Kit Roberts
Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism which some readers may find distressing.
A recovering alcoholic has shared what he claims is a big red flag that your drinking is no longer 'casual'.
Corey Warren has opened up on TikTok about his experiences with alcoholism and his journey to recovery.
More people are turning away from alcohol, but there are still plenty of folks who head out on the weekend. While having a few drinks with friends can be a lot of fun, there can sadly come a point for some people where it moves away from casual drinking into something more serious.
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People can develop an addiction to alcohol for a lot of reasons - it might be a way to cope with stress or a mental health problem, or wrongly feeling like you can only be 'fun' when you drink.
Alcoholism can be devastating, leading to debilitating health problems, as well as mental health struggles, and hurting friends and family.
There are a lot of signs that someone's drinking might be becoming serious, such as concealing how much they drink or feeling shame and anger when people bring it up.
But Corey shared one sign which for him is a big red flag that someone is not drinking 'casually' anymore.
This is when someone drinks so much that they black out, so they can't remember what happened while they were drunk.
"If you’ve ever blacked out, you probably think it’s because you drank too much," he said in the video on social media.
"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."
He added: "And that’s not normal, that’s not fun. That’s my brain shutting down."
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, memory loss occurs when heavy drinking means that alcohol blocks memories from being transferred from the short-term memory part of the brain to the long-term memory.
This is called 'memory consolidation' and happens in a part of the brain called the hippocampus.
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can block this process from happening, leading to someone waking up and having big gaps in their memory from the night before.
If you've been affected by addiction and want to speak to someone in confidence, you can call American Addiction Centers on (888) 324-0595, available 24/7, or contact them through their website.