88,000 people die every year due to alcohol-related deaths. In the United States, alcohol-related deaths are the third-leading cause of preventable deaths (right next to tobacco use and poor diet/physical inactivity).

Is your loved one’s drinking getting out of hand? Are you worried a loved one will become an alcoholic? You can identify the early signs of alcoholism by looking at certain behaviors. Here are 3 common signs of an alcoholic personality.

1. Negating Reality

The behavior: drinking in secret

Most alcoholics know they have an addiction. This is why they go to huge lengths to hide their addiction from their loved ones. A common behavior is secret drinking.

They will often drink alone. If you’re going out, they will drink before the event or even after when everyone is asleep.

They may also deny their drinking, hiding their alcohol or stating they’re a casual drinker. This can even happen in the workplace, even after they have trouble passing alcohol urine test.

The personality seen here is denial. These people avoid and even negate reality and create a reality of their own. Alcohol provides an outlet for these individuals.

2. Abuse

The behavior: physical, emotional, and verbal abuse

One of the common stereotypes of alcoholics is abusive behavior.

While not all alcoholics are abusive (“happy” drunks are also common) alcohol use can bring out certain behaviors and personality changes. These personality changes are caused by different factors such as genetics and their stress levels.

Abuse can pertain to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. Neglect is also a common behavior associated with abuse, especially if they neglect their children.

Many alcoholics exhibit abusive behavior when they drink but aren’t abusive when they’re sober. It’s also common for alcoholics to not remember these actions when you confront them.

What if they exhibit abusive behavior, even when they’re not drunk? Abuse can be difficult to recognize. In this scenario, their abusive behavior is buried deep in their personality — alcohol can only bring it out more.

3. Carelessness

The behavior: drunk driving

Almost 30 people die daily in a drunk-driving related accident. Mentally healthy individuals understand the drunk driving consequences — both the safety and legal concerns.

However, an alcoholic may understand them but also may not care.

However, not everyone who has a drink and gets behind the wheel isn’t exactly an alcoholic. Most states identify the legal intoxication level at 0.08% BAC.

While your BAC percentage depends on factors such as your weight, it usually only takes five drinks to reach this level.

Even if one does have five drinks and drives, if this only happens occasionally, it doesn’t signal alcohol abuse (even though it’s still a careless decision).

Alcoholics drive well above the 0.08% BAC level. Many either think they’re above the law or drinking is a major part of their lives and they don’t think about the consequences.

Drunk driving has more to do with the personality rather than the action. Constant drunk driving constitutes a careless, irresponsible, and even entitled personality.

Identify These Common Signs of an Alcoholic Personality

There are many symptoms of an alcoholic, as exhibited by their behavior. But you can identify the signs of an alcoholic personality and try to prevent a substance abuse disorder early on.

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