do you think an weekend warrior is an alki?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 149
do you think an weekend warrior is an alki?
I have drank every weekend forever.
My last drink was last saturday night. last month I stopped for 3 weeks plus and felt great! Now, even after 4 days, I feel like crap. Is it in my head or do you think that this effect is infact what makes me an alki?
Thanks for listening.
My last drink was last saturday night. last month I stopped for 3 weeks plus and felt great! Now, even after 4 days, I feel like crap. Is it in my head or do you think that this effect is infact what makes me an alki?
Thanks for listening.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Colorado Prairie
Posts: 1,417
I haven't got a clue. I could never understand people who just drank on weekends. I had to drink every day.
Drinking on weekends or "Binge Drinking" doesn't mean you're not an Alcoholic and it doesn't indicate that you are. It just means you could control your cravings better than others.
In short, I don't know.
Drinking on weekends or "Binge Drinking" doesn't mean you're not an Alcoholic and it doesn't indicate that you are. It just means you could control your cravings better than others.
In short, I don't know.
Growing, Learning, Living
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Vacationing on earth
Posts: 836
When I got myself in trouble with a DUI years ago, I was told that some of the questions to ask yourself to determine if you are an alcoholic or not are as follows:
1) If you go out & say that you are going to have 3 drinks & have more.
2) If you say you are not going to drink on a certain day(s) and you do.
3) If you go out & do not know how many you are going to have.
I laughed at these. I was still drinking then. I thought, no one knows how many they are going to have when they go out, that is normal. Yeah, I said I wasn't going to drink today, but something came up. That happens to everyone. I know I said I was only going to have 3, but someone bought me another, then another, then another......you know how it goes. I do not have a problem. They are crazy!!!
Well, it turns out that since I quit 6 years ago, I can say that I am not going to drink. I do know people that can have one & stop. I somehow do not laugh at those questions anymore. I figured out that if I answered yes to any one of them (unfortunately I answered yes to all of them), that meant that the alcohol was in control, not me. Anytime alcohol is in control, I see that as a problem.
I pray that you find the answers you are looking for. I think that questioning your behavior is a good place to start. I think coming here is another good choice.
1) If you go out & say that you are going to have 3 drinks & have more.
2) If you say you are not going to drink on a certain day(s) and you do.
3) If you go out & do not know how many you are going to have.
I laughed at these. I was still drinking then. I thought, no one knows how many they are going to have when they go out, that is normal. Yeah, I said I wasn't going to drink today, but something came up. That happens to everyone. I know I said I was only going to have 3, but someone bought me another, then another, then another......you know how it goes. I do not have a problem. They are crazy!!!
Well, it turns out that since I quit 6 years ago, I can say that I am not going to drink. I do know people that can have one & stop. I somehow do not laugh at those questions anymore. I figured out that if I answered yes to any one of them (unfortunately I answered yes to all of them), that meant that the alcohol was in control, not me. Anytime alcohol is in control, I see that as a problem.
I pray that you find the answers you are looking for. I think that questioning your behavior is a good place to start. I think coming here is another good choice.
No more merlot, more mamma
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Hills, Ct
Posts: 2,139
HI!
I don't know either. I can tell you that I at one point I just drank on weekends. In fact, I did this for a very long time. I would drink A LOT on weekends, yeah, but that would be it. I'm not really sure when I thought it would be a good idea to start heading out for happy hour after work on a Wednesday, or when I started having "one" a night from the "leftover" beer from the weekend, but I can tell you it progressively got much,much, worse after that..
I"ll tell you what I told my friend who thought maybe she was drinking too much..go 30 days without and see if you are constantly thinking about drinking. And If you can't, or if you are constantly thinking bout it, you might have the beginnings of a problem.
Good luck!
Karen
I don't know either. I can tell you that I at one point I just drank on weekends. In fact, I did this for a very long time. I would drink A LOT on weekends, yeah, but that would be it. I'm not really sure when I thought it would be a good idea to start heading out for happy hour after work on a Wednesday, or when I started having "one" a night from the "leftover" beer from the weekend, but I can tell you it progressively got much,much, worse after that..
I"ll tell you what I told my friend who thought maybe she was drinking too much..go 30 days without and see if you are constantly thinking about drinking. And If you can't, or if you are constantly thinking bout it, you might have the beginnings of a problem.
Good luck!
Karen
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,445
I'm with nomo 
I started out a weekend drinker, then a heavy weekend drinker...then through the week...all the way to 24/7
that was me, might not be you...but looking back now, I abused alcohol no matter what 'level' I was at...
D
I started out a weekend drinker, then a heavy weekend drinker...then through the week...all the way to 24/7
that was me, might not be you...but looking back now, I abused alcohol no matter what 'level' I was at...
D
Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 423
Same pattern here - Since I have to function at a high level during the week, I made up for it on the weekends.
The thing I have noticed is nonalcoholics typically don't worry about their drinking. They can have a couple of glasses of wine or a couple of beers and be satisfied. Me? I could not really control my drinking and usually drank to excess.
I like what 1963comet said - Quit for three months or more and then see where you stand.
Dave
The thing I have noticed is nonalcoholics typically don't worry about their drinking. They can have a couple of glasses of wine or a couple of beers and be satisfied. Me? I could not really control my drinking and usually drank to excess.
I like what 1963comet said - Quit for three months or more and then see where you stand.
Dave
Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,002
Moderate drinker,
"Moderate drinkers have little trouble in giving up liquor entirely if they have good reason for it. They can take it or leave it alone." (BB 1st edition)
The real alcoholic,
"The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice to drink. Our so called will power becomes nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without a defense against the first drink." (BB 1st edition)
That would be one of the BB's descriptions of an alcoholic and the moderate drinker.
Can you take it or leave it alone? (on weekends)
Do you feel powerless and without a defense against the first drink?
These are just some of the things that can be considered. Alot of us found out the truth about ourselves when we hit bottom. Some of us stopped "ignoring the elephant in the room", and decided to do something about it. Even the ones that refused to think they had a problem; the doctors, family, friends, co-workers, the police, the lawyers, the judges etc. could say without hesitation that those in denial had a problem and was facing jails, instutions, and death.
If you are that concerned, talk to your doctor. Be honest with him/her and really be honest with yourself.
Tom
"Moderate drinkers have little trouble in giving up liquor entirely if they have good reason for it. They can take it or leave it alone." (BB 1st edition)
The real alcoholic,
"The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice to drink. Our so called will power becomes nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without a defense against the first drink." (BB 1st edition)
That would be one of the BB's descriptions of an alcoholic and the moderate drinker.
Can you take it or leave it alone? (on weekends)
Do you feel powerless and without a defense against the first drink?
These are just some of the things that can be considered. Alot of us found out the truth about ourselves when we hit bottom. Some of us stopped "ignoring the elephant in the room", and decided to do something about it. Even the ones that refused to think they had a problem; the doctors, family, friends, co-workers, the police, the lawyers, the judges etc. could say without hesitation that those in denial had a problem and was facing jails, instutions, and death.
If you are that concerned, talk to your doctor. Be honest with him/her and really be honest with yourself.
Tom
Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: some where / no where
Posts: 1,019
Hi StandFast
Only you can decide if you're an alcoholic. I think it's possible to have issues with alcohol without actually being a full blown alcoholic. Some people choose to abstain from alcohol for reasons other than full blown alcoholism.
If you feel bad after stopping for a bit, and feel better after stopping for a longer period of time...it may mean that you're best off staying away from it altogether. If drinking on the weekends is ruining your weekends, and giving you problems on Monday morning, you might want to quit just because it's affecting your life in a negative way.
Tom really gave a good definition in his post. 1963comet's suggestion of the classic "90 day test" sounds good to me as well. Speaking with a doctor is always a good idea.
I happen to be an alcoholic. I also started by drinking on weekends. I don't know if this helps or not, but my alcoholism wasn't fully apparent to me when I was a weekend drinker. It wasn't untill things got really bad for me before I knew that I'm an alcoholic. It was then that I was faced with 3 choices..
1) I keep drinking, I lose everything and eventually die from this disease
2) I keep drinking, I lose everything and get locked up because of the disease
3) I quit drinking.
In retrospect, I wish I'd stopped earlier. This wasn't realistic as a weekend drinker because I still had fun with drinking. Why would I stop when I was having fun and enjoying it? I think most of us who choose recovery pass over a threshold of tolerance; an invisible border where we cross into abnormal and harmful drinking. When I crossed my threshold, I needed to drink in order to feel "normal". Alcohol became a "medicine" for me, and it was my solution for everything. It was choking me off from having a decent life, and it was no longer "fun". At my lowest point, I was trying to control my drinking..and losing the battle.
I think it's possible to be a weekend drinker without being an alcoholic. I'd urge anyone who's having problems with alcohol to try a period of abstainence to see how they feel. I say this knowing that it was impossible for me to do such a period of abstainence...well... because I'm an alcoholic. Once I passed my threshold of tolerance, I couldn't stop on my own. I needed help, love, support, and the grace of God to get sober.
chip
Only you can decide if you're an alcoholic. I think it's possible to have issues with alcohol without actually being a full blown alcoholic. Some people choose to abstain from alcohol for reasons other than full blown alcoholism.
If you feel bad after stopping for a bit, and feel better after stopping for a longer period of time...it may mean that you're best off staying away from it altogether. If drinking on the weekends is ruining your weekends, and giving you problems on Monday morning, you might want to quit just because it's affecting your life in a negative way.
Tom really gave a good definition in his post. 1963comet's suggestion of the classic "90 day test" sounds good to me as well. Speaking with a doctor is always a good idea.
I happen to be an alcoholic. I also started by drinking on weekends. I don't know if this helps or not, but my alcoholism wasn't fully apparent to me when I was a weekend drinker. It wasn't untill things got really bad for me before I knew that I'm an alcoholic. It was then that I was faced with 3 choices..
1) I keep drinking, I lose everything and eventually die from this disease
2) I keep drinking, I lose everything and get locked up because of the disease
3) I quit drinking.
In retrospect, I wish I'd stopped earlier. This wasn't realistic as a weekend drinker because I still had fun with drinking. Why would I stop when I was having fun and enjoying it? I think most of us who choose recovery pass over a threshold of tolerance; an invisible border where we cross into abnormal and harmful drinking. When I crossed my threshold, I needed to drink in order to feel "normal". Alcohol became a "medicine" for me, and it was my solution for everything. It was choking me off from having a decent life, and it was no longer "fun". At my lowest point, I was trying to control my drinking..and losing the battle.
I think it's possible to be a weekend drinker without being an alcoholic. I'd urge anyone who's having problems with alcohol to try a period of abstainence to see how they feel. I say this knowing that it was impossible for me to do such a period of abstainence...well... because I'm an alcoholic. Once I passed my threshold of tolerance, I couldn't stop on my own. I needed help, love, support, and the grace of God to get sober.
chip
Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Philadelphia,PA
Posts: 38
My unscientific mind doesn't consider the weekend warrior an alchi in most cases. I guess it would assume on how much you drink........ Wait, wait, wait... The weekend warrior should be answering this for him/her self. I was atleast a 5 day a week drinker, so it was pretty dam easy for me to come to a conclusion.
Follow Directions!
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Posts: 9,730
Well the truth of the matter is only you can tell if you are an alcoholic, just keep in mind that the disease is progressive, I drank almost exclusively on the weekends for a while, in time I was HAVING to drink every day just to function.
It is not how much one drinks, not how often or how long one drinks that determines if one is an alcoholic or not, it is what happens to one when they drink that is the deciding factor!
Here is one of many test out there that can help one make the decision if they are an alcoholic or not. Alcoholics Anonymous :
It is not how much one drinks, not how often or how long one drinks that determines if one is an alcoholic or not, it is what happens to one when they drink that is the deciding factor!
Here is one of many test out there that can help one make the decision if they are an alcoholic or not. Alcoholics Anonymous :
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 9
Hey you. I pretty much have the same problem as you. Drinking only on the weekends is not a problem for me, once my alcoholic bc moved out of my house. Him being at the bars and bringing home six packs caused me to drink more, but once hes gone and i fight those cravings, aftera few weeks i dont crave abnormally, but still go out on the weekendsand still blackout often and have the trouble of stopping once i start. soi know my disease has progressed. it depends, like do you have trouble stopping once you start? its a big fight for me to leave the bar after a few beers, but if i get drunk, forget it. i wouldnt leave hte bar if someone fought me over it, and that has happened. fights where my bf wanted to leave and i didnt. i always want to stay.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 386
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-programs.html
I made bargains with myself, I tried to keep going, I looked for all the other avenues except for sobriety...now that I am sober I realise I was in the full blown insanity of addiction back then.
Please quit rationalising and trying to make deals with your addiction.
Seren
I made bargains with myself, I tried to keep going, I looked for all the other avenues except for sobriety...now that I am sober I realise I was in the full blown insanity of addiction back then.
Please quit rationalising and trying to make deals with your addiction.
Seren
Illegitimi Non Carborundum
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Old Home Terra
Posts: 4,272
Here's something you might find interesting while you consider whether or not recovery is right for you...
Excerpts
I used to be a weekend warrior too... It started out innocuously enough -- Saturday nights I'd go hit a pub or two with my friends, maybe shoot some pool or throw some darts... Chase a few skirts... Have a good old time.
At first it didn't keep me from functioning on Sundays... I'd still get up a little early and take care of things. I might have been a little tired from lack of sleep, but a short afternoon nap would take care of that and I'd still have a wonderful, refreshing day.
Then the progression took hold... Over time I'd steadily consume more beer on my "Saturday party night"... $10-$20 used to be enough -- a couple beers, some quarters for the table, maybe buy a friend a drink, perhaps grab a burger afterwards...
Over time, the amount I was spending kept steadily increasing... "Gee, it must be inflation and the rising cost of everything everywhere" -- yeah, right... I ignored the fact that I was buying myself more beer whenever I went out. I conveniently failed to notice that I was buying other people more drinks so that they'd sit and get drunk with me, thereby enabling me.
I remember one time in particular... I was talking with my friend the next day... "I don't get it -- I had $80 in my pocket when I went out -- now that's gone and it looks like I hit the ATM around midnight, and that's gone too" ... "Dude, you kept buying pitchers -- no one else wanted anymore beer, so you kept drinking them yourself and ordering more".
About that time, I discovered credit cards... "Its not *real* money and it doesn't deplete your cash"... About that time I also discovered "instant friends"... My actual friends had steadily put some distance between us. Of course I didn't notice it. I just thought they were moving on and didn't have time anymore... They didn't stop partying -- they just stopped partying with *me*.
One day I realized that my Sundays had become a "recovery day" for me... I kept missing them. I'd sleep in until late in the afternoon, wake up feeling like total crap, and basically spend the night trying to put myself together again in time for Monday so I could face the work week... Had to "protect the supply", you see, and that meant earning some cash.
"I work hard and I play hard"... "I play hard so that I can work hard"... Self-cons... It was my disease talking, of course.
No big deal, I thought... I'm trying to get too much partying done in one night... Work is soooooo stressful, and people just don't understand... I simply need to "spread it out a little"... Lots of folks start their weekend at "Drink-thirty" on a Friday -- I don't *need* to stay late at work to catch up, or go straight home for food and rest... Two nights a week will be more fun than one night a week anyway.
By this time, pretty much no one would hang out with me... I stopped being invited to parties... If I'd try to throw a party, no one would show up... The staff at my regular haunts knew me too well, and besides, those places were getting boring anyway... Time to find some new places.
So I'd start my weekend on Friday night... If I could find a way to leave work early and hit the bar that much sooner, then I'd do it... By this time I had discovered "pre-drinking" -- hit some hole-in-the-wall gin mill first, have a few quick ones to get into the mood, and then start bar-hopping at the *real* joints, where the people are.
Still no one would hang out with me except for any "instant friends" I could find for the night along the way... Forget about playing some pool or tossing some darts -- I was *drinking* -- that was the activity. Even if I would try a game or two, I couldn't hardly shoot straight, let alone hold the table for any length of time.
At first, the "spread it out" strategy seemed to work... I'd have some fun on Friday night, feel a little woozy in the morning but I'd feel fine again by the time nightfall hit, certainly fine enough to go out again. Saturday night *was* "the main event", afterall, and it seemed like I wasn't drinking quite so much on Saturday as I used to. Well and good.
Water finds it own level, and a gas will expand to fill its container... Now I had two nights in a row to get blitzed, and my disease said "Wooo-hooo!"... I realized that I didn't have to wait until Saturday night -- Saturday afternoon was an even better time to start because I could work on my pool game over a few beers first without being bothered about holding onto the table.
All of this took a matter of years. It didn't happen overnight... The progression was steady and on-going and I don't think it ever actually let up... If I'd "go dry" for a while, it "proved" that I didn't have a problem... When I'd start up again, I'd quickly find myself right back where I started... Sunday wasn't enough "recovery time". I'd still feel like crap on Monday... then Tuesday... then it took until Wednesday before I'd feel better...
Hey, its Thursday night -- the weekend it almost here, and besides, Friday is an easy day for me... Why not start the weekend a little early?
Then I joined a bowling league. What a good way to spend "hump day" night! Break up the week a little... But oh uh, I had to work the next day... "It must be Thursday" became one of my sayings... So I stopped bowling, (no one wanted to bowl with me anymore) and I switch my "Wednesday night" back to "Thursday night, but not so much".
I started as a weekend binger... It was "the norm" when I began... By the time I finally stopped, "weekend" was pretty much defined as being any day that ended with "Y".
That's just me -- I'm not saying that's you. For me the progression was steady, and real, and overpowering... It wasn't so much that it was "unnoticeable" -- it was that I didn't *want* to notice it. If someone pointed it out to me, I had any number of "excuses" to "justify" it.
I would ask you to think about something though... Do you think that maybe your hangovers are taking longer to get through because, just perhaps, your consumption of alcohol is steadily increasing?
Thank you for letting me share.
Excerpts
I used to be a weekend warrior too... It started out innocuously enough -- Saturday nights I'd go hit a pub or two with my friends, maybe shoot some pool or throw some darts... Chase a few skirts... Have a good old time.
At first it didn't keep me from functioning on Sundays... I'd still get up a little early and take care of things. I might have been a little tired from lack of sleep, but a short afternoon nap would take care of that and I'd still have a wonderful, refreshing day.
Then the progression took hold... Over time I'd steadily consume more beer on my "Saturday party night"... $10-$20 used to be enough -- a couple beers, some quarters for the table, maybe buy a friend a drink, perhaps grab a burger afterwards...
Over time, the amount I was spending kept steadily increasing... "Gee, it must be inflation and the rising cost of everything everywhere" -- yeah, right... I ignored the fact that I was buying myself more beer whenever I went out. I conveniently failed to notice that I was buying other people more drinks so that they'd sit and get drunk with me, thereby enabling me.
I remember one time in particular... I was talking with my friend the next day... "I don't get it -- I had $80 in my pocket when I went out -- now that's gone and it looks like I hit the ATM around midnight, and that's gone too" ... "Dude, you kept buying pitchers -- no one else wanted anymore beer, so you kept drinking them yourself and ordering more".
About that time, I discovered credit cards... "Its not *real* money and it doesn't deplete your cash"... About that time I also discovered "instant friends"... My actual friends had steadily put some distance between us. Of course I didn't notice it. I just thought they were moving on and didn't have time anymore... They didn't stop partying -- they just stopped partying with *me*.
One day I realized that my Sundays had become a "recovery day" for me... I kept missing them. I'd sleep in until late in the afternoon, wake up feeling like total crap, and basically spend the night trying to put myself together again in time for Monday so I could face the work week... Had to "protect the supply", you see, and that meant earning some cash.
"I work hard and I play hard"... "I play hard so that I can work hard"... Self-cons... It was my disease talking, of course.
No big deal, I thought... I'm trying to get too much partying done in one night... Work is soooooo stressful, and people just don't understand... I simply need to "spread it out a little"... Lots of folks start their weekend at "Drink-thirty" on a Friday -- I don't *need* to stay late at work to catch up, or go straight home for food and rest... Two nights a week will be more fun than one night a week anyway.
By this time, pretty much no one would hang out with me... I stopped being invited to parties... If I'd try to throw a party, no one would show up... The staff at my regular haunts knew me too well, and besides, those places were getting boring anyway... Time to find some new places.
So I'd start my weekend on Friday night... If I could find a way to leave work early and hit the bar that much sooner, then I'd do it... By this time I had discovered "pre-drinking" -- hit some hole-in-the-wall gin mill first, have a few quick ones to get into the mood, and then start bar-hopping at the *real* joints, where the people are.
Still no one would hang out with me except for any "instant friends" I could find for the night along the way... Forget about playing some pool or tossing some darts -- I was *drinking* -- that was the activity. Even if I would try a game or two, I couldn't hardly shoot straight, let alone hold the table for any length of time.
At first, the "spread it out" strategy seemed to work... I'd have some fun on Friday night, feel a little woozy in the morning but I'd feel fine again by the time nightfall hit, certainly fine enough to go out again. Saturday night *was* "the main event", afterall, and it seemed like I wasn't drinking quite so much on Saturday as I used to. Well and good.
Water finds it own level, and a gas will expand to fill its container... Now I had two nights in a row to get blitzed, and my disease said "Wooo-hooo!"... I realized that I didn't have to wait until Saturday night -- Saturday afternoon was an even better time to start because I could work on my pool game over a few beers first without being bothered about holding onto the table.
All of this took a matter of years. It didn't happen overnight... The progression was steady and on-going and I don't think it ever actually let up... If I'd "go dry" for a while, it "proved" that I didn't have a problem... When I'd start up again, I'd quickly find myself right back where I started... Sunday wasn't enough "recovery time". I'd still feel like crap on Monday... then Tuesday... then it took until Wednesday before I'd feel better...
Hey, its Thursday night -- the weekend it almost here, and besides, Friday is an easy day for me... Why not start the weekend a little early?
Then I joined a bowling league. What a good way to spend "hump day" night! Break up the week a little... But oh uh, I had to work the next day... "It must be Thursday" became one of my sayings... So I stopped bowling, (no one wanted to bowl with me anymore) and I switch my "Wednesday night" back to "Thursday night, but not so much".
I started as a weekend binger... It was "the norm" when I began... By the time I finally stopped, "weekend" was pretty much defined as being any day that ended with "Y".
That's just me -- I'm not saying that's you. For me the progression was steady, and real, and overpowering... It wasn't so much that it was "unnoticeable" -- it was that I didn't *want* to notice it. If someone pointed it out to me, I had any number of "excuses" to "justify" it.
I would ask you to think about something though... Do you think that maybe your hangovers are taking longer to get through because, just perhaps, your consumption of alcohol is steadily increasing?
Thank you for letting me share.
Its_me_jen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Salina, Ks
Posts: 8,547
Originally Posted by Tazman53 
It is not how much one drinks, not how often or how long one drinks that determines if one is an alcoholic or not, it is what happens to one when they drink that is the deciding factor!
Addicts tell themselves they're not a drunk because they don't drink as much as so-and-so and they only drink on Thurs, Fri, Sat .....sometimes on Wednesday but only because so-and-so wanted to and so-and-so just kept the pitchers coming besides I didn't want them to have to drink alone. It's a bunch of BS! It's addiction.
"Normal" drinkers don't get to a point of wondering if they are alcoholics. They don't drink themselves into a blackout just so you don't have to drink alone because they don't want their friend to drink alone. They don't have the disease.
GreenTea :ghug3 wonderful post.
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