Alcohol & Health
Treatment
Helping Alcoholics
Medically Reviewed by Annamarie Coy, BA, ICPR, MATS
In this article
It’s not uncommon to enjoy an alcoholic beverage from time to time. Many people drink to celebrate, unwind after a long day, or socialize.
In 2020, 60% of adults said that they drank alcohol.6 While some people can drink alcohol in moderation, others have more difficulty managing their consumption.
There is no definitive reason why some people drink more than others. Everyone has his or her reasons for consuming alcohol.
Many people drink more in certain situations or certain phases of their life. Circumstantial overdrinking doesn’t mean a person is an alcoholic, but it could indicate he or she needs better coping strategies.
Some of the most common reasons people drink too much include:
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) does have a genetic link, but not everyone who misuses alcohol is genetically predisposed to do so. Likewise, not everyone with a genetic risk of AUD develops the disorder.
It helps to examine your motivation for drinking too much and if it’s not a one-time occasion, you might consider treatment.
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Depending on your circumstances, it might be difficult to determine if you are drinking too much alcohol.
Aside from the moderate drinking guidelines listed above, you might be drinking too much if you:
There are several assessments available to help you determine if you drink too much. These include:
Self-assessments help determine if you should be concerned about your alcohol consumption. However, they are not a final diagnosis.
You should speak to a medical professional about your drinking habits if you believe you have a problem.
Recognizing how many drinks you consume daily can help you understand your relationship to alcohol. The consumption levels are measured by the number of drinks per day or week.
According to health experts, moderate drinking is defined as one standard drink per day for women or two standard drinks per day for men.
Examples of a standard drink include:
Daily consumption of more than this can be considered excessive.
Binge drinking is consuming four or more drinks for women or five or more for men within 2 hours.
Binging and excessive drinking does not always mean someone has an alcohol addiction or alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, it increases the risk of developing the disorder and indicates someone’s drinking habits are problematic.
Even if he or she is not alcohol dependent or an alcoholic, they could benefit from treatment for alcohol abuse. All binge drinking is unhealthy, but doing it 5 or more days within the last month is considered heavy alcohol use.
Heavy drinking is defined as having eight or more drinks per week for women or 15 or more drinks per week for men.
If you think you are a heavy drinker, you may want to seek treatment. Drinking heavily is dangerous and can cause serious health conditions.
Some people have a small, daily glass of wine for its health benefits. However, anything beyond a minimum daily intake of alcohol could put you at risk.
It also matters how long you’ve been drinking every day. For example, someone who drinks every day for a month might have a drinking problem. However, their situation is likely less severe than someone who has been drinking alcohol daily for 5 years.
Drinking to the point of an alcoholic blackout is always a sign of alcohol misuse. If you are blacking out often, you should consider treatment.
Drinking alcohol every day also increases the risk of the following:
Drinking every day increases your chances of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD) or alcohol dependence.
Although not all drinkers have an AUD, drinking every day can increase the chances of addiction.
People who drink more than a serving of alcohol per day might experience alcohol withdrawal if they stop drinking.
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal range from mild to potentially fatal and include:
Symptoms last just a few hours or for several weeks. The severity of symptoms depends on how much you drink daily. The longer and more you drink, the greater the likelihood of intense withdrawal symptoms.
Daily overconsumption of alcohol damages your body, especially your liver, kidneys, and brain. It can also make you more susceptible to illness because it lowers your immune system.
Drinking every day can cause cancer of the breast, esophagus, rectum, mouth, colon, voice box, liver, and throat.7
Mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, are also linked to daily alcohol consumption.
Younger people who drink every day can experience developmental issues. This includes memory loss and learning problems, such as poor school performance. It can also lead to early dementia.8
Alcohol and its effects can make living a normal and healthy life difficult. Drinking every day can also interfere with work and school performance, as well as personal relationships.
Many alcoholics experience strained relationships with friends and family. They can also have difficulty holding jobs or being responsible for daily tasks.
Injury and violence are often linked to the overconsumption of alcohol.
Injuries like car crashes and drownings are more likely if you’ve been drinking.
Similarly, many homicides, sexual assaults, suicides, and domestic abuse situations are a result of heavy alcohol use.9
Alcohol poisoning is also a possibility when engaging in heavy alcohol use. Alcohol poisoning can be deadly.
Help is available to help people with an alcohol addiction or those who drink too much but have not yet developed a disorder.
Support and treatment options include:
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