Am I an Alcoholic? 10 Questions to Ask If You Could Be Drinking too Much

A 2020 national survey found that over 135 million Americans had consumed alcohol in the past month. A large number of those alcohol drinkers had engaged in unhealthy drinking patterns, like binge drinking.

A 2019 survey found that nearly 15 million Americans met criteria for an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder is a health condition where a person has trouble controlling their alcohol use even though it causes problems in their life.

There are different degrees of severity of an alcohol use disorder. In some cases, it may be very obvious that you have a problem with drinking. But other times an alcohol problem can be harder to spot.

The questions that follow can help you measure your own relationship with alcohol. If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then your drinking may be a problem.

Quiz: Am I an alcoholic?

1. Do you end up drinking more than you want to?

Do you ever tell yourself that you are only going to have one or two drinks and then end up drinking more? Or do you intend to only drink on the weekends but then find yourself drinking throughout the week?

If you have ever been in a situation where you drank more than you wanted to, you might be experiencing an alcohol problem. Even just a few drinks more may mean that you are having trouble controlling your drinking.

Often, people will compare their drinking to others and conclude that they don’t have a problem because someone else they know is drinking more than them. The truth is that your drinking is all that matters. Just because you are drinking less than other people does not mean that you can’t have an alcohol problem.

2. Have you unsuccessfully tried to cut back or stop drinking?

Many people with alcohol problems have tried to cut back or quit in the past. If you fall into this group, then there’s a good chance you have a problem with alcohol.

When you try to stop drinking and go back again it is called a relapse. Relapse is very common when people with alcohol use disorders are trying to quit.

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3. Do you spend a lot of time, energy, and money on alcohol?

Think about how much of your day or week is spent buying alcohol, drinking, or recovering from its effects. Now, think about how much of your waking life alcohol consumes.

If you are spending every evening from 5PM to 9PM drinking, that is nearly 25% of your day just on alcohol. Not to mention, you may spend even more time feeling sick or hungover the next day.

Then, there is also the economic cost of how much money you are spending on alcohol. Once you have an idea of how much time and money are devoted to alcohol, ask yourself how you feel about that amount.

4. Have you stopped spending time with loved ones or engaging in activities you used to enjoy because of your drinking?

When you have a problematic relationship with alcohol, alcohol may become the center of your life. You may schedule your life around activities that involve alcohol and pass on those that don’t. You may even be too intoxicated or hungover to attend certain events. Alcohol may make all the other important people and activities in your life seem less appealing and engaging.

5. Do you crave alcohol?

If you experience cravings for alcohol when you’re not drinking, this could be a sign of an alcohol problem.

Cravings are strong urges to drink that may be triggered by a feeling or something in your environment. People, places, and things that involve alcohol can often trigger cravings.

Environmental cues, like walking past a bar or seeing a bottle of liquor, can trigger cravings and the desire to repeat the pleasurable behavior. It can take a long time for the brain to “unlearn” this. That is why a person may keep having cravings even after they have been sober for a while.

6. Has alcohol created conflicts or negatively affected your relationships with friends, family, or coworkers?

When you have an alcohol problem, your drinking may negatively affect your relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and others. It can lead to:

• Arguments about your drinking

• Saying things you don’t mean while under the influence

• Not keeping promises to loved ones

• Losing trust from others due to lying or stealing

Family and friends may worry about your health and well-being, which can cause them great stress. If anyone in your life has expressed concern about your drinking, you may have a negative relationship with alcohol.

7. Do you continue to drink even though alcohol has negatively affected different areas of your life?

Many people tell themselves that they will stop drinking once they experience a negative outcome because of their drinking. But for some, these “wake-up calls” are not enough to overcome an addiction to alcohol.

Think about the different areas of your life and how alcohol has affected them. For example, maybe you have experienced legal issues like a DWI or lost your job because of your drinking. Perhaps, you may have been diagnosed with a health condition because of your drinking. But, you keep using alcohol even though you’ve been told that it’s a problem.

If you have had negative effects from alcohol but continue to drink, you may have an alcohol use disorder.

8. Have you been struggling to complete responsibilities at home, work, or school because of your drinking?

If alcohol is getting in the way of keeping up with different areas of your life, then it is a problem.

Look at how your drinking may be affecting the following areas of your life:

• Work

• School

• Recreation

• Finances, such as paying your bills on time

• Household chores

• Childcare, including being present with your children

• Personal hygiene

• Physical and mental health

• Basic needs, like eating, sleeping, and getting enough water

9. Do you need more alcohol to feel the same effects?

Needing more alcohol to feel the same effects, or feeling less of an effect from the same amount of alcohol, is called tolerance. Tolerance is part of the brain and body’s adaptation to a substance.

If you used to feel tipsy after 2 glasses of wine but now need a bottle to feel tipsy, you are building a higher tolerance to alcohol. When you keep drinking this way, your tolerance will keep rising.

At the same time, it will be harder to experience pleasure from other rewarding experiences, like having sex, connecting with loved ones, or eating a good meal.

10. Have you experienced withdrawal symptoms when you’ve tried to stop drinking?

Alcohol withdrawal leads to physical and emotional symptoms that show up a few hours after your last drink. They are a sign of dependence, which happens when the body becomes reliant on a substance like alcohol and struggles to work without it. These symptoms can be uncomfortable and even dangerous depending on the level of dependence.

Signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include:

• Anxiety

• Insomnia

• Headache

• Upset stomach

• High blood pressure

• Extreme confusion

• Hallucinations

• Seizures

Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous because of a risk of seizures and death. Stopping alcohol cold turkey is not recommended. If you have been drinking often, you should talk to your healthcare provider about how to safely detox from alcohol.

What should you do if your responses were troubling?

The questions above are the same questions that professionals use to find out if you have an alcohol use disorder. Answering “yes” to at least two of the questions above may signal that you have a problem with alcohol and possibly an alcohol use disorder.

If you’re concerned about your answers, the first step is to talk with a healthcare provider about your drinking. You can talk to a physician, psychiatrist, or mental health provider. They can ask you further questions and help you figure out if you have an alcohol use disorder.

From there, they may recommend that you get professional treatment — such as detox, residential treatment, or outpatient treatment — to manage your drinking.

For help finding a treatment provider or program, you can search SAMHSA’s online treatment locator or call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Support groups are also available and can be helpful along with treatment. You can consider a group like Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery. These groups are free and available in person and online. They can help you reflect on your addiction, learn tools for recovery, and connect with other people struggling with similar problems.

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Written by:

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health professional with over 10 years of clinical experience.

Edited by:

Renée Fabian, MA

Renée Fabian is the senior pet health editor at GoodRx. She’s worked for nearly 10 years as a journalist and editor across a wide range of health and well-being topics.

Reviewed by:

Mandy Armitage, MD

Mandy Armitage, MD, has combined her interests in clinical medicine with her passion for education and content development for many years. She served as medical director for the health technology companies HealthLoop (now Get Well) and Doximity.

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