July 4th: the morning after

At the risk of sounding like your parents, we want to check in with you about the 4th of July celebrations. Did you make it through work today without a splitting headache?  If you did, congratulations! You managed your partying and didn’t let ADHD impulsiveness lead you astray.

But for those of you who didn’t even make it into work this morning – in spite of planning to – this post is for you.

• Did you know that some sources estimate that as many as 50% of college students have some degree of problem caused by alcohol?
• Did you know ADHD youth are at higher risk for developing alcoholism or other drug dependency than other kids?
• Do you know the warning signs for early stages of alcoholism (when it’s easiest to recover from but hardest to notice)?

Check out the list below.  Be honest with yourself.  That’s the hard part, being honest with yourself.  Do you see yourself here below in the 15 signs you may have a drinking problem?

Not everybody has every sign to be an alcoholic. The important thing is to look honestly at yourself and if you have an inkling in your gut that you want to ignore; that’s the signal it’s time to get help!  Most colleges have counselors who can help you explore if you really have a problem or you’re simply being paranoid.  The key is to get help early before addiction gets deeply ingrained into your brain and it takes a near disaster to get you to dig your way out and sober up.

1. Alcohol is your go-to stress reliever
2. Been told by people that you care about that they are concerned about your drinking
3. Lashed out at those same people for getting into your business
4. Drinking alone.
5. Drinking to get a buzz more than once a week.
6. Feeling it’s hard to have fun at a party if you aren’t drinking.
7. Had fights while drinking.
8. Had periods of time you can’t account for after you sober up.  Yep, blackouts are a sign of addiction.
9. Had sexual experiences while drinking that you regretted the morning after.
10. It’s not a weekend unless you get blotto at least once.
11. Lie about how much you were drinking.
12. Missed classes more than once due to a hangover.
13. Not getting the grades you used to before you started drinking heavily.
14. Told yourself you were going to cut back on your drinking and then didn’t.
15. Typically you hang out with other drinkers and avoid events with people who don’t drink.