How to manage problem drinking?

Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking resulting in harm to ones health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work. Manifestations of alcohol abuse include the following:

• Failure to fulfill major responsibilities at work, school, or home.
• Drinking in dangerous situations, such as drinking while driving or operating machinery.
• Legal problems related to alcohol, such as being arrested for drinking while driving or for physically hurting someone while drunk.
• Continued drinking despite ongoing relationship problems that are caused or worsened by drinking.
• Long-term alcohol abuse can turn into alcohol dependence.

Dependency on alcohol, also known as alcohol addiction and alcoholism, is a chronic disease. The signs and symptoms of alcohol dependence include:

• A strong craving for alcohol.
• The inability to limit drinking.
• Suffering from withdrawal symptoms when drinking is stopped, such as tremors, sweating, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, anxiety, insomnia, and mental confusion, etc.

Sometimes it’s not easy to tell, but there are signs you can look for. If your friend has one or more of the following warning signs, he or she may have a problem with alcohol:

• Getting drunk on a regular basis
• Having frequent hangovers
• Lying about how much alcohol he or she is using
• Believing that alcohol is necessary to have fun
• Feeling run-down, depressed, or even suicidal
• Having "blackouts" - forgetting what he or she did while drinking
• Having problems at school/workplace or getting in trouble with the law

Be a real friend. You might even save a life. Encourage your friend to stop drinking or to seek professional help. For more information on “Cutting down alcohol and its related harm”, please click here. For more information on “Help is here for you”, please click here.