A lot of people like a drink every now and again.
However, if you feel like you may be drinking too much and it could be affecting your wellbeing, you may want to listen up.
That's because an NHS doctor has shared the six signs to look out for which could mean you could be a borderline alcoholic and need to cut back.
READ MORE: World's biggest boozers revealed – and UK only comes in third place
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To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level, both men and women are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week, according to the NHS.
For context, one unit of alcohol is 8g or 10ml of pure alcohol, which is about half a pint of lower to normal-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 3.6%), a single small shot measure (25ml) of spirits (25ml, ABV 40%), or a small glass (125ml, ABV 12%) of wine containing about 1.5 units of alcohol.
But, if you're not sure how much you drink, or if you have a drinking problem or not, Dr Dave Nichols, an NHS GP and medical adviser at website MyHealthChecked has revealed the six signs to look out for:
- Drinking alcohol every day without thinking about it
- Binge drinking regularly
- Only socialising where drink is involved
- Drinking regularly during the day
- Finding it annoying when others are not drinking
- Drinking more than the NHS guidelines every month
Dr Nichols told The Sun that alcoholism is when a person has an uncontrollable desire to drink. "Their body is dependent on alcohol," he said. "Alcoholics will usually develop physical and psychological symptoms if they stop drinking.
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"Borderline alcoholics might experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, stress, anxiety, bad skin, trouble sleeping, irritability and higher blood pressure. They are early indicators that you need to significantly reduce your alcohol consumption.”
He added: "The most common long-term physical impacts of borderline alcoholism are abnormal liver function, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health problems, but these are often hidden diseases and patients are unaware of them until they progress."
Those who do feel like they're struggling with alcohol can find an alcohol or drug service in your local area or use the following information to get support:
The news comes after a new survey revealed 1 in 4 men, and 1 in 5 women would not go on a second date with someone who got drunk on the first one.
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