One sign is an increasing tolerance to alcohol. You’re drinking more and yet you seem to be affected less.
Another sign is if you can’t stop thinking about drinking and you begin to plan your recreational activities around drinking.

If someone asks you how much you drink and you lie about it, telling them you drink less than you actually do, is also one of the first signs of alcoholism. Related to this is if you begin to sneak drinks or hide alcohol in an attempt to conceal the true extent of your drinking.

If you start to do things when you’ve been drinking that you would otherwise not do or begin to experience extremes of happiness or sadness, this is also a sign that you have the beginnings of an alcohol problem.

If you show the first signs of alcoholism, then it is time to seek help. The first thing to do is to stop drinking at once, since it will only make the problem worse and may result in you developing full-blown alcoholism. If you can’t stop drinking, consider seeing a professional for help.

You should also consider joining a group such as Alcoholics Anonymous which would help you nip the problem in the bud.

Most importantly, admit the problem not only to yourself but also to family and friends who could give you support and encouragement in solving your alcohol problem.

It’s easy to miss or disregard signs that a friend, a loved one or even yourself may be an alcoholic. We all want to think the best of people, especially the ones we are close to and our goodwill may at times encourage us to miss signs that, later in hindsight, were all to obvious.

The signs of alcoholism are tough to see sometimes. Alcoholics have a vested interest in convincing others, and themselves, that they don’t have a problem. Quite often they make very convoluted psychological maneuvers to conceal their addiction.

Although they’re sometimes hard to see, and sometimes we just don’t want to see them, the signs of alcoholism can be detected if you know what to look for.

Alcoholics, over time, need more and more alcohol to satiate their dependency upon it. If your friend drinks in the morning, or becomes irate if he or she can’t have alcohol at the time of day he or she usually drinks, this is a sign of alcoholism.

Frequently, alcoholics are ashamed of their drinking and attempt to conceal it from themselves or others. This deception may come in the form of stashing alcohol throughout the home or at work, or attempting to conceal the amount of alcohol being consumed by surreptiously disposing of empty bottles or cans.

Over time, as the alcoholic consumes more and more alcohol to keep up with his or her dependency, the alcoholic’s health will begin to suffer. Alcoholics will complain of a sore stomach or have trouble sleeping. They also frequently have redness in the face or hands or numbness in the hands or feet.

If you suspect a friend or a loved one is an alcoholic, you should speak up and try to get them help. More than 100,000 people die from illnesses directly caused by excessive alcohol consumption each year and countless others are killed as a result of alcohol-related accidents and misadventures. You may make your friend angry by confronting him about his problem, but you may also save his life or the life of someone else.