Alcoholic shares the signs that you are addicted to drinking and don’t realise

Joe Harker
2026-03-23T16:42:38.375Z
News

He said the more you drank the more your brain changed

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

An alcoholic has spoken about the signs of addiction as he claimed 'if you drink alcohol, I guarantee that you're addicted', claiming people 'just don't realize it' when it happens.

Corey Warren has spoken plenty about his own addiction to alcohol as he tries to encourage other people to stay away from it.

For him the sign that he was an alcoholic when he realised even he didn't believe his claims that he was eventually going to stop drinking, and after several stints in rehab Corey has been sober since 2011.

In another of his videos he warned people they could be getting addicted to alcohol without even realising it.

"If you're stressed out or you have a bad day and you turn to a drink, well, your brain records that. And if that drink gives you relief, well, your brain records that too," he said.

Corey Warren warned that over time your brain would associate alcohol with comfort and good times, leading it to become your reward (Instagram/@icoreywarren)

How does alcohol addiction start

According to Warren the addiction develops when the brain associates alcohol with relief and begins to use that instead of something else when it needs some way to take the pressure off.

He said: "Next time that you have a bad day or you're stressed out, your brain doesn't say 'let's go for a walk, let's call somebody, maybe you need some more sleep'.

"Your brain suggests one thing, a drink. But it's not because you're weak. It's not because you lack discipline. It's because that's what you've taught it.

"Every time that you teach that pattern, things get worse to the point where your brain doesn't ask, 'do you want to drink?' It says, 'Why aren't we drinking yet?' If you want to better your life, start by getting all this alcohol out of it."

According to the Mayo Clinic a series of 'genetic, psychological, social and environmental' factors help determine how alcohol affects your brain.

They warn that drinking alcohol over time changes the way your brain associates certain experiences with pleasure, impairs your judgement and can lead to a person craving alcohol to either feel good or avoid feeling bad.

How alcohol addiction develops

UK Addiction Treatment Centres (UKAT) explains that the brain's ability to rewire itself is known as 'neuroplasticity', and that sustained alcohol abuse can cause your brain to do this in expectation of the regular presence of alcohol.

Drinking can cause structural changes in your brain as you become increasingly dependent on it, which then makes it incredibly difficult to stop drinking.

It's not a matter of simple willpower, your brain's ability to judge things properly and control itself have been changed by the addiction.

As Corey explained it's not a sign of weakness or a lack of discipline, it's a pattern you've become used to.

You gain a greater tolerance the more you drink, meaning you need to drink more in turn to trigger the same reward and pleasure centres of your brain.

Alcohol will change the way your brain works, which is how an addiction can develop (Getty Stock Photo)

How does alcohol addiction affect the brain

As mentioned, drinking causes structural changes to the brain.

In your noodle are nerve cells called neurons, billions of them, and they're what makes you, you.

They run your body and carry your thoughts, with electrical impulses being carried along the neurons and the gaps between them, which are called synapses.

To get your thoughts across synapses the brain releases chemicals, and the chemical will depend on the message.

Dopamine is one of these, it makes you feel good and when it's released it can be associated with certain things like favourite foods which make you want to have them again.

Alcohol has a massive impact on the mind's reward system as it becomes a trigger for that dopamine, requiring larger amounts each time to spark the hit.

It also impairs your frontal lobe where you make your decisions, so drinking alcohol makes you want more, makes your brain see it as a reward and comfort while it impairs your judgement and decision making ability.