Does my brother have a drinking problem?

Question

I have been hanging out at home a bit more often than usualy lately and I've notice my brother drinks about 3 or 4 beers a night. Is this normal or does he have a drinking problem? He's 23 yrs old.

Answer 1

no he's 23 he can drink as much as he want's im the 1 with and drinking problem and proud of it.

Answer 2

He is young but it could turn into a problem in the future. Does Alcoholism run in your family?

Answer 3

I'm not sure...alot of 21-24 year olds do that, but he has a small drinking problem because he drinks 3-4 beers a night.

Answer 4

dude 3 to 4 beers a night is not a bad thing considering he could be drinking way more. 3 to 4 beers will not get you **** faced so to me it doesn't seem that he is drinking to get ****** up which to me is  when someone has a problem. Now someone from AA might disagree yet those *** clowns think everyone is a full blown alki or drugie.  

Answer 5

3 or 4 at 23 is normal.  It's good that he's at home rather than out (In my opinion).  Now, if he upgrades to liquor from beer, keep an eye on him.

Answer 6

He's pretty young...I think it's kinda normal.

Answer 7

Yes. Sooner or later,  he will become a drinker.You should find out what type of problem that he is facing. Then, analyse the problem and solve it. It is not easy unless your brother tell you about his problem.

Or else he is drinking for fun. It is a bad habit to drink too much beer in his 23. Tell him to cut down the beer to 1 or 2 cans per night, and later slowly cut to 1 can per week.

Answer 8

An adult male should not drink more than 21 units of alcohol a week (1 beer = about 1 unit), and never more than 5 units on one day.

The question is really not how MUCH he drinks - but HOW he drinks, if it's disruptive to his life.

Does he lie about the amount or make efforts to hide it?

(Maybe he stops at a bar or grocery-store on his way home from work/school to drink one or 2 beers in the car, hidden from you).

- if yes: then he has a problem.

Does he plan his day around the alcohol?

(Does he decline or avoid to make appointments on his way home from work, because he looks forward to the first beer? Does he decline or avoid making plans in the evening, that would mean he couldn't drink - f.ex. if he had to drive or be sober).

- if yes: then he has a problem.

Could he drink something else?

(he just wants to drink something - and he prefers the taste of beer, he could easily exchange it for an alcoholfree beer, coffee or a soda)

- if yes: have him do so!

Is the drinking a problem in his life - does it cause problems for him?

(inability to work well enough, broken relationships, loss of friends, loss of social network ...)

- if yes: then he has a problem.

Does he have a family-history of "self-medication"-abuse?

(Does any of your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts - you! -  soothe emotional pain with excessive behaviour, f.ex. alcohol, food, drugs or exercise).

- if yes: then he may have an inherited problem, and the danger is, that he doesn't even see the disruptiveness of it, it's just normal to him.

At least the fact, that YOU notice his drinking, and think something is off, tells me you probably don't have an alcoholic in your immediate family.