roflcopter

Hi all, i'm sure my post look like everyone first few posts, but still would like everyone's 2 cents. I'm in my late 20s, have been drinking for 3 1/2 years. Started off for fun, and was good, would drink most nights 3-5 drinks, sometimes less, sometimes not at all. Then got married about a year ago and divorced with in 2 months, was horrible, at this point i def was abusing alcholl, drinking 7+ drinks a night, did that for about a year. Now that i'm coming out of it, im wondering what i should do. I suddenly woke up one AM and was like ****, i can keep drinking like this now that im through the worst. Now i'm back to skipping days here and there, having a few drinks at dinner, maybe a night out 4+. At the same time, when stressed sometimes i just wan to grab a drink etc....i never had problems drinking in the AM, if there's booze in the house i wont just drink it...my counselor is letting me figure it out my self since i don't seem to be a catastrophic mess at this point....just wanted some advice.

Anna

Hi and Welcome!

Your counsellor is right in that, you need to decide if you have a problem with alcohol or not. Is drinking causing problems in your social life, with your friends, with work? If so, stopping might be an idea. You should know that alcoholism is a progressive disease, and if you are an alcoholic, it will get worse, unless you stop.

roflcopter

to this point, i haven't had any real fall out, a few problems that were more comunications issues, that's partly what bugs me. I have a job where you cant be late, cant be sick and have to be sharp. Im either a very highly functional alcy, or i abused it for a while and am trying to find a balance..

CarolD

From my files.......
Welcome to SR.....

Wolfchild

Welcome to SR

Have alot of experience with going full tilt at self destruction when a relationship ended.
Thank God i have found a program of recovery to help me deal with the pain of life and love!
Keep coming back, you are sure to find some solutions what other people share with you.

joedris

Hi Rof. I suspect that your counselor already knows the answer to your question about you being an alcoholic. But it is something that you have to decide for yourself. I'd say, based on what you posted, that you probably are. Try some AA meetings. They're a lot of help if you're trying to decide. I'd do something now, as you may not yet be a catastrophic mess but are certainly headed in that direction. Quit the insanity while you can.

suki44883

You can always try the test. Give yourself 3 months without a drink and see what happens. If you can do it without any problems, then you most likely aren't an alcoholic. If you can't do it, or it becomes a struggle, then you most likely do have a problem with alcohol.

SurviveIt

Man, that jumped out at me. I'm 40, and, well, let's just say that you can ruin a good career quickly. Give it 5-10 more years of drinking, and if you're still a "highly functional" alkie, you're probably not an alkie. But do you really want to take that chance? I wish I hadn't.

You've already been through a divorce. Was alcohol a factor there? Be honest with yourself.

FYI, non-alcoholics never consider that they might have a problem. It's nowhere to be found in their heads. My ex-wife would have a glass of wine once or twice a month, maybe 2-3 on New Year's Eve. Can you even imagine drinking that little?

keithj

Who decided this was an appropriate test of whether or not one is alcoholic? I'm a AA guy, so I go by the Big Book criteria. But the NIH questionaire is widely used in diagnosis.

I've seen many real alcoholics able to hold their breath for 3 months or longer. When the circumstances and heat are on, many real alcoholics can pull this off. My home area has a fairly progressive drug court system that sends everyone to AA meetings. I've seen a couple hundred people come through that system who are able to abstain for well over a year, only to relapse and go back out full tilt after they graduate the program.

Tazman53

Welcome to SR roflcopter, here is a test that may help you make a decision Alcoholics Anonymous : Is A.A. For You?

The test is pretty useless if you are like me and lied to myself when I first took it years ago. Be brutally honest with your self when taking this test, if you are not sure then err on the side of caution and consider the answer a YES! If you have to think about it you probably are trying to wiggle a NO out of what should have been a YES!

If you catch your self lying to your self when taking that test odds are fairly good you are an alcoholic. A non-alcoholic will breeze right through that test without any hesitation.

Keep in mind that alcoholism is a progressive disease, when I was in my late teens I probably would have answered YES to 3-4 of those questions, 35 years later I answered YES to 11 and if I had drank another year probably I would have aced the test.