How long does it take to develop a physical addiction to alcohol?
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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How long does it take to develop a physical addiction to alcohol?
I don't really feel comfortable telling more about my situation right now. What I would like to know is how long it normally takes to develop a physical addiction to alcohol. I am talking some who only gets very drunk maybe 1 or 2 times a month but always has a drink or two in their system during the day.
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,913
No one can answer that question. Everyone is different. Some people become addicted fairly quickly, while others might drink for years before becoming dependent. There's just no way to know for sure.
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Welcome.....
As far as I know....there is no definite time line
Personally....I never knew what day or which drink
slid me into alcoholism.
I certainly hope any drinker comes to realize how
adversely affected their body and brains become
Alcohol is a toxin....it damages and that's true
for everyone...not only alcoholics.
All my best
As far as I know....there is no definite time line
Personally....I never knew what day or which drink
slid me into alcoholism.
I certainly hope any drinker comes to realize how
adversely affected their body and brains become
Alcohol is a toxin....it damages and that's true
for everyone...not only alcoholics.
All my best
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
I just can't imagine I really have a problem but today I went out to run errands without having a few drinks first and I just felt awful. Best way to describe it was I felt drunk because I was sober; clumsy, dizzy, and, aggravated. I came home and drank and feel fine now. It seems like a physical addiction would takes years to form, my drinking is a relatively new habit to deal with a lot of additional stress in my life.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Please see where you are with this....
Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), Revised
And do read this....
How We Get Addicted - TIME
Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), Revised
And do read this....
How We Get Addicted - TIME
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,913
Well, when you stop to think about it, a hangover is a kind of mini withdrawal. If you were drinking somewhat heavily prior to today, it's entirely possible your body was going through a withdrawal process. Having a little "hair of the dog" would alleviate those feelings. That, in and of itself, doesn't mean that you are physically dependent on alcohol.
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
Ignoring days that I intentionally get drunk I probably have about 6 drinks throughout a day, not enough to really even feel. I think I am just overly cautious because I come from a family of alcoholics. Today just really freaked me out because it was almost painful to stay sober and in the end I gave in.
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,913
Originally Posted by StormClouds 
Ignoring days that I intentionally get drunk I probably have about 6 drinks throughout a day, not enough to really even feel. I think I am just overly cautious because I come from a family of alcoholics. Today just really freaked me out because it was almost painful to stay sober and in the end I gave in.
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It kind of sounds like a lot when I put it that way but it is really broken up throughout the day. Usually 1 to get going in the morning, 2 at lunch and 3 when I get home. Other than that one in the morning I don't think thats much different than most people.
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,913
Maybe not, but most people don't need that one in the morning to get going, nor do they feel lousy if they go a day without drinking. It's just something to think about. Something made you log on here and ask questions.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
You are keeping x ammount of alcohol in your body
to keep from de toxing. Can you see that?
When is the last time you had absolutely nothing to drink
for 24 hours? 2 days? How did you feel?
to keep from de toxing. Can you see that?
When is the last time you had absolutely nothing to drink
for 24 hours? 2 days? How did you feel?
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 60
I don't know. I do know I kept trying to quit drinking and kept failing. I couldn't figure out why until the thought that I was physically addicted crossed my mind. Bingo - no wonder i can't quit, I'm dependent!!! I went to a Dr for guidance and help with withdrawals, and I have been sober ever since. Good luck to you.
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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I just try to monitor myself. I have seen alcohol really take over people's lives and I don't want to go there. Today freaked me out. The people around here seemed really knowledgeable so this seemed like a great site to join. I would like to stick around this site and get to know some people. I understand most people of here aim for 100% sober which I know does not work for me but maybe I can still make some friends.
With this thread I am mostly just looking for the really just physical affects of alcohol and how you end up with a physical dependancy. I figure other things are for other threads.
With this thread I am mostly just looking for the really just physical affects of alcohol and how you end up with a physical dependancy. I figure other things are for other threads.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,444
even at 6 a day, you're way over the recommended limit Storm Clouds
Alcohol and Public Health - FAQs
the website I've linked to also has clinical definitions of alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse.
D
Alcohol and Public Health - FAQs
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, drinking in moderation is defined as having no more than 1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men. This definition is referring to the amount consumed on any single day and is not intended as an average over several days.
A standard drink is equal to 13.7 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol or
* 12-ounces of beer.
* 8-ounces of malt liquor.
* 5-ounces of wine.
* 1.5-ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey).
* 12-ounces of beer.
* 8-ounces of malt liquor.
* 5-ounces of wine.
* 1.5-ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey).
D
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,913
One usually ends up with a physical dependency by continuing to drink all the time. Alcoholism is progressive. It never gets better unless the person stops drinking altogether.
Why does 100% sobriety not work for you?
Why does 100% sobriety not work for you?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 9
I just want to say I really do appreciate everyone's concern over me. Like I said I am overly cautious sometime about my drinking so I understand where ya'll are coming from. I really never let drinking affect my work or life though, in the last year I think I have missed 1 day from a hangover and that was after one of the most stressful weeks of my life.
Physical addiction scares the hell out of me but I am confidant I can handle my crazy mind.
Physical addiction scares the hell out of me but I am confidant I can handle my crazy mind.
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,913
That's what we are here for. All we can do is try to help with our experiences, strength and hope. We cannot force people to do anything. I wish you much luck. SR will be here if and when you are ready to stop drinking for good.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 1,591
Storm, I'm only one person, but for anyone who wants to read about it, my drinking history went something like this:
as a young boy - father poured a little beer into a cup for me maybe twice. I always thought of beer as the grossest thing and couldn't understand why people drank it.
1983 - had one sip from a wine cooler at a wedding and didn't like it
1987 - had 2 small draft beers with my visiting sister and cousin a month before I became legal, and this was after learning about my mother dying
1987 - became legal at 19, had a strawberry daqueri at birthday dinner for me (my girlfriend's treat)
1988 - drank wine coolers at a spring bonfire party and got tipsy; went dancing (previously feared even WALKING in front of people) and drinking beer almost every week that summer; drank winecoolers once in my room because I couldn't take my family (didn't like my father and he had been ill again; my mother was dying; I was also coming out of the closet and generally disillusioned and was just beginning to experience "fun," it seemed); had parties while studying abroad; drank 2 bottles of wine alone and flipped in my own vomit on the way to the toilet on Xmas Eve or Day
1989 - didn't drink frequently, though experimented 2 or 3 times with getting drunk on champagne alone a few months after return to Canada
1990 - began suffering awful insomnia while in school, experimented with a shot of Scotch to help with sleep a few times; had wine once a month or two
1991 - drank two bottles of red wine in anger by myself, friend came back to find me vomitting
1992 - back to bar life, drinking 3 times a week most of the summer after father died
1993 - drinking more sporadically, dropped out of grad school, then clamped down
1994 - drank at a couple of parties, spread apart; mentioned that alcohol made me a better person
1995 - drank to excess a few times, but mostly clamped down while abroad; drank to an extreme the night I returned to Canada; case of beer once a month, then every 2 weeks, then 2 per week; drank alone at Xmas again
1996 - moved to new job/country by myself again, started having beer several times a week, then noticed upon return home from work that I would immediately - uncontrollably -get back into my car and buy beer repeatedly until it was every night that I would do this. From this point on, it was normal to drink till I was drunk every night. This is when I started to change color in the face.
1997-2001 - bars galore and drinking every day at home, brief clamp down on drinking for 2 weeks, twice; mother died a "final" death, drank to major excess constantly and felt free; return to Canada again, more drinking. By this point I had been asked why my face was so red (or made fun of).
2002 - clamped down on drinking for another couple of weeks, but drinking heavily most of the year; period of some moderation for about 2 months; new job, new home: major drunk, then constant beer supply so that I would never be without beer at home.
2003-2009 - drinking till drunk just about every night unless I was too sick. Rarely went out and managed my life so that I could be at home drinking. (Multiple times I would abstain from having even 1 drink at social and work events, because I had enough drinking to do at home.) It was a closely managed drinking regime. A couple of times I staggered out to get a slice of pizza when I was famished. I also started neglecting to eat dinner during this period, until it was rare that I had it. I looked indisputably like a drunk in most pictures I saw of me and every time I looked in the mirror. Quit drinking in Nov on a "whim" - the luckiest one ever!
Now - still not drinking since then and it has to be this way, because this is with me for life.
Somewhere inside all of that was my LINE. I have usually thought of my line as falling somewhere prior to 1996, when I was uncontrollably buying beer every day. I notice a pattern with descending into a huge drunk once I was "setting up" in a new place. And so you could say the line was starting to appear all the way back when I would experiment with drinking alone, well before I was at the stage of having to have it in my system every day. The first presence of danger was in the notion that alcohol could help me. And then it grew into much more, until it would take YEARS, with knowledge of my problem, before I was ready to stop.
as a young boy - father poured a little beer into a cup for me maybe twice. I always thought of beer as the grossest thing and couldn't understand why people drank it.
1983 - had one sip from a wine cooler at a wedding and didn't like it
1987 - had 2 small draft beers with my visiting sister and cousin a month before I became legal, and this was after learning about my mother dying
1987 - became legal at 19, had a strawberry daqueri at birthday dinner for me (my girlfriend's treat)
1988 - drank wine coolers at a spring bonfire party and got tipsy; went dancing (previously feared even WALKING in front of people) and drinking beer almost every week that summer; drank winecoolers once in my room because I couldn't take my family (didn't like my father and he had been ill again; my mother was dying; I was also coming out of the closet and generally disillusioned and was just beginning to experience "fun," it seemed); had parties while studying abroad; drank 2 bottles of wine alone and flipped in my own vomit on the way to the toilet on Xmas Eve or Day
1989 - didn't drink frequently, though experimented 2 or 3 times with getting drunk on champagne alone a few months after return to Canada
1990 - began suffering awful insomnia while in school, experimented with a shot of Scotch to help with sleep a few times; had wine once a month or two
1991 - drank two bottles of red wine in anger by myself, friend came back to find me vomitting
1992 - back to bar life, drinking 3 times a week most of the summer after father died
1993 - drinking more sporadically, dropped out of grad school, then clamped down
1994 - drank at a couple of parties, spread apart; mentioned that alcohol made me a better person
1995 - drank to excess a few times, but mostly clamped down while abroad; drank to an extreme the night I returned to Canada; case of beer once a month, then every 2 weeks, then 2 per week; drank alone at Xmas again
1996 - moved to new job/country by myself again, started having beer several times a week, then noticed upon return home from work that I would immediately - uncontrollably -get back into my car and buy beer repeatedly until it was every night that I would do this. From this point on, it was normal to drink till I was drunk every night. This is when I started to change color in the face.
1997-2001 - bars galore and drinking every day at home, brief clamp down on drinking for 2 weeks, twice; mother died a "final" death, drank to major excess constantly and felt free; return to Canada again, more drinking. By this point I had been asked why my face was so red (or made fun of).
2002 - clamped down on drinking for another couple of weeks, but drinking heavily most of the year; period of some moderation for about 2 months; new job, new home: major drunk, then constant beer supply so that I would never be without beer at home.
2003-2009 - drinking till drunk just about every night unless I was too sick. Rarely went out and managed my life so that I could be at home drinking. (Multiple times I would abstain from having even 1 drink at social and work events, because I had enough drinking to do at home.) It was a closely managed drinking regime. A couple of times I staggered out to get a slice of pizza when I was famished. I also started neglecting to eat dinner during this period, until it was rare that I had it. I looked indisputably like a drunk in most pictures I saw of me and every time I looked in the mirror. Quit drinking in Nov on a "whim" - the luckiest one ever!
Now - still not drinking since then and it has to be this way, because this is with me for life.
Somewhere inside all of that was my LINE. I have usually thought of my line as falling somewhere prior to 1996, when I was uncontrollably buying beer every day. I notice a pattern with descending into a huge drunk once I was "setting up" in a new place. And so you could say the line was starting to appear all the way back when I would experiment with drinking alone, well before I was at the stage of having to have it in my system every day. The first presence of danger was in the notion that alcohol could help me. And then it grew into much more, until it would take YEARS, with knowledge of my problem, before I was ready to stop.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: uk
Posts: 2,548
Thats a good question but i think your find the answer different for most..
A physical addiction tells me im gonna get sick when i dont have it in my system.
and to be honest i cant remember when that was......
For me, purely a physical addiction to alcohol doesnt make me an alcoholic........its my opinion that its far more complex than that..
A physical addiction tells me im gonna get sick when i dont have it in my system.
and to be honest i cant remember when that was......
For me, purely a physical addiction to alcohol doesnt make me an alcoholic........its my opinion that its far more complex than that..
Heathen
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: La La Land, USA
Posts: 2,567
Sounds like it already is controlling your life! I do not miss that one bit. If you want to get sober, there's ways to do it. If you're merely wanting to know th medical damage you're continuing to do to yourself, ask your doctor.
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