It is easy to point at a homeless person staggering down the street with a bottle of whiskey in their hand and say, “That’s what alcoholism looks like.” Easy, but incorrect.
Science has found that there are many faces and facets to alcoholism and all of them can be destructive.
If you don’t suffer from alcoholism, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a few drinks with friends, a glass or two of wine with dinner or the occasional night out (as long as you are not driving).
So how do you determine the difference between casual drinking, normal college partying, and problem drinking? Or, to put it another way, how do you know when you’ve crossed the line from casual drinker to an alcoholic who needs treatment?
Heavy Drinking is broken down into categories. For men 65 or younger, four drinks a day or more than 14 drinks in a week is considered heavy. For men over the age of 65, the drink total drops to three drinks a day or more than seven drinks in a week. For women, more than three drinks a day or more than seven drinks per week is considered heavy. This does not account for binge drinking, which involves consuming large quantities of alcohol at one time. For men, that’s five or more drinks in two hours. For women, four or more drinks in two hours.
Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of behavior where a person drinks excessively despite negative consequences. Alcoholism, on the other hand, is alcohol dependence or addiction where the drinker has a physical or psychological compulsion to drink alcohol.
If you’re wondering, “Do I have a drinking problem?” ask yourself the following questions.
Have I found myself isolating when drinking?
Have I experienced memory loss as a result of drinking?
Do I experience guilt because of my drinking habits?
Have friends or family talked to me about my drinking habits negatively impacting my or their lives?
Am I facing legal problems created by drinking or substance abuse?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might already have the answer to your question. Do you feel like you or a loved one might have a problem with alcohol or drugs? Please reach out to GH Recovery Solutions at (888) 345-2025. We can help.
MAST Alcohol Assessment[MOU1]
Do you feel you are a normal drinker?
Have you ever awakened the morning after some drinking the night before and found that you could not remember a part of the evening?
Does any near relative or close friend ever worry or complain about your drinking?
Can you stop drinking without difficulty after one or two drinks?
Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking?
Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)?
Have you ever gotten into physical fights when drinking?
Has drinking ever created problems between you and a near relative or close friend?
Has any family member or close friend went to anyone for help about your drinking?
Have you ever lost friends because of your drinking?
Have you ever gotten into trouble at work because of drinking?
Have you ever lost a job because of drinking?
Have you ever neglected your obligations, your family, or your work for two or more days in a row because you were drinking?
Do you drink before noon fairly often?
Have you ever been told you have liver trouble such as cirrhosis?
After heavy drinking have you ever had delirium tremens (D.T.’s)
Have you ever gone to anyone for help with your drinking?
Have you ever been hospitalized because of drinking?
Has your drinking ever resulted in you being hospitalized in a psychiatric ward?
Have you ever gone to any doctor, social worker, clergyman or mental health clinic for help with any emotional problem in which drinking was part of the problem?
Have you been arrested more than once for driving under the influence of alcohol?
Have you ever been arrested, even for a few hours, because of other behavior while drinking?
Scoring for MAST
Questions 1-4, answering “no” is one point. For every other question, answering “yes” is one point.
Scores of 0-2 indicate no apparent drinking problem. Scores of 3-5 designate a potential drinking problem. Scores of 6 or higher point to a high probability of alcohol abuse. Keep in mind that the results of the MAST alcohol screening test — or any alcohol quiz — are not intended as an official diagnosis.
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