am i an alcoholic
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 4
am i an alcoholic
hi everyone,
quick intro so everyone knows where we are -
im 24, have been dirnking since i was about 15. for the last 5 months ive only had a dirnk 4 times, and each time got hammered.
my problem has always been that i cnt stop. for a few years my life consisted of driving straight from work on a demo site to the pub, getting slaughtered, and repeating the next day. recvering on the weekend and starting again on the monday.
I cant just have 1 drink. the times when i would only have 4 cans in the fridge, i would purposely not dirnk them until i KNEW i could get more, because just having a couple was like torture.
even now, if i have the best intentions in the world to only have 1 dirnk, only half a lager, it all goes wrong after i get the taste for it. the last 4 occasions have proved that.
i make no presumptions about other people, but i had always assumed an alcoholic was someone who literally needed a drink because they were physically addicted to it. so am i classed as an alcoholic even tho i can go without a drink without suffering withdrawal?
Many thanks for your time and any replies.
Regards,
Tom
quick intro so everyone knows where we are -
im 24, have been dirnking since i was about 15. for the last 5 months ive only had a dirnk 4 times, and each time got hammered.
my problem has always been that i cnt stop. for a few years my life consisted of driving straight from work on a demo site to the pub, getting slaughtered, and repeating the next day. recvering on the weekend and starting again on the monday.
I cant just have 1 drink. the times when i would only have 4 cans in the fridge, i would purposely not dirnk them until i KNEW i could get more, because just having a couple was like torture.
even now, if i have the best intentions in the world to only have 1 dirnk, only half a lager, it all goes wrong after i get the taste for it. the last 4 occasions have proved that.
i make no presumptions about other people, but i had always assumed an alcoholic was someone who literally needed a drink because they were physically addicted to it. so am i classed as an alcoholic even tho i can go without a drink without suffering withdrawal?
Many thanks for your time and any replies.
Regards,
Tom
RIP Sweet Suki
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: In my sanctuary, my home
Posts: 39,871
We cannot tell you if you are an alcoholic. That is something you must determine on your own. I will say that it isn't a matter of how much or how often you drink. It matters how alcohol affects you. If it has caused problems in your life, then that's something you should look at. A person doesn't have to drink every day or even once a week to be alcoholic. Binge drinkers can go days, weeks, sometimes even months without drinking, but when they do drink, they almost always drink more than they intend to. They can't just have one or two drinks and then walk away not wanting more.
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
Hi Tom
There's a lot of members here who'll tell you their problems were more mental than physical.
I couldn't stop either, and when I was anticipating a drink I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Gradually I drank more and more and more, until I drank all day every day.
If it helps, forget the A word for now.
Is your drinking causing you problems? then it makes sense to quit....you've come to the right place - you'll find a lot of support and ideas here
D
There's a lot of members here who'll tell you their problems were more mental than physical.
I couldn't stop either, and when I was anticipating a drink I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Gradually I drank more and more and more, until I drank all day every day.
If it helps, forget the A word for now.
Is your drinking causing you problems? then it makes sense to quit....you've come to the right place - you'll find a lot of support and ideas here
D
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
For now...please put aside the word alcoholic.
Try this instead....If drinking is causeing you concerns and problems
if you feel it's important to keep a supply...
then what if anything are you planning to do to improve your future?
Welcome to SR...
Try this instead....If drinking is causeing you concerns and problems
if you feel it's important to keep a supply...
then what if anything are you planning to do to improve your future?
Welcome to SR...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 4
wow thanks for the quick replies!
i am proud of myself for going 5 months without *really* drinking. I am repeating my fist year of uni, studying chemistry. I took an access course a couple of years ago and here i am. beats labouring all my life
I think i am, or was, what you would call a binge drinker. Im not too hung up on the term alcoholic - but it was last august/september i really got thinking about my drinking, n the more i read on sites liek these, the more i realised ( think deep down i knew but was ignoring it hoping it owuld go away) that actually i did have a problem. I guess i thought brandishing myself an alcoholic was a little extreme? and besides, ive seen enough tv to make me think that once u admit ur an alcoholic, u cant dirnk again. but i never promised myself i wouldnt. safety net i suppose?
i am proud of myself for going 5 months without *really* drinking. I am repeating my fist year of uni, studying chemistry. I took an access course a couple of years ago and here i am. beats labouring all my life
I think i am, or was, what you would call a binge drinker. Im not too hung up on the term alcoholic - but it was last august/september i really got thinking about my drinking, n the more i read on sites liek these, the more i realised ( think deep down i knew but was ignoring it hoping it owuld go away) that actually i did have a problem. I guess i thought brandishing myself an alcoholic was a little extreme? and besides, ive seen enough tv to make me think that once u admit ur an alcoholic, u cant dirnk again. but i never promised myself i wouldnt. safety net i suppose?
Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Livonia, MI
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by tryder 
hi everyone,
quick intro so everyone knows where we are -
im 24, have been dirnking since i was about 15. for the last 5 months ive only had a dirnk 4 times, and each time got hammered.
my problem has always been that i cnt stop. for a few years my life consisted of driving straight from work on a demo site to the pub, getting slaughtered, and repeating the next day. recvering on the weekend and starting again on the monday.
I cant just have 1 drink. the times when i would only have 4 cans in the fridge, i would purposely not dirnk them until i KNEW i could get more, because just having a couple was like torture.
even now, if i have the best intentions in the world to only have 1 dirnk, only half a lager, it all goes wrong after i get the taste for it. the last 4 occasions have proved that.
quick intro so everyone knows where we are -
im 24, have been dirnking since i was about 15. for the last 5 months ive only had a dirnk 4 times, and each time got hammered.
my problem has always been that i cnt stop. for a few years my life consisted of driving straight from work on a demo site to the pub, getting slaughtered, and repeating the next day. recvering on the weekend and starting again on the monday.
I cant just have 1 drink. the times when i would only have 4 cans in the fridge, i would purposely not dirnk them until i KNEW i could get more, because just having a couple was like torture.
even now, if i have the best intentions in the world to only have 1 dirnk, only half a lager, it all goes wrong after i get the taste for it. the last 4 occasions have proved that.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 4
its really to be sober now and not have a constant lingering hangover, and i can remmeber thigns! I always have blackouts wheni drink. im pretty sure i was/am an alcoholic. there wont ever be a day where i can drink sensibly will there? a part of me hates that, but a bigger part of me feels good knowing i wont have to put up with the effects of it anymore. the last 4 times ive had a drink is when ive needed a release. not sure how to get over that feeling without dirnking
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
I don't believe I can ever go back to drinking no.
I have 20 years experience that suggests that's not possible...and in fact probably the greatest part of my recovery was accepting that
There's lots of other things you can do for stress - I find exercise works really well, as does a funny movie or a book...the skys the limit really with what we can do apart from drinking...
D
I have 20 years experience that suggests that's not possible...and in fact probably the greatest part of my recovery was accepting that
There's lots of other things you can do for stress - I find exercise works really well, as does a funny movie or a book...the skys the limit really with what we can do apart from drinking...
D
Tryder!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: New England
Posts: 5,285
Welcome Tryder and Mr. Clean.
I decided that defining myself as an "alcoholic" or not did not help me with being sober (it is however an important realization for many). If i used that definition I would argue with myself over it constantly...."You can't be an alcoholic you have a job, a car, two dogs, never had a DUI,...etc, etc." So I decided I didn't care. The way I define myself now is as a "non-drinker" I embrace it and it makes me happy.
As for dealing with things and need the release of getting drunk...what about exercise instead? Or meditation? Or painting? Boxing? I don't know what will work for you, but there are other ways to deal.
I decided that defining myself as an "alcoholic" or not did not help me with being sober (it is however an important realization for many). If i used that definition I would argue with myself over it constantly...."You can't be an alcoholic you have a job, a car, two dogs, never had a DUI,...etc, etc." So I decided I didn't care. The way I define myself now is as a "non-drinker" I embrace it and it makes me happy.
As for dealing with things and need the release of getting drunk...what about exercise instead? Or meditation? Or painting? Boxing? I don't know what will work for you, but there are other ways to deal.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 4
im over dirnking really. it was easier to stop than i imagined. the last 5 months have been the most sober time for me since i was 16. seriously, i hadnt gone more than a week without drinking or taking drugs, it just never happened. stopped the drugs a few years ago tho.
as for the release, its not that i immediately turn to drink anymore, i can contorl it pretty well i thknk. just get that feeling now n then that u need a blowout if anyone knows what i mean. and also, sometimes im feeling good, had a good day, lovely weather etc, and i get excited thinking about having a few drinks - the last time i drunk that is why, id had a great day at uni and just wanted to top it off with a 'good night' as it were.
i dread to think what damage dirnking has done to my brain tho :'( , im slower than i used to be thats for sure, tho prozac isnt helping that atm either.
as for the release, its not that i immediately turn to drink anymore, i can contorl it pretty well i thknk. just get that feeling now n then that u need a blowout if anyone knows what i mean. and also, sometimes im feeling good, had a good day, lovely weather etc, and i get excited thinking about having a few drinks - the last time i drunk that is why, id had a great day at uni and just wanted to top it off with a 'good night' as it were.
i dread to think what damage dirnking has done to my brain tho :'( , im slower than i used to be thats for sure, tho prozac isnt helping that atm either.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
just get that feeling now n then that u need a blowout if anyone knows what i mean.
Over time tho, I've realised I don't need have those blow outs.
If I manage my life right - learn to deal with stress in healthy ways, set up good boundaries, and keep the right balance - there's nothing to blow out, if you get me?
D
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