If you’re concerned about a family member’s, a friend’s or your own drinking habits, then it is important that you first answer the question: What is alcohol abuse? Generally, it’s not uncommon for adults to enjoy one or two drinks in a social setting. However, the line between responsible drinking and alcohol abuse can begin to blur when a person’s alcohol use starts to negatively impact their health, employment, family, friends and finances.
Aside from the amount of alcohol being consumed, if the consumption itself is causing problems with a person’s relationships and day-to-day functioning, then it’s likely that this person is abusing alcohol and may be at risk for other symptoms that often times have the potential to morph into full blow alcoholism if left untreated. So, while the different levels of alcoholism and addiction cover a wide range of factors, alcohol abuse is definitely a serious concern and may lead to dependence down the road. For this reason, it’s imperative that you begin to formulate a clear answer for the question: What is alcohol abuse?
How to Begin Answering the Question: What is alcohol abuse?
Now, let’s delve a little deeper into the question: What is alcohol abuse? In most countries, alcohol abuse can be referred to as unsafe drinking or drinking an amount of alcohol that exceeds the recommendations of doctors and professionals in the health field.
Generally, moderate drinking recommendations for men include drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks a day while recommendations for women include drinking no more than one alcoholic drink per day, according to ehealthMD. A basic alcoholic drink can be approximately a 12 ounce can of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. Keep in mind that in some cases, certain people should avoid drinking any type of alcohol. Such people include pregnant women, people who operate machinery, people on medication that may have negative interactions with alcohol and anyone under the age of 21 in the United States. To sum it up, these guidelines can definitely help to shed some light on the question, what is alcoholism.
Next, while it’s not considered alcohol abuse to ingest one or two drinks over the course of a couple hours, you should always refrain from operating a vehicle after drinking alcohol. Many times, you may still be under the effect of alcohol and not even realize it. So, to set our main question — what is alcohol abuse — aside for a moment, it’s critical that you never drink and drive or allow others to drink and drive.
A Deeper Look at the Question: What is Alcohol Abuse?
Now, as we try to paint a clearer picture of the answer to our inquiry — namely, what is alcohol abuse — it’s worth taking a look at the general rules of thumb for identifying alcohol abuse. For men, if you drink more than 14 alcoholic beverages a week or more than four drinks at a time, you are putting yourself at risk for future problems and are considered to be in the initial stages of alcohol abuse. For women, if you are drinking more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks at a time, you are also putting yourself at risk and this behavior may be considered alcohol abuse.
It’s also important to keep in mind that while alcohol abuse is not considered to be a physical dependence on alcohol, it can certainly lead to one. As always, if you are concerned about your drinking, talk to your primary care physcian immediately. There is no shame in asking for help and there a wide range of medical professionals and clinics within reach as well as a variety of different treatment programs.
Finally, there are several main factors that may be signs of alcohol abuse. If a person is frequently falling behind on important responsibilities or commitments at home, work or school as a result of their drinking, then alcohol abuse is the likely culprit. If a person has recently run into legal problems or been involved in multiple high-risk situations because of alcohol, then alcohol abuse is likely occurring as well. If a person continues to drink despite these problems and complications, then alcohol abuse runs the risk of worsening and may even turn into alcohol dependence.
However, it’s important to note that alcohol abuse is not the same as the disease of alcoholism. In other words, not all people who engage in alcohol abuse become alcoholics, but they certainly do increase their chances of encountering negative medical and social effects by abusing alcohol.
If possible, it’s highly advised that someone who abuses alcohol regularly attempt to reduce their intake and seek help as soon as possible. By bringing awareness to the situation now, you can help yourself or someone else to avoid potentially serious problems by cutting down on your drinking or quitting alcohol completely. Hopefully, you now have an action plan and a clear answer to the question: What is alcohol abuse?