Your Turn To Alcohol When You’re Having A Tough Time
Alcohol is a nightly beverage for many people to ease the stress of the day off their backs. While some people may turn to a glass or two of wine each night, others turn to alcoholic beverages throughout the day. Or, they might wait until the evening time when they can drink themselves into the oblivion of sleep. An alcoholic turns to alcohol as a coping mechanism for stress, difficult emotions, and other triggering situations.
You Need More Alcohol To Get Drunk
Tolerance is what develops over time when there is a consistent abuse of alcohol. Eventually, the normal amount of alcohol isn’t enough to stimulate the feelings of euphoria and intoxication. The brain ceases to be able to produce the excess amount of dopamine, a brain chemical that creates feelings of pleasure, needed to create the euphoric effect. To produce more dopamine, the brain needs more alcohol. It takes more alcohol than normal to get you feeling even the slightest bit buzzed, or drunk.
You’re Losing Track Of Time
Not all alcoholic drinkers are blackout drinkers. When alcohol consumption reaches a point of tolerance and then goes beyond, it can result in blackouts, loss of consciousness, or short term memory loss. Friends are reporting things you don’t remember doing, and you lose track of large portions of your time.
You’re Never Done Drinking When Everyone Else Is
You don’t get as drunk as easily as your friends do. You slip a few extra drinks or shots in for yourself to try and get on their level. Everyone seems to be drunker more quickly than you, or they seem to want to stop drinking at some point in time. You don’t really want to stop and you’re not sure why everyone else is stopping. You keep drinking without them.
You’re Getting The Shakes
Sometimes, you don’t realize how much you’re really drinking. Since your brain is adjusting its tolerance levels so often, you feel like you’re just meeting your standard. One morning, you wake up from a blackout and notice your hand is shaking. You feel more wretched than the common hangover. Scared, you try to make it through the day without a drink. The shaking gets worse. You might start sweating, have anxiety, and find your having deep cravings for alcohol. This is chemical dependency. You can no longer function without the presence of alcohol in your bloodstream. If you have reached this stage, or notice any other similarities from this list, it’s time to seek help.
Hired Power is here to help you and your family through every step of treatment. Our recovery management programs help you through each phase of transition in your new life of recovery. From interventions to a 12-month aftercare program, Hired Power has your back. For more information, call 800.910.9299.
