alcohol a drug??

[jen32]

My sister is here from Iceland for a visit and the Saturday before Halloween her and my parents decided to meet at the bar. I joined them. I had a wine cooler and a beer, does this make me an alcoholic?? If I would have relasped on meth then I would have felt really guilty but I am thinking it was only a coulpe of drinks--no big deal, it is not like I feel compelled to go out and buy a 12 pack and get drunk. Alcohol was never really my thing, meth on the other hand is my drug of choice and the one I know I have to stay away from!! So I guess I am wondering if I am alcoholic or not. I go to a lot of A/A meeting because that is mostly the meetings that are available and when it is my turn to speak I say my name and that I am an alcoholic--this bothers me a little because I don't think that I am. I don't know I guess I am thinking about this to much.

[ted]

HEY JEN,FOR ME I WOULD USE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING TO ESCAPE REALITY.
I CANNOT USE ANYTHING SAFELY.
ALCOHOL WAS MY DRUG OF CHOICE,I THOUGHT I COULD JUST SMOKE POT
EVENTUALLY IT LED ME RIGHT BACK TO 1/2 GALLON A DAY.
IN THE NA TEXT IT SAYS"ALCOHOL IS A DRUG PERIOD!"
I'M AN ADDICT WETHER IT BE DRANK,SMOKED,SHOT,OR SNIFFED,I CAN'T HANDLE IT.
PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID.............ted

[Trooth]

Yeah, alchohol is a drug. You will find that drugs are more about dosages than the actual drugs themselves. I have sinuses so I took some nyquil tonight (CVS brand at least). It has alchohol in it, and alchohol has always been a problem of mine. The dosage though is different, and I am not drinking. So to me it is different (alchohol wasn't my DOC anyways). But even though I feel ok doing that I do not feel at ease with just going out and grabbing a beer or two. Some people have been adicted to cough syrup and would not be able to do what I did, because they would abuse it, so to me you have to realize why you are taking it first, (for the case of most drinkers it is for the buzz, and entertainment, some it is ease the pain, some use it to ease their stomach or for the taste of it).

If you need a substance for entertainment than you are always walking a fine line in my opinion.

[Gooch]

take the H20 (water) out of it and you have ether.

Was used as an anesthetic for a century or more.

[cj.]

Hi Jen:

The fact that you are thinking about this at all tells me that you are concerned enough to reach out for help.

I also believe that alcohol is a drug. It didn't matter what mood altering substance I put into my body. They all kept my addiction alive and eventually I always went back to my drug of chioce. MORE!!

Please keep in mind that alcohol can set you up for craving your drug of choice. As addicts we can't use any substance safely!

cj

[Trooth]

Alchohol triggered my DOC time and time again. I second what CJ said. I can't drink because it leads to bad decisions. Once I learned about what actually happens as you drink, recreational drinking took on a whole new light.

Basically as you drink the frontal lobe of your brain begins to shut down. This is the brain that controls your inhibitions. In other words that is why people make bad decisions, and act like fools when they are drunk. The part of your brain that controls your motor skills gets shut down as well. That is why you start to lose your balance and your speech becomes slurred.

Drinking increases testosterone in both men and women. The result is an increase in aggressiveness especially sexually. The bad thing for men is that your body releases a lot of estrogen to balance it out as you recoup. That is where the beer belly and man tits come from. Excessive alchohol wreaks havoc on your body and mind.

[deim23]

absolutely booze is a drug

I used to ponder that very question as well.
Then I got honest, and it wasn't very difficult to see that yes indeedy alcohol is just another drug (specially if I am an alcoholic a.k.a. addict).

Aaron

[DrFrier]

Hi Jen,

Good question,

Alcohol is certainly considered a mood altering drug with both high abuse and addiction potential. You might want to go over this with your sponsor as well.

Your question reflects that you are still deep in denial about your problems with mind altering substances. You might want to consider checking into a treatment center, it worked very well for me.

Good luck,

Jim

[servicejunkie]

I'm not really into this whole "drug of choice" or "DOC" thing you guys are talking about. As addicts our "DOC" is whatever drug we are using at the time. It sounds like you are very new in recovery and still have some reservations, eveyone does. Using alcohol or other drugs is just a replacement and will lead you back down the road of insanity and unmanageability again sooner or later if you are truly an addict. Have you talked to anybody yet who said, "Yes, its OK to be using this drug, as long as you don't use that one"??? Most people have to discover these truths the hard way. Just remember, Keep commin' back no matter what!! Fools learn from their own mistakes, wise people learn from the mistakes of others. Alcohol is a drug. Also, How can you call yourself something you are not in order to be accepted in meetings AND be OK with it????? It might not be a bad idea to go to a place where the disease of addiction is treated and try not to identify the chemical as the problem.
alcoholic addict--one who likes carrots as well as vegetables
I hope and pray you make the right decision about what to do at this point.
Love & Respect, Mike

[jen32]

Hey guys I just want to send out my many thanks to all who has responded to this thread!!! THANKS!! I heard once before 'one is to many and one thousand is never enough--of anything' That is true for alcohol as well. Thanks again--I will use what I learned.