You’ve earned it after a stressful week at work.
Nothing wrong with that, either.
In fact, doctors say aglass of red wine a day is excellent for your health.
I know because I went there.
Here are some warning signs your drinking is getting a little out of hand.
The scary thing is that you may be thinking that you’ve got your drinking under control.
Well, you may need to think again.
When it comes to alcohol, not everyone is created equal.
In fact, it could be very dangerous.
Your ability to metabolize alcohol is also dependent on your genetics.
Research indicates that yourgenetic makeup could be responsiblefor about half of your risk for alcohol use disorder.
This might explain why you might’t quite seem to recover from a night out the way you once did.
Is alcohol is the centerpiece of your weekend?
In fact, feeling that any activitymustinclude drinks could be a sign you’ve become dependent on alcohol.
Binge drinking is particularly dangerous because it raises blood pressure and interferes with certain medications.
When I was younger, I was very shy with some serious confidence issues.
With a little alcohol in my system, I felt like the life of the party.
But that ideal quickly turned on me, and it didn’t take long.
There’s even a little science that backs up the notion thatalcohol boosts confidence.
You self-medicate
Do you find your drinking is tied to your emotions?
Do you drink to feel better when you’re down?
Do you drink to avoid facing the difficulties of life or a traumatic experience?
If so, you areself-medicating and this is never a healthy behavior.
One study even found self-medicating to be the coping mechanism of choice for many suffering from PTSD.
The rate at which you pound those drinks can also have an effect on how you metabolize the alcohol.
Your liver can only processone ounce of alcohol in an hour.
That means one shot of liquor, one normal-strength, 12-ounce beer or one 5-ounce glass of wine.
If you drink faster than that, your system becomes saturated.
Additional alcohol accumulates in the blood, the brain and body tissues until it can be metabolized.
Eventually, this can change the way your body functions.
That’s because your body has become accustomed to alcohol and yourbrain has developed tolerance.
It demands more to get that same feeling.
As this tolerance increases, you may soon fall into dependency and eventually, full-blown alcoholism.
Other organs in your body adapt to high alcohol consumption, as well.
The liver actually becomes more efficient at metabolizing alcohol so you need more to achieve the same effect.
You’ve passed the brink where alcohol brings any pleasure anymore.
Do you call in sick repeatedly because of a hangover?
These can be signs that you have a problem with alcohol.
Havethose closest to you commented on your drinking or voiced concernsthat something is just not right with you?
Or do you find yourself evading those closest to you to avoid any confrontations?
I found that with my drinking, I became more and more isolated from the ones I love.
The last thing I wanted was to be confronted by my friends and family.
Do you find that you hide your drinking so no one knows just how much you was consuming?
While you may not yet be addicted to alcohol, drinking alone is certainly a red-flag situation.
Alcohol dependency and addiction can become a very lonely experience.
That’s awesome because you are also reaping the health benefits of moderate drinking.
Be careful, though, that you are not deceiving yourself.
I did and I don’t miss alcohol in the least.
I needed to seek treatment, but it was the best experience ever.
I love the freedom that giving up alcohol brought to my life.
My confidence has never been higher and I have more fun than I ever did.
When I think back to my romance with alcohol, I shudder at the thought.
Your decision to put down the glass may be the best decision of your life.
