How do you know if ur an alcoholic?
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: England
Posts: 741
How do you know if ur an alcoholic?
What I mean...is what are the differences between an alcoholic, alcohol abuser, alcohol dependant and a heavy drinker?
I'm a bit worried about my Dad and so is my Mum.
My dad's always been a drinker, he's very sociable and goes to the pub alot.
He holds down a full time day job and plays in a band at pubs a few evenings a week, when he does a gig he'll have quite a bit to drink, pints mostly.
He goes to the pub nearly every day after work and has a few pints and then drinks whiskey when he gets home.
Currently he's going through about 3 litre bottles of whiskey a week plus at least 3 pints a day after work plus several more pints when he's out gigging.
Some nights he doesn't get drunk, but others he gets very drunk and he stays up drinking alone after my mum has gone to bed.
Mum also found a half empty bottle of whiskey in his work bag but hasn't asked him about it because he'd want to know why she was looking in his work bag...this is his bag he takes to his day job, there's no reason for whiskey to be in it.
He doesn't drink in the morning, doesn't get the shakes or any physical withdrawel when he doesn't drink and doesn't have time off work because of drinking etc..
He has said to my mum that he's been a bit concerned about the amount he's drinking but doesn't think he has a "problem" and is just a heavy drinker.
He's also stopped drinking for weeks at a time, my mum says she thinks he does this to prove to himself that he can.
Drinking is causing problems between my mum and dad....having lived with an alcoholic for the past 4-5 years, alot of the things she's telling me are sounding very familiar, the bad breath, slurring of the words, arguments and nastiness etc...
Am prolly asking a silly question, as I already feel that if he's not an alcoholic, he's well on his way to becoming one...but I want to show my mum the responses I get here...
My mum and dad seem to view an alcoholic pretty much like my partner was, drinking 24/7, first thing in the morning, shakes without a drink etc...and therefore because my dad isn't like this, think he's not that bad or doesn't have too much of a problem...So, how do you know?
Just because you don't drink first thing in the morning doesn't mean you're not an alcoholic, does it?
And what is the difference between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic?
Would appreciate any advice or imput x
I'm a bit worried about my Dad and so is my Mum.
My dad's always been a drinker, he's very sociable and goes to the pub alot.
He holds down a full time day job and plays in a band at pubs a few evenings a week, when he does a gig he'll have quite a bit to drink, pints mostly.
He goes to the pub nearly every day after work and has a few pints and then drinks whiskey when he gets home.
Currently he's going through about 3 litre bottles of whiskey a week plus at least 3 pints a day after work plus several more pints when he's out gigging.
Some nights he doesn't get drunk, but others he gets very drunk and he stays up drinking alone after my mum has gone to bed.
Mum also found a half empty bottle of whiskey in his work bag but hasn't asked him about it because he'd want to know why she was looking in his work bag...this is his bag he takes to his day job, there's no reason for whiskey to be in it.
He doesn't drink in the morning, doesn't get the shakes or any physical withdrawel when he doesn't drink and doesn't have time off work because of drinking etc..
He has said to my mum that he's been a bit concerned about the amount he's drinking but doesn't think he has a "problem" and is just a heavy drinker.
He's also stopped drinking for weeks at a time, my mum says she thinks he does this to prove to himself that he can.
Drinking is causing problems between my mum and dad....having lived with an alcoholic for the past 4-5 years, alot of the things she's telling me are sounding very familiar, the bad breath, slurring of the words, arguments and nastiness etc...
Am prolly asking a silly question, as I already feel that if he's not an alcoholic, he's well on his way to becoming one...but I want to show my mum the responses I get here...
My mum and dad seem to view an alcoholic pretty much like my partner was, drinking 24/7, first thing in the morning, shakes without a drink etc...and therefore because my dad isn't like this, think he's not that bad or doesn't have too much of a problem...So, how do you know?
Just because you don't drink first thing in the morning doesn't mean you're not an alcoholic, does it?
And what is the difference between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic?
Would appreciate any advice or imput x
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,784
There are links in the 'stickies' at the top of each forum with info and little self 'tests'. Check into those. See what you think.
I have to say that alcoholics/problem drinkers/heavy drinkers/alcohol dependent persons are mostly the same. It's mostly a matter of degree. My own feeling about it is: if you (or the drinker) is questioning whether it's a problem or not, chances are it is, or you wouldn't be wondering about it. Social drinkers don't think about their drinking and don't have 'arguments and nastiness' about it.
Only the drinker can determine if they have a "problem" or not, and some people seem to think that only the street bum wino, or morning drinker, or accident prone person is an "alcoholic". Not so, an alcoholic is someone who cannot control his/her drinking.
Someone else on the forum once said "when I enjoyed my drinking I wasn't controlling it, and when I was controlling my drinking I wasn't enjoying it". That puts it pretty well. But like I said, if anyone, drinker or loved one, is questioning whether alcohol is a 'problem' or not, chances are, it is.
I don't know which 'sticky' it's in, but somewhere is a test with a number of questions and if you answer a certain number of them 'yes' then alcohol is a problem.
:ghug3
I have to say that alcoholics/problem drinkers/heavy drinkers/alcohol dependent persons are mostly the same. It's mostly a matter of degree. My own feeling about it is: if you (or the drinker) is questioning whether it's a problem or not, chances are it is, or you wouldn't be wondering about it. Social drinkers don't think about their drinking and don't have 'arguments and nastiness' about it.
Only the drinker can determine if they have a "problem" or not, and some people seem to think that only the street bum wino, or morning drinker, or accident prone person is an "alcoholic". Not so, an alcoholic is someone who cannot control his/her drinking.
Someone else on the forum once said "when I enjoyed my drinking I wasn't controlling it, and when I was controlling my drinking I wasn't enjoying it". That puts it pretty well. But like I said, if anyone, drinker or loved one, is questioning whether alcohol is a 'problem' or not, chances are, it is.
I don't know which 'sticky' it's in, but somewhere is a test with a number of questions and if you answer a certain number of them 'yes' then alcohol is a problem.
:ghug3
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Sorry to see you and your family are in this situation.
I do hope this helps...
Here's how alcoholism typically progresses:
SOCIAL DRINKERS — Most Americans are characterized as social drinkers. Statistics indicate, however, that one of every 16 drinkers will become alcoholic.
WARNING SIGNS — The individual begins to drink more frequently and more than his associates. He drinks for confidence or to tolerate or escape problems. No party or other occasion is complete without a couple of drinks.
EARLY ALCOHOLISM — With increasing frequency, the individual drinks too much. "Blackouts," or temporary amnesia, occur during or following drinking episodes. He drinks more rapidly than others, sneaks drinks and in other ways conceals the quantity that he drinks. He resents any reference to his drinking habits.
BASIC ALCOHOLISM — The individual begins to lose control as to the time, place and amount of his drinking. He gets drunk unintentionally. He hides and protects his liquor supply. He drinks to overcome the hangover from his prior drinking. He tries new patterns of drinking as to time and place of drinking. He attempts cures by moving to new locations or by changing his drinking companions.
CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM — The individual becomes a loner in his drinking. He develops alibis, excuses and rationalizations to cover up or explain his drinking. Personality and behavior changes occur that affect all relationships — family, employment, community. Extended binges, physical tremors, hallucinations and delirium, complete rejection of social reality, malnutrition with accompanying illness and disease and early death all occur as chronic alcoholism progresses.
Source: American Medical Association
SOCIAL DRINKERS — Most Americans are characterized as social drinkers. Statistics indicate, however, that one of every 16 drinkers will become alcoholic.
WARNING SIGNS — The individual begins to drink more frequently and more than his associates. He drinks for confidence or to tolerate or escape problems. No party or other occasion is complete without a couple of drinks.
EARLY ALCOHOLISM — With increasing frequency, the individual drinks too much. "Blackouts," or temporary amnesia, occur during or following drinking episodes. He drinks more rapidly than others, sneaks drinks and in other ways conceals the quantity that he drinks. He resents any reference to his drinking habits.
BASIC ALCOHOLISM — The individual begins to lose control as to the time, place and amount of his drinking. He gets drunk unintentionally. He hides and protects his liquor supply. He drinks to overcome the hangover from his prior drinking. He tries new patterns of drinking as to time and place of drinking. He attempts cures by moving to new locations or by changing his drinking companions.
CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM — The individual becomes a loner in his drinking. He develops alibis, excuses and rationalizations to cover up or explain his drinking. Personality and behavior changes occur that affect all relationships — family, employment, community. Extended binges, physical tremors, hallucinations and delirium, complete rejection of social reality, malnutrition with accompanying illness and disease and early death all occur as chronic alcoholism progresses.
Source: American Medical Association
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Follow this link Alcoholics Anonymous : print it out and wrap it around the bottle he takes to work.
One Day At A Time
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Im 20 yrs old and im an acoholic, I never drank every day (never really had a morning drink - except the odd time after a party), never had serious withdrawels when i first went to A.A. last septemeber. Both my parents are in AA so i knew to be an alcoholic you do not need to obtain the common misconceptions of an 'alcoholic'.
I knew i was because once i started i found it almost impossible to stop, on the odd occasion i managd to control my drinking it i couldn't enjoy it like i did when i wasn't controlling it, and lastly when i truly wanted to stop drinking for good - i found i couldn't not.
The second time i went to A.A. in Jan this yr (after just 2 months drinking) i had suffered daily drinking, withdrawels and the rest. I was still an alcoholic like i was in sept- just worse! The point i'm trying to make is i could have stayed in AA in sept and got on with things- but my unacceptance led me out to drink again and then i suffered all the other symptoms of alcoholism i hadn't before. It didn't have to be that way - but it's the way it was and im sober 3 months today with acceptance of my alcoholism.
I knew i was because once i started i found it almost impossible to stop, on the odd occasion i managd to control my drinking it i couldn't enjoy it like i did when i wasn't controlling it, and lastly when i truly wanted to stop drinking for good - i found i couldn't not.
The second time i went to A.A. in Jan this yr (after just 2 months drinking) i had suffered daily drinking, withdrawels and the rest. I was still an alcoholic like i was in sept- just worse! The point i'm trying to make is i could have stayed in AA in sept and got on with things- but my unacceptance led me out to drink again and then i suffered all the other symptoms of alcoholism i hadn't before. It didn't have to be that way - but it's the way it was and im sober 3 months today with acceptance of my alcoholism.
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 410
If you take away all the labels for different kind of drinkers and ask yourself this:
Is his drinking negatively affecting your family and relationships within the family?
Is he setting himself up to potentially get cought drinking at work and losing his job?
Is his drinking becoming a concern for people who love and care about him?
If the answers are yes, then all labels aside, his drinking has become a problem. You don't have to be "full blown alcoholic" for drinking to wreak havoc on your life and the life of your family or another family.
Is his drinking negatively affecting your family and relationships within the family?
Is he setting himself up to potentially get cought drinking at work and losing his job?
Is his drinking becoming a concern for people who love and care about him?
If the answers are yes, then all labels aside, his drinking has become a problem. You don't have to be "full blown alcoholic" for drinking to wreak havoc on your life and the life of your family or another family.
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Join Date: Apr 2008
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Tell me something. In the case of the chronic alcoholism described by Carol, are the tremors, hallucinations etc. actually experienced while drinking or just as a sympton of withdrawal?
Om, Aum, Ohm...
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Originally Posted by TheQuixotian 
Tell me something. In the case of the chronic alcoholism described by Carol, are the tremors, hallucinations etc. actually experienced while drinking or just as a sympton of withdrawal?
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Some of my symptoms did over lap
some never happened to me
some did occur when I was a drinker.
All left within 2 or so months of abstinance.
Please note the source was the AMA.
some never happened to me
some did occur when I was a drinker.
All left within 2 or so months of abstinance.
Please note the source was the AMA.
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