reggiedrugs

I'm wondering how did you know you had a drinking problem?

For the past year or two my friends and family have told me they're concerned about my drinking. I don't think it's out of control but there are moments where I worry myself. I checked out online and most websites basically claim if you have more than one beer a week with a friend you're an alcoholic. It's ridiculous. I probably drink more than most but I'm not like out of control or anything. I was just wondering if any of you are currently an alcoholic or a recovering alcoholic or knows someone who suffers alcoholism and when something becomes a drinking problem.

Mafoo

id be wary of anyone who says X number of drinks makes you an alch.

if you have problems in your life and you drink to escape them, that might be a problem.
if you black out all the time, thats probably a problem. im guilty of that one, but i think its mostly when i toke when im drunk.
if you spend all your money on drink... problem.

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

Jester4yall

I don't see a few beers after work as a problem. Before work, yeah that's suspect. I think it is more of the degree you drink too. There are too many variables. If you think you have a problem, you most likely do.

Have you ever stole to support your drinking? Have you sold anything to pay for booze?
Has drinking cost you a job, a relationship, or anything else you've valued? Have you been arrested b/c of drinking?

In my opinion a yes to any of those questions is grounds for me to think I had a problem.

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Roach

Remember too alcohol is a depressant. So I'd call it alcohol addiction rather than alcoholism. Addictive behavior can definately alter ones outlook on life in general, and the way one would "normally" interface with the world. The fact that drinking is so widely accepted and perfectly legal doesn't help. Simply spending more money on alcohol than you'd prefer to, is addictive behavior, as it can have negative consequences. ( other wants/needs that require money will have less funds).

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SageTree

It's been mentioned but...

If it's effecting you doing the things you like doing, spending time with the people you want/effecting the relationship with them, consume too much knowing you'll feel like shit the next day, money disappears, black out.....

I don't know if I'd say 'You are an alcoholic',

But I might say 'You could be experiencing a problem with alcohol though...'

It's not 'are you an alcoholic', to me it's 'are you still able to live the way you want to live, and is it a sustainable coarse of action?'


You don't have to answer... but in your opinion...

Is there anything that you feel you are trying to bury or run from in your past...?

Not a judgment... just a question.
Self-medicating is normal and common...
But if it's not helping or working anymore its probably in the best interest of having a healthier, longer and more peaceful life to peer down that avenue and see what 'cure' to that issue is, rather than a 'band-aid', ya know what I mean?


But it doesn't have to be 'inward' issues at all... just had to ask or bring it up.

Binge drinking on weekends is sort of a separate issue....


How would you describe your daily alcohol consumption?

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deadhead94

drinking by yourself or more than once a week doesn't make you an alcoholic. experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you don't drink makes you an alcoholic.

you could very well be a drunk, but unless you need ethanol to function, you aren't an alcoholic.

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generic_hippie

I drank.

Been sober ten years or so, probably more, I don't count anymore.

Its a problem when it takes precedence over other activities, at least thats where I started to go wrong.

If you are at work and spend most of your day focusing on the first drink after work and that first drink invariably turns into you getting drunk, chances are you've got an addiction.

If you feel you need a drink inside you to be comfortable, you've got an addiction...

If you want to have a deep conversation about this topic, pm me and we'll get into over a week or so...

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Love

is my
favourite DRUG...

Terry

Where'd you get your degree, fucknuts?

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And if you think peace
Is a common goal
That goes to show
How little you know

-The Smiths

fenderbender

you are so fucking annoying man. give it up already


Even if you were actually smart, this shit would still be annoying as fuck


But you have repeatedly been proven to be of sub-par intelligence, so that isnt even the case.

just give it up ok?

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Imagine &

come hang out and chat while watching TV/movies on stream

<3

deadhead94

show me

also, alcoholism is alcohol addiction.

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SageTree

For real deadhead,

That is some less than great advice.

Don't make Terry and Fender have to do what they did.

This is G&S, try to be a wee more factual or serious if you want to participate.


While withdraw is ONE of the symptoms it's not THE only one.


While I'm not a huge fan of the DSM manual, it's a has a good list of starter questions to consider:






Thanks for adding this Brother.

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Mafoo

unless there was some editing i missed, i dont think anything deadhead has said is really off base.. the truth is there is no quantitive way of describing alcoholism. theres no magic number of drinks per day or week. true alcoholics wake up and take a drink because the DT's have started because its been a few hours since the last drink before bed or w/e. that doesnt mean a person who is not like this doesnt have a problem, though.

the things that have been mentioned in this thread are all indicators, and the more indicators that apply to you, the more likely you have an addiciton.

most often, if the people around you think you have a problem, it would obviously be wise to take a long hard look at yourself and try to honestly figure out if you have a problem.

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

Terry

^Says the drunk

__________________
And if you think peace
Is a common goal
That goes to show
How little you know

-The Smiths

Mafoo

i suppose that is warranted lol. ill be the first to admit that i have less than full control once the first drink touches my lips, but i still have control when im sober. i dont end up drunk in inappropriate times/ places. alcohol has affected a few of my romantic relationships, but im cognizant of that fact, and i have learned to limit my intake when i have a girlfriend.

i wouldnt say im dependent or an alcoholic, whichever term pleases you works. i still have a job, i go to school and do well in school- and almost always better than my peers if my position on the grading curve is any indication of that. i only get really hammered at parties/bars on the weekends, and ill enjoy the occasional glass of wine on a week night.

i dont think i have a problem, or if i do, its probably no more serious than my desire to chase girls or whatever other reward seeking behavior.

am i rationalizing?

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

fenderbender

lol terry way to steal my thunder with the post a minute before me.
ass




i didnt know this was G&S, and i dont necessarily disagree with what deadhead said

I was just going through newposts and this was like the 5th thread in a row with deadhead being a know-it-all little twat lol.
that post had absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this thread, it was merely just an anti-deadhead post.




As for the thread topic, i think that if you have to ask someone to define alcoholism for you, you are either dumb or just trying to make excuses for your alcohol addiction.


Is it having a negative effect on your life? Yes? then cut back on the drinkin. If you cant cut back then stop completely.

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Imagine &

come hang out and chat while watching TV/movies on stream

<3

Roach

wazup g.h. ?

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deadhead94

If you compulsively drink without a physical need for the chemical, that is a symptom, not the disease.

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farmergiles

Alcoholism is not a disease like cancer that can be observed under a microscope.

If alcohol is consistently fucking up someone's life then they are an alcoholic.

If that is denied the subject is in denial.

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Cultivate a stoic calmness

Sir-Ex

There is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking by yourself.


If you think that there is, it's because you've been distastefully socialized.


This opinion was brought to you by a man who hardly ever drinks.




ps: alcoholism = when drinking makes yours or others' life worse

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Smile

Ditch the cigs!!!!!!

deadhead94

You have to look at alcoholism as having 2 distinct phases.

At first, it in itself is not the problem. It is only a symptom.

The answer to why do they drink in the manner they do isn't physical dependence. But what is it? The vast majority of people aren't going to drink destructively just for the hell of it. There has to be people that do, but their number would be negligible. If their bodies don't need alcohol and it isn't arbitrary, that leads to something psychological. My proof is in the fact that people self medicate with drugs.

Eventually the symptom becomes the disease when alcohol is needed to function normally. Just quitting is no longer an option as it could be fatal. At that point, you need to treat the alcohol problem first, but before that point, figuring out the cause and treating that would be far more effective. If you do that, chances are you wont have an alcohol problem to treat.

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