12skiptomylue

I'm sorry if you are getting sick of me. But, I just read an article that made a lot of sense to me.

It basically said that there is a difference between alcohol abuse/problem drinking/alcohol program versus alcoholism. The difference is withdrawal symptoms and physical dependence.

All of a sudden, I felt like this clicked for me. I didn't understand that there could be a difference.

I think I have an alcohol problem, and an emotional dependency on it. I don't believe I'm an alcoholic.

I do think it is a big step for me to say that I have an alcohol problem though.

BillyPilgrim

that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

does it matter?

Sapling

I had an alcohol problem too...The problem was...I was an alcoholic.

Sapling

And I'll never get sick of you skip...

Dominica2

Skip, I also had an alcohol problem that spiraled into chronic alcoholism. I urge you to look at your situation and ask yourself if alcohol has made anything better, compared to worse anywhere in your life. Alcoholism is progressive. It sneaks up on you and grabs ahold of you like a boa constrictor. Only you can decide if you are an alcoholic. Best wishes to you.

12skiptomylue

Thanks Sapling

I come from a clinical background, and I got technical, and looked up the DSM diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse vs. dependence. I would fit under the alcohol abuse category, but not the dependence category because I don't have any withdrawal symptoms. So, because of that, I'm not comfortable calling myself an alcoholic. That's all I was trying to say. I'm not trying to argue semantics, but I also don't want to be a "faker", and say I'm something I'm not.

justhadenough

I don't think names or labels matter. If you have a problem you have a problem. It is the effect of alcohol. the consequences etc that matter. Using/not using labels to convince ourselves we are ok and don't really have a problem to convince ourselves it is ok to keep drinking isn't really going to help in the long run. I haven't read your previous posts but as many have said to me-if you think you have a problem then you probably do.

dorito281211

As Joe and Charlie pointed out to me, "what set us alcoholics apart from problem drinkers, heavy drinkers etc is the obsession of the mind". Can't drink like normal people do, and obsess out drinking, we have the "allergy" to alcohol that triggers something within us.
I caution you or anyone trying to find excuses for why you aren't or are an alcoholic, one day, it will be clear. Hopefully it won't cost you everything to find that out.

heath480

I always thought of myself as a drunk,Alcoholic was a posh word for me.Makes no difference what label I give myself,I cant drink Alcohol full stop.

dorito281211

I didnt have DTs either, and I wondered if I was alcoholic or not. I got minor shakes and jitteriness, etc, but I wanted to (and sometimes still do) want a drink. There is NO DOUBT I'm an alcoholic.
Don't wait until your drinking is so bad that when you stop you get DTs.

Sapling

If you are looking for a reason to not get involved with AA...I think you mentioned before you wouldn't go because you thought you would be a fake?...The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking...If you have that...You're in...I had a guy in this morning's meeting that introduced himself like this......I'm ***** and I'm a member of Alcoholics Anonymous...He has 14 years in the program. Maybe he doesn't like to call himself an alcoholic either...But he hasn't had a drink in 14 years.

hypochondriac

This is something that interests me a lot... I never wanted to be labelled an alcoholic and, in my early stages of seeking help, fear of this slowed me down. I was called 'alcohol dependant' by a counsellor specializing in addiction because I drank every day. She had no way of knowing the state of my physical dependence seeing as I had not at that point tried to not drink, therefore I'm not quite sure how it would be possible to label according to physical dependence. As it turns out I had very few withdrawal symptoms when I actually quit so I was probably not that dependent physically. But I know if I started drinking I would overdo it. Therefore I have to admit I have a 'problem'/ am an 'alcoholic' in order to remind myself that I can't drink normally any more. I also know that years ago I did not have as many negative effects caused by my drinking and that these increased as time went on. Drinking is definitely progressive. While I was debating with myself whether or not I had a problem my drinking got steadily worse. One of the things I never quite grasped is that thing people always say that 'only you can tell if you have a drinking problem'. In my years of hoping someone else would take responsibility I could never see why someone couldn't just say 'yep, you've got a problem, better stop now'.

But now I ignore all the labels. People tend to want to put themselves in boxes, but it's irrelevant really. Call yourself whatever it is that makes you do the best for you and ignore what anyone else says.

OCDDan

Hi Skip!, here's my take,, Some people are born alcoholic's (like me), for other people, it's a learned condition. so if you drink long enough, you too could become an alcoholic, just my 2 cents of course.. the stigma with the word alcoholic is just that, who cares what they call it, we like booze (or something like that). I'm not an AA'er, but it ain't that bad, you hear some pretty horrific stuff there and good stuff. they love new people and you can usually camp out in the back and they'll leave you alone, not that i think you would go to AA, i think your figuring out if can still drink..

Anna

Skip, I'm not sure why the wording is an issue for you.

If you're not an alcoholic, then drinking or not drinking shouldn't be a problem for you. And, I'm happy for you that you're not dealing with addiction as most of us here are.

Sapling

That may be why you had limited success with it Dan..

OCDDan

close, actually i didn't want to stop, court ordered you know

langkah

If you wait a little bit you can avoid labelling yourself an 'alcohol abuser', which makes you sound a bit violent and scary to my ears.

The good news is the DSM-V recommendation is to subsume the wording of the condition formerly known as alcoholism or alcohol abuse to 'Alcohol-Use Disorder'.

So in a matter of weeks or months you could tell people you have AUD, and they would figure you were just currency trading in Australian Dollars.

sugarbear1

If, when you stop drinking, life is wonderful, then alcohol was the problem.

If, when you stop drinking, life is horrible, it's alcoholism, then you are the problem in the way life is viewed & reacted to; there is another solution to that, too.

desertsong

Abuse is where it all begins. Keep going and it becomes dependence and then full-blown alcoholism. You are spending so much time thinking about your drinking/not drinking, alcoholic/non-alcoholic, quitting/not quitting ... people without a problem simply don't do that. If they decide they don't want to drink anymore, they just don't. End of story. No mental gymnastics, no obsessing over labels, no "do I or don't I?" waffling. It's just a done deal.

I say this not to be hard on you but because your thinking right now is exactly the same as mine was. It was always, "I'm not as bad as some people." "I can quit any time I want to ... I just don't want to." "I'm just a 'problem drinker,' not a full-blown alcoholic." Yeah, right. Using those rationalizations, my "problem drinking" became full-blown alcoholism in just a few short years. If I'd done something about it when I had that very first inkling I was in trouble, I might have saved myself and my loved ones a WHOLE lot of grief.

Your commitment to getting 30 days is huge, and I hope you are proud of yourself for doing that. It will teach you a lot ... especially if you aren't able to do it. My fervent hope and prayer for you is that you CAN do it but I have to ask you this: if you do get 30 days, then what will you do? Decide "I got this" and figure you can start drinking in "moderation," or will you keep going? Good questions to be asking yourself now, in the beginning. Keep AA in mind too - I really do think it will be an eye-opening, educational experience for you.

Nobody here is sick of you, I promise. We just want to help and I'm glad you're coming here for some answers rather than trying to figure it all out yourself. That's what we're here for. Keeping you in my prayers for a successful and sober 30 days.

sugarbear1

My dependence was mental only. hmmmm. I had no "withdrawal symptoms," maybe I'm a fake alcoholic? seriously. no withdrawal or physical dependence. I'm a real alcoholic, though.