DEMCO wants you to know.....

Alcohol is a drug

It may start with a glass of wine to unwind with some friends or colleagues. Then a nightly drink. Soon enough, one glass becomes two or maybe three, and you begin to associate your evening walk through the door with the sound of the wine pouring into the glass. Beware when you start looking forward to that moment all day.

Suddenly a drinking habit escalates, There's nothing inherently wrong with a 5 o'clock drink, but it can be a problem if you take it further. Two is not better than one, and four is not better than two.

The consequences of heavy alcohol use are serious and include an increased risk of cancer, dementia, falls, and dangerous interactions with medications.

Alcohol-use disorders range in severity from mild to moderate to severe. “You can have a disorder and not fit the stereotype of a drunk falling down in the street,” says Austin Lin, a psychiatrist with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “You can be a high-functioning alcoholic.”

Here are the danger signs that you may have a problem:

• Increased tolerance: Does it take more alcohol to get the same effect?

• Trouble stopping: Do you have a hard time cutting off your drinking once you start?

• Unhealthy focus: Do you spend time thinking about drinking?

• Solo style: Do you drink alone?

• Morning maintenance: Do you drink when you wake up?

• Harm to relationships: Do you get into more arguments with loved ones when you drink?

• Decreased productivity: Have you neglected other things because drinking has taken its place? Have you missed work because of drinking?

• Physical symptoms: Has a withdrawal from alcohol caused you to become shaky, nauseous, and sweaty?

• Dangerous behavior: Are you more promiscuous when you drink or have you driven a car after drinking?

PREVENT Alcoholism, STOP DRINKING