How to Avoid Social Alcoholism

When you're a social drinker, it's real easy to slip past the occasional drinking binge to becoming a full-fledged alcoholic. This becomes even more likely when all your friends and the people you normally socialize with are already either alcoholics themselves or drink heavily on a regular basis. Abstaining from situations where you know you're just going to wind up intoxicated is one way to avoid social alcoholism, but this alone may not be enough.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself if you drink too much or ask someone you trust the same question. Remember, the first step is admitting you have problem. You may not have realized yet that your social drinking has turned into social alcoholism.
2. Resist drinking at social functions. When spending time with others who're drinking, you'll be sorely tempted to join in. If you've already decided your drinking is leading to alcoholism, then you should refrain from partaking at social events. Drink nonalcoholic beverages only and if you find yourself getting tempted to drink, then leave the event early before you break.
3. Avoid social functions where drinking is the norm. If you can't control the impulse to drink with your friends or colleagues at social events or don't have the willpower to resist peer pressure, then avoid situations in which drinking is not only encouraged but borders on being required in order to fit in.
4. Find new activities. Think of fun things you can do with your friends where drinking is discouraged or, better yet, forbidden. Or, find places to go where alcohol isn't available and it's next to impossible to sneak any in. If a friend does bring alcohol with them, then refuse to join them in drinking. You don't have to stop socializing altogether, just try to find activities where it's easier to curb alcohol intake.
5. Make new friends. If you have a group of friends who spend a majority of their time drinking, then they are probably already alcoholics themselves. If you can't be with these people and not drink, then you're heading down the same road. Spend less time with the people that pressure you to attend functions where drinking will be prevalent or only hang out with them when there's less of a chance that drinking will occur. If these friends continue to lead you down the path to social alcoholism, then it might be time to find some new friends.
6. Ask for help. If you've gone from drinking heavily during social situations to drinking heavily all of the time even while you're at home alone. This means you were not successful in avoiding social alcoholism and you may need assistance to break the addiction before it ruins your health and your life.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're unsure if you have a drinking problem, look online for alcohol screening tests. Take several different tests and see if the results indicate you're drinking more than you should be.
• As soon as you realize your drinking has become a habitual occurrence, remedy the situation immediately or seek help if you can't deal with the addiction on your own.
• It's not uncommon for social drinking to develop into alcoholism. If you suddenly find that you're seeking social events to have an excuse to drink or start drinking heavily even when you aren't in social drinking situations, then you're well on your way to becoming an alcoholic.
• Alcoholism has been directly linked to serious medical conditions including cardiovascular problems, liver cirrhosis, cancer, stroke, hypertension and brain damage. There's also evidence that alcohol abuse increases the risk for depression and anxiety and personality disorders.
• If you're noticing that it takes more and more alcohol to achieve a drunken state, then you're developing a tolerance that can slowly lead you to alcoholism.
• If you can't stop yourself from drinking even when you tell yourself not to, then you may already be an alcoholic.
• Intoxication affects perception and coordination and impairs judgment, reduces inhibitions and increases aggression.