PuckLuck

Like the title says, I do think there is a big difference. None of this is scientifically proven, mind you. I'm just giving my own opinion.

I always wondered about this topic in meetings. I don't go anymore, which actually has helped believe it or not. I always wanted to drink more after an AA meeting...

I've known a ton of drinking, or party "friends" in my years of drinking, but none like me. I always pushed it way too far or never stopped. I was engaged and I was given an ultimatum. Quit drinking or it's over. I quit for 4 months while smoking weed. She was okay with that (???). Then I started hiding drinks. I was deep in it again. And I guess I didn't care, really.

Some people can give it up if it means a job loss, a love loss, or whatever. Us alcoholics cannot.

boreas

While I agree there is a difference, I believe the two exist on a continuum. Today’s problem drinker is tomorrow’s alcoholic. Just my opinion.

I do disagree with your last statement if I’m reading it right...I think both problem drinkers and alcoholics can leave drinking in the dust. It might be easier for some, and others may need more intervention and help, but I think sobriety is a goal attainable by all.

-bora

PuckLuck

No you're reading it right. Once you've gone that far down the rabbit hole it's got you.

least

It's just a matter of semantics. It doesn't matter what you call it, as long as you're working to correct it.

Surrendered19

I don't think there is a difference Puck. Booze is causing us problems or we are alcoholics and booze is causing us problems. Either way, right? It is like people who might have a problem with something else, like riding bikes. The rest of us normal bike riders don't understand, could never understand, others whose excessive bike riding is causing them problems or who are addicted to bike riding and thus it is causing problems. We'll never understand that right? But both problem bike riders and addicted bike riders likely have the same issues facing them.

Dee74

I'm not much for comparisons but my drinking nearly killed me.
I gave it up, so it's possible Puck

Give yourself the chance to find that out for yourself

D

boreas

PL: I’m afraid what you’re really saying is that you feel sobriety isn’t attainable for you.

If I’m correct, my heart goes out to you. That’s a tough spot to be in.

I also think you’re wrong. Please don’t be offended...it would be a great thing to be wrong about.
-bora

silentrun

I'm not in AA but I've heard something about the phenomenon of craving. That is consistent with my experience. I had to train to be an alcoholic. The difference I noticed before and after breaking my off switch was that craving. I would want the second or third drink more than I wanted the first. I left while I still had the right of refusal over the first drink. The first drink for me was more of compulsion but once alcohol hit my system I couldn't get enough of it. It wasn't always like that.

lessgravity

Nah. Us alcoholics give it up all the time. Takes work, some pain, lots of readjustment, discomfort and strength - but so do many of the best things in life. It's worth it.

nez

Problem drinker or alcoholic? All I really needed to know, was that it was the *****

silentrun

Right? This board is full of people who either have achieved escape velocity or are in the process of it.

Fallow

I have grappled with this question for years. I always found ways to tell myself I was a problem drinker. Definitely not an alcoholic! Because then I would have to quit.

At this point I know that booze has caused me all kinds of problems. And it can cause me many more problems if I keep on drinkin. Up to and including death. Alcoholic or not I think I need to stay away from the stuff.

Ringside

I believe this is a "distinction" that has cost lives, and to be honest it really bothers me when I hear it. How many people never made it to a healthy, sober life because they kept trying to convince themselves that they are "just problem drinkers", not "real alcoholics"? How many people started down the path to sobriety and turned back because they were told they were "just problem drinkers" and not "real alcoholics"? Even if there is a difference, and others have weighed in on that, it is a distinction that causes far more harm than good in my opinion.

ZIP

I think the "problem drinker" label, is simply the kinder, gentler tag. Like saying, "Gee, it seems you have a portion control problem with that Scotch bottle every night".

Derringer

My experience is that the difference is not in the drinking it's in the stopping.

If alcohol really is the problem then what usually happens is that they stop, it's hard at first, but gets progressively easier, life improves, happier, more productive, pretty soon, don't miss it at all and wonder how on earth they ever loved it as much as they did and ride off into the sunset better, more stable and happier sober people. Alcohol was the main problem.

Let's call them "type A"

Then you have the folks who stop, it's just as hard, things might even get good for a while but eventually life grinds away, it gets emotionally draining and joyless ... before long a drink starts to seem like the only way to attain any sort of relief from this horrible existence and boom ... alcohol is going back in, whether the person really wants it to or not. Alcohol is not the main problem. It's the solution to a maladjustment to life.

Let's call them "type B"

The drinking looked the same, the "recovery" .... doesn't.

That's the difference.

C0ntr0ls

They sound the same to me but I try not to over think or think abut drinking. It's simpler that way for me and life is much better.

YMMV

Dee74

I don't think Puck was looking for an 'out' and definitely not trying to start an argument.
I think he was feeling a little despair at being an alcoholic.

D

overforty

I've always tried to put labels on my drinking Puck.
It doesn't matter either way for me - alcohol is ruining my life.
There are a lot of people here that will articulate it better than I can- but all I know is that I want things to change.
It's impossible to do while drunk or hungover all of the time.

DriGuy

This is the way it was for me. I always took that first drink with the best of intentions. There was no sense of self destruction before taking that first drink. Had I taken it knowing I wasn't going to stop until the bottle was empty, it may or may not have made a difference, but at least I would be more aware of what I was doing.

DriGuy

I recognized I was a problem drinker too, at least toward the end. I went to AA, because I was unable to control my drinking. So there I was, sitting in a meeting with a bunch drunks who couldn't control their drinking and had few other places to go for help, and night after night introducing myself with, "Hi I'm DriGuy, and I have a problem with alcohol." Now that was not a lie because I most certainly had a problem with alcohol, but it was also a sin of omission because I was both a problem drinker and an alcoholic. It makes no difference what you call it. You are what you are, and the label doesn't matter, not one bit. So are there actual problem drinkers out there who drink too much but only have problems? I have to admit I have wondered about this before, but now I think it's not worth my attention. I need my attention to fix me, not them.