Are you concerned about how much you’re drinking, fretting to yourself, “Am I an alcoholic?” Whether you consume alcohol socially or by yourself, it’s important to consider what you drink, what kind of drunk you are, and why. We can help you understand your drinking habits and create a plan for a healthier life.
Take our 2-minute quiz to find out if your drinking may be negatively impacting your life and what steps you can take to change for the better.
Stress, celebrations, social events — there’s always a “reason” to drink, but maybe you’ve found yourself reassessing the role alcohol plays in your life.
We’ve identified seven different types of drinkers and one of them might describe you. Are you a social drinker? Or maybe a trauma drinker?
Social Drinker
You almost always drink around other people and you tend to be socially anxious. You often use alcohol to help yourself relax for conversations. You’re capable of limiting your intake to one or two drinks, but you might occasionally have more, depending on the situation.
Stress Drinker
You drink to avoid the pressures and stress of daily life. You feel like drinking alcohol is the only thing that can get you to calm down from your anxiety over all the things you have racing through your mind. You want to change but feel trapped in the drinking cycle.
Gray Area Drinker
You hide how much you’re actually drinking and secretly worry that you have a problem. You are capable of quitting if you need to for a short period of time, but generally you’re right back to drinking on a regular basis, oftentimes alone at night. You would not be a good fit for AA or inpatient care, so you may feel isolated.
Binge Drinker
You never have just one or two drinks, and you often drink yourself well into intoxication or even blackouts. The official government definition of binge drinking is four or more drinks on one occasion for women or five or more drinks on one occasion for men.
High-Risk Drinker
You drink often and for a variety of reasons, but when you do, you often consume too much (like binge drinking) and behave in unsafe ways. This might mean you become emotionally erratic, physically combative, or engage in dangerous behavior like drunk driving, stunts, or other attention-grabbing activities.
Self-Medication Drinker
You drink on a daily basis in order to avoid some sort of physical and/or emotional pain. You often isolate yourself and you may have given up on trying to moderate because you now believe that drinking heavily is the only way to numb or escape your discomfort.
Trauma Drinker
You are a self-medication drinker who is trying to cope with specific traumatic experiences. You are drinking to avoid disturbing memories from your past or present circumstances. You often have too much to drink in order to forget your situation or numb the pain.
What is "Gray Area Drinking"?
Gray area drinkers drink often but they are able to stop if needed. However, alcohol is impacting their lives negatively and they often hide how much they are actually drinking from others. They want to seek help but are too embarrassed to do so. Drinkers in this gray area don’t need inpatient treatment but they wouldn’t feel comfortable in a traditional program like Alcoholics Anonymous.