Am I a "functioning" alcoholic? I need advice.
I suppose my poison of choice is drinking. Anywhere between 3-4 drinks a day perhaps 3-4 times a week and if I notice I'm running low; I go to buy more alcohol. However, I don't think I have a problem because when I get tired of drinking I'm capable of not drinking for months. I've never driven after drinking and I've never been sick from drinking. To other people though it seems that I have a problem and this is what causes me to worry or feel guilty when I drink.
Drinking for some reason makes me happier, calmer and although I'm not a raving lunatic without it, I do notice myself feeling less upbeat and energetic. I suppose it becomes something akin to an induced type of depression. For the first couple of days of not drinking, I don't even think about alcohol but once day 4 or 5 hits, I'm thinking about it and making a conscience effort not to go buy it.The problem is my entire family drinks and drinking has become a very necessary part of any social gathering we have. For us, alcohol just makes it all the more fun.
My father wakes up to drinking (5AM) and has a drink for lunch and one for dinner. I tell him he drinks too much and he tells me I drink too much especially for my age
(24). I live with my father and we both work for the same company. So we spend a lot of time together and when I make up my mind not to drink, he'll want to drink and bring alcohol back into the house. It's hard for me to resist and we're social drinkers so we enjoy drinking together. And OMG, the more I'm writing the more concerned I'm becoming.
Okay, my drinking has never interfered with school, work or any relationship of mine (for what that's worth considering I use to date a coke user). I found this encouraging and the fact I can and have stayed clean for months before but I just took this test that screens for possible alcoholism and the results were not good even when I included these things that had me convinced that I DON'T have a problem.
Health wise, I feel fine. I do suffer with occasional sleep problems (but who doesn't) and I get reoccurring headaches. I was a good student (graduated college with a 3.8GPA), I'm a good worker (come to work on time and get the job done never been absent) and I'm a good companion (I went out of my way for my addict GF because I loved her that much). But now I'm so confused and more than alittle scared. What's going on? What should I do?