The danger is telling yourself that if everyone else is doing it and you’re having fun, it’s okay. But the fact is that around one in 10 people is born with a predisposition to addiction – and that might be you. Alcohol abuse isn’t a happy tale, especially over the long term: besides brain damage, liver damage and hormonal problems, there’s the likelihood of ruined relationships and unfulfilled potential. Believing it won’t happen to you because you’re strong-willed is another misconception. It can happen to anyone.

Take a long, hard look at yourself and try to pinpoint why you need to get drunk. Often there’s something a drinker is trying to escape or change yet isn’t confronting. Drinking can temporarily suspend problems, but ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear. A drinker often becomes caught in a vicious circle: you drink to feel better about something, but because you’re not dealing with the problem, it builds up and you drink more to block it out.

If you find yourself waking up too often with the mother of all hangovers, regretting something you’ve said or done, it’s time to rethink your lifestyle, and possibly get help.

So how much is safe?

One tot of spirits or two glasses of wine for an average-sized woman, and a double tot or three glasses or wine for a man. According to experts, though, just one drink can be regarded as ‘safe’. Why? The effects of alcohol differ for everybody, as it depends on your body weight and the amount of food in your stomach.

Eat before you go out – food slows down the absorption of alcohol – and don’t drink too much. Be especially wary of drinking shots. The alcohol content of a shot of spirits is roughly equivalent to two glasses of wine, so by drinking a few shots in quick succession, you can easily flood your body with more alcohol than you can handle. In such high concentrations, the alcohol is absorbed quickly. Throwing up won’t necessarily help – you’re stuck with it.

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YOUR PARTNER HAS A DRINKING PROBLEM: WHAT NOW?

HOW YOU CAN HELP

1. Don’t make idle threats

While alcoholics continually make empty promises to stop drinking, their partners tend to make idle threats such as, ‘If you don’t stop drinking, I’ll leave you,’ yet nothing changes. If you can’t follow through, don’t threaten.

2. Understand your role in the process

It’s estimated that about 16 people are affected by one person’s addiction. Those close to an addict become drawn into the destructive process unconsciously. If you feel you can’t leave your partner, consult an addiction counsellor to learn how to avoid being manipulated by him or taking responsibility for his problem.

3. Present a united front

Because the alcoholic is a master manipulator, one-to-one confrontations are largely ineffective. To jolt him into reality, you’ll have to confront him as a group. An intervention involves a group of people who care about the addict – family, friends and colleagues – issuing an ultimatum to the addict. (The guidance of a counsellor is recommended.) The object is to create a crisis for the addict to get him to admit that he’s harming himself and those around him, and to accept treatment at once.

4. Issue an ultimatum

Many alcoholics end up in treatment only after someone has issued an ultimatum. Give your partner the choice of going into rehab with the group’s support – or being committed to care through a court order. Given this sort of choice, the alcoholic will often go for the soft option of rehab.