Am I an alcoholic??
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 1
Am I an alcoholic??
I guess I come here in desperate search of the definition of Alcoholic. The word makes me cringe. Do I think I am an Alcoholic.....no (I think), do I think I have a problem....yes! My problem is binge drinking I guess is what it is. Do I drink every day, no, but when I do drink, I can't stop....does that make me an alcoholic?? I come from an alcoholic family. I always told myself I would never be like them. I think that trying to prove I am not like them, has made me one of them. Does that make any sense? I can't put the blame of drinking to much on someone else, because it is me who decides to drink or not. Anyways, I am very confused.
I have read some of the posings and I guess I just need help. Do I go to AA or Alanon?
Thoughts would be appreciated!!!
I have read some of the posings and I guess I just need help. Do I go to AA or Alanon?
Thoughts would be appreciated!!!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: north of Boston
Posts: 130
Hi busy and welcome from another newcomer. Busy, I think that if YOU think you have a problem, then you probably do. I know others who are binge drinkers like yourself, and it is just another way of being an alcoholic. Not everybody presents symptoms the same way. I think you should keep visiting this website and make it to a meeting if you can- AA is probably your best bet. That is tough medicine for me to prescribe, since I haven't attended one yet. (I swear, I'm gonna do it!!!!!) So keep your chin up and listen to what the experts on this site have to tell you. Many of them are masters and I have benefitted greatly in knowing there are people like me out there who care so much. Take care, busy bead. Love, Kit 
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,476
Hi Busy,
I came from an alcoholic family too and I tried with all my effort to be as different from them as I could be and, quite suddenly at about 45 years old, I started drinking and kept drinking for 3 years. I couldn't stop. I was devastated to realize what I had done to myself.
And, no you absolutely do not have to drink every day to be an alcoholic, it's about what the alcohol does to you when you drink. Take a look around the site, there's lots of information.
Anna
I came from an alcoholic family too and I tried with all my effort to be as different from them as I could be and, quite suddenly at about 45 years old, I started drinking and kept drinking for 3 years. I couldn't stop. I was devastated to realize what I had done to myself.
And, no you absolutely do not have to drink every day to be an alcoholic, it's about what the alcohol does to you when you drink. Take a look around the site, there's lots of information.
Anna
Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 8,709
Originally Posted by busy_bead
Do I drink every day, no, but when I do drink, I can't stop....does that make me an alcoholic??
Welcome to SoberRecovery.
We make sense of our lives here.
Together.
I'm glad you're here
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: El Paso, Tx
Posts: 5,862
Hi and welcome!
As Dan said only you can decide if you have a problem. But I will say this for thought, normal drinkers don't think about thier drinking. Normal drinkers don't have that internal turmoil about their drinking. Normal drinkers, don't binge, black out, throw up, and get up and do it all over again, be it the next day or a month later.
Should you decide, you WANT to quit, you have many options. AA has helped me and showed me how to remain sober. It's a good feeling to be around people like me, that understand. Al-Anon is for family members of alcoholics. You qualify there as well.
Whatever you decide, we're here to listen and lend support.
As Dan said only you can decide if you have a problem. But I will say this for thought, normal drinkers don't think about thier drinking. Normal drinkers don't have that internal turmoil about their drinking. Normal drinkers, don't binge, black out, throw up, and get up and do it all over again, be it the next day or a month later.
Should you decide, you WANT to quit, you have many options. AA has helped me and showed me how to remain sober. It's a good feeling to be around people like me, that understand. Al-Anon is for family members of alcoholics. You qualify there as well.
Whatever you decide, we're here to listen and lend support.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Toronto,Ontario
Posts: 1,027
busy bead...
Welcome to the forum fellow Canadian eh. I am 28 and an alcoholic...
You sound like me, don't drink day-to-day but had a tendency to binge drink when I did decide to have that first one.. Stopping is nearly impossible, and things only get worse..
This place is awesome for answers and support, stick around, read some more !
TG28
Welcome to the forum fellow Canadian eh. I am 28 and an alcoholic...
You sound like me, don't drink day-to-day but had a tendency to binge drink when I did decide to have that first one.. Stopping is nearly impossible, and things only get worse..
This place is awesome for answers and support, stick around, read some more !
TG28
Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Under The Stars
Posts: 47
I didn't drink everyday either but when I drank, I drank to get drunk, I stopped being able to tell when enough was enough! Eventually, the once in awhile drinking progressed to 4 out of 7 days a week to eventually everyday! Didn't mean for it to happen, it just did! Then it got to the point I didn't know what to do with myself if I didn't drink, very sad!
I consider myself to be an alcoholic, I tried so many times to control the number of drinks I had to convice myself I didn't have a drinking problem! As hard as I tried I just couldn't do it! After about 100 times of trying to drink just a few, I finally figured out I can't have even one. The craving for the buzz starts after the first drink, not before, once I got that first drink in me I didn't stop until I passed out or was very close to it!
I consider myself to be an alcoholic, I tried so many times to control the number of drinks I had to convice myself I didn't have a drinking problem! As hard as I tried I just couldn't do it! After about 100 times of trying to drink just a few, I finally figured out I can't have even one. The craving for the buzz starts after the first drink, not before, once I got that first drink in me I didn't stop until I passed out or was very close to it!
Choosing Life
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: London
Posts: 889
Hi Busy
I'm an alcoholic. Once I start I don't stop. Even after six months of sobriety, that first drink had me, once I have the first one I just crave more and more until I can't drink anymore during that session.
First comes the obsession - I would think about having a drink and that becomes "thought of the day". I couldn't shake it, everything else in life would suddenly become "boring" or "I don't want to do that" or I would subconciously rubbish anything else that didn't involve drinking. This of course would justify the first one - then after the first one the physical compulsion would kick in - just one more, just one more, just one more .......
That's me. I'm an alcoholic.
much love
JC
I'm an alcoholic. Once I start I don't stop. Even after six months of sobriety, that first drink had me, once I have the first one I just crave more and more until I can't drink anymore during that session.
First comes the obsession - I would think about having a drink and that becomes "thought of the day". I couldn't shake it, everything else in life would suddenly become "boring" or "I don't want to do that" or I would subconciously rubbish anything else that didn't involve drinking. This of course would justify the first one - then after the first one the physical compulsion would kick in - just one more, just one more, just one more .......
That's me. I'm an alcoholic.
much love
JC
knucklehead
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: earth
Posts: 694
Busy, it is important to be honest with your self weather or not you are an "alcoholic" or not is up to you. knowing you have a problem controlling your drinking and doing something about it would seem like a wise choice to me. what are you going to do about it? 1) you can stop drinking and live your life as a person who doesnt drink any more or 2) you can continue trying to prove you are not like them by trying to drink with moderation. it sounds to me like #2 has been failing you. do the sensible thing and stop drinking. today is a good day to start your journey as a person who doesnt drink. you can do it. the best advice i can give you is dont drink one day at a time. take charge of your life.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Eastern Massachusetts
Posts: 55
Chy, you said it so well, thanks! What constitutes normal? No matter what we have a problem with, if it's drinking, eating, turning light switches off and on 50 times before we're sure they're off, normal means not only not obsessing about it; it means not even thinking about it. Normality, by its very definition, doesn't even pop up on our internal radar screens.
I "think" about my drinking, I justify it to myself or others, I rationalize it, I make up rules within which I am "sure" I can stay to prove I don't have a problem, that's a hard and fast indicator that I have a problem.
I'm not saying I have the answer to alcoholism- if I did I'd bottle it and sell it and be a gazillionaire. But the first step is that simple question: "Do I have a problem?" Invariably, if I have to ask the question, the answer is "Yes."
I "think" about my drinking, I justify it to myself or others, I rationalize it, I make up rules within which I am "sure" I can stay to prove I don't have a problem, that's a hard and fast indicator that I have a problem.
I'm not saying I have the answer to alcoholism- if I did I'd bottle it and sell it and be a gazillionaire. But the first step is that simple question: "Do I have a problem?" Invariably, if I have to ask the question, the answer is "Yes."
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