Most people who drink excessively are not
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking is considered to be in the moderate or low-risk range for women at no more than three drinks in any one day and no more than seven drinks per week. For men, it is no more than four drinks a day and no more than 14 drinks per week.
Myth: I don't drink every day OR I only drink wine or beer, so I can't be an alcoholic. Fact: Alcoholism is NOT defined by what you drink, when you drink it, or even how much you drink. It's the EFFECTS of your drinking that define a problem.
Just because you drink every day doesn't mean you're addicted to alcohol. If you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner every night but can go without it if you want to, you may not have an addiction. Addiction is the need for alcohol to sustain feelings and avoid withdrawal symptoms.
If you feel that you need a drink every night or to get through a social event, stressful situation or personal struggle, and you have a compulsion to drink or constantly crave alcohol, maybe even daily, this could be a sign of psychological dependency.
Physicians operationally defined "light" drinking as 1.2 drinks/day, "moderate" drinking as 2.2 drinks/day, and "heavy" drinking as 3.5 drinks/day.
You might think that alcohol helps you cope with stress, but it is not a good coping mechanism, as it is known to increase the symptoms of panic and anxiety disorders, depression and other mental disorders, and the risk of family and domestic violence.
Heavy drinking: For women, heavy drinking is 8 drinks or more per week. For men, heavy drinking is 15 drinks or more per week.
Impaired control over alcohol use
This might mean not being able to control how long a drinking session is, how much alcohol you consume when you do drink, how frequently you drink, being unable to stop drinking once you start, or drinking on inappropriate occasions or at inappropriate places.
Drinking a bottle of wine a night would certainly count as problem drinking simply because of the volumes of alcohol involved, but unless that consumption comes with a reliance on alcohol – the physical or psychological need to drink – it cannot be assumed that the individual is an alcoholic.
Drinking a bottle of wine a day may rapidly increase the likelihood of physical and chemical alcohol addiction developing. Drinking a bottle per day equates to approximately 9 units per day or 63 units per week, far in excess of UK NHS recommended guidelines (14 units per week)[1].
Alcohols bind with other atoms to create secondary alcohols. These secondary alcohols are the three types of alcohol that humans use every day: methanol, isopropanol, and ethanol.
A woman who has more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion. A man who has more than 14 drinks per week or more than four drinks per occasion. Older than 65 years and having more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion.
Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
Given the broad range of effects heavy drinking may have on psychological function, these alcohol–induced disorders span several categories of mental disorders, including mood, anxiety, psychotic, sleep, sexual, delirious, amnestic, and dementia disorders.
Alcohol is a depressant: it alters the delicate balance of chemicals in your brain. Drinking heavily and regularly is associated with depression.
Painful memories and biochemical changes resulting from trauma can make us more susceptible to alcohol misuse. As a result, a dual diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) can often occur.
Blood tests can help identify excessive alcohol use and possible liver damage. They may also be used to monitor changes in someone's alcohol consumption during recovery.
To reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed.
Heavy drinking is excessive drinking
Heavy drinking is defined as consuming 8 or more drinks per week for women, or 15 or more drinks per week for men.
The cravings will lessen in severity over time, but for some people, they will take several years to go away completely. For others, the cravings may never fully disappear, but hopefully these individuals learned relapse-prevention skills in rehab to help them withstand these episodes.