Am I an alcoholic or not?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 61
Am I an alcoholic or not?
Once my father died I was on 2 litres of whiskey a night, I cut down but I dont feel a "need" for alcohol like if someone put alco infront of me right now I would not feel a need to drink it whatsoever, I do not wake up gasping for alcohol infact I plan my alcohol intake around night time when I enjoy it the most.
I have been told my nurses technically I am not an alcoholic but use it as an escape type of thing.. they are right I use it to forget my problems and to zone out of normal thinking, not to get hammered and have a good time.
I also have one hell of a temper which I also use alcohol to supress or it may land me in trouble with the law if I don't, not an excuse just an explaination.. I am kind of in limbo here, am I not or am I?
Without alco to me means boredom and possibiliy some annoying physical symptons like harder to go asleep, I won't be running to the nearest alco seller for a fix but I don't like the bad side effects either.. I may be a bit of a 50/50
Any guidance is welcome.
I have been told my nurses technically I am not an alcoholic but use it as an escape type of thing.. they are right I use it to forget my problems and to zone out of normal thinking, not to get hammered and have a good time.
I also have one hell of a temper which I also use alcohol to supress or it may land me in trouble with the law if I don't, not an excuse just an explaination.. I am kind of in limbo here, am I not or am I?
Without alco to me means boredom and possibiliy some annoying physical symptons like harder to go asleep, I won't be running to the nearest alco seller for a fix but I don't like the bad side effects either.. I may be a bit of a 50/50
Any guidance is welcome.
Recovering
Join Date: May 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 1,361
Hi Guyver,
Sounds like you have trouble functioning well, sleeping properly, and facing up to and enjoying life, without alcohol. What name you give that is up to you, but it does seem that you have let alcohol become a key part of your life that you really don't want to let go of.
The thing is, it needn't be that way - you can function well (if not better), sleep well (if not better) and face up to and enjoy life as well (if not more) once you've learned and adjusted, over a period of time, to live without alcohol. You'll also have more money :-)
I didn't need alcohol either (none of us do - it's not like air, food or water). But I wanted it enough that it became a normal part of dealing with life, or rather I used it to put off dealing with bits of life - I too used it to "zone out", to relax until I couldn't relax well without it. I also planned my alcohol drinking for evenings. I too was never a morning drinker, and didn't drink every single day, but that didn't mean that alcohol hadn't become totally entwined in my life.
God luck, and God bless, in whatever you decide.
Sounds like you have trouble functioning well, sleeping properly, and facing up to and enjoying life, without alcohol. What name you give that is up to you, but it does seem that you have let alcohol become a key part of your life that you really don't want to let go of.
The thing is, it needn't be that way - you can function well (if not better), sleep well (if not better) and face up to and enjoy life as well (if not more) once you've learned and adjusted, over a period of time, to live without alcohol. You'll also have more money :-)
I didn't need alcohol either (none of us do - it's not like air, food or water). But I wanted it enough that it became a normal part of dealing with life, or rather I used it to put off dealing with bits of life - I too used it to "zone out", to relax until I couldn't relax well without it. I also planned my alcohol drinking for evenings. I too was never a morning drinker, and didn't drink every single day, but that didn't mean that alcohol hadn't become totally entwined in my life.
God luck, and God bless, in whatever you decide.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 245
Whether or not others think you are an alcoholic is irrelevant, and we really cant answer that question for you. What matters is if you think you have a problem yourself, and I believe you think you have somewhat of a problem, otherwise you wouldn't be asking the question.
Alcoholism is very much progressive, and a lot of people here who openly admit they do have a problem with alcohol will tell you that they started off just as you are describing.
From what I've read, you do seem to rely a fair bit on alcohol in your day-to-day life, regardless of your lack of cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Does this concern you at all?
RQ
Alcoholism is very much progressive, and a lot of people here who openly admit they do have a problem with alcohol will tell you that they started off just as you are describing.
From what I've read, you do seem to rely a fair bit on alcohol in your day-to-day life, regardless of your lack of cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Does this concern you at all?
RQ
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,439
Hi again Guyver
I'm not being a wise guy when I recommend you read some of your past threads again.
Forget about what you 'are' or not - alcohol's clearly not good for you.
Have you thought about not drinking at all?
D
I'm not being a wise guy when I recommend you read some of your past threads again.
Forget about what you 'are' or not - alcohol's clearly not good for you.
Have you thought about not drinking at all?
D
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
I have found that the term "alcoholic" has no clear definition. It is used to describe a wide variety of behaviors. I am not sure how useful it is.
If your drinking is a problem FOR YOU, then your drinking is a problem. It doesn't really matter what the rest of us call it.
If your drinking is a problem FOR YOU, then your drinking is a problem. It doesn't really matter what the rest of us call it.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5,678
The alcoholic question will drive you insane. I have met very few stereotypical alcoholics anyway, the majority of them were just normal people with jobs who drank in the evening, like I did. I don't even think the point is what happens to you when you drink, it could be what happens to you when you don't. When I didn't drink I didn't sleep well, I was angry and snappy, I had a busy head and I thought I'd go nuts if I didn't 'zone out' at some point. But all of these things were actually caused by the alcohol itself. Sometimes we credit alcohol with things it actually causes so we can justify drinking it. Sober I sleep really well and have this oddly calm head... Have you thought about experimenting with sobriety, just for the hell of it? What have you got to lose? x
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Pine Grove, PA
Posts: 146
I cannot answer your question. I can only give a definition of Alcoholism that seems to fit most Alcoholics---Alcoholism is the only self diagnosed disease that continuously tells me I do not have it....
Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,279
Please get some help, you are not alone & we are all here with you on this one. I am sorry to hear what happened to your father, you can get help with this & quitting. Yes, I believe you are an alcoholic if that helps you. Take Care ~ NB
From your first post Dec 15 2012:
From your first post Dec 15 2012:
Originally Posted by Guyver 
I drink to numb the feelings of guilt and to forgot the past for a little while, also to a lesser extent to stop the shake. Sometimes when I drink I have a great night chatting to friends online, watching a film and generally relaxing.... other times.... I remember slights/insults/malicious moves that were directed torwards me from others and then all hell breaks loose.
My urge is to "make them pay" and that over writes all other parts of my personality, I have made death threat facebook messages, death threat phone calls and physically intimidated an elderly couple all while drunk. My neighbourhood fears me I am in my mid 20's and the only person who can physically "stop me" tells me I am very intimidating while drunk that I don't look like a normal moron shouting but look like I could kill somebody if approached the wrong way.
I have many regrets. like throwing a table at my elderly father or my own drunken rampages actually drove him to drinking and now he has recently died and my drinking has skyrocketed because of this - he died in misery because of me and now I do 2 litres of vodka a night as my only release as yes I know that would kill an elephant eventually but the guilt over my drunken actions makes me half want it to happen.
I used to be a happy drunk until my life turned to crap after false allegations were made by an ex girlfriend with a grudge which wrongly turned me into a local hate figure (before drinking). I used to go to college, have a girlfriend and take care of my appearence and now I just hope I woke up to night time for some peace from the general population after a drunken passout which I do every night... if I continue this way I will kill somebody with drink in me or else be killed myself by the self defence of others.
I first realised I had a problem when the first thing I thought of in the morning was "do I think have drink to do me all day?" and got alcohol withdrawl symptoms.. not pretty. I am actually drinking as I type this and probably would not have done so without the drink and I am a ticking time bomb for myself and others but alcohol is my only release from my daily misery I wake up to so I am stuck between 2 fires. Any and all advice is welcome
My urge is to "make them pay" and that over writes all other parts of my personality, I have made death threat facebook messages, death threat phone calls and physically intimidated an elderly couple all while drunk. My neighbourhood fears me I am in my mid 20's and the only person who can physically "stop me" tells me I am very intimidating while drunk that I don't look like a normal moron shouting but look like I could kill somebody if approached the wrong way.
I have many regrets. like throwing a table at my elderly father or my own drunken rampages actually drove him to drinking and now he has recently died and my drinking has skyrocketed because of this - he died in misery because of me and now I do 2 litres of vodka a night as my only release as yes I know that would kill an elephant eventually but the guilt over my drunken actions makes me half want it to happen.
I used to be a happy drunk until my life turned to crap after false allegations were made by an ex girlfriend with a grudge which wrongly turned me into a local hate figure (before drinking). I used to go to college, have a girlfriend and take care of my appearence and now I just hope I woke up to night time for some peace from the general population after a drunken passout which I do every night... if I continue this way I will kill somebody with drink in me or else be killed myself by the self defence of others.
I first realised I had a problem when the first thing I thought of in the morning was "do I think have drink to do me all day?" and got alcohol withdrawl symptoms.. not pretty. I am actually drinking as I type this and probably would not have done so without the drink and I am a ticking time bomb for myself and others but alcohol is my only release from my daily misery I wake up to so I am stuck between 2 fires. Any and all advice is welcome
Recovering
Join Date: May 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 1,361
Guyver,
You say you use alcohol to suppress anger, but you've also said "Drinking usually made me hellbent on revenge for past wrongs done on me, real or imagined. Even something as simple as a friend calling me a name I didn't like about 3 years ago made me want to rip their throat out, needless to say I got into lots of trouble with the law and at my lowest.. mental health services."
It's hard to see, from this and your other posts (especially the post NewBeginnings copied above), how your relationship with alcohol can be a healthy one. Why not give sobriety a serious go for long enough to get over the insomnia and other undesirable effects of early-days sobriety? What's there to lose?
You say you use alcohol to suppress anger, but you've also said "Drinking usually made me hellbent on revenge for past wrongs done on me, real or imagined. Even something as simple as a friend calling me a name I didn't like about 3 years ago made me want to rip their throat out, needless to say I got into lots of trouble with the law and at my lowest.. mental health services."
It's hard to see, from this and your other posts (especially the post NewBeginnings copied above), how your relationship with alcohol can be a healthy one. Why not give sobriety a serious go for long enough to get over the insomnia and other undesirable effects of early-days sobriety? What's there to lose?
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: NJ
Posts: 139
Those nurses were misinformed. Drinking in excess for any reason, especially to escape stress or problems in your life, is a definite sign of alcoholism or alcohol abuse. If alcohol is affecting your life negatively, it doesn't matter how you define yourself, it's still an issue that needs addressing.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Cleveland
Posts: 26
It sounds as if you are an alcoholic, you probably have just not progressed to the point of full addiction. Continue drinking and it will happen. Try stopping cold turkey and if this is difficult for you, then I think your question will be answered. Nonalcoholics can choose to drink or not drink without even thinking about it and have no mental or physical symptoms if they do not drink. I am not an alcoholic but my wife is in recovery and we have discussed the differences between alcoholic and nonalcoholic thinking in depth, and your reasoning does point in the direction of being an alcoholic.
Marchia in Aeternum
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Georgia
Posts: 11,094
Well, if the same person wrote the original post and the post quoted, I'd say yes that person is an alcoholic. In the last few months, his disease has taken control and is justifying every bad behavior acted out in order to keep drinking. The December post is remorseful. The March post full of excuses and enabling.
Here, we can give you support, advice, and a place to sound off. That's about all a bunch of anonymous electrons can do for you. You need to look for some real help.
Here, we can give you support, advice, and a place to sound off. That's about all a bunch of anonymous electrons can do for you. You need to look for some real help.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada. About as far south as you can get
Posts: 4,768
Am I an alcoholic or not?
I am one when I say I'm one. When I say I'm one then I am open to the treatment.
Time and circumstances will make the answer clearer. The truth will become self-evident.
All the best.
Bob R
I am one when I say I'm one. When I say I'm one then I am open to the treatment.
Time and circumstances will make the answer clearer. The truth will become self-evident.
All the best.
Bob R
Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Chicago
Posts: 150
"Normal" people don't question this. They don't think about alcohol and they don't use it for any reason other than social reasons. They just simply don't think about it. They don't typically drink alone and it doesn't matter to them. In my mind, if you are questioning whether or not you can label yourself an alcoholic, there's probably a problem.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 317
The question is not are you an alcoholic. You know the answer to that one already.
The question is are you ready to do something about it. Alcohol has not been a good friend to you. I hope you stick around.
The question is are you ready to do something about it. Alcohol has not been a good friend to you. I hope you stick around.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Mid-Atlantic USA
Posts: 2,441
I'm not fond of the alcoholic label. For me, I know that I have a drinking problem. I rarely can control my drinking when I do drink (I'm a binge drinker), and I've often told myself no drinking and then caved-in and drank until I was a drunken fool who eventually got into some kind of trouble or passed out.
I'd say if you're drinking is consuming a large part of your life, you have a drinking problem. If you're thinking about drinking a few times a day, then you probably have a problem. If drinking is in anyway creating any kind of problem in your life, you probably have a drinking problem and should stop.
I'd say if you're drinking is consuming a large part of your life, you have a drinking problem. If you're thinking about drinking a few times a day, then you probably have a problem. If drinking is in anyway creating any kind of problem in your life, you probably have a drinking problem and should stop.
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