It's summer and the season for aperitifs on terraces, in gardens or on the quays of major cities has officially begun. The sun present until late in the evening and the more than pleasant temperatures result in a kind of general motivation that pushes friends to meet over a drink. Only here, this habit can involve risks and create in some people a new kind of alcohol addiction called “functional alcoholism”. No, alcoholism is not just about consuming a bottle of vodka as soon as you get out of bed, it also takes a more discreet but nonetheless dangerous form. Drinking occasionally but in large quantities – until you are drunk, in other words – or drinking only one drink but 5 to 6 evenings a week are behaviors that can be similar to functional alcoholism. To find out if you are affected by this phenomenon, which is affecting more and more people, Dr Iqbal Mohiuddi – an eminent practitioner who practices in a London clinic – recommends asking yourself 4 questions:Have you ever said to yourself that you should drink less? Have you ever felt irritated by loved ones commenting on your drinking? Have you ever felt guilty about drinking or what your drinking resulted in? Do you sometimes feel the need for a drink to feel better, especially in the morning to relax?
According to the British expert, answering "yes" to even 2 of these questions could suggest that one has a problem with alcohol (this is obviously not a general truth, but it is still valid time to look into the matter). He explains that one-third to one-half of his patients seen for alcohol addiction do not correspond to the clichéd image that one has of an alcoholic person:"They work in high places in the City [the business district in London editor’s note] or in the media, where drinking often and a lot is socially accepted, even expected of them […] They take these habits for years and suddenly find themselves with symptoms such as feeling bad in the morning and craving a drink or with a partner who asks them to choose between him/her and alcohol ". Functional alcoholics take full responsibility despite their abnormal drinking (which makes them even harder to identify) and are often in denial. Dr. Mohiuddi warns that a few days without alcohol during the week and excessive consumption on weekends is a behavior that causes significant health damage. It is not a question of giving up alcohol but of remaining vigilant about the doses:“We must keep in mind that human beings can only tolerate one unit of alcohol per hour [the equivalent a small glass of wine or 25 cl of beer]. It's a rule to respect concludes the doctor. Message well received!
