Drinking Problems Come in all Shapes & Sizes

The words “I have a problem with alcohol” can seem as daunting to utter as they are to admit to yourself. But guess what? Many of us have had some form of “a problem” directly attributable to alcohol at one time or another in our lives right? The odd binge followed by a day-flushing hangover. Or the embarrassing comment we made at a party or work event. The fact is, drinking to excess can be a source of both occasional, but also chronic troubles in our lives. It’s just sort of the nature of the beast.

But for whatever reason, the concept of what constitutes a “Drinking Problem” often seems strictly relegated to the extreme in our minds. Perhaps because drinking is so ubiquitous in our culture…it can be easy to hide your over-consumption in plain sight. After all, it’s not like anyone really pays close attention to how much we drink. As long as we don’t get too sloppy too often, all is well right!?

Well, not so fast! One of the driving forces behind why I created Sobermentum is that I firmly believe there is a spectrum of both Drinkers, and Drinking Problems. The tragic fact that any and all drinking problems tend to get lumped into this one big bucket called “Alcoholism” creates a variety of adverse repercussions…

For one, it creates an excuse for people to wait until their drinking habit becomes really severe before they do anything about it. Ever-increasing tolerance levels can permit us to assume all is well since we can still “function” without any major disruptions (at least outwardly).

Secondly, it stigmatizes this particular problem unfairly, and can result in us denying anything is wrong out of embarrassment, or fear of negative stereotypes we’d prefer to keep our distance from…once again kicking the can down the road.

We also tend to associate only the most extreme remedies for said problem with drinking, such as AA Meetings, 12-Step Programs and Rehab Facilities. The thought of exploring such programs can seem almost surreal when you’re “only” downing four glasses of wine a night (okay, maybe a few more on the weekends!).

However…imagine someone suggesting you should consider gastric bypass surgery to lose weight if you only needed to drop 20lbs!?

I contend that one of the unfortunate side-effects of this one-size-fits-all approach to what constitutes a Drinking Problem is a potentially dangerous delay by a lot of good people in taking any corrective action before things get worse (or even stay the same for that matter, which in itself might not be so great for your health, relationships and overall joy of life).

If you’re at all concerned with your own drinking routine, rest assured that you are in very good company! According to several national surveys conducted in the U.S. (I’m currently working on broadening my research into these metrics across other nations as well) the vast majority of folks who drink above the recommended “Moderate Guidelines” still fall below the highest category of problem drinking (aka, Alcohol Use Disorder – the medical term for what most of us speak of as Alcoholism).

I call these folks “Middle-of-the-Road Drinkers” and boy did I ever fit that criteria. But when I decided to start taking breaks, and ultimately parted ways with my old pal in the bottle, several of my friends and family were surprised. This is Exhibit A of the conundrum. We fall for this collective notion that a person must “hit rock bottom” before they pull back. Why!? Who the hell wants to wait until something catastrophic, and quite possibly irreversible befalls them…or jeopardizes everything and everyone they love?

For nearly any problem in life, the sooner you take action the better. The same holds true with your drinking. And no, you don’t need to go to any meetings or drape yourself with an unflattering label.

Thankfully we live in an age of unprecedented access to many brilliant minds and data-sources at the click of a virtual button. There are useful resources out there on this topic: from books to blogs, podcasts and well of course, (shameless plug alert!)…this site and the resources contained within.

So the next time you hear the phrase “Drinking Problem” just remember that they come in all shapes and sizes! (Oh and by the way, they don’t get better on their own, so if you think you might have one…even if it’s not spinning out of control…do something today to take corrective action). I promise, your future self will thank you!