Sonky

I was just wondering...what defines a drunk, and am I one? I have gone from trying my best to "what the hell". I have gone from 70-30 in favour of sober to 90-10 against. If I am drinking at least 6 days a week (I know), but still functioning at work...if I don't drink before 4pm...if I don't drink and drive?! BUT if I am putting away 2-3 cartons of beer (24 beers to a carton here) a week?? Am I kidding myself??

BillyPilgrim

I think you know the answer to that. The last person to admit to the problem is the alcoholic. I was exactly like that.

I painted the alcoholic as the drunk in the gutter and as I was sat in my sofa drunk. I was ergo not an alcoholic
Once I disabused myself of that belief I got better. You will too.

Sapling

Welcome to SR Sonky...I'm an alcoholic. And I can say that doesn't sound like normal drinking to me. Just the fact that you are here is a good indicator....Do you think you have a problem with alcohol?

Sonky

You are both right. I will go and cry it out tonight, and tomorrow, I will ... log back in and register my first day sober (that is what I hope). Goodnight!

Sapling

You can post today if you want...There are ways to get better. Why not stop today?

Sapling

Oh...I see you are in Australia.....I just woke up. You're making a good move Sonky.

Scolova

That's a good bit of drinking. My 'must have' for a night was a 12-pack, sometimes I'd be thankful for being to exhausted to drink just a six, but that was rare.
The problem for me came when I could no longer 'work through the hangover'...
At that point I started having major symptoms of withdraw any times when I was not drinking and some issues with DTs (heart palpitations and coming close to having seizures daily) became the norm. I believe it is only a matter of time before the weakest link in the chain reveals itself and the drinker is forced to face the problem or dig the hole deeper. I kept digging for another six years until facing my addiction and taking drastic action was the only choice (aside from a bullet).

hypochondriac

I don't think there is a definition...and to be honest definitions are largely unhelpful. I used to argue with the tick list by either saying 'oh, everyone does that' or 'I don't do that therefore I'm not an alcoholic'. I went back and forth for a long time...I never drank before 6pm, drank mainly beer (in the end) and functioned (I thought) pretty well at work. If you really stop and take a look at your drinking life you may see lots of holes in the 'yay for drinking' vote. In the end, if you carry on drinking it will cause you more problems than it's apparent benefits (Of which there are actually none).

Welcome to SR Sonky x

Seasidegirllau

I read that alcohol is an issue when the benefits of drinking are out weighted by the bad! Personally, i can see no benefits from drinking, only negatives!! I just knew in my head that my drinking habits were not normal, only you know how you feel inside and if alarm bells are ringing...its for a reason. This place helped me realise i had issues!! Welcome :-)

InsertNameHere

I operated drinking my 15 beers give or take every evening for years oblivious to the fact that I at some point I stopped wanting it and started needing it. That is when I tranfered to being a "drunk" or "alcoholic" or "make your own label". Like you I didn't get in trouble I didn't drink and drive, so no problem so I thought. It started becoming a problem after a while but I ignored the signs. Then once I recognized a few signs I thought well alright then why not just "take a break" from it for a while. When I failed miserably at that, i discovered I had a problem. Then I found my way here. Though my drinking was certainly hazardous to my health, no one else gave me the label alcoholic but it was enough for me that I couldn't stop that I wanted to fix it.

So I would ask, is it a problem? If it isn't one (yet) try to stop for a while and see how that works for you. If you can't do that, well perhaps you should rethink if it is a problem or not. Only my suggestion however not fact.

Hope that helps.

Gottalife

There is bad news and bad news. I relate very closely to the phenomenon of craving. I didn't drink to a regular pattern, juts that whenever I took one drink, an all powerful craving took over and I would drink for several days until too sick to continue, or I ran out of money. All other responsibilities went out the window. This phenomenon only occurs in alcoholics of my type and NEVER in any other type of drinker. So if this is you... bad news.

I was tallking to an old friend with about 40 yrs sobriety through AA. He lives in a mall city where everyone knows everyone else. We talked about those "heavy" drinkers we always saw in the pub. Big guys, came in almost every night, stayed for three or four hours, drank 8 or 10 pints, and go home to their wives - dinners in the oven! These guys weren't alcoholics, they never had the problems we had, they lead steady lives, routine, boring even. They never lost the power of choice. In fact I often wished I was like them, but I've changed my mind.

You see these guys started dying in their fifties, heart and liver disease mostly, no doubt due to their heavy alcohol intake. So more bad news, if you're not an alcoholic but just a heavy drinker, you'll probably die young. Sheesh, you just can't win!

Being a sober alcoholic seems not so bad afterall.

Dee74

Hi Sonky

sometimes I think it's best to forget about the label and ask yourself - is my drinking causing me problems? has it done damage to me or my relationships? am I worried about my drinking? Am I unhappy? Do I think I could better with my life?

If the answer to any of these is yes, then I think you're in the right place here

Welcome

D

soberbythesea

I drank 7 days a week
It never interfered with my job or my driving
and I never drank before 4 pm either, well unless I was on vacation.

But I drank 5-6 drinks on average per night, never less than 3, and on weekends it was more like somewhere between 8 and 12. For a smallish woman like me, that's pretty significant. And recently I had been getting really hammered on the weekends.

If you ask me, that is a huge problem, if you ask my husband, apparently it's fine.

I guess the thing to ask yourself is: Is your drinking causing you problems? Are you drinking at a level that's harmful to your health (sounds like it)? Are you able to moderate your drinking.

For me the answers were yes, yes, no and that's why I've quit.

SteppingItUp

That's me. I needed to experience major changes from within. AA's 12 steps have gotten me there. Without the kind of recovery I've found, I'd be dead.

These 2 factors are at the core of what i need to know to be able to diagnose myself as alcoholic or not.

Does the quote describe your drinking?

Sapling

It sure hits the nail on the head for my drinking.

dscottnmel

My own personal definition for myself would be the insane jealousy of those around me who don't drink.

LosingmyMisery

Trying to wrap my head around this. What defines a drunk is what others think of your drinking? Especially those who don't drink? I am an alcoholic. I drank a sea of booze. I can honestly say that I'm not jealous of anyone else's drinking. I don't wish to drink.

soberbythesea

I read dscottnmel's post a bit differently... Thought s/he was trying to express that s/he is jealous of nondrinkers. Not that anyone is jealous of anyone else's drinking.

sugarbear1

One drink per night for females, 2 for males. One drink equals 12 ounces of beer or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

Anything more than this is heavy drinking. The damage done to your body may not show for years, but it's being damaged.

Only you can decide if you are an alcoholic or not.

dscottnmel

Yes, the point I reached is that I resented the fact that I was drinking and didn't live the life of those who.don't drink.