, which often occurs 72 hours after the last drink. At this time, the patient is unconscious, has obvious tremors, is accompanied by unsteady walking, and may have various vivid hallucinations, such as seeing various small animals. , the patient expressed tension, anxiety, and fear. The patient's memory is significantly impaired, and some patients may experience epileptic convulsions. Even in developed countries, once delirium tremens occurs, the overall mortality rate can still reach 10% to 15% for treated patients, and even higher for untreated patients. Therefore, long-term drinkers should not stop drinking suddenly. If you are highly suspected of being dependent on alcohol, you should go to a specialist hospital for treatment as soon as possible. People who develop alcohol dependence cannot control their drinking behavior or the amount of alcohol they drink. So, can they drink normally after quitting alcohol for a period of time? As far as we know, no one has ever been able to drink "normally" or drink only socially after being abstaining from alcohol for months or years. Once a person progresses from binge drinking to out-of-control and reckless binge drinking, it is impossible to go back. No one with alcohol dependence drinks intentionally to cause trouble, but uncontrollable drinking is bound to cause trouble. Many people who are dependent on alcohol think that after a period of abstinence, they can have no problem drinking a few cans of beer or a few glasses of light wine. Not many people get drunk after just one or two bottles of beer. So I mistakenly thought that I could control myself to only drink two or three bottles of beer a day and then stop drinking. Occasionally they do manage to do so within a few days or weeks. So you will come to the conclusion: Even if you drink, you will be "comfortable". However, they will drink more and more beer or wine each time, and soon they will continue to drink as much as ever. Another misconception is to replace high-alcohol wine with low-alcohol wine. For people with alcohol dependence, alcohol is alcohol, whether it's a martini, whiskey and soda, champagne, or a shot of beer. Excessive use may lead to relapse. Therefore, it is dangerous for people with alcohol dependence to try to control their drinking or only drink lower-strength alcohol after a period of abstinence. But in order to ensure complete abstinence from alcohol, the only option is to abstain from alcohol at all. How can this be done? In addition to completing alcohol detoxification treatment under the guidance of a doctor, you must also receive long-term rehabilitation treatment, including treatment of related psychological or mental illnesses, treatment with anti-relapse drugs, psychotherapy, and joining some self-help rehabilitation organizations. As long as you have the desire to quit drinking and perseverance, you will succeed.