Addiction vs. Abuse
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Alberta
Posts: 51
The way it was explained to me by a counsellor I went and saw is that an addict and an abuser are in two different mental states, though an abuser has the danger of becoming addicted. An addict has a mental preoccupation or obsession with the substance, an abuser does not (yet.) This is why some people can drink massive quantities of alcohol and not be labelled alcoholics, while some people drink just above the level of a moderate and would consider THEMSELVES an alcoholic. There's differences in the way they think about it.
And the way I see it, if you're mentally preoccupied with alcohol, you're an alcoholic. I have had enough friends who binge drink and then don't think about it again until the next time that they go clubbing to believe that she's right.
And the way I see it, if you're mentally preoccupied with alcohol, you're an alcoholic. I have had enough friends who binge drink and then don't think about it again until the next time that they go clubbing to believe that she's right.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: liverpool, england
Posts: 1,708
somewhere they say there is a line that can be crossed i think for me the line was when i incressed my drinking from weekend drinking to daily drinking, how did i cross that line ? it was simple on sundays they used to be my drying up days were i wouldnt drink and sit around all hung over all day but that was so i could get back out to work on the monday well it seemed like a good idea to me to take a drink or two on a sunday to remove the ill effects of the booze and being hung over
well of course once i took a drink again i would end up drunk again and then wake up on the monday hung over and going into work as a truck driver
this sort of thing would go on for about a year or so and i would start taking mondays off work as i would be to hung over.
so my drinking had now gone from fri sat drinking to fri sat sunday drinking with sober day now being monday
then of course it seemed like a good idea to have a drink on the monday to stop the ill effects of the drink from the night before
on and on this would go until some how i am drinking and driving in work and i was working for myself as a self employed truck driver my whole liviely hood depended on me being a sober responsible person
it takes time for this thing to get you into it grips it doesnt happen over night and getting drunk and out of my face and then the bad behaviours and the getting caught drunk driving etc it all soon mounts up
so for me i see many people are at different levels of progression hence we can all have a choice of how far down we will go but if you go to far then you will never have that choice as you will be drinking every day and getting drunk and into all sorts of trouble until the pain gets to much and the drink will no longer hide that pain
it just doesnt do it anymore then there is no where to hide but to either face up and seek the help or to carry on and die
i have never met anyone yet who started to drink booze and they were drinking 24 / 7 right from the word go
well of course once i took a drink again i would end up drunk again and then wake up on the monday hung over and going into work as a truck driver
this sort of thing would go on for about a year or so and i would start taking mondays off work as i would be to hung over.
so my drinking had now gone from fri sat drinking to fri sat sunday drinking with sober day now being monday
then of course it seemed like a good idea to have a drink on the monday to stop the ill effects of the drink from the night before
on and on this would go until some how i am drinking and driving in work and i was working for myself as a self employed truck driver my whole liviely hood depended on me being a sober responsible person
it takes time for this thing to get you into it grips it doesnt happen over night and getting drunk and out of my face and then the bad behaviours and the getting caught drunk driving etc it all soon mounts up
so for me i see many people are at different levels of progression hence we can all have a choice of how far down we will go but if you go to far then you will never have that choice as you will be drinking every day and getting drunk and into all sorts of trouble until the pain gets to much and the drink will no longer hide that pain
it just doesnt do it anymore then there is no where to hide but to either face up and seek the help or to carry on and die
i have never met anyone yet who started to drink booze and they were drinking 24 / 7 right from the word go
Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Bethlehem, PA.
Posts: 1,781
Even when my drinking was at its worst I started every binge with the belief that I could shut it off, just stop before it turned into another bender of epic proportions. Even if I could manage some control for a short time it almost always ended the same.
In retrospect it's really amazing how alcohol managed to trick me into believing that the same experiment would somehow yield different results. I guess I believed others came equipped with the piece of the puzzle that allowed their "Off Switch" to work and the only thing I needed to do was find that piece, I never did!
In retrospect it's really amazing how alcohol managed to trick me into believing that the same experiment would somehow yield different results. I guess I believed others came equipped with the piece of the puzzle that allowed their "Off Switch" to work and the only thing I needed to do was find that piece, I never did!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 852
Originally Posted by jdooner 
Denial runs deep...to each their own.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 852
Are people who drink coffee every morning, drug addicts? Caffeine is a drug...but we don't look at coffee drinkers as drug addicts, do we? Some people can't even get there eyes open in the morning without coffee, are those drug addicts who need there "upper", to get by? Perspective is everything...
Adventures In SpaceTime
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 5,827
Caffeine is addictive. So is THC. Doesn't mean this equates to all users of either are drug addicts of course. It also doesn't mean though just because someone who uses THC claims they are okay with their use of it equates to not being addicted.
THC is much less a physical addiction and much more a psychological addiction. Doesn't matter really. THC is powerful enough to have serious consequences. It is not entirely harmless.
THC is much less a physical addiction and much more a psychological addiction. Doesn't matter really. THC is powerful enough to have serious consequences. It is not entirely harmless.
Guest
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: The Deep South
Posts: 14,636
I purposely set out to drink myself into oblivion. I was a binge drinker and didn't drink daily, didn't keep a stash, didn't hide bottles. I planned my life around allowing myself my "right" to drink this way. I never had the shakes, didn't crave it upon waking, didn't have to drink to make it through the day. I was self-employed, had a mortgage, even got married during the worst of my drinking (which was right before I quit). Was I addicted or abusing alcohol? I just don't know how to make that distinction, and it's really not necessary.
On the other hand, I have been arrested for a DUI and I've fought my husband while drunk. I've been in the ER and in the psych unit of a hospital following the ER visit.
I thought I drank to deal with my crazy, dysfunctional childhood. To deal with my alcoholic mother. I guess that is part of the denial.
Most people wouldn't have guessed I was an alcoholic by looking at me. I seemed to hold it together well.
Whether I was a "real alcoholic" or just an alcohol abuser isn't really the point, in my opinion. I think it would've killed me regardless of the reasons why.
I was supremely unhappy. I was raging inside. How I got to that point is undoubtedly attributable to my childhood dysfunction and lots of drinking on top of it. If I wasn't born an alcoholic then I was doing what it took to become one.
On the other hand, I have been arrested for a DUI and I've fought my husband while drunk. I've been in the ER and in the psych unit of a hospital following the ER visit.
I thought I drank to deal with my crazy, dysfunctional childhood. To deal with my alcoholic mother. I guess that is part of the denial.
Most people wouldn't have guessed I was an alcoholic by looking at me. I seemed to hold it together well.
Whether I was a "real alcoholic" or just an alcohol abuser isn't really the point, in my opinion. I think it would've killed me regardless of the reasons why.
I was supremely unhappy. I was raging inside. How I got to that point is undoubtedly attributable to my childhood dysfunction and lots of drinking on top of it. If I wasn't born an alcoholic then I was doing what it took to become one.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 852
Originally Posted by SimplyNothing
The way it was explained to me by a counsellor I went and saw is that an addict and an abuser are in two different mental states, though an abuser has the danger of becoming addicted. An addict has a mental preoccupation or obsession with the substance, an abuser does not (yet.) This is why some people can drink massive quantities of alcohol and not be labelled alcoholics, while some people drink just above the level of a moderate and would consider THEMSELVES an alcoholic. There's differences in the way they think about it.
And the way I see it, if you're mentally preoccupied with alcohol, you're an alcoholic. I have had enough friends who binge drink and then don't think about it again until the next time that they go clubbing to believe that she's right.
And the way I see it, if you're mentally preoccupied with alcohol, you're an alcoholic. I have had enough friends who binge drink and then don't think about it again until the next time that they go clubbing to believe that she's right.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Western ny
Posts: 388
Yes I think it has to do with the mental obsession. At some point I crossed a line from a guy who gets drunk a lot, and when not drinking goes about his life ( abuser) into a guy who gets drunk a lot and when not drinking obsesses about the next time he can drink ( addict)
I guess there's more to it but that was a big sign for me personally
I guess there's more to it but that was a big sign for me personally
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Ontario
Posts: 33
Originally Posted by FeenixxRising
I was never physically addicted to alcohol. I never had to detox or suffer physical withdrawals. I was a binge drinker who drank every 10 days or so. But when I did drink, I always drank until I passed out or I ran out of booze. Once I started I couldn't control myself.
What am I? I don't know the label; I just know my drinking caused be a lot of serious problems.
What am I? I don't know the label; I just know my drinking caused be a lot of serious problems.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 3,359
Originally Posted by Bostonsportsfan
I'm not in denial, I smoke weed. I don't consider weed in the "drug" category and I don't care if you do or not. I use to blow cocaine and molly, eat KP's, acid, mushys, etc. Big difference from smoking weed, if that's considered a "drug", then yes I'm a drug addict. I think only a fool considers stoners, drug addicts. Thank you for wasting my time.
Delusions, illusions, and obsession all equal lies we tell ourselves to remain active.
Who am I to comment on your sobriety or pass judgement? To each their own. I hope you are being honest with yourself though.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,313
Originally Posted by Bostonsportsfan
I think only a fool considers stoners, drug addicts. Thank you for wasting my time.
We just started a new forum:
NEW! Marijuana Addiction - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information
What you do is your business, but what you post here needs to be mindful of our mission, our rules and other members BSF.
Please respect the fact your experience isn't universal.
This really isn't the place for this discussion anyway.
2. Outside Agendas: No posts of an overtly political or religious nature OR posts promoting advocacy of particular personal, medical, legal, religious, political, or non-profit causes. The forums are intended for offering mutual personal support related to recovery from addiction or recovery for family and friends. This is our primary purpose. Debating controversial subjects should be taken elsewhere. Limited references are allowed, but the forums should not be used to convert others. Do not post content or links or materials to and from sites that flame someone's person, religious beliefs, race, national background, sexual orientation, or recovery program/method. It is inappropriate to promote the use of alcohol or drugs on our addiction recovery forums.
Let's all move on.
Thanks all
Dee
Moderator
SR
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 43
I think that there is a PROFOUND difference.
Having lived in a university residence, I have seen thousands of people who abuse alcohol, yet are clearly not alcoholics. It's almost a rite of passage to get drunk and throw up in Duke's Diner around these parts.
Having lived in a university residence, I have seen thousands of people who abuse alcohol, yet are clearly not alcoholics. It's almost a rite of passage to get drunk and throw up in Duke's Diner around these parts.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ireland
Posts: 25,826
Because it was her father she was talking about, there was a bias, sometimes we like the fluffy sounding words, rather than admitting the truth!!
The reality is if he can't stop "abusing" alcohol then under her definition, that puts him in the "alcoholic" category, and so until he tries out seeing if he can stop for a period of time then surely it's simply speculation on her part!!
For me it doesn't matter what we call it, if alcohol is causing consequences in your life, as someone else mentioned if your liver and health is under pressure, there is a problem to be addressed!!
The reality is if he can't stop "abusing" alcohol then under her definition, that puts him in the "alcoholic" category, and so until he tries out seeing if he can stop for a period of time then surely it's simply speculation on her part!!
For me it doesn't matter what we call it, if alcohol is causing consequences in your life, as someone else mentioned if your liver and health is under pressure, there is a problem to be addressed!!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 4,682
Yes a person can abuse alcohol or other drugs and not become dependent. This does not detract from the devastating effects on one's life alcohol abuse can cause even without dependence.
For me now i am sober i can't think why i would ever feel the need to drink or in what circumstance i would be better off with a drink inside me?
At the end of my drinking an issue was how would i ever relax or meet people at social functions without a drink but the reality was i had no interest whatsoever in relaxing or meeting anyone, i just wanted to get hammered!
For me now i am sober i can't think why i would ever feel the need to drink or in what circumstance i would be better off with a drink inside me?
At the end of my drinking an issue was how would i ever relax or meet people at social functions without a drink but the reality was i had no interest whatsoever in relaxing or meeting anyone, i just wanted to get hammered!
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