Do I have a drinking problem?
 

I have seen many people with drinking problems, and I am hesitant to put myself into that catagory. However, I see things in myself that bother me. I drink 5-6 nights a week. But it does NOT control my life. I am at work everydays at 10am-8pm albeit with a hangover. I smoke weed on a daily basis, and consume pain killers about 1-2 days a week for work. I am not sure if I have a drug/drinking problem or if I have a mental problem. During the work days that I am not on painkillers or weed I feel extremely sad, lethargic, and bored. I think about my ex-girlfriend that I broke up with over 8 months ago. I have no idea why I am so hooked as she was NOT that special in comparisson to girls I've dated. I work in a beer/wine warehouse which adds to my thoughts of alcohol. Nearly every night I go home and lift weights. After doing so I walk 3 blocks to the gas station and buy a 12 pack. Drink 8-12 beers and go to bed. Fri and Sat night I typically drink to pass out aswell. Anywhere from 10-20 drinks. Is this an issue? Or am I possibly using to compensate with my boredom and MAYBE other problems I may have? I am slightly concerned with the pills, but not so much because they are not readily available. The weed doesn't really scare me either as I used to smoke non stop without feeling the constant desire for beer that I feel now. If only I could bring myself to smoke everynight after working out without the alcohol I would be fine.

Hi. In short, yes. I think you have a problem. Have you done the Johns Hopkins Alcoholism Test? If you can re-read your above statements and not believe there is a problem with both alcohol and drugs, then, yeah maybe you also have a mental problem. Just my 2 cents, hope you can get some help.

Traid.

Welcome brdobu

This is the test referred to...it's not conclusive of course and it really depends on you being honest in your answers, but it may help you with some perspective

Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), Revised

For myself, you're way in excess of recommended daily intake - that in itself is cause enough to worry.

D

Well I just googled the Johns Hopkins Alcoholism Test, after taking it I answered 10 of the 20 with a yes. It claims anything 3 or more is worthy of a review. But I have never considered myself a drunk. I haven't missed a SINGLE day of work in 3 years. Granted I have a had a few massive hangovers, I've always been there. What is the fine line between relaxing and having a problem? I grew up around a father who drank half a pint of whiskey a night. He was NEVER, beliggerant, always made work, always paid bills, cut grass, fixed things around house, etc. Maybe this is why I feel a nightly buzz/drunk is acceptable. But when exactly does it gross the line between unwinding and having a problem? I am 25 and am concerned that my 5-plus nights of drinking is becoming an issue. However, as I stated my dad drinks half a pint of whiskey everynight. He is 62, in decent shape for his age and the most responsible person I know. Is an everynight alcohol buzz cause for concern? The alcohol REALLY hasn't had a negative effect on my life other than a lot of hangovers. I just feel that is is NOT 'normal' to be drunk 5 or 6 nights a week even thought it has yet to have a serious impact.

Dee-I got 11 out of 22 on the Michigan quiz. I have had 7 beers as I type this. I know that I drink MUCH more than anyone I hang out with. But I do not have insurance. I live in a very small community and free help is very hard to find. Finding friends that don't drink seems almost impossible as I DO have a close group of reliable people who care. However, they all drink. I sometimes feel I drink to deal with the boredom and stresses of day to day life. I'm not sure what to do to stop. I can smoke tons of weed to avoid drinking, but using one drug to stop another hardly seems like a solution. I'd like to stop, even for just 2 weeks to prove I can. But I just don't feel I have the resources to do so.

Hello,
Believe it or not at the amount you drink you should not stop without medical supervision. Boy was I surprised to find this out after I had already stopped. I did not have physical withdrawals but I was drinking even more than you, every single night also.

I got so tired of the hangovers. I forgot what it was like to feel good. I would be hungover from 8 am to 5 pm. Drunk from 5 pm until I passed out. It started to feel terrible.

What did it take for me to stop the past week? Visiting this site everyday for hours on end, reading hundreds of other people's stories, replacing my cravings with lots of food and sugary soda, and nerves of steel.

It's not easy, but if you can bring yourself to focus on the positive, such as not being hungover every single day, it makes it a little easier.

Challenge yourself to two weeks.

Are there any AA or NA meetings near you?

As you bought it up you will maybe have thought about this too...the drugs, drink, whatever are the full stop to the sentence...you use them because of you so you will need to change so that you dont need to use the crutches anymore...

AA helped me to deal with the sentence so with a different sentence now no need for the full stop, life can be a journey and an adventure not just serving time...

I was once like you. I drank and smoked due to boredom too.

Looking back now tho, I know there are many other folks who are bored who don't drink or smoke - they take up a hobby, they try new things, they mix up their lives a little.

For me it wasn't really boredom (or sadness, or anger, or reward, or cos that guy who flipped me off, or cos the guys came round, or cos my gf and I had a fight)

I drank because I liked drinking, and I drank because I liked it too much..

All my friends drank and I liked that too cos it made me look good by comparison.

I didn't think I could stop either. So I didn't.

The thing is...things never stay static...I thought they would...I drank for over 10 years at the same intervals the same volume...

Then things changed...I didn't have a bad reputation until I did; I didn't miss days at work and appointments...until I did...

Eventually, I developed a problem bad enough to drink all day every day and nearly end up dead over it.

You may find it hard to see yourself in my shoes, but it's more than a possibility.

Like Melinda says, you should really see a Dr, insurance or not - your health should be above such concerns IMO but it's up to you.

There are lots of free recovery groups out there - AA's the biggest and most available but it's not the only one.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...resources.html

If you're concerned enough to do something, and cash is the thing stopping you, I'd make something like that your first step.

D

Thank you, I will look more into the links when I am clear headed. Alchol has not yet ruined my life in terms of becoming a total failure. Instead it has put me into a state of stalemate. I am not going anywhere. I live in an appartment I can BARELY afford in terms of rent and car insurance. I was a 3.6 gpa student in highschool and there were high expectations of me. I am affording my life but not going anywhere. Alcohol seems to make me content with 'just getting by'. I get home from ****** labor job, to my barely affordable appartment and drink to make myself content with 'getting by'. I want more for myself. And I feel that self medication is keeping myself from making any steps forward. I don't feel that I can quit everything at once. But weed came WAY before the alcohol, and I still had motivation and aspirations back then. Perhaps I can quit drinking and use weight training and weed to get to sleep at night without a 10pack? Maybe marijuana isn't the answer? Maybe I need more help? There isn't any AA around here open after 8pm when I leave work. But I know that no matter what I will never take a step forward in life spending my free time drinking.

I never advise anyone to turn to one drug to get off another, unless it's prescribed of course :)

I ruined my life just as completely on weed as I did beer later on.

I consider now I was the problem, not the drug/s I used.

I hope you stick around brdobu - I certainly gained a lot of insight from signing up here :)
D

Thanks Dee, now that I have found this forum I dont intend to stick around. Tomorrow is the begining to a new week. I need to be to work in 6 hours and am currently consuming my 10th beer I typically require to sleep. Tomorrow I will work my shift and end it with my usual energy drink and protein shake I use to prepare myself to workout-the one healthy vice I typically particiapte in. Afterwards I intend to smoke my usual joint and visit this forum instead of buying my 12 pack. As you stated covering one drug with another isn't a solution. But I never had a 'lack of aspiration' while smoking. Only drinking seems to numb me. I realize I should eventually quit smoking aswell. But alcohol is by far my biggest crutch. I have no acsess to help unless I ignore my lack of insurance. But I genuinely want to quit drinking before anything else. Thanks for all the words of advice and I will be here tomorrow. :c031:

I'll bet you there are morning meetings. Unless you work 15 hours days and are in a real small town with no larger towns around AA is pretty accessible.

brdobu,
I had never done the Michigan alcohol test until today. I scored 5 (early to middle problem drinker). I have done others where results were clearly on the alcoholism side of the spectrum. I know alcohol is taking over my life. I know it is still a hidden problem from others but not from me. I do not drink like others drink. Everyday I thought of when I would drink the next one... Everytime I drink I am there looking how others seem to drink so slowly and expecting the magic moment when another round/bottle will be ordered/opened.

From this forum, my experience and other sources of information I have got to the conclusion that alcohol is a real problem for me, that I am on some kind of trip towards alcoholism with external consequences instead of my hidden one. I know too that it has been VERY difficult not to drink the last 7 days and I am not bored or lonely or anything. I have decided to stop before I can answer yes to the 20 questions of the test. Many people here wished they had step on the wagon of recovery earlier. As far as I am concerned two facts are important:

1. My drinking was not healthy. With dry days in the week I would still be well over the limit considered healthy. I have always lied to doctors when asked about my amount of drinking and I would only stop after one or two drinks if there were not more booze available.

2. I have never thought in the morning 'I wish I had drunk last night'....Any day without booze has always made me feel better in the morning. Cannot tell you how many times I have regretted and panicked about drinking the night before.

Good luck in this journey of finding yourself

brdobu,

You sound like I was. I never missed a day at work either, but I know I looked (and felt) like warmed-over death quite a few times. I've learned that's not a good metric to judge if you have a problem or not.

Do you have a problem? You wrote: "I'd like to stop, even for just 2 weeks to prove I can." Well, if you can't stop for two weeks there's your answer.

Good luck, and please post some more.

yes - the middle of the night panic was the worst. I hope I never, ever feel that again.

I remember asking this very same question a few years ago. I honestly can't remember the answers I got. I had to find out for myself, and it wasn't the most pleasant experience for me. I hear quite often that "normal" drinkers (I don't know what that is) never worry about having a drinking problem. My wife rarely drinks, and I've seen her drink 1/2 of a $9.00 mixed drink and walk away :11:. That to me, is the very essence of insanity, but then again, I AM an alcoholic.

Do normal drinkers black out and wander around in the woods while the police dogs are looking for them? Probably not. Funny thing is, they never found me, I stumbled out by myself and told them I was the guy they were looking for. It's my opinion that if the use of illegal drugs is involved, that's a problem. I know for me, one drug will ALWAYS lead my back to my good "friend???" alcohol. I have enough $**t on my plate today...I'm not gonna make things worse by adding any mood altering substance to the mix.

The only person who can answer your question is you, but you need to get down and dirty honest with yourself. If you discover you have a problem, the solution is very simple. Don't think, don't drink, and get your a$$ to a meeting any way you can (if you want what we have and are willing to go to ANY lengths to get it, then you are ready to take certain steps). "Cyber recovery" is great, but it ain't enough for this drunk!!!

Just my ESH... Brian

That certainly sounds familiar to me. Good luck on your journey.

Not yet and if you continue there most certainly will be either a problem with the Liver, the Law or problems with the Lover.
Normal drinkers who do not abuse alcohol, do not question if they are alcoholic.
Try abstaining from drinking and other substances for 30 days. This will tell you if you have a problem, when you can't abstain and constantly think of alcohol/drugs.

Everyone has said good things, so I will just add something brief. Whether you have a mental health problem that is somehow contributing to your use of alcohol/drugs is seperate issue. Why you use is less important than the fact you do. In treating people with dual-diagnosis (that is addiction + other mental disorder), sobriety always comes first. What I found when I sobered up was that my many of my menal health issues disappeared entirely. You will be amazed to what extent alcohol, pot, and pills effect how we regulate emotions. I never felt more depressed than in the afternoon before I got high and drunk. Doesn't mean I have a major depressive disorder. Just that I am an addict/alcoholic.

Brdobu, I don't think that accomplishments have much bearing upon whether or not you have a problem drinking. Have you ever heard of high-functioning alcoholics? I drank excessively and smoked weed all through college, grad school, and in the early years of my career as a professor and artist. I was drunk at several university functions before I quit. Thankfully, that was so many years ago that few people remember the drinking me.

I meant to also say - I often wonder what I more I could have done if I hadn't been drunk/stoned while doing it.

You've already answered your own questions...