Alcoholism Recovery & Treatment

Still, you want to be sure that the person does have a problem before you make any assumptions. Clinically, the diagnosis of alcoholism is defined as the point at which alcohol starts to interrupt normal life. Now this is a rather vague diagnostic criterion, which means that the best person to diagnose alcoholism is someone in the person’s life that is close to them, rather than a doctor. Although a doctor can certainly help to treat the symptoms and the disease, the best person to diagnose alcoholism are the people closest to the person with the disease. Still, this doesn’t mean you can’t ask a doctor what to look for or share your concerns with them. Just knowing what the most likely signs are can really help you pinpoint the problem.

Some signs to look for are:

• Drinking on a daily basis, either alone or with others.
• Spending more than normal amounts of money on alcohol on a regular basis.
• Drinking to the point of blacking out or losing consciousness.
• Getting violent or abusive after drinking.
• Drinking more than deemed normal for the occasion, or always being the drunk at social gatherings.
• Becoming irritable when unable to drink for long periods at a time.

Now, these are just a few of the less obvious symptoms of alcoholism, but if you notice more serious problems than you should talk to someone immediately about an intervention or to help you approach the person. More than likely, the person is going to be very defensive, so make sure you have monitored the situation for several weeks at a minimum.

If all else fails, or you just aren’t sure, then ask the person directly how they feel about their alcohol issues. They might agree with you or they might pretend that they don’t know what you mean. Still, just asking them about it will add to the guilt they already suffer from and might cause them to change on their own. Many times, they don’t notice that it is a problem until someone else does.

If someone you love is diagnosed with alcoholism, recognize that treating it is an uphill battle and will require that you are patient and understanding as they try to wean themselves from alcohol. There are bound to be difficulties, but once the initial periods of treatment have started, then it should get much easier down the road.