Originally Posted by Gottalife

Your sound quite close to AAs definition of a "hard drinker", which is someone who drinks a lot but is not alcoholic. Phew! I hear you say

The major practical difference between the two classes of drinker is that the alcoholic will experience a lot of problems in all areas of their lives, where the hard drinker will cruise through without any drama. Phew again!

The similarity between the two is that if they dont stop, both will die well ahead of their time. I have outlived all my hard drinking buddies.
Oh Bugger!

Originally Posted by DisplacedGRITS

Well, it sounds like you've gotten a lot of varied responses. None of us can diagnose an alcoholic. We're not medical professionals. All we can do is relate our experiences. We are alcoholics, therefore we are going to see things that either you don't see or that we are misinterpreting. We aren't your friends who have seen a slow and steady increase in your drinking. We aren't your friends who see you using alcohol normally and are unconcerned. We aren't your wife or your children who may be experiencing the negative effects of your alcohol use or not. Heck, we don't even know how old you are. All we know is that you use more alcohol than the average person. Doesn't make you an alcoholic but it does cause concern for some people.

We are a group of alcoholics who all started life sober. None of us just up and decided to drink alcoholically one day. I dare say for all of us, it was a gradual decline into a lifestyle that we could no longer live with. At one point, most of us drank like gentlemen and ladies. Alcohol worked to relax us in social settings, relieve our boredom, enhance our enjoyment of activities and take the edge off of a bad day. We all drank for many reasons. What we have in common is that at some point, we found that we were no longer drinking and finding what alcohol used to give us. Relief was temporary and soon we found our every day activities and thoughts plagued by anxiety and fear unlike any we had ever experienced. We no longer drank for pleasure. We drank because we had to. We were unable to eek out any joy or relief from life without the crux of alcohol. We did not want alcohol so much as we needed it.

This website is for people who have found that they are powerless against alcohol - that their lives have become unmanageable and who want the support of a community to recover and live a peaceful, sober life. If you are not powerless against alcohol, if your life has not become unmanageable and you do not need assistance to quit drinking then you will not get much from these forums besides conflict and confusion. Please don't feel that you have to justify your drinking to us. Your drinking is not our concern. If, however, you find one day that you meet the criteria to gain help from this website, please come back. At that point, your drinking is our concern and we will be here to help.

Originally Posted by JDNWATER

It is certainly not vitamin water and I appreciate the advise. I would have appreciated and expected similar advice from my physician but was very much taken back by his response in conjunction with his disclosure of being in recovery. That is what brought me to this recovery forum. Hope you are doing well with yours and that you live a happy and long life.

Originally Posted by LBrain

I can't comment until I hear the interview. What exactly did you tell him that prompted his reaction/comment? A highly functioning alcoholic is someone who didn't get caught yet. Caught means anything that messes with your life in any way.

Originally Posted by FeenixxRising

That's not what he said imhooks. He said on a Sunday he could drink a fifth in a day. He didn't say he drinks a fifth every day.

Originally Posted by imhooks

That's also not what I said. I said in a day as well. Thank you though.

If you do it on a Sunday, who's to say you won't do it on a Wednesday. Just because you pick a weekend doesn't make it normal.

Originally Posted by Absntmind

I would describe myself as a functioning alcoholic. I drink 6-7 days a week, hold a professional job, and can't imagine a day I come home and can't have a drink. I actually get anxious if I feel I won't be able to drink at the end of the day. While I can function, I know darn well I would be twice the person I am now if I could quit drinking. Doesn't help my wife is a functioning alcoholic as well. If you have to even question what your doctor told you, I would say he is correct. No oxymoron as as some people like myself can "function" while being dependant on alcohol, we will never reach our true potential. If you question it please do yourself the favor of truly reflecting on your life. Just my. 02, good luck.