Am I an Alcoholic?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: NY
Posts: 6
Am I an Alcoholic?
I'm 30. I'm engaged. Running a great business which is getting better everyday. Earning quite well. Am very responsible and calculated in everything I do, highly educated and have great family structure around me.
-I don't drink and drive, ever.
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
-My work never suffers because of drinking. I wake up at 8AM every day and am in the office by 9.
-I never drink more than 1.5 bottles of wine and don't touch hard stuff. It seems that if I get to that point of alcohol consumption i feel like its enough and time to go to sleep.
-I never drink during the day (even on weekends) and don't have any cravings to do so.
but, I enjoy drinking between 1-1.5 bottles of white wine every night with no increase in consumption on weekends. Sometimes I'll go out with friends and not drink the entire evening because I'm driving and then have my bottle when I get home. I never go over that amount and have been doing this for about 4.5 years now without any negative impact on my professional or social life. I've taken breaks (1 week or so) without any physical or psychological. The truth is that enjoy my bottle or so of wine and do crave it when I get home from work. It relaxes me and helps me get a good night's sleep (i've always had trouble falling asleep...since early youth).
The truth is that my drinking doesn't really bother me from the point of view of progressing beyond my current behavior. After almost 5 years of this routine without any increase in consumption or negative effects (i've even been able to get a very successful consulting company off the ground during the last 3 years) what I really worry about long term health problems.
Am I an alcoholic? What are my long terms health prospects if I keep this up?
Your thoughts?
-I don't drink and drive, ever.
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
-My work never suffers because of drinking. I wake up at 8AM every day and am in the office by 9.
-I never drink more than 1.5 bottles of wine and don't touch hard stuff. It seems that if I get to that point of alcohol consumption i feel like its enough and time to go to sleep.
-I never drink during the day (even on weekends) and don't have any cravings to do so.
but, I enjoy drinking between 1-1.5 bottles of white wine every night with no increase in consumption on weekends. Sometimes I'll go out with friends and not drink the entire evening because I'm driving and then have my bottle when I get home. I never go over that amount and have been doing this for about 4.5 years now without any negative impact on my professional or social life. I've taken breaks (1 week or so) without any physical or psychological. The truth is that enjoy my bottle or so of wine and do crave it when I get home from work. It relaxes me and helps me get a good night's sleep (i've always had trouble falling asleep...since early youth).
The truth is that my drinking doesn't really bother me from the point of view of progressing beyond my current behavior. After almost 5 years of this routine without any increase in consumption or negative effects (i've even been able to get a very successful consulting company off the ground during the last 3 years) what I really worry about long term health problems.
Am I an alcoholic? What are my long terms health prospects if I keep this up?
Your thoughts?
Bittersweet
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 165
actually.. what im thinking is.. why would you bother searching a forum (or like me tripp over it) but why bother to register and post if youre sure you dont have a problem with your alcohol consumption?
I cant answer your question, if youre an alcoholic or not.
But I doubt its healthy
I cant answer your question, if youre an alcoholic or not.
But I doubt its healthy
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Deinze, Belgium
Posts: 246
As Missminimi stated,... we can not tell you if you are an alcoholic or not. But in my opinion 1 or 1.5 bottles of wine a day is a lot. It is strange that you have not increased the quantity in 4.5 years cuz normally as time passes it takes more and more alcohol to get the same "buzz" because your body gets used to alcohol. So thats a point that works in your advantage since alcoholism is a progressive disease.
Alcoholic or not,... If I were you, I'd quit drinking every day anyway. It is bad for your body and your liver could use some days off every week.
Maybe the older members on SR can be of more use.
Alcoholic or not,... If I were you, I'd quit drinking every day anyway. It is bad for your body and your liver could use some days off every week.
Maybe the older members on SR can be of more use.
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Posts: 9,730
Welcome to SR Tom, I am an alcoholic, but let us first discuss your current drinking and forget as to whether you may or may not be an alcoholic. I would highly reccommend you speak to your doctor about the amount you are drinking, in this old mans opinion that is a lot of wine to be drinking every day and alcoholic or not consumption of alcohol in those quanities over a long period of time is not healthy. Talk to your doctor about the health concerns.
Now let us address whether or not you are an alcoholic, only you can determine that and the only way you can do that is to be brutaly honest with your self.
Education, position, nor anything else excludes one from being an alcoholic. Alcoholism is totally nondiscrimatory.
If you are an alcoholic you need to add the word "YET" to the end of every one of those statements. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, the more an alcoholic drinks the worse the disease gets.
Black outs while drinking are very rare in some one who is not an alcoholic, black outs for an alcohlic come more often and last longer as the disease progresses. I would fix dinner for the family every evening after getting home from work and the next morning could not tell you half the time what I had eaten the night before and I cooked it! I also was not drunk, just drinking what was normal for me, I functioned extremely well considering how much I was drinking towards the end. There is a sticky at the top of this forum with parts of the book "Under the Influence which covers blackouts you may want to read.
Alcoholics develop a craving for alcohol, a physical one, the longer I drank the more I obsessed/craved a drink and once I had "a" drink, that was not enough, I had to have more.
Once again I will say that only you can determine whether or not you are an alcoholic. Here is a couple of things that may help you decide.
1. Tonight when you get home just have one glass (Not an 8 ounce glass) of wine and no more. For an alcoholic this is hard to do, I drank for 40 years, for the first 10 years I could do this, but it was rare, I always wanted another drink after I had one! In the last 10 years I drank if I had one I was having more, stopping after one was not an option. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, it never gets better.
2. Go for a month without a single drink after you have done #1 for a week. Depending upon how far along someone is this could possibly be done, I quit for a year and a half in my first 10 years of drinking, it wasn't easy to quit at first, but I did, when I started drinking again it was as if I had never stopped. Once again alcoholism never gets better.
3. Do you ever wonder why in the world someone would leave a half empty drink? I sure did and to be honest I still do, as an alcoholic my mind still tells me when it comes to booze it is all or nothing, there is no inbetween.
4. Last but not least, take a piece of paper and first write down every thing you have gotten into trouble for. Now with brutal honesty go back over that list and put a check mark beside every one of them that you had been drinking when it happened.
You may very well not be an alcoholic, I hope for your sake you are not, but as an alcoholic I can tell you that my alcoholism will never get better, I have arrested the disease by not drinking, if I started to drink again I would pick up right where I left off and steadily get worse.
Make sure you talk to your doctor about how much you are drinking no matter what, IMHO that is a lot of booze on a daily basis and can not be good for you.
Now let us address whether or not you are an alcoholic, only you can determine that and the only way you can do that is to be brutaly honest with your self.
I'm 30. I'm engaged. Running a great business which is getting better everyday. Earning quite well. Am very responsible and calculated in everything I do, highly educated and have great family structure around me.
-I don't drink and drive, ever.
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
-My work never suffers because of drinking. I wake up at 8AM every day and am in the office by 9.
-I never drink more than 1.5 bottles of wine and don't touch hard stuff. It seems that if I get to that point of alcohol consumption i feel like its enough and time to go to sleep.
-I never drink during the day (even on weekends) and don't have any cravings to do so.
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
-My work never suffers because of drinking. I wake up at 8AM every day and am in the office by 9.
-I never drink more than 1.5 bottles of wine and don't touch hard stuff. It seems that if I get to that point of alcohol consumption i feel like its enough and time to go to sleep.
-I never drink during the day (even on weekends) and don't have any cravings to do so.
I never lose control when I drink or black out.
The truth is that enjoy my bottle or so of wine and do crave it when I get home from work.
Once again I will say that only you can determine whether or not you are an alcoholic. Here is a couple of things that may help you decide.
1. Tonight when you get home just have one glass (Not an 8 ounce glass) of wine and no more. For an alcoholic this is hard to do, I drank for 40 years, for the first 10 years I could do this, but it was rare, I always wanted another drink after I had one! In the last 10 years I drank if I had one I was having more, stopping after one was not an option. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, it never gets better.
2. Go for a month without a single drink after you have done #1 for a week. Depending upon how far along someone is this could possibly be done, I quit for a year and a half in my first 10 years of drinking, it wasn't easy to quit at first, but I did, when I started drinking again it was as if I had never stopped. Once again alcoholism never gets better.
3. Do you ever wonder why in the world someone would leave a half empty drink? I sure did and to be honest I still do, as an alcoholic my mind still tells me when it comes to booze it is all or nothing, there is no inbetween.
4. Last but not least, take a piece of paper and first write down every thing you have gotten into trouble for. Now with brutal honesty go back over that list and put a check mark beside every one of them that you had been drinking when it happened.
You may very well not be an alcoholic, I hope for your sake you are not, but as an alcoholic I can tell you that my alcoholism will never get better, I have arrested the disease by not drinking, if I started to drink again I would pick up right where I left off and steadily get worse.
Make sure you talk to your doctor about how much you are drinking no matter what, IMHO that is a lot of booze on a daily basis and can not be good for you.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LA - Lower Alabama
Posts: 5,068
You described me perfectly when I was 30 (I'm 45 now). I hardly ever had hangovers back then. The problem is, as Hush stated, progression.
My business grew to the point where I didn't even have to go into the office but 2 days a week -- and not even full days. So guess what I did - drank bourbon! (wine wasn't cutting it anymore).
Unlike many I never touched any other drug. Alcohol was like Miss February to me, and I was in love. I was offered other substances, but I thought "Miss May looks good but I'll stick with Miss February".
I won't bore you with a drunkalog, but I ended up severely physically addicted, quit cold turkey, had major withdrawals and now have health issues.
Are you an alcoholic? I can't make that diagnosis, but if you are concerned about it, that is one of the warning signs in and of itself. There are a lot of resources here, keep posting and good luck.
My business grew to the point where I didn't even have to go into the office but 2 days a week -- and not even full days. So guess what I did - drank bourbon! (wine wasn't cutting it anymore).
Unlike many I never touched any other drug. Alcohol was like Miss February to me, and I was in love. I was offered other substances, but I thought "Miss May looks good but I'll stick with Miss February".
I won't bore you with a drunkalog, but I ended up severely physically addicted, quit cold turkey, had major withdrawals and now have health issues.
Are you an alcoholic? I can't make that diagnosis, but if you are concerned about it, that is one of the warning signs in and of itself. There are a lot of resources here, keep posting and good luck.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Istanbul
Posts: 124
Dude you will be in a different shape and frame of mind when you reach 40's. I prrety much drank the same amount of beers for nearly 20 years and Hello I am an alcoholic.
Take a 90 days break from wine and see or better stay away 6 months from alcohol. If you can do it then you are I guess pretty ok.
but to be honest with you 1.5 bottle of wine everynight is not normal within the healty drinking limits.
Good Luck.
Take a 90 days break from wine and see or better stay away 6 months from alcohol. If you can do it then you are I guess pretty ok.
but to be honest with you 1.5 bottle of wine everynight is not normal within the healty drinking limits.
Good Luck.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Welcome to SR!
CDC.... Moderate Drinking...
What is a Standard Drink?
A standard drink is one 12 ounce beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5 ounce shot of distilled spirits. Each of these drinks contains about half an ounce of alcohol.
Is beer or wine safer to drink than hard liquor?
No. One 12 ounce beer has about the same amount of alcohol as one 5 ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5 ounce shot of liquor.
What is moderate drinking?
Based on current dietary guidelines, moderate drinking for women is defined as an average of 1 drink or less per day. Moderate drinking for men is defined as an average of 2 drinks or less per day USDA
I imagine your fiance is concerned
as to how much you drink.
I certainly would be!
Good Luck
CDC.... Moderate Drinking...
What is a Standard Drink?
A standard drink is one 12 ounce beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5 ounce shot of distilled spirits. Each of these drinks contains about half an ounce of alcohol.
Is beer or wine safer to drink than hard liquor?
No. One 12 ounce beer has about the same amount of alcohol as one 5 ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5 ounce shot of liquor.
What is moderate drinking?
Based on current dietary guidelines, moderate drinking for women is defined as an average of 1 drink or less per day. Moderate drinking for men is defined as an average of 2 drinks or less per day USDA
I imagine your fiance is concerned
as to how much you drink.
I certainly would be!
Good Luck
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
This is from the excerpts Taz mentioned
part of post #35
So you may not be as in control during a blackoout
as you think.
Heck! You don't now!
Hmm?
part of post #35
The middle-stage alcoholic has probably been having blackouts from time to time. Blackouts are a very distinctive feature of alcoholism, and one symptom that clearly distinguishes alcoholics from non-alcoholics. The events which occur during an alcoholic blackout are not forgotten; they are simply not stored or are imperfectly stored in the brain. There is nothing there to be recalled later.
as you think.
Heck! You don't now!
Blackouts can be so frightening that they make the alcoholic question his sanity. For the first time he may realize that he is in deep trouble with alcohol. Despite his increasing problems, however, the middle-stage alcoholic rarely considers giving up drinking...
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, one big happy dysfunctional family!
Posts: 23,056
This is something I post often, so my apologies if everyone's heard this before:
Normal drinkers don't question whether they're alcoholics or not. The thought never even crosses their mind. For the last 15 years or so that I drank I questioned it often.
Normal drinkers don't question whether they're alcoholics or not. The thought never even crosses their mind. For the last 15 years or so that I drank I questioned it often.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Posts: 595
TomThumb,
Only you can determine if you're an alcoholic. You say you can stop for a week or so. You also mentioned though that you do crave that bottle of wine when you get home from work. That might be an indication that there's a problem.
I know this...alcoholic will go to almost any length to convince themselves that they are not alcoholics. Believe it or not, one man went 25 years without drinking so he could build up his business and retire a successful man. After he retired, he started drinking again and within 4 years he was dead.
Alcoholics have a tremendous amount of will power when is comes to proving to themselves and others they don't have a problem. My suggestion would be to quit for six months or a year. You say you're engaged. I'm sure it's very exciting and your fiance' is thrilled. What better way to begin a life together than to live it without the nagging feeling that you might have a problem. You have a unique opportunity to start a family, run your successful business, and live a happy and productive life.
Too many of us here have lost our families, jobs, houses, etc. because we just didn't believe we had a problem. Instead of trying to convince us that there are no negative consequences as a result of your drinking, why don't you ask your fiancee', family, and friends. For us, they knew a long time before we did that we had a problem. They were just too scared to tell us. By the time they did, we didn't believe them.
I hope for your sake and for the sake of you future family that you don't have a problem with alcohol. I also pray that if you do, you will seek help. Taking action now will spare you and loved ones a lifetime of misery, pain, and heartache.
I wish you well my friend
Ed
Only you can determine if you're an alcoholic. You say you can stop for a week or so. You also mentioned though that you do crave that bottle of wine when you get home from work. That might be an indication that there's a problem.
I know this...alcoholic will go to almost any length to convince themselves that they are not alcoholics. Believe it or not, one man went 25 years without drinking so he could build up his business and retire a successful man. After he retired, he started drinking again and within 4 years he was dead.
Alcoholics have a tremendous amount of will power when is comes to proving to themselves and others they don't have a problem. My suggestion would be to quit for six months or a year. You say you're engaged. I'm sure it's very exciting and your fiance' is thrilled. What better way to begin a life together than to live it without the nagging feeling that you might have a problem. You have a unique opportunity to start a family, run your successful business, and live a happy and productive life.
Too many of us here have lost our families, jobs, houses, etc. because we just didn't believe we had a problem. Instead of trying to convince us that there are no negative consequences as a result of your drinking, why don't you ask your fiancee', family, and friends. For us, they knew a long time before we did that we had a problem. They were just too scared to tell us. By the time they did, we didn't believe them.
I hope for your sake and for the sake of you future family that you don't have a problem with alcohol. I also pray that if you do, you will seek help. Taking action now will spare you and loved ones a lifetime of misery, pain, and heartache.
I wish you well my friend
Ed
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: NY
Posts: 6
thank you all very much for your replies. truth is that i never realized until now that alcoholism is a physiological defect and not just the result of drinking too often. although i wonder if any person can become an alcoholic just by drinking alot or do they have to have the genetic susceptibility?
in my case, i'm sitting at the office right now and have absolutely no craving for alcohol. i'm not looking forward to drinking tonight. but when i get home and sit down in front of the tv i'll get a craving for some wine to relax and unwind. i'll finish up my bottle of wine and then sleep.
what's clear is that the quantities that I am drinking are not healthy. whether i've developed a bad habit or am a developing alcoholic i need to cut down significantly on my consumption. i think i'll start tonight!
in my case, i'm sitting at the office right now and have absolutely no craving for alcohol. i'm not looking forward to drinking tonight. but when i get home and sit down in front of the tv i'll get a craving for some wine to relax and unwind. i'll finish up my bottle of wine and then sleep.
what's clear is that the quantities that I am drinking are not healthy. whether i've developed a bad habit or am a developing alcoholic i need to cut down significantly on my consumption. i think i'll start tonight!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Cleveland Ohio
Posts: 290
a standard bottle of wine has at least the equivelant of 7 drinks...
http://www.alcohol.org.nz/WhatsInAStandardDrink.aspx
so drinking a bottle and a half of wine a night... is like drinking 10 beers a night... and I was there...
http://www.alcohol.org.nz/WhatsInAStandardDrink.aspx
so drinking a bottle and a half of wine a night... is like drinking 10 beers a night... and I was there...
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Posts: 9,730
I never craved for alcohol until about 1/2 hour before I got off work, then I drank the rest of the day until the wife got home from work, I get home about 2PM and she gets home about 6, so a steady 4 hours of hard drinking for this alkie. Just something to think about. Glad to hear you are going to cut back.
One misunderstanding people have about alcoholics is that they drink them selfs into oblivion every time they drink, most of them don't, I didn't, but I drank enough every day to make a non-alcoholic pass out. Ask some of your nonalcoholic friends if they could drink a bottle and a half of wine and still be standing?
When I first started drinking a bottle and a half of wine would have made me pass out! When I quit drinking I could drink a case of beer and still function some days, being into the third stage of alcoholism my tolerance level went haywire, one day 6-8 beers and I was slurring my speech, the very next day I could drink all I could and not even get a buzz.
One misunderstanding people have about alcoholics is that they drink them selfs into oblivion every time they drink, most of them don't, I didn't, but I drank enough every day to make a non-alcoholic pass out. Ask some of your nonalcoholic friends if they could drink a bottle and a half of wine and still be standing?
When I first started drinking a bottle and a half of wine would have made me pass out! When I quit drinking I could drink a case of beer and still function some days, being into the third stage of alcoholism my tolerance level went haywire, one day 6-8 beers and I was slurring my speech, the very next day I could drink all I could and not even get a buzz.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Cleveland Ohio
Posts: 290
Hey Tom... wrote 1/2 of my last post before a meeting and the other half after... glad to here you are taking this on head first... you are not fooling yourself...
Good luck... I will keep you in my thoughts tonight!
Good luck... I will keep you in my thoughts tonight!
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Santa Monica
Posts: 137
Chatêau Mouton Rotschild 2000 Pauillac
Originally Posted by TomThumb 
I never drink more than 1.5 bottles of wine and don't touch hard stuff.
- it prevents bad cholesterol from forming and is full, the red wine, of antioxidants. However, I am an alcoholic i.e. what I would like to say to you (enjoy your wine) would not be entirely right as a conclusion.I have a bunch of friends like this - they drink wine, enjoy their lives, sometimes more than a bottle, sometimes a glass would do. The wine is one of the best gifts God gave to man; it is the man who is abusing it. I mean, the holy Eucharist gives you bread and the wine and so on. About 10% of all people that drink become alcoholics like a bunch of us here. We have our genes, social predispositions etc that made us drunks. Some others do not have it. It would be wrong for anyone to judge you as someone who has a drinking problem. The problem might be - why are you here?
Try to limit yourself to one bottle and then experiment with it, with various wines. You have a buck to buy good wines, learn about it, expand your knowledge, enjoy your life, read books on wine, see which food goes best with what kind of wine etc. Make it an art, your enjoyment. It is very expensive, a bottle of Château Latour 2000 but it is phenomenal
and you might wish to become a real connoisseur in order to avoid any further falls into our alcoholic abysses.You don't need a bunch of drunks telling you what to think. We are allergic to booze, some of us early in recovery probably envy you - everyone drunk's dream is to be able to drink and not having problems with it - and the poison alcohol is for so many of us is not necessarily the poison for you. Some of us are also "purists" i.e. every drink is evil etc. so I would take us with a grain of salt.
I command you for not being arrogant and willing to see is there anything wrong with your bottle of wine. For me - assuming it is you asking the question and not someone else pretending to be you and assuming those statements are true - it doesn't seem you have a problem. Yet
Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: England
Posts: 33
Originally Posted by TomThumb
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
Or are you saying you never lose control or black out, when you drink?
The latter I think, although the way you worded it means the former
(because obviously blacking out is by definition, losing control of yourself.)
Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Anytown, USA
Posts: 264
Hi, welcome to the boards.
I am a recovering alcoholic, glad to see you here.
You asked if you are an alcoholic. No one can make that determination but you. I can give you my own experience and some facts that I know.
"1-1.5 bottles of white wine every night "
That is approximately what I was drinking before I got sober.
"-I don't drink and drive, ever."
This is the only one where we differ. Have to admit I did this a couple times toward the end. However, I can count it on the fingers of one hand. As Taz said, if one is an alcoholic... the word "ever" ought be replaced with "yet." I never thought I would! I have kids! Also, a friend in HS was killed while drunk driving.
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
I drank at home, alone. So usually, I would just go to bed after I got trashed.
-My work never suffers because of drinking. I wake up at 8AM every day and am in the office by 9.
I got my kids to school every day by 8:15 and got up by 7 every day.
-I .....don't touch hard stuff.
Me neither
-I never drink during the day (even on weekends) and don't have any cravings to do so.
Me neither
The amount you are drinking is a huge red flag. As Carol stated, "moderate" drinking for a man is 2 5-ounce glasses of wine per day. Have you ever measured that amoung? That is a TINY glass of wine!
A regular sized bottle of wine is 25 ounces. If you are drinking 1 to 1.5 bottles a day you are drinking 25-37 ounces per day. This is approximately triple to quadruple the amount as "moderate" drinkers drink.
I would encourage you to seek out information such as this and then make up your own mind.
I am a recovering alcoholic, glad to see you here.
You asked if you are an alcoholic. No one can make that determination but you. I can give you my own experience and some facts that I know.
"1-1.5 bottles of white wine every night "
That is approximately what I was drinking before I got sober.
"-I don't drink and drive, ever."
This is the only one where we differ. Have to admit I did this a couple times toward the end. However, I can count it on the fingers of one hand. As Taz said, if one is an alcoholic... the word "ever" ought be replaced with "yet." I never thought I would! I have kids! Also, a friend in HS was killed while drunk driving.
-I never lose control when I drink or black out.
I drank at home, alone. So usually, I would just go to bed after I got trashed.
-My work never suffers because of drinking. I wake up at 8AM every day and am in the office by 9.
I got my kids to school every day by 8:15 and got up by 7 every day.
-I .....don't touch hard stuff.
Me neither
-I never drink during the day (even on weekends) and don't have any cravings to do so.
Me neither
The amount you are drinking is a huge red flag. As Carol stated, "moderate" drinking for a man is 2 5-ounce glasses of wine per day. Have you ever measured that amoung? That is a TINY glass of wine!
A regular sized bottle of wine is 25 ounces. If you are drinking 1 to 1.5 bottles a day you are drinking 25-37 ounces per day. This is approximately triple to quadruple the amount as "moderate" drinkers drink.
I would encourage you to seek out information such as this and then make up your own mind.
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, one big happy dysfunctional family!
Posts: 23,056
Originally Posted by Tazman53
I never craved for alcohol until about 1/2 hour before I got off work, then I drank the rest of the day until the wife got home from work, I get home about 2PM and she gets home about 6, so a steady 4 hours of hard drinking for this alkie.
One misunderstanding people have about alcoholics is that they drink them selfs into oblivion every time they drink, most of them don't, I didn't, but I drank enough every day to make a non-alcoholic pass out.
One misunderstanding people have about alcoholics is that they drink them selfs into oblivion every time they drink, most of them don't, I didn't, but I drank enough every day to make a non-alcoholic pass out.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: NY
Posts: 6
Originally Posted by Dave31
Are you saying you never lose control when you black out?
Or are you saying you never lose control or black out, when you drink?
The latter I think, although the way you worded it means the former (because obviously blacking out is by definition, losing control of yourself.)
Or are you saying you never lose control or black out, when you drink?
The latter I think, although the way you worded it means the former
(because obviously blacking out is by definition, losing control of yourself.)
Originally Posted by Missminime
actually.. what im thinking is.. why would you bother searching a forum (or like me tripp over it) but why bother to register and post if youre sure you dont have a problem with your alcohol consumption?
As to your question as to why I am bothering to post: as I wrote in my original post I am very responsible and calculated. I enjoy my wine but not at the cost of developing health problems or ruining my life. My moment of worry wasn't when I did something I regretted or felt a loss of control, it was when I realized that maybe the amounts of alcohol i am consuming is not healthy. Most people (including me) don't know very much about alcoholism...and my visit to this forum has been enlightening. I'm still young and if I'm going down the wrong path then I want to know now. I figure the more experience I can draw from the better I will be informed to make the decision of whether I:
-am not an alcoholic: in which case i need to moderate my drinking.
or
-am an alcoholic: in which case i need to stop drinking and get help.
we'll see. as i mentioned before, i'll take a break for a couple of days. then i'll try moderating my drinking to 2 glasses of wine before bed time...i'll go for red this time and I'll make it good expensive wine! if i don't have problems doing that hopefully it will mean that i'm on the path to becoming a responsible drinker.
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