TylerDurden

I have always thought alcoholism, or at least the "disease" that characterizes alcoholics, was one of drunken stupor on a daily and hourly basis. I've always pictured the typical alcoholic as someone who wakes up and craves a drink, and must drink throughout the day to sustain his or her life force. I am beginning to realize that while that is what one may call a "chronic alcoholic," just like people, alcoholics come in many shapes and sizes.

It seems most would agree that an alcoholic isn't necessarily someone who drinks incessantly and constantly - on a daily basis - but someone who regardless how much/often they drink cannot control themselves. That one or two drinks turns into ten. That "light buzz" quickly turns into a full blown blackout, and the perpetrator is once again powerless to the shackles of alcohol.

So is this what being an alcoholic is? Because if it is, well, I guess my friends were right. I guess I am an alcoholic.

MisterHockey09

That's one form...that's what I had turned into more recently. In undergrad, I was the "Don Draper" drinker...the kind of guy who never got really drunk but I had a light buzz from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed, just to make life bearable.

If alcohol controls you, it's a problem. Plain and simple. Frankly I hate the word "alcoholic" because the negative connotations are so rampant. I think it's a lot more PC to tell people I don't drink anymore because I have/had a drinking problem. I have a problem. That problem is drinking. That problem doesn't define me in toto.

To get really technical, alcoholism has physical addiction and everything else is alcohol abuse.

Terminally Unique

I will not comment on this, since I do not consider myself an alcoholic. I will say, however, that my impression of what "an alcoholic" is possibly kept me going far longer than I would have otherwise. Unfortunately, I did eventually get to waking up and drinking first thing in the morning, and all day, for about two years. I had been drinking daily for years prior, but the "no morning drinking" thing was enough to convince me that I was not that bad, even though I was drinking by lunch time. I hope for your sake that you learn faster than I did and that you quit before this point. I know from experience that I was stubborn and stupid, and that no one was able to convince me to stop. The only advice I can give is that whatever you think can't happen can indeed happen.

TylerDurden

Yet you're on a recovery forum

Terminally Unique

I am here in the hope that I can help others avoid my mistakes, and also because the best way to truly learn a skill is to teach it. I enjoy teaching others about AVRT. That said, I will never drink again, and I will never change my mind. I can guarantee that even under penalty of death. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions, but how can I possibly be an alcoholic if I do not drink and never will?

TylerDurden

Fair enough, and I appreciate your input and honesty. Good day sir!

EricL

Some people don't identify as "alcoholic" but prefer saying they simply cannot drink.

Semantics, but it works for them so it can't be wrong.

I consider myself alcoholic, to me it means I am both physically addicted to alcohol, and I also have a mind that will obsess about it unless treated. In my case I feel that these problems stem from a spiritual malady, obviously others do not feel the same way about their predicament, but its worked for me for quite awhile. Is it a disease? Who cares, it doesn't change the way I approach my problem. We can get into an amazing pi$$ing match, as generally happens when this question is alluded to, but we al have the same trouble with alcohol and seek the same endpoint. The only differences are in the way we approach the problem and the terminology used to describe the problem. But I imagine that the problem looked very similar in all of our lives-depressing, frightening, and often lonely lives lived in subjugation to John Barleycorn.

langkah

I'm of the belief that what we focus on in forums like this continually (drinking alcohol, not drinking alcohol) isn't among the most serious and life affecting aspects of alcoholism, though dealing with that is important and neccessary.

Those that manage to stop one way or another long enough for their heads to clear a bit can decide if that is enough, or if not drinking or doping opens up more questions than it answers for them.

Life contains pitfalls and worse yet for the alcoholic it contains periods of stagnation and ennui. How we answer the challenges our quite often incorrect perceptions and changable emotions and reactions to happenings in life of various kinds when by experience and nature our default setting is to drink shows whether or not we have found a sufficient answer or not. And that is most correctly answered by meeting reality for some years without a drink or drug to modify reality.

Leaving the false illusion of alcohol for a solid answer tested by doing life sober over time demonstrates the quality of the answer for us as individuals.

There seem to be hurdles to get past at various points in sobriety for different reasons. Despite character and intent and abilities people drink again if their solution doesn't contain the answers they need.

Just to say the story is not over at 1 year, or 7 1/2 years, or 10, or 19 years, or 23 years. Seems those who pass the stumbling points and go on to the next stumbling point can talk about the quality of their solution to that point. Maybe it's a good and sufficient one, maybe not.

Time will show the truth, one way or another.

Those who continue to modify their reality and don't get the chance to try real life are non-starters, so it's always good to see people stop drinking. They may be making their beginning.

RobbyRobot

Hi Tyler,

I'm an alcoholic, meaning I have the illness of alcoholism, in turn meaning a spiritual malady, a physical addiction, a mental obsession defines my alcoholism.

More exactly, I'm a sober alcoholic, meaning I live (thrive) with a spiritual solution to my alcoholism.

And even more, my sobriety does not only save and protect me today (and tomorrow) from drunkenness, my sobriety also solves the alcoholic puzzels of my past drunken existence, meaning I have a full, complete, and satisfied understanding of my past, my present, and my future as concerns my being an alcoholic.

Nothing benefits an alcoholic more than self awareness and acknowledgement of thier own alcoholism. At that point all the solutions that anyone may want to choose become descions that empower actions and responsibilities that begin sobriety moving forward.

There are many solutions.

Knowing ourselves with alcohol, and ourselves without alcohol, are absolute must have core experiences to appreciate for ourselves what is or is not meaningful about being an alcoholic.

Rigorous honesty is required to truly appreciate our experiences. Peer fellowship is required to share, back and forth, our experiences. A desciplined, responsible sober lifestyle is required to maintain a solution to being an alcoholic.

Some have a spiritual solution in their sobriety, some do not. For me, anything less than a spiritual solution, would be the same as me just being sober in between drinks, has been my life experience with my being an alcoholic.

I'm not religious, I'm spiritual, meaning my illness of alcoholism is arrested, stopped, finished. My mental obsessions solved, removed, ended. My physical addiction cured, gone, solved.

A daily must requirement of sobriety, meaning no drinking booze, no exceptions, a program and routine of recovery, and living an honest spiritual life is how my sobriety is maintained. Simple enough.

I wish you every success as you explore your own possible alcoholism, and come to an awareness of your being an alcoholic (or not)

RobbyRobot

I'm of the understanding that clearing my head, to decide if enough is enough re: drinking and doping, was a useless enterprise, my experience.

If I wasn't alcoholic, sure then, deciding on my drinking would not only make sense, it would move my life forward with success and responsibility.

My being alcoholic though means clearing my head was (and would be today if I drank again) a self-hatred act of sabatoge steeped in denial, pretending that I could ever ever come to the place where I could decide on whether or not I should take that next drink, or altogether stop.

Of course, I'm an alcoholic, so I'm not surprised that "thinking" about not drinking never helped me to not drink in any meaningful way.

5a5

i think the term alcoholic is just that a term made up by someone, call urself what u will i still havent decided which little "term" i fit into and thats not my priority at this point either, we are on this forum for one reason or another, i think alcoholism is a disease like many others out there and that it can be cured, and how that happens differs cause every person is different

adore79

from the Mayo clinic site:



Alcoholism symptoms include:

-Being unable to limit the amount of alcohol you drink

-Feeling a strong need or compulsion to drink

-Developing tolerance to alcohol so that you need an increasing amounts to feel its effects

-Having legal problems or problems with relationships, employment or finances due to drinking

-Drinking alone or in secret

-Experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms — such as nausea, sweating and shaking — when you don't drink

-Not remembering conversations or commitments, sometimes referred to as "blacking out"

-Making a ritual of having drinks at certain times and becoming annoyed when this ritual is disturbed or questioned

-Losing interest in activities and hobbies that used to bring you pleasure

-Irritability when your usual drinking time nears, especially if alcohol isn't available

-Keeping alcohol in unlikely places at home, at work or in your car

-Gulping drinks, ordering doubles, becoming intoxicated intentionally to feel good or drinking to feel "normal"