The annual dry January will soon be drawing to a close and those who are still booze-free can happily pat themselves on the back for displaying discipline and abstinence in the face of temptation.
Others may have had good intentions but fell off the wagon because of boredom, stress, a family event or in some cases, they just couldn't stick life without a drink.
As over half of adult Irish drinkers have harmful drinking patterns, it's difficult to distinguish between someone who just falls back into bad habits and someone who has serious issues around alcohol.
If you enjoy a 'well deserved' bottle of wine in front of the TV of an evening, a few civilised gins on a Saturday and a rake of pints on match days, you would be classified as a heavy drinker; but you would not necessarily be an alcoholic, despite your high-volume alcohol intake.
Meanwhile, your mate, who is currently kipping on your couch and arrives in your house with a four-pack of Polish beer of a Monday afternoon could be suffering from severe alcohol-related issues.
"The intake may be the same or less, but the outcome is completely different," says Gerry Hickey, a psychiatrist and counsellor for people with alcohol-related issues.
"The best way to tell if someone is an alcoholic is when their drinking interferes with their job, relationships, family and friendships. It's not about the quantity, but more about the effect it has on you."
"If you worry people's drinking could be affecting their lives, just ask the people who love them.
"They are the real victims of alcoholism because they have to deal with abuse, mental health and money issues and a host of other problems. In Ireland, 84pc of public order offences are alcohol-related, which is outrageous," he says.
"When I see a really drunk person, I don't think about how much they drank on the night or what they're saying or doing, I just think about the person they're going home to that night and what they may have to endure.
"Of the people who sit in front of me, 70pc have alcohol issues or are affected by people with alcohol issues. People who grow up in homes of alcoholics are more likely to be anxious and suffer from reactive depression and implications can be long standing."
One of the main problems with alcoholics is that their family are enabling them; even though they think they're not. They often dismiss their alcohol issues and brush them under the carpet.
Source: Barbara McCarthy, Irish Independent, 20/01/15
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