When does alcoholism 'kick in'?
6/20/08
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,467
When does alcoholism 'kick in'?
Hello all!
I knew from a very young age (12?) I couldn't handle alcohol. As I grew older, I knew I was an alcoholic and probably always had been.
What I don't understand is when someone says they have been alcoholic for a year or two (or whatever). Does this mean that some people can drink responsibly for half their life and stupidly for the other half?
I don't know...I'd like to know what you guys think. THANKS!
I knew from a very young age (12?) I couldn't handle alcohol. As I grew older, I knew I was an alcoholic and probably always had been.
What I don't understand is when someone says they have been alcoholic for a year or two (or whatever). Does this mean that some people can drink responsibly for half their life and stupidly for the other half?
I don't know...I'd like to know what you guys think. THANKS!
I'm just a little unwell
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 2,219
Originally Posted by coffeenut 
What I don't understand is when someone says they have been alcoholic for a year or two (or whatever). Does this mean that some people can drink responsibly for half their life and stupidly for the other half?
I drank like a normal human being until approximately late 2005 - summer 2006. I'd say that my drinking habits started getting worse in late 2005 and then I lost my freaking mind in June 2006. I started drinking more, in quantity and in frequency, after that but I still don't think I was drinking alcoholically at that point. I COULD have stopped and kept things under control - I truly believe that. But I didn't, and things progressed.
I remember, on and off during 2007, thinking to myself, "Huh. This can't be good" when I'd do things like buy booze to use to refill bottles I had drank from the night before (before my husband noticed how much I drank), or when I started keeping my own private stash. I thought to myself, periodically, that alcohol was probably becoming a problem for me... but I never bothered to do anything about it or say anything to anyone.
So yeah, until I was 36, alcohol caused NO problems for me and I drank like the normal portion of society. Summer 2006 - Fall 2008? Hell on earth. Changed me forever.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
I did drink socially for many years...in retrospect
I consider the last five years I drank ..I was an alcoholic.
That's when I was beginning to let alcohol control me.
My whole life was predicated on my consumption.
My core values had lowered so I could drink.
Depression was daily. I was saturated. ..cold and dead.
My bottom was mental. ..
Thanks to God and AA I am a recovered alcoholic.
I consider the last five years I drank ..I was an alcoholic.
That's when I was beginning to let alcohol control me.
My whole life was predicated on my consumption.
My core values had lowered so I could drink.
Depression was daily. I was saturated. ..cold and dead.
My bottom was mental. ..
Thanks to God and AA I am a recovered alcoholic.
Om, Aum, Ohm...
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Punxsutawney/Pittsburgh
Posts: 4,797
I have friends in sobriety that I trust and believe when they say that at some point in their drinking career, they became alcoholic. I can't relate to it, but I believe that in the end, they were just as alcoholic as me.
And I was never a normal drinker.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
And I was never a normal drinker.
Peace & Love,
Sugah
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,385
coffeebean.....er....coffeenut,
Here is the definition that I believe is the correct one when it comes to alcoholism. 24hrsAday has it right in bringing up the concept of progression. That is the key term to the answer you seek. This definition comes from Beyond the Influence: Understanding and Defeating Alcoholism by Ketcham and Asbury. It is only one of many definitions you may read in your quest for knowledge regarding this disease.
Here we go....
"Alcoholism is a progressive neurological disease strongly influenced by genetic vulnerability. Inherited or acquired abnormalities in brain chemistry create an altered response to alcohol which in turn causes a wide array of physical, psychological, and behavioral problems. Although environmental and social factors will influence the progression and expression of the disease, they are not in any sense causes of addictive drinking.
Alcoholism is caused by biochemical/neurophysiological abnormalities that are passed down from one generation to the next or, in some cases, acquired through heavy or prolonged drinking."
The fact that someone can drink "normally" for years is a moot point when one considers this definition. Basically, the disease gets worse and it's just a matter of time before an alcoholic has problems with the heart, liver, GI system, pancreas, CNS and thoughts of suicide. How one progresses through the three stages of alcoholism varies from one individual to another. The symptoms of the three stages are listed below. Again these are from Beyond the Influence.
Early Stage Symptoms
*Intense pleasure associated with drinking
*Increased metabolic tolerance
*Acquired central nervous system tolerance
*Preoccupation with alcoholism
If you look at the 2 in the middle you can clearly deliniate with a
little knowledge about biology that each of us humans have different
tolerances to different things and at different times in our lives. In other
words, I may be able to "handle my liquor" better than you at a given point in time.
However, in time you will be able to handle yours just as well as I did.
Middle Stage Symptoms
*Withdrawal
*Blackouts
*Personality Disintegration
*Denial
No comment
Late Stage
*Late stage withdrawal
*Craving
*Medical complications
*Loss of control
No comment
I can only put so much here and so I really recommend reading the book I referenced. There is another book that preceded this one titled Under the Influence by Milam and Ketcham which is also good. I have read both and found that each one has its' own merits. I liked Beyond the Influence more because the research that was used was more recent. Especially the part about genetics. There is still a lot of research beeing done about alcoholism which can be found by searching for it on the web or by visiting this site:
Welcome to NIAAA
I hope that helps.
Ken
Here is the definition that I believe is the correct one when it comes to alcoholism. 24hrsAday has it right in bringing up the concept of progression. That is the key term to the answer you seek. This definition comes from Beyond the Influence: Understanding and Defeating Alcoholism by Ketcham and Asbury. It is only one of many definitions you may read in your quest for knowledge regarding this disease.
Here we go....
"Alcoholism is a progressive neurological disease strongly influenced by genetic vulnerability. Inherited or acquired abnormalities in brain chemistry create an altered response to alcohol which in turn causes a wide array of physical, psychological, and behavioral problems. Although environmental and social factors will influence the progression and expression of the disease, they are not in any sense causes of addictive drinking.
Alcoholism is caused by biochemical/neurophysiological abnormalities that are passed down from one generation to the next or, in some cases, acquired through heavy or prolonged drinking."
The fact that someone can drink "normally" for years is a moot point when one considers this definition. Basically, the disease gets worse and it's just a matter of time before an alcoholic has problems with the heart, liver, GI system, pancreas, CNS and thoughts of suicide. How one progresses through the three stages of alcoholism varies from one individual to another. The symptoms of the three stages are listed below. Again these are from Beyond the Influence.
Early Stage Symptoms
*Intense pleasure associated with drinking
*Increased metabolic tolerance
*Acquired central nervous system tolerance
*Preoccupation with alcoholism
If you look at the 2 in the middle you can clearly deliniate with a
little knowledge about biology that each of us humans have different
tolerances to different things and at different times in our lives. In other
words, I may be able to "handle my liquor" better than you at a given point in time.
However, in time you will be able to handle yours just as well as I did.
Middle Stage Symptoms
*Withdrawal
*Blackouts
*Personality Disintegration
*Denial
No comment
Late Stage
*Late stage withdrawal
*Craving
*Medical complications
*Loss of control
No comment
I can only put so much here and so I really recommend reading the book I referenced. There is another book that preceded this one titled Under the Influence by Milam and Ketcham which is also good. I have read both and found that each one has its' own merits. I liked Beyond the Influence more because the research that was used was more recent. Especially the part about genetics. There is still a lot of research beeing done about alcoholism which can be found by searching for it on the web or by visiting this site:
Welcome to NIAAA
I hope that helps.
Ken
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 15
In hindsight, I think I started drinking alcoholically the first time I ever got drunk. While in those early days I often didn't drink more than once or twice a week, I *always* drank with the intention of getting as drunk as possible, as quickly as possible.
In a sense, I think this might be a blessing, in that I can't really convince myself that I can go back to social drinking when it's something that I honestly never understood in the first place.
In a sense, I think this might be a blessing, in that I can't really convince myself that I can go back to social drinking when it's something that I honestly never understood in the first place.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,443
I didn't start drinking until I was 25. My best friend didn't start drinking alcoholically til they were in their 40s.
Neither of us made a decision to 'become' alcoholics - anymore than I imagine a 12 year old selects alcoholism as a career option.
It happens slowly and imperceptibly, and even when you do realise, you don't want to admit it.
Stupid? no. I understand it very well.
D
Neither of us made a decision to 'become' alcoholics - anymore than I imagine a 12 year old selects alcoholism as a career option.
It happens slowly and imperceptibly, and even when you do realise, you don't want to admit it.
Stupid? no. I understand it very well.
D
Knucklehead
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Davenport, WA
Posts: 4,005
From a book I'm reading:
IS A DRINKING PROBLEM AN ACCIDENT?
YES, in most cases. Problem drinkers almost never intend to create their drinking problems. But because alcohol is an addictive drug, if anyone abuses it enough, he or she will create a drinking problem, without ever intending or desiring to do so.
YES, in most cases. Problem drinkers almost never intend to create their drinking problems. But because alcohol is an addictive drug, if anyone abuses it enough, he or she will create a drinking problem, without ever intending or desiring to do so.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
For a long time I disregarded the genetics tie in.
No one in my family drank ..they lived their religion.
We are a small family ...I knew everyone including a
Great Grand mother from each side.
My only sibling and I became alcoholics who recovered with AA.
We had moved away from our family ..left our religion..
did drink.... but still....What the heck?
Then I discovered my maternal Grand Dad had been
a drinker...quit ...joined a church..when I was 4.
So...when checking genetics you have to remember ...
1. there are recessive genes
2. your family may have had a drinker unknown to you.
My Granchildren never saw me drink either....however
my recovery is an open book for them to know.
No one in my family drank ..they lived their religion.
We are a small family ...I knew everyone including a
Great Grand mother from each side.
My only sibling and I became alcoholics who recovered with AA.
We had moved away from our family ..left our religion..
did drink.... but still....What the heck?
Then I discovered my maternal Grand Dad had been
a drinker...quit ...joined a church..when I was 4.
So...when checking genetics you have to remember ...
1. there are recessive genes
2. your family may have had a drinker unknown to you.
My Granchildren never saw me drink either....howevermy recovery is an open book for them to know.
Last edited by CarolD; 02-17-2009 at 02:40 AM. Reason: Typo
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 263
Well, 12 years old at a Christmas party was the first time I had unrestricted access to acohol. I drank four cans, to the hilarity of everyone around. I so wanted more but everyone went home and the remaining beer was put away. I couldn't understand why. By 18 I was drinking a bottle of vodka a day and homeless. I guess I was alcoholic from the start.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,782
I think I"ve always been an alcoholic, whether it was causing problems for me or not, just because I was drinking to escape something - my problems or just get away from being me for a while.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 179
Looking back, I see that whenever I used alcohol on a daily basis, it became a problem. Each time, it ended with my being depressed and finally pulling myself out of the depression by focusing my life in new direction. So alcohol is a tool I have used when I am stuck. The problem is that as an alcoholic, I get can lose complete control while drinking. I had a problem in my early twenties with alcohol (losing control), and then not again until my mid-forties. This time (the last five years) it has been progressively worse. I can't pull myself out of this dark hole unless I abstain completely because I am no longer able to "control" this thing.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 15
From reading many of the posts here, it does seem that some people do drink quite "normally" initially, but progress to a problem.
For me, the problem was there from the first drink. I really liked it, and always wanted more. It seemed I lacked an "off" button. For many, many years, it was not really a problem. I did not drink regularly. And many times I would stop at two. Other times, I drank myself silly. But the desire to keep going was always there the minute I got started. I am convinced I was born predisposed genetically to abuse alcohol. And it runs all over my family.
For me, the problem was there from the first drink. I really liked it, and always wanted more. It seemed I lacked an "off" button. For many, many years, it was not really a problem. I did not drink regularly. And many times I would stop at two. Other times, I drank myself silly. But the desire to keep going was always there the minute I got started. I am convinced I was born predisposed genetically to abuse alcohol. And it runs all over my family.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,238
I was 30 yrs old when I stepped foot
into AA. Not by choice. Family intervention
took place when they saw I was trying to
harm myself. Something must have been
wrong with me if i wanted to end my life
so badly.
Remorse, guilt, shame, resentments, anger,
loneliness, fear, unhappiness and countless
other reasons why I drank to begin with.
The more baggage i carried on on my back
the more I drank to numb them.
When i recieved the tools and knowledge
of my disease of alcoholism in my
28 day stay in rehab, it was then i
realized that i wasnt a normal drinker.
I was powerless over it and my life
had become unmanageable.
With a 12 step program in place
to live by today my life is pretty
normal.
Thanks for letting me share.
into AA. Not by choice. Family intervention
took place when they saw I was trying to
harm myself. Something must have been
wrong with me if i wanted to end my life
so badly.
Remorse, guilt, shame, resentments, anger,
loneliness, fear, unhappiness and countless
other reasons why I drank to begin with.
The more baggage i carried on on my back
the more I drank to numb them.
When i recieved the tools and knowledge
of my disease of alcoholism in my
28 day stay in rehab, it was then i
realized that i wasnt a normal drinker.
I was powerless over it and my life
had become unmanageable.
With a 12 step program in place
to live by today my life is pretty
normal.
Thanks for letting me share.
Knucklehead
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Davenport, WA
Posts: 4,005
I certainly don't disregard the genetic component. However, I believe that anyone can become addicted to alcohol if they abuse it frequently over a long period of time. I also think the disease theory of addiction has some significant holes and more research needs to be done.
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