Woman who is ten years sober has five question quiz that will explain if you have a drinking problem

Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism which some readers may find distressing.

Catherine Gray has been sober since 2013 after realising her alcohol ‘intake was sliding out of control’. And she’s now shared a five-question quiz that will reveal if you have a drinking problem yourself.

For the writer, she previously told This Naked Mind podcast how some weeks she ‘could manage 40 units but most weeks it was 50 units or 60 units’ (the recommended number of units for women is 14) and found herself drinking a ‘life-endangering amount of alcohol’.

Plus, she explained to Femail how she was ‘drinking up to seven bottles of wine a week’ and ‘knew she was going to die’.

So, she made ‘the soundest decision’ of her life and chose to quit drinking. And perhaps as the sunnier days are here, you’ve realised you’re drinking most nights – and not exactly in moderation.

And to help with your health, Gray shared signs your drinking has entered the ‘grey area’ that sits between ‘non-addicted and fully addicted’.

You might drink more than you intended. (Getty Stock Photo)

You google: “Am I an alcoholic?”

She explained how those who drink ‘healthily’ won’t be sitting on Google searching if it’s ‘troublesome’.

“The amount and frequency of intake is largely irrelevant,” Gray said.

But if you’re already subconsciously wondering if you have a drinking problem, then it seems like you probably do.

You’re secretive about your drinking

Gray explained how she used to easily ‘fool’ herself that her excuse of 'I'm staying up to watch another episode' before finishing off a bottle and later replacing it ‘wasn’t hiding bottles’.

“But it was,” she said. “Because I was hiding having finished it.”

She said there were other ‘hiding strategies’ like taking the glass recycling out late at night or starting drinking at home or ‘deliberately buying a drink that isn't visibly alcoholic’.

The writer added: “These are all 'hiding', they're just not as bold as hiding a liquor bottle."

You might be struggling to control it. (Getty Stock Photo)

You’ve tried controlling your drinking

When she was 29, Gray tied a ‘moderation experiment’ where she kept a daily unit count in a ‘golden notebook’ in an attempt to stay under 30 units a week.

Doing it for a few months, she only managed it twice.

“I now know from thousands of readers that this 'count and control' stage, and the ditching thereof, is very common,” she explained. “The attempt to control is actually a sign you've lost control.”

You say you drink moderately

Gray says it’s the people who go on too much about how they are ‘definitely moderate’ or how they always stop at two drinks or how they never get hangovers.

Plus, these people will look for people who are worse than them, protecting their ‘own toxic drinking’.

“If you have nothing to protect, you don't need to prepare a speech of defence,” she added.

You might hide your bottles. (Getty Stock Photo)

You drink more than you intend to

This sign is the ‘clincher’ as you ‘consistently and repeatedly’ drink more than you initially intended.

Gray advises to think of other ‘consumables in life’ to notice this.

“I don't buy a family cheesecake and intend to have one slice and end up having three,” she explained. “Therefore, I have no issue with cheesecake.”

Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.

Topics: Alcohol, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health