Alcohol Abuse

The use of excessive alcohol can be habit forming and create a psychological addiction (see also addictions). On this point there is a distinction between a true alcoholic and an inadvertant alcoholic.

A true alcoholic is in love with the alcoholic behaviour and lifestyle. An inadvertant alcoholic drinks not because they like alcohol per se, but as a means of self-medication from intolerable psychological pain that they don't know how to resolve. 

How do you know if you are drinking too much? When you notice unwanted effects from alcohol. Government guidelines may be misleading because they have a one-size fits all approach that does not take into account body mass and metabolism. For instance, I'm over 6 feet tall and a man but excessive alcohol for me constitutes more than one glass of wine because I can feel the effects with even one glass of wine as I'm not accustomed to drinking wine very often. On the other hand I've seen women half my size able to drink twice as much as me as me and cope much better. Whereas I don't like feeling foggy minded, that might be a desirable goal for other people. The key is experiencing undesired effects from consuming alcohol, as often getting drunk is a desirable outcome for a lot of the population. If you no longer desire these symptoms, then you have an alcohol problem.

People start drinking excessive alcohol for different reasons: boredom, distraction, stress management, being social and fitting in, as a reward etc, which then becomes a routine or habit. Whatever the reasons, some undesired symptoms may include: