Alcoholism is hard to detect yourself. It's like a monster silently creeping into your habits. You think you're just enjoying a couple of drinks every day, when actually, you're already addicted to the substance. And while you're not aware of it, the addiction grows more and more until you cannot function anymore without alcohol. At this point, your only chance of recovery would be staying in a rehabilitation center. That's why you've got to detect alcoholism early, so that it'll be easier to cure.

There are many signs of alcoholism. If when there is no opportunity or special occasion to drink, and you still drink, that may be a sign of alcoholism. This is especially true when you drink alone for no particular reason but to drink.

If you're young and you're not allowed to drink yet you still drink, that may be a sign of alcoholism. For example, you always skip going to school and you go to some place to drink with anybody or alone. This means that rules don't matter to you anymore, just having your fix of alcohol.

Another sign of alcohol dependence is that you make up reasons why you believe you function better with alcohol. For instance, you can't go to work or do anything without drinking alcohol. You may even believe that alcohol functions like a vitamin supplement for you. You know most of your reasons really have no logical basis, but you still have them because you need them to justify your alcohol addiction.

You have no time to drink during work or school, yet you sneak somewhere else and secretly drink. When you do such things, then you're definitely an alcoholic.

It's hard for people not to notice the changes in you when you start to develop alcoholism. People who care about you will soon come up to you and talk to you about it. If you get mad at them because of it, then that's another sign that you're already an alcoholic. Basically, it suggests that you're putting alcohol over people who care much about you.

When you develop poor eating habits, and feel that any kind of food is no longer appetizing, especially when you think that alcohol would be better consumed than meals three times a day - you may be an alcoholic.

Alcoholism will not only alter your behavior, it will also modify your physical self. First, you will start skipping bath times and then you don't take them at all. Your hygiene becomes very poor, and people start getting disgusted of you because of it.

Finally, your own health will be compromised. Without alcohol intake, you shiver and shake. You feel like you'll go crazy or like you'll die. And the truth is, you can die of alcoholism if you don't counter it, either through physical degeneration or you'll do something unnecessary and put yourself in mortal danger.

You may deny it like every alcoholic does, but acceptance alone is already a sacrifice that is worth a better life.