Alcoholic shares the one sign that means your drinking is ‘no longer casual’

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

An alcoholic has shared the key worrying sign that might mean your drinking is 'no longer casual'.

Drinking is a huge part of British culture, particularly if you go to university, but more and more young people are now moving away from alcohol entirely, as the sober population has been increasingly growing in recent years.

Health trends are massive on social media, and naturally, when people look to get in good shape, cutting down or cutting out alcohol is one of the first steps for many.

It's no secret the damage that excessive drinking can do; even just one binge session likely to impact you in the long-term, especially if you start to suffer from a terrifying side effect that not many people talk about. You only need to listen to former alcoholics who have given up drinking to see the benefits they've noticed, with a good night's sleep widely regarded as one of the biggest improvements you will notice.

One man who has spoken out about his experience as an alcoholic is Corey Warren, who previously revealed the three differences between a normal drinker and an addict.

Now, he's suggested the one sign that you need to look out for if you want to avoid being classified as an alcoholic, and it's something large parts of the population have probably experienced.

On his TikTok, he said: "If you've ever blacked out, you probably think it's because you drank too much. I used to think that blacking out was just a part of drinking, part of having fun, a part of the story I'd tell the next day.

"What I didn't realise is that blacking out is not what happens when I drink too much one time. Blacking out is what happens when my tolerance is so high that I drink past my body's limit and I don't even realise it. And that's not normal, that's not fun. That's my brain shutting down.

"So, if you've ever blacked out, even one time, that means your relationship with alcohol is way past casual. Blacking out is not fun, it's a warning."

For those of you sensible folks who have never had the displeasure of experiencing a blackout, they are gaps in a person’s memory for events that occurred while they were intoxicated.

These gaps happen when a person drinks enough alcohol to temporarily block the transfer of memories from short-term to long-term storage, and while it might seem exciting to not remember what you get up to, it can actually be very dangerous.

Corey isn't far wrong with his explanation, as most health professionals would agree that repeated blackouts or episodes of drunkenness are a strong indication of an alcohol use disorder.

Blacking out on one occasion from drinking too much is a possibility, and hopefully that serves to remind you not to drink to that extent ever again.

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.