You may need treatment for alcoholism if you drink more than what’s considered “moderate.” Moderate drinking is measured as two drinks per day for men and one drink for women. One alcoholic drink, in this case, is defined as: 12 oz. of beer 5 oz. of wine 1.5 oz. of hard liquor Two patterns that may be associated with alcohol addiction are binge drinking and heavy drinking: Binge drinking: Consumption of five or more drinks for men and four or more for women in the space of two hours. Heavy drinking: Drinking excessively over the course of a day or week. For men, heavy drinking is considered four-plus drinks a day or more than 14 servings of alcohol in a week. For women, it’s more than three drinks daily or more than seven weekly. Alcohol use disorder is a disease with a wide-ranging impact on America’s public health. In 2019, 14.1 million adults said they suffered from some form of the disorder, according to a survey from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Risk factors for alcohol abuse include a genetic disposition to drinking, a family history of alcohol misuse, co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and drinking at an early age. Alcohol use disorder spans a spectrum from mild alcohol abuse to alcoholism. In that end-stage, drinking becomes uncontrollable. People with alcoholism must drink to function each day, no matter the cost to themselves or others. That’s why it’s important to seek treatment to help manage the disease. Therapies can include medication, support groups, and behavior modification through modalities such as talk therapy.