Lionhearted1

I Read on the newcomers forum regularly questions about differences between heavy drinkers, alcoholics, alcoholism, alcohol abusers, chronic alcoholism, alcohol addicts etc.
I just want to give my opinion after years of reading many books and studying alcoholism, from attending AA to participating in RR and having lived with it daily.
Alcohol is a drug in liquid form it does not matter what way we market it, make it taste or justify it, it’s a drug. If you are going out once a week and abusing alcohol ie drinking to black out, falling over, getting alcohol poisoning you will face the consequences from it does not matter if you think you are a heavy drinker or not alcohol does not care what you label yourself it will kill you just like it will kill an alcohol dependant person.
If a so called heavy drinker, drinks once or twice a week on Friday and consumes 20-30 units a time that is 2 to 3 bottles of wine or 8 to 10 pints of 5% beer over a 10-20 year period that is more than enough to cause some serious health problems or possible death. Now if this heavy drinker gets cirrhosis of the liver and dies would you still say “oh he was just a heavy drinker?” I would say that they were an alcoholic who was addicted to drink and thought they was a heavy drinker because somewhere someone decided that a heavy drinker is different from being a an alcoholic so they never sort help! I know I will get the disease theory and gene theory replies back but my response is show me one scientifically proven case of this. It’s just theory & opinion. I do know however that if you drink for long enough and hard enough the alcohol will eventually mutate your cells and you will then be fully alcohol dependant and completely unable to control your consumption, but this could happen even if you were just a heavy drinker given enough drink & time.
Iam an alcoholic & heavy drinker there is no question about that I have taken all online test and scored top marks I have years of pain and experience, but I never once drunk in the morning or lost days due to black out. I have in fact changed drinking habits in the past from daily drinking to weekly binges, but that is all irrelevant! If once you have consumed a certain amount of alcohol you find it nearly impossible to then control how much you will end up drinking. You have a problem and it does not matter what you call it!!!

escapist

That is what Under the Influence points out.

Hollyanne

And I see Lionhearted getting sober.

The house is on fire, the screams are coming from the upstairs bedroom, and everyone stands around wondering, "How in the name of ham sandwich, did the fire start??????"

"I wonder how many more houses are built with the same materials?"

"What kind of electrics are involved?"

Yup, Just put the fire out already.

Lionhearted1

That's good hollyanne... Lol

AlisonW

At this point, I don't care what label someone wants to assign to me... when I drink, bad things happen, and that will never change. So I don't drink anymore, ever. Getting wrapped up in definitions will only hurt me and confuse my sobriety and open the door for bargaining and relapse. So call me whatever you like! As long as I don't lose sight of the most important truth - that I can never drink again - it really doesn't matter.

jazzfish

All I know is that drinking was making my life miserable and I seemed unable to stop drinking. That is all I need to know.

Leo17

I am 29 and have been drinking pretty heavy since 21. Mostly extreme binging on the weekends. I have noticed some serious physiological changes, particularly in my throat. I feel like my throat and heart area have become clogged up, for lack of a better word. My voice is a lot less powerful than it once was. I am in sales and this is particularly important in my line of work.

The suffering I feel after drinking has become very intense. Depression, anxiety, isolation. Time to change my lifestyle or my lifestyle is going to keep changing me for the worse.

I've realized I need to substitute booze with something else. The gym, sports, hobbies, something. Because I know when friday night rolls around I am going to be wanting to fill that hole with alcohol that I have for the last 8 years.

A lot of us are in the same boat. I'm thankful for like minded individuals who also understand. Just wanted to vent.

guskasb14

I learned this weekend especially that alcohol doesnt discriminate. I thought I was different, and I am not. If I am, it is ever so excepting of whoever I am. Its the mistress when I need it to be, and its the excitement when I needed it to be. Whatever we can call it, i decided it was a bad relationship myself and alcohol.......Through in the towel yesterday, filed for a divorce from it......It is my future ex wife.....

Fallow

I totally agree. Im an alcoholic with a drinking problem. I took a test recently where a 5 indicated a drinking problem, I scored a 33.

The good news is I don't have any problem with alcohol thats not in my body.