Alcoholism is a chronic illness that occurs when your body becomes dependent on alcohol.  You are unable to control your urges to drink despite the fact that your actions might be negatively affecting yourself and others.

There are those whose excessive drinking causes problems to their health and their social life but they have not lost control over their behavior.  This is called “alcohol abuse”.

Alcohol addiction and abuse is treatable through medications, self-help groups, and counseling among other therapies.

Many alcoholics deny they have a problem.  The following is a list of some signs to look for for both alcoholism and alcohol abuse.

• Do you keeping alcohol in secret places like the car or at work?
• Is your drinking negatively effecting your workplace productivity, relationships and finances?
• Are you “blacking out”.  Not remembering commitments or people you’ve spoken with?
• Are you losing interest in things you used to enjoy?
• Are you drinking by yourself?
• If you have no alcohol do you experience physical withdrawals like shaking and sweating?

If you are not sure whether you have a problem ask yourself these four questions.

• Do you drink alcohol first thing in the morning?
• Do you get frustrated when others comment on your drinking practices?
• Do you have a bad conscience about your drinking?
• Do you think that you’re drinking too much?

A yes answer to two, or maybe even one, of those questions above indicates that you likely have a problem.

Addiction to alcohol happens slowly.  By drinking excessively, over time, chemicals in the body change so that the body craves alcohol to make it feel better again.

There are a variety of causes that can make one more susceptible to problems with alcohol.  These include genetics and emotional well being.  For instance, concerning emotional well being, problems can include office stress, anxiety sometimes accompanied with anxiety attack symptoms, different types of depression and stress.  Plus if you are around others who drink and help create an atmosphere of tolerance then it could be harder for you to decrease your drinking.

There are several risk factors.  These include history in the family of this illness, sex (women are less likely then men to become addicted), your genes, if you started drinking by age 16 (you are more likely to have a more severe problem if you start drinking by age 16 or earlier).  And if you have mental disorders including depression, anxiety or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.  In fact, those with mental illness may create their own depression treatment or ways to overcome anxiety by trying to drink away their painful feelings.

There is not an alcohol test to diagnose whether you are an alcoholic.  In order to find out if you have an alcohol problem you will need to have at least a few of the symptoms as listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

If you are having adverse side effects from alcohol but are not dependent then the goal of treatment is to decrease problems related to alcohol.  These can include psychological therapy or brief intervention, possibly from an alcohol-abuse specialist who may come up with a treatment plan.  Other interventions can include behavior modification techniques, goal setting and self-help manuals.  If you have alcoholism then treatment at a rehab center and alcohol detox might be necessary, plus you will need to stop drinking alcohol permanently in order to have increasing productivity.  But there are medications and other methods to help you along the way.