How do you know if you're an alcoholic?
I always hear from people it's not how much you drink or drinking itself, but what alcohol does to you and relationship, etc. does drinking every night make you an alcoholic if you're not actually doing damage to your life? I've been drinking nightly for about two months now but I always pace myself and only a couple of times have I even been drunk and both times getting drunk as intentional. Other then that I usually begin drinking around 5 and stop when I decide to go to sleep. ( no I'm not passing out from alcohol ). It has no effect on my life situations or relationships because like I said I don't get wasted and do stupid things. Awhile back I thought maybe I had a problem but I think I've come to the conclusion I probably don't considering I'm okay when I drink and I can actually pace myself. I also have no idea if physical dependence is a real concern or not. If I'm only drinking in the evenings and not throughout the day I'm not sure if a real dependence can develop. Honestly I always worry one will or has but I'm almost afraid to just go a few days without drinking because of horror stories I've read about things like DTs. I'm naturally an anxious person who worries too much. I do feel like however if I was physically dependent and decided to stop I could easily cut back, it's not like I lose control and drink more than I planned because several nights I made plans to drink less than usual and stuck to it. Just curious how you know you have a problem.