Not sure if alcoholic
 

I am not sure I am an alcoholic.

Have any of you taken the test the book talks about? Going to the bar and trying controlled drinking?

Welcome Chambo! :)

Personally, I didn't need a book to tell me I was an alcoholic. Controlled drinking, that didn't work for me either.

Are you concerned about your drinking? Maybe tell us a little more about yourself and others can share their experiences.

hi... welcome.

can you tell us what has brought you here?

What I mean is, what has been your own experience with alcohol and how it has impacted your life that has led you to post this question on a recovery forum?

Good luck with that. I can tell you that probably 95% of us on this site have tried "controlled drinking" and of those 95% that tried 100% have failed miserably. Who knows maybe you'll be the statistical aberration.

It's really up to you do decide Chambo. The tests can give you a pretty good idea of whether or not your drinking is a problem, but you have to decide if it really is or not.

If you are an alcoholic, controlled drinking isn't possible. That's pretty much the essence of being an alcoholic - drinking when you don't plan to, drinking more than you plan to and generally not having control over your drinking. Some even say that if you even need to consider "planning" your drinking in any way then you have a problem.

I didn't know it was a test, but in a year of trying to control my drinking and trying to convince myself I could moderate . . . let's just say I failed the test, but came back to repeat the test only to fail again and again.

For me it's all or nothing, when I figured this out life became a whole lot easier!! :)

Welcome to the Forum!! :wave:

I repeatedly failed that test. With flying colours.

welcome!

welp, if controlled drinking means drinking til I passed out and couldn't drink anymore, then I controlled It pretty good.
but if it means having a couple and walking away with no ill affects- no thought of wanting any more- then no, controlled drinking didn't work.

aside from what was already said, my thoughts on being alcoholic are this: If you are asking the question there is a pretty good chance you already know the answer.

So did I, every single time.

Welcome, Chambo.

I've been to a few AA meetings and they are constantly talking about "real alcoholic" and they read the doctor's opinion as if Jesus wrote it. Constant talk about "craving" and "allergy". Very diehard committed to these beliefs. I sometimes get drunk, black out, lose my car, etc but never had a physical craving and did most of drunks while very youg. Not sure I can honestly relate to AA definition of alcoholic and not sure I can be in meetings if I can't relate to what is said.

It's weird. Years ago I used to be able to have 2-3 drinks and then stop. Actually I was like this for about 6 years. I would have passed the controlled drinking test for 6 years. 3 years of heavy drinking. 2.5 of them being daily drinking. And now I know I'll never be able to pass the drinking test again. Alcohol doesn't just change your brain while it's in your bloodstream... If you are here beginning to question your drinking. Just stop. You won't be able to thank me later if you do this, but if you don't you may be saying "I wish I would have stopped back then, it would have been so easy compared to now.

I don't fit the AA description myself. I am a much better alcoholic than they were.

There are other resources for recovery. Maybe check out Rational Recovery or The Easy Way for a different perspective, but still addressing alcohol abuse and sobriety.

Try quitting. If you are not an alcoholic, you will have your answer soon enough. Sooner if you are one. Either way, you will learn much in the struggle to stay quit.

AA is merely one method of reaching sobriety. And even within AA there is a wide variety of meeting styles and people attending the meetings.

You don't have to fit every single stereotypical category to be an alcoholic, most people don't. I can say that drinking to the point of blacking out is a major red flag. Losing your car because of drinking is also not part of a "normal" drinkers life.

Have you ever attempted to quit?

I personally don't attend AA, I haven't been to any of their meetings, but as Scott said AA is not the only method for recovery, many have attended and been successful, but there is a whole list of resources out there.

The main thing is finding what works for you, Sobriety is the end result that many are seeking, but there are many paths in achieving it, AA is but one!!

I have been able to quit for years at a time. I guess the thing is that I admit I have a problem with alcohol but I can't believe I am powerless over alcohol and I hate the stigma attached to labeling myself "alcoholic" at meetings and the meetings around my neck of the woods are so fundamental and shaming if a person questions anything the bible, I mean big book says.

So don't go to meetings around you, or find something besides AA that works for you. There's no rule that says you HAVE to go to AA to get sober. It does help a lot of people but it's not for everyone.

my psychiatrist recommends it to "calm my mind"...