sobergirl77

My computer shuts down every 2 seconds.

Never mind.

Dee74

Hope you work out the computer problem.

Not sure what you mean by True Alcoholism - do you mean the AA definition of a real alcoholic SG?

D

Thepatman

My little definition relating to my experience. It's when Alcohol becomes an obsession and that practically in ones life revolves around it directly or indirectly (hangover)

Ex: camping, how much do I need to bring to last 6 days on a remote site with no stores around. The stress of what if I run out? Then coming back not relaxed, hung over as hell, not remembering half the week.

KateL

I think for me it is simply, I can never have just a few drinks and my personality changes drastically. x

Pete55

Same here.
The one thing to add would probably be, Alcoholism does not discriminate who or what you are.

IOAA2

For me it's simple: I can not drink in safety.

BE WELL

Mountainmanbob

reminds me of my camping times in my drinking days
more important to me than the food we were packing
was to make very sure to have the proper amount of booze on board

whatever I thought to be the proper amount
then
plus some extra

when one thinks such as this
it truly does seem to be a very strong indicator that

One Is Alcoholic

MountainmanBob

newme2day

For me it is the obsessive thoughts. When i wasn't drinking, i was thinking about drinking. I would get irritable if i was unable to drink when i wanted to. For me, it wasn't the amount of alcohol, it was the constant thoughts.

spryte

This is my definition too.

KarenSW

For me, the definition of Alcoholism is when alcohol becomes a necessity rather than a luxury.

Joe Nerv

Seemingly simple, yet interesting and complex question. There is no physical test that will diagnose it, as there is for other diseases. And the idea that it's actually a disease is debated constantly, with no clear winner. Many people agree that the only person who can accurately diagnose it, is the person experiencing it. Yet many people have lots of reason to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that someone they know or love is indeed an alcoholic. In AA, people define it through the big book, and there's a paragraph or 2 that describes what the book calls a "real" alcoholic. But many take issue with that, especially those who don't fit the profile, yet know they couldn't stop drinking.

There are also lots of questions as to whether there are different levels of alcoholism. Can someone be more alcoholic than someone else, or is it like pregnancy? Either you are, or you aren't?

I obviously have no answers to this stuff. At least none that couldn't be argued.

For me, I know that alcohol affects me differently than my non alcoholic family and friends. And once I start drinking, the compulsion to keep doing it is insanely powerful. Powerful enough to land me over and over again in horrible trouble, physically, mentally and spiritually. That's all I really need to define it for myself.

RobbyRobot

True alcoholism?

It's not something that has one universal authoritative definition for satisfying all camps or persons. This can cause some to believe that we can make up our own understandings for ourselves, and we can of course. Its a free world after all. However, this can be both good and bad, depending on what we decide for ourselves. Another kind of similar question which is also difficult to commonly define would be what is sobriety? What is an alcoholic mind? What is a hard drinker? What is a normal drinker?!

It's like asking what is art?



For me, my alcoholism is the same as suggested by AA. Which states alcoholism is an illness of mind, body, and spirit, requiring more then simple science, and more then myself, to heal from, and without any real cure from this illness. I'm okay with all that.

I've had different definitions before I finally quit. Nothing worked better then what I have now. Its not so bad being an alcoholic when one doesn't drink AND one has a working solution for not drinking. It was a living hell drinking. And a living hell not drinking when I didn't HAVE a non-drinking solution.

Not a lot of people actually want to sign on for being a lifelong alcoholic and thereafter not drink. Most want to quit alcoholically, and just be normal at drinking thereafter. I tried that. Epic fail.

Still others will quit for months and years, and then return to drinking hoping for different results. I've never tried that. And I never will now. Nothing about drinking works for me anymore, and never will again. I'm good with that, lol.

In an ironic twist, chronic alcoholism has cured me of ever drinking again, hahaha. Strange, eh?! Only a fellow alcoholic could personally understand my laughter at such an idea, lol.

Yeah. So being a sober alcoholic is actually an awesome deal. I have this great "rags to riches" backstory. All the promised promises have come good. As promised.

What is true alcoholism? A good question indeed, sobergirl. I hope in your asking you want a true answer too. The best answer is whatever works for you to quit and stay quit and enjoy a lifetime of personal freedoms and hopes fulfilled with living each day thereafter as if you have a real and true life of purpose in spite of having (or had) alcoholism. Your new great life experiences will define your new understanding of what alcoholism is and isn't for YOU.

Take it easy, sobergirl. I hope you get an answer real soon that works for YOU.

theresearcher

The DSM (Diagnostic Statistics Manuel) used in diagnosing addictions tells us that the difference between someone who does controlled drinking and someone who is an alcoholic or has an addiction, is if the behavior interferes with their everyday life activities.

Can you sleep without alcohol? Do you have to drink at work? Does alcohol get in the way of your relationships? If so you most likely are addicted.

ScottFromWI

I personally choose to not worry about the semantics or definitions of alcoholism. What's most important to me is that i realize I cannot drink alcohol without it affecting my life in an adverse way. So I choose not to drink because of that fact. And I choose to actively remind and educate myself on a daily basis about that fact so that I don't go back to it.

jazzfish

For me, alcoholism is based on the fact that: drinking causes problems in my life and I am unable to drink at a level that avoids those problems.

tomsteve

welp, I think theres many definitions.
compulsive or uncontrolled consumption.
dependant on consumption.

DeeDFab

I would agree with KarenSW:
"For me, the definition of Alcoholism is when alcohol becomes a necessity rather than a luxury."

Yep, that about sums it up for me.
>DDF

Threshold

For me it manifested as drinking making my life unmanageable, but I still kept drinking...couldn't stop drinking without intervention (be that internal, external, a combination of both) that seriously changed my life..habits, thought patterns etc.

I think like many illnesses or disorders, it manifests a bit differently in different people. Not everyone gets depressed in quite the same way, etc. Even a cold....some people always have it settle in their chest, others in their throat, others in their sinuses. But it's the same virus that causes it.

Reboswon

I agree with so many comments here.
I couldn't help myself and wanted to know if I am an Alcoholic or if he Alcoholism is a disease and if this was so, do I have a disease? I narrowed it down by looking back. I am in no way saying that because my mother died of an Alcohol related illness (Cardiomyopathy) that I inherited it. I do however believe that I inherited her behavioural characteristics.

I feel that I suffer from the same addictive nature that my mother had.
I have never done anything in moderation. I used to envy people that sipped the wine while having dinner ( I would have been on my 4th glass by then) everything I do is to the extreme.
Just like my mother. Addicted to nicotine, alcohol, sleeping tablets. A vicious circle.

Now I am addicted to exercise, professional development and recovery

silentrun

For me it means as soon as it hits my system all I want is more. I have no satisfaction point.