The different levels of alcohol problems that a person might encounter and how to diagnose them and deal with them in terms of treatment.
Alcohol problems basically come in two possible flavors: there is the problem drinker, who gets into trouble once they start drinking and can no longer control it, and there is the alcoholic, who really gets into trouble once you attempt to remove the alcohol from their life. So you have to ask yourself what the true nature of your problem is.
If the answer is the latter then you don't have an alcohol problem, you have an alcohol addiction. This means that you are not so much a problem drinker as you are an alcoholic with a serious addiction. Now if you want to get help with your alcohol problem then the first thing you have to do is to get honest with yourself and really assess what is going on with your life. Is it possible to just go without drinking for a month and not make a big deal of it? Does doing so create resentment or make it hard to enjoy yourself? If so, then you are likely an alcoholic and might want to look into getting real help for it.
On the other hand, there are people out there who are truly just "problem drinkers." So if you let them have alcohol on a regular basis, at times they will over indulge and have problems, but they can easily stop drinking when real consequences are facing them. For the true alcoholic, major life consequences will not really deter them from drinking.
Now this can be a bit tricky at times to diagnose because there is the case of the binge drinker. Binge drinkers are those who will drink heavy amounts for days on end, but then might go for long periods of time without any drinking at all. Binge drinkers can still be alcoholics and the effects of this behavior can still be quite devastating. This becomes difficult to determine however because binge drinkers can last a long time without consuming any alcohol.
So if you think you have a problem with alcohol then the first step is to get honest with yourself and really diagnose where you are at with it. If you are really not sure what your level of dependence is, you might try the following 2 experiments:
1) Have one drink every day for the next six months; never to go over the limit of 1 drink each day. No exceptions allowed.
2) Do not drink at all for six months. No exceptions.
If you can get through both of those experiments without cheating at all then you are probably not addicted to alcohol. But if you find yourself resenting the experiment itself then it might be the case that you are an alcoholic. If you are a problem drinker then you will fail on the first experiment and not be able to control your intake at some point. If you are addicted to alcohol then you will fail at the 2nd experiment and will find it impossible to live without some sort of help.
If you determine that you have some problem with alcohol then it is best to ask for help. If you are a true alcoholic then this might involve seeking treatment in a facility with a full detox unit. This is recommended because alcohol withdrawal is extremely dangerous and can actually kill you.
Alternatively, if you're a problem drinker, then instead you could try one on one therapy or find a counseling session possibly. This can help you identify if you want to take steps to reduce or stop your alcohol consumption.
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