ChickChick

Welcome to SR, TheDrunk. You will find a ton of support here.

ru12

It sounds like alcohol has caused all kinds if problems in your life. It might be best to just stop drinking it. If you find that difficult then try some of the many programs out there: AA, Life Ring, Rational Recovery, or posting here are but a few.

PurpleKnight

Bottom line is you can't continue on as before, something needs to change!!

When it comes to phrases, "problem drinker", "a drunk", "alcoholic" . . . it's not important, we're simply debating the semantics of what to call the situation.

The reality of your drinking being out of control doesn't change no matter what we end up deciding to call it, and Sobriety may well be the answer to the problem.

SR can help you with loads of support to get there!!

Taking5

>My dilemma has been that I don't want to go to the trouble of joining a recovery program or AA or something if I'm not really an alcoholic.

So stop drinking. If you can't do it on your own then AA is here for you, drunk, alcoholic, or whatever you want to call yourself.

firstymer

Your post reminded me of the old tv commercial for Wendy's from the 1980's. In that commercial, the hapless fast food clerk was asked by a customer about the actual content of chicken mcnuggets. The fast food clerk replied that the mcnuggets were made up of "parts" of a chicken. The customer asked "what kind of parts?" The fast food clerk replied, simply, "Parts". and then came up with the classic line "Parts is parts".

So, alcoholic or drunk. It doesn't really matter, does it? Parts is parts.

You are here. And you know you have a problem with alcohol. That is all that matters.

Welcome to SR. I am glad you are here with us.

anykey

So basically you are looking for a way of escaping putting in the required work to live a more sober life?

You will get exactly what you earned. If you earn more of the same- then that is what you get.

LillianGish

To be honest, I don't understand the definition of what you consider "a drunk." It's a perjorative term I think - slang name calling maybe? Is a drunk someone who drinks a lot? Well, all alcoholics do that. Can't stop? Yep, that's an alcoholic too. Alcohol turning your life into hell? Yep, check that box too.

Can you explain to me what differentiation you are trying to make between an alcoholic and a drunk....I'm not sure there is one. Dictionary says a drunk is a person who is drunk or drinks habitually to excess. That sounds like an alcoholic to me too.

Not really fond of the term "drunk." Kind of old school term for someone who chooses to drink his life away - someone will low character - village idiot. Whatcha getting at here? I doubt you are any of these things, and I'd really encourage you to be kinder to yourself.

I just know that for the longest time, I spent a lot of energy trying to talk myself out of being an alcoholic so I could keep drinking. I do know that alcohol took over my life for several years. And I wanted to get sober. Still not sure I'm an alcoholic in a medical definition way - but the answer didn't change my desire to stop.

And in the end, that's all that matters. I'm not special. Just a plain vanilla woman who needed to stop. And if anyone calls me a drunk, they are going to get a fat lip. So judgey.

yeahgr8

Actually you do need a label!

If you are a drunk then you have a shot at pulling your socks up and stopping drinking with the right motivation.

If you are an alcoholic that advice could be a death sentence for you.

I went for weeks between drinks at various stages of my life but when i did drink i found that the consequences stacked up and i fould never control my drinking when i started.

AA is a great start about getting some identification, hit a couple if meetings as you can always go back to trying to get sober under your own steam.

Nuudawn

Which label means you should stop drinking by whatever means possible. I'd go with that one. I don't need a label and my hackles are a bit raised by anyone who infers that one does in order to require a plan or support or by whatever means possible to stop. Argh.

yeahgr8

Hmmmm guess I'm not explaining this right.

One person has flu.

One person has pneumonia

The symptoms appear to be much the same.

Both want to get better no matter what it takes.

So along comes a third party who tells them that it doesn't matter what is wrong with them they should lie up in bed, eat plenty, drink plenty and sleep as much as possible because that is what he did when he had similar symptoms.

The guy with the flu gets better and the guy with the pneumonia gets worse and ends up dying. If only the guy giving the advice had believed it was important to understand and label the illness before offering generic treatment opinions.

Thepatman

Welcome to SR!

You are in good hands here as you can see. Glad you joined

Nuudawn

If I utilize AA I'm an alcoholic and if I quit without it...I'm a drunkard?

yeahgr8

Nope im not saying that, im saying that one needs to first identify the problem in order to have the best chance of solving it. I dont know why you reference AA.

In my country, UK, alcoholism is recognised by our National medical body, the NHS, as well as binge drinking, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependency etc.

Drinking and alcohol - Live Well - NHS Choices

Clearly offering the same solution to someone who is labelled an alcohol abuser as to a person with alcohol dependence is not prudent as the abuser may be able to detox safely by chilling out for a few days whereas not having medical supervision via a doctor or detox centre may kill the dependent.

So yes go to the docs who will probably suggest AA or counselling and proceed to find put which category you fit into so they can suggest the right treatment.

However if you havent been told that everything will be ok if you just stop drinking then just stop drinking, no biggie. That didnt work for me though even after the 100th person told me that i just needed a change in my life and everything would be super duper.

Dee74

Lets not derail this into another one of those threads....

Your experience is yours Yeah, but there are many ways up the mountain.

In my experience I did not need to know what kind of a drinker I was in order to stop.
I just stopped.

in my case trying to figure out what kind of drinker I was, would have been like me choosing a cart....before I'd bought a horse.

If your drinking is causing you problems, you need to quit.
'Hard drinkers' die too.

D

MnEman

there is an old joke, that you can't be an alcoholic because you don't go to AA…..for millions that is part of the rationalization and delusion that allows them to keep drinking. My family (and society in general) is huge on labels, but in the the end its whats inside that counts. For, when I found I couldn't just quit my destructive behavior, that was when I crossed line from just liking to drink (a drunk), to being dependent on alcohol (an alcoholic). For me, accepting that then allowed me to admit I had a problem and needed help. Simple and yet very complex. I wish you well.

captb

Start doing what you won't regret... And stop doing what you will. WB

Stoogy

Hi, I think the problem lies with the confusion caused by the terms

1- alcoholic
2- problem drinker.

I have heard people say they are one or the other but i tend to think they are both the same just dressed up differently, I would say truth be told you have answered your own question with your very honest post.
You are not alone, we all have issues whether it be an every day habit or a weekend warrior of sorts.
Take care and thanks for your post.

izzy8

Hi thedrunk, since logging on here a couple of weeks ago, I've questioned the same type of thing. I hope you well on your way to the better life that you desire. There's lots of great help here!

yeahgr8

I posted a link to a medical body the world over look up to who clearly think it is important to know what one is dealing with and to seek real life help.

So that advice would, for me, override any single persons opinion that does not include what is suggested by a medical body.

But i suppose i am looking too far into it yet again and once again Dee is right as he is moderating a forum for everyone not just me:-)

Go to the docs, be honest, stop drinking and find a way to get inner peace whilst not drinking. I would advise finding real life people as well as SR in the form of a recovery group, it will be a lot easier than sitting in your own head for most of the days.

yeahgr8

One more thing, if the OP comes back ffs only listen to the people who have some decent time away from their last drink. Hope you doing ok out there!