Drinking has become a norm these days.

As a human, most of us have our addictions or lusts, and drinking is one of the most common addictions that is experienced by several people around the world across mostly all cultures.

Some cultures have drinking as an integral part, and some do it secretly, as they might have family restrictions, but because of the easy availability of Beers, Wines, and Whiskeys, most people around the world start experiencing it at an early age.

Most of the time, it is under peer pressure, or in schools and colleges, but then there are families, where after a certain age, families only allow children to have a drink or two.

Having said that, several people don't realize that they have addicted to alcohol until they start seeing the consequences themselves, and at that time they are not in a position to make their willpower strong enough to stop drinking.

So the question arises, when, and how do we know if we are addicted to any kind of alcohol - may be beer, wine, or whiskey?

First of all, I am not against drinking and want to let you guys know that I too love drinking, and would be happy if you would like to come over and have a drink or two.

I will surely give you some tips about drinking, or the excuses that you can use to drink, because there are several people out there who want to take the first step towards drinking, but hesitate to do so.

But I am also concerned about your health and family life.

My views about drinking or any other kind of addiction changed when I saw a person laying on road, because he was drunk, and his wife was not able to pull him to a safer zone.

No one on the road was stopping to help her.

At that time, I felt to help them, and parked my car on the side, and helped her drag her husband to the roadside. 

That lady was shouting at her husband, hitting her, but he wanted to sleep he was under the influence of alcohol.

This opened my eyes, and I thought of writing about how to know if you have become addicted to any type of alcohol. Although I am not against drinking, one should know his or her limits while drinking.

Below are some points that you should see as red flags to your drinking habit;

1. You are fine during the day, but want to drink when the evening starts.
   This is one of the best ways to identify your drinking addiction. It doesn't matter if you have an urge to drink beer or wine. It is about the urge itself.
   
   If you feel every day, that I must go ahead and drink a beer today, as my day was bad, or I have got some cash in hand, this might be because you have become addicted to your drink.
   
   Well, this happened to me. I used to have a beer every evening, thinking that this is not an addiction, but because there is some tension, or I have got appreciation from my boss, etc.
   
   It became tough when the government decided to put curfew because of covid-19, and at that time I realized that I have been addicted to the beer that I used to consume daily.
    
2. You try to find reasons to drink.
   Are you always in search of excuses to celebrate? 
   Are you celebrating your wife's cousin's child's birthday at your home?
   
   Yes, you are addicted, my friend. You are addicted so much to your drink that you want to celebrate the fact that you are alive every day.
   
   This is the truth about drinking, or any other kind of addiction to say. You feel like you want to drink, and the easiest way to show positive sides to drinking is by associating it with some celebration.
   
   I realized this when I was celebrating the birthday of every single person in my relationship. Now looks like a comedy to me.
    
3. You have a constant fight with your spouse.
   Did you today also fight with your husband or wife, because they seem to talk trash every time you ask to have a beer or wine?
   
   They talk trash because you are asking every single day the same question.
   
   Baby, can we have a glass of beer or wine today?
   
   Yes, I know you remember asking this question to your better half when this turned into a nightmare, but you still got your drinks.
    
4. When your bank balance gets low.
   You will start seeing your bank balance getting low every single week. This is because we don't keep a track of our losses per day but every week.
   
   You will see yourself in a position some time in your addiction journey when you will ask your brother or wife or your parents for money, even though you had enough to pay your bills.
   
   This time comes in every addict's life, and I don't want to share my story, as it is none different than yours.
    
5. You know you are addicted, but somehow persuade yourself to drink.
   This is the initial stage, that I should have mentioned on the top, but you usually feel like you are talking to yourself and giving reasons about why this should be the last drink for you.
   
   Are you like - Fine, this is going to be the last drink for this week, and from next week I am not going to touch beer or whiskey, ever.
   
   Yes, I have been to that stage, when we all say that today is enough, and now I don't want to drink anymore.
    
6. You stop feeling shit after drinking.
   Usually, when someone drinks occasionally, they enjoy this feeling, and then they feel shit after 2 to 3 hours of drinking.
   
   They feel sleepy and hungover. But you have passed that stage, and now you feel refreshed and ready for another gulp after 3 to 4 hours of your drinking when you are sober again.
   
   This happens when you are already addicted, and you start liking to drink your favorite beer or wine or whiskey, even after you have just stopped and you are sober in a few hours.
   
   There is no hangover or headache now, you are happy as ever, and feel refreshed and energetic to grab another drink.
    
7. You sleep at one place and wake up at another.
   You are so much drunk when you start drinking, that you don't know what happened after you have been drunk for a while.
   
   You sleep at a restaurant and wake up at your friend's house. Well, I guess you might have missed that girl at the restaurant while you were drinking heavily, and that's why you are at your friend's house and not in that girl's heart.

Conclusion;
There can be several different symptoms that people go through when they are addicted, but these were some of the symptoms that I have seen, observed, and felt as well while I was having drinks, or my friends were drunk.

These things may look funny, but this is the truth, and sometimes the truth can be funny, and I believe in the quote from "Joker" Movie,

I used to think that my life is a tragedy, but now I realized, it is a comedy.

Leaving you guys with this, please feel free to post comments, and how did you felt reading. Were you able to relate to this or am I the only person that felt like this?