The pattern questions matter more than any count: drinking more than you meant, failed cutbacks, craving, and consequences that do not stop you.
Alcohol use disorder is a medical condition diagnosed on DSM-5 criteria - meeting two to three in a year is mild, four to five moderate, six or more severe. The everyday tells: rules you set and break, comments from people close to you, morning regret, and the question itself resurfacing. AUD is treatable at every severity.
What to do
Common questions
How do I know if I have a drinking problem?
The honest answer comes from pattern questions, not a unit count. Alcohol use disorder is a medical condition diagnosed with DSM-5 criteria, and the core ones are about control and consequences: drinking more or longer than you meant to, wanting to cut down and not managing it, spending real time drinking or recovering from it, craving, drinking despite it damaging work, school, or relationships, giving up things you enjoyed, drinking in dangerous situations, needing more for the same effect, and withdrawal symptoms when it wears off. Meeting two to three criteria in a year means mild AUD; four to five, moderate; six or more, severe. The everyday tells: you set rules and break them, others have commented, mornings involve regret, and the question itself keeps surfacing - people without a problem rarely Google whether they have one. AUD is treatable at every severity, with medication, therapy, and mutual-help groups. If you feel in crisis, call or text 988 in the US, or your local crisis line. Pymander, a free AI doctor available 24/7 by text, can help you think through the pattern privately.