 An occasional glass of wine will seldom transform people into alcoholics but there are people who can stay an entire day without five bottles of beer. To which category do you belong? According to WebMD, you have hard times when you ended up drinking more than you thought you would or for longer than you were going to. It may not seem like a big deal if it only happens once in a while but that shows you have trouble controlling yourself while drinking and it is an early warning sign. How do you know that you have become an alcoholic? Is it when you are drinking more or simply when you can't deal with stress without drinking? In today's video, I am going to share with you 17 signs you are a high-functioning alcoholic. If you are new here, consider subscribing to our channel for more awesome videos such as this one. 1. Experiencing blackouts or short-term memory loss. Do you sometimes wake up without remembering where you are? Are there usually open cans of beer and wine surrounding you? Anyone can drink to the point of blacking out but if this is a recurring experience, you may have to check yourself out. This type of situation can affect your job and your relationship with others. 2. Making excuses for drinking. Do you make excuses for taking a bottle often? Do you say it is just one bottle whenever you are asked? It is not always easy to deal with stress. Some people drink while others smoke. How do you deal with stress? I personally deal with stress by playing a little music and meditate. Drinking will never actually solve your problem. It may make you forget for a little while but the problem never leaves. 3. Choosing to drink over all the responsibilities and obligations. Have you ever thought about your responsibilities and felt a bit overwhelmed? What do you do then? Do you drink? If you do, this is a sign that you may be an alcoholic. The subconscious decision to choose to drink over your responsibility is a defining hallmark of alcoholism. Think about all the things you used to do. Did you use to write, sing or paint? Did alcohol make you stop? You have to actually think about the quality of your life. Not doing the things that make you happy and drinking to forget you are unhappy will only result in more unhappiness and more drinking. According to Healthline, people who drink heavily may develop a physical and emotional dependency on alcohol. Do you want to leave your life on the dictates of your cravings or do you want to be free? 4. Having mood swings. People who drink usually have mood swings. According to Drink Aware UK, alcohol can be linked to aggression and some people report being angry, aggressive, anxious or depressed when they drink. Mood swings also happen when a person tries to detox from drinking. The body wants what it wants and when you don't give it to it, you will feel uncomfortable and sometimes irritated. 5. Having an overwhelming desire to drink. According to WebMD, there are times when you want a drink so badly you can't think of anything else until you get one. That strong need or urge can be triggered by people, places, things or times of day that remind you of drinking. When you have a little drinking problem, your brain reacts to these triggers differently than a social drinker does. Once you start to feel a strong urge to drink, it is a sign of addiction. You should be able to stay a week without drinking and not feel bad about it. If you do, get help. As long as you have money in your account or friends who can lend money to you, you are likely going to still drink. 6. Have tried and failed to stop drinking. An average alcoholic knows that drinking is not good for them. The chances are that they have tried and failed to stop drinking. If you have an alcoholic as a friend, don't accompany them to the pub or visit with a crate of beers. Keep them as far away from alcohol as you possibly can. 7. Kept drinking even when it costs a problem in your relationship. Another thing drinking costs for alcoholics is that they may lose valuable relationships. Imagine missing your best friend's wedding because she was drinking all night and couldn't wake up on time. Attending the reception is not the same thing as attending the wedding. Anyways, alcoholics are constantly in the dilemma of choosing between their relationships and habits. They always succumb to the lure of shiny bottles. Going to rehab is a potent way of taking back control. The more you are able to exercise restraint, the better your life. You will be less forgetful and more importantly, more focused. 8. Drink early in the morning to awaken your nerve. According to Healthline, when you drink on an empty stomach, much of the alcohol you drink passes through quickly from the stomach into the small intestines where most of it is absorbed into the bloodstream. This intensifies all the side effects of drinking. Now imagine if you have to drive to work and the first thing you did in the morning is drink. How do you think that will end? People who drink immediately after they wake up are alcoholics. They sometimes may not even feel alright unless they have some alcohol in them. This is a sign of alcohol dependency. 9. Drinks to feel better. According to LifeScience, drinking alcohol triggers the release of endorphins, chemicals that produce finings of pleasure in certain areas of the brain which may explain why some people drink more than others. While drinking is pleasurable, it is not wise to replace the pleasure of being with friends and loved ones with it. There are people who live their lives completely without taking alcohol and it does not remove anything from their happiness. The people not drinking are not missing out on anything. You are the one missing out on life by focusing on your bottles instead of on people and your goals. 10. Alcoholic business when you don't drink. Are you restless on days the bottle is taking away from you? How long can you stay without testing alcohol? If your answer is from one month to a year, you are safe. Even not being able to stay an entire week without drinking is very bad. 11. Drinking alone. Alcoholics prefer to drink alone. Drinking with people can attract judgment and social pressure to resume consumption. If you went out with a friend for a beer and he intends to take 12 bottles of beer and still drive home, would you let him? The answer is probably no. 12. Negleting personal hygiene. Have you been to an alcoholic's apartment? Many of them leave dirty dishes in their sink and don't remember to do their laundry. The stench can kill rats. Personal hygiene is so important but a lot of alcoholics take it for granted. When they are under the influence of alcohol, they have memory loss from time to time and may simply just want to have more of it. But more alcohol will not give you clarity. It will only lead to more confusion and destructive behavior. Alcohol can destroy you. 13. Becoming angry or violent when asked about your drinking habit. This is a very common thing with alcoholics. Some want to be seen as social drinkers while others just want to be left alone. Drinking is a distressing topic for them. They don't like to talk about it. They may be interested in discussing different brands of drinks but they certainly do not like to discuss their consumption levels. If you were an abusive father for instance, would you want to talk about the abuse of children? Certainly not. If your friend is an alcoholic and you notice they have become violent, just let them be. If you don't, they might do something they will regret when they are sober. 14. Giving up recreational activities to drink. Do you still go jogging every morning as you used to since you started drinking first thing in the morning? The chances are that you have stopped going. How then can you come back to who you were before you became lost? Alcohol can actually make you lose your identity, who you were before you started drinking. It is far easier to continue than to stop but you have to try. What do you stand to lose? You may not relate as well with your friends anymore once you start having bouts of anger and violent behavior. Is it truly what it? 15. Poor appetite. People who drink a lot generally have a poor appetite for food. The more you drink, the less appetite you will have. Once your body system becomes adapted to a certain quantity of alcohol at all times, you will find it difficult to abruptly seize consumption. 16. Drive while drunk. This is very common and is responsible for so many deaths in the US today. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2006, 10,297 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes and accounts for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the US. Who will be the next victim? No one knows. Take one bottle less to help prevent these things from happening. 17. No more mental coordination. According to Beezus Insider, alcohol interferes with your brain's coordination center, making you clumsy. The loss of coordination stems from alcohol effects on a neurotransmitter, GABA, in the brain which turns off some brain cells. This can create problems for any alcoholic. You don't want to fall off the stairs in the morning on your way to work. Alcohol is a strong substance that people drink for enjoyment. Alcohol can sometimes reduce stress and fears. However, drinking consistently to relieve stress can make you become dependent on it.