When Do You Know If You're A Heavy Drinker?

Are you a light drinker, a moderate drinker or a heavy drinker? How you answer that question probably has a lot to do with who you hang out with. If you drink heavily and your friends do too, you might consider yourself more of an average/ typical drinker when, in fact, that’s not the case.

Fortunately, there are better ways to gauge your drinking. Should any one of the following describe your alcohol use, you may be in a range consistent with heavy drinking. If you have experienced a few or more, it’s a good time for an alcohol use check-up:

1. It takes more to get the same effect – this means you are building up tolerance, a sign your drinking maybe headed in the wrong direction.

2. The guidelines seem way off–experts tell us that moderate alcohol use for men is no more than 2 drinks per day/14 drinks per week. For women, it’s no more than 1 drink per day/ 7 drinks per week. If you are exceeding either the daily or weekly limits, you may be a heavy drinker.

3. Your drinking is spilling over – ... and adversely affecting other parts of your life such as your relationships, academics, or work responsibilities.

4. Blackouts– alcohol-induced amnesia very likely means high blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. The not-remembering part only compounds things.

5. Someone said something– if a friend, roommate, professor, coach, or family member has been concerned about your drinking, others are noticing something is up.

6. You have regrets– this could relate to either things you did or said while intoxicated, or more generally, feeling bad or guilty about how much you drink.

7. It’s hard to just have a few – when passing out or blacking outcomes the coda to each night you drink, and/or you have trouble setting a limit and sticking to it.