So, please tell me, am I seriously classified as an alcoholic?
Hi JTele, glad you here this is a great place. According to "the professionals" I'm not an alcoholic, I was a problem drinker; according to some I'm not an alcoholic because I was able to quit/recover and stay this way for 3.5 yrs so far w/o any type of formal program and I never had any cravings before nor since and didn't really have any withdrawal symptoms; however, drinking was a problem for me and I have no doubt that if I drank again it would again be a problem and possibly worse so I choose to not go there. I've been coming to SR for 2 yrs and yes there are a lot of people here whose problems were much worse than mine and often in reading their stories I realize how lucky I was that I didn't "get that bad" and it reinforces my resolve to never drink again; there's also a lot of people here whose problems were less than mine but either way there are great people here who I can relate to as we all have the same desire to not drink.
So good for you on 30 days of freedom!
So good for you on 30 days of freedom!
So good for you on 30 days of freedom!
JTele, wise decision!
For what it's worth (and there is utterly no doubt I'm an alcoholic) most people in my recent life would be surprised if they knew. I hid it extremely well.
You are both lucky and smart; 'grats on 30 days.
For what it's worth (and there is utterly no doubt I'm an alcoholic) most people in my recent life would be surprised if they knew. I hid it extremely well.
You are both lucky and smart; 'grats on 30 days.
You are the only one who can determine if you are an alcoholic.
Regardless, if drinking is causing you problems, not drinking is the only sure way to change things. Kudos to you for questioning, reaching out, and being sober today.
Regardless, if drinking is causing you problems, not drinking is the only sure way to change things. Kudos to you for questioning, reaching out, and being sober today.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 1,591
JTele, I would probably stick with what you describe toward the end of the original post, where you describe the resolve you reached, whether you had the label alcoholic in front of you or not.For the time being at least, until you have more of it figured out.
I haven't been "diagnosed" one, but I have been taken for one here. I say that I am and I explain why in some of my posts. It had been something I wondered (kind of knew) for several years. A lot of people give their drinking issues strength by tucking the question away. I know that's what I did, I just drank on top of the question so I didn't have to deal with it. I think my quitting was probably a lot easier than it might have been because I went with "I'm an alcoholic" and didn't give myself any loopholes. I don't know if the quitting is forever, when you look at it literally (how am I supposed to know that?), but it's the way it is for now. I think it's been a little more than 15 months now and I don't want to go back to it.
I noticed a number of things in your post that resembled my situation. I wouldn't be identical (I don't have kids, for example), but there are similarities. After a period of being more of a partier with heavy intake in addition to the consistent everyday drinking (after an earlier period of drinking once in a while), I settled into just a steady drinker, but it was a little heavier than your regular intake, I think, and probably with fewer days when I would go without (those were few and far between, for sure).
But aside from the quantity and the frequency, there was a relationship with the drinking that amounts to what I am calling my alcoholism (or drug addiction, in the larger sense). It neutralized feelings to some degree and regulated ups and downs and gave me an illusion of strength and staying power; some extra gregariousness; some more "character" or expressive ability....And I don't mean WHILE drinking, I mean the ongoing routine of keeping it in my system contributed to all those things. It made me more depressed at times, but there was a buzz to make me forget about that. But I gues I reached a point where I couldn't take all the negatives anymore, and the nerve it gave me was going too far and the mood swings too scary; the depression too rough. And I wanted to quit drinking. It wasn't at a point when I was at my most depressed or "disadvanatged" at all, but I haven't been letting that confuse me. There was a desire to quit drinking that became bigger than the desire to drink, so I seized that while it was ready for the taking, and kept going.
Anyway, that's where I come from.
Good luck as you work through your own path on this.
I haven't been "diagnosed" one, but I have been taken for one here. I say that I am and I explain why in some of my posts. It had been something I wondered (kind of knew) for several years. A lot of people give their drinking issues strength by tucking the question away. I know that's what I did, I just drank on top of the question so I didn't have to deal with it. I think my quitting was probably a lot easier than it might have been because I went with "I'm an alcoholic" and didn't give myself any loopholes. I don't know if the quitting is forever, when you look at it literally (how am I supposed to know that?), but it's the way it is for now. I think it's been a little more than 15 months now and I don't want to go back to it.
I noticed a number of things in your post that resembled my situation. I wouldn't be identical (I don't have kids, for example), but there are similarities. After a period of being more of a partier with heavy intake in addition to the consistent everyday drinking (after an earlier period of drinking once in a while), I settled into just a steady drinker, but it was a little heavier than your regular intake, I think, and probably with fewer days when I would go without (those were few and far between, for sure).
But aside from the quantity and the frequency, there was a relationship with the drinking that amounts to what I am calling my alcoholism (or drug addiction, in the larger sense). It neutralized feelings to some degree and regulated ups and downs and gave me an illusion of strength and staying power; some extra gregariousness; some more "character" or expressive ability....And I don't mean WHILE drinking, I mean the ongoing routine of keeping it in my system contributed to all those things. It made me more depressed at times, but there was a buzz to make me forget about that. But I gues I reached a point where I couldn't take all the negatives anymore, and the nerve it gave me was going too far and the mood swings too scary; the depression too rough. And I wanted to quit drinking. It wasn't at a point when I was at my most depressed or "disadvanatged" at all, but I haven't been letting that confuse me. There was a desire to quit drinking that became bigger than the desire to drink, so I seized that while it was ready for the taking, and kept going.
Anyway, that's where I come from.
Good luck as you work through your own path on this.
I was 'diagnosed' as an alcoholic according to my counselor's evaluation.
I'd rather have a label at this point, otherwise I'd say to myself I don't have a problem and drink again. I want to stay far away from that thought...36 days so far...!
It's funny...my counselor said years ago he was in a waiting room with a Readers Digest. Inside was a 'test' that read "Are you an alcoholic". Well, he had time to kill and started the test then thought only a problem drinker would even consider reading the test.
Do you think a social drinker would stop on that page? LOL
So...finding yourself on an addiction site must have some validity.
Wishing you the best of luck.
I'd rather have a label at this point, otherwise I'd say to myself I don't have a problem and drink again. I want to stay far away from that thought...36 days so far...!
It's funny...my counselor said years ago he was in a waiting room with a Readers Digest. Inside was a 'test' that read "Are you an alcoholic". Well, he had time to kill and started the test then thought only a problem drinker would even consider reading the test.
Do you think a social drinker would stop on that page? LOL
So...finding yourself on an addiction site must have some validity.
Wishing you the best of luck.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 344
I'm an alanon person who drank heavily with my exh for about 6-7 years.
I didn't experience any physical withdrawal when I quit drinking which was almost everyday. I still drink socially and don't consider myself alcoholic.
I think 3 weeks of withdrawal symptoms sounds serious to me--whatever you want to call that!
I wouldn't get the idea in my head after withdrawal symptoms that I could drink again. If I had had withdrawal symptoms--I never would have touched the stuff again.
Congrats on your sobriety!
I didn't experience any physical withdrawal when I quit drinking which was almost everyday. I still drink socially and don't consider myself alcoholic.
I think 3 weeks of withdrawal symptoms sounds serious to me--whatever you want to call that!
I wouldn't get the idea in my head after withdrawal symptoms that I could drink again. If I had had withdrawal symptoms--I never would have touched the stuff again.
Congrats on your sobriety!
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