40oz, Welcome!
The amount you're drinking is certainly enough to put you way out of the range of "normal drinking". Personally, I never could understand people who would order a beer and would walk away later with half of it left over, warm and flat. WTF? A beer is a terrible thing to waste!
You said: I need to find a way to deal with stress other than drinking. I can totally relate to that statement. It wasn't drinking that was the problem. It was my job, my girlfriend, my parents... if all of these things would just fall into place, I wouldn't HAVE to drink. The problem I ran into was that at some point, the absence of alcohol in my system stressed me out. I didn't know it, I thought it was the events around me, or boredom, etc. The truth was, I was going through withdrawal, and my body was craving more alcohol. So I drank. Which led to withdrawal. So I drank again... Not always to excess, but I always drank again.
I agree with the other posters. Try not drinking. If you do decide to drink on a particular day, limit yourself to One twelve oz steel reserve a day (12 oz steel reserve = 24 oz "normal" beer). Or have two "regular" proof beers. Or a dozen non-alcoholic beers if you're thinking that you drink for the taste. Try it for a minimum of two weeks, preferably a month.
Also, pick up a copy of this book - "Under the Influence" by James Milam. It is a really good book that describes what happens in a person who is/becomes an alcoholic. I've read a slew of books ince I stopped drinking over a year ago - that one was by far the most meaningful for me in terms of facing up to the realities of continuing to drink.
I wish you all the best, 40. Keep in touch, even if you come to the conclusion that you are not an alcoholic. This economy is brutal, and you have a lot of company with being unemployed, myself included.
Edd