Alcohol dependency V alcoholic
 

Is there a difference? My doctor has said I have alcohol dependency... im kinda twoing and throwing with the term alcoholic... if I have an alcohol dependency am I an alcoholic? Im cool with it if I am but just wanted to know if there was an actual difference???

I don't really know if there is a difference. I do however think it is something for each person to decide. Sure people can look at the behavior and some and say "yikes, you drink too much" But there are also other times people will minimize the problem. I have had many people say to me "come one, it's not that bad. Just drink a little bit less" But I think that even if I am drinking one glass of wine, once a month, but it is something *I* feel uncomfortable with and something that *I* think is a problem then it is, it is not for anyone else to tell me it is not an issue, not even a doctor.

You know when I went to AA there was people there who had waaaaay worst problems than me lost everything, it made me question am I actually an alcoholic.... but but what I could Indentify with was my own association with alcohol, ok so I havent reached that stage where alcohol has ruined my entire life, my therapist said give it five years and the way you were drinking you could quite easily get to that stage, she said Ive caught it early. So... I guess I am a alcoholic... first stage i dunno or what? I dont want to lure myself into a false sense of security that I can manage my drinking... ive done that before and failed it lasts a couple a weeks then Im back to square one - a drunk. I need to remember that one drink leads me to become a drunk even if its not straight away eventually I will get drunk and that vicious cycle starts all over again.

Please excuse me im processing my thoughts and it helps to write it down and share them. Im in a process of self evualtion and trying to make sense of my problem.

blueberry - Count your blessings you stoped before you reached the point of no return :) Yes we can over come , but it gets harder each time we fall. Than by the time we realize we have a problem are health has paid the price .
You have said , It's hard to quit once you start . I don't think you need to put a label on it . Either way if you keep trying to drink You will become an alcoholic .
Stick with your plan , you'll be fine . It's no Fun fighting that Beast :headbange

I think everyone has an opinion on this, but, I would say - dancing with using too much alcohol as a "crutch" to deal with things could be classed initially as a dependency.

I certainly see my initial alcohol use in that light - but that's only now in hindsight. And I could have pulled in my behaviour at that point. HOWEVER, the tricky thing is, when we tell ourselves that it's only a passing overuse of alcohol, I don't think we see how grave the problem can become.

Alcoholics don't just wake up as raging alcoholics...it all starts with depending on alcohol too much to make us feel good and goes from there. I certainly didn't take any of my alcohol use as seriously as I should have, and in fact, that's part of the trick alcohol plays on us to keep us locked in the cycle. Denial.

Just some thoughts.

Im hearing you. Thanks for your input guys. What I DO know is that I have a problem and abstaining is the best option for me.

If when you drink you have trouble controlling the amount you drink or if when you honestly try to stop you cannot you are probably an alcoholic.

It says it in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous . Dont quote me on it look at it for yourself. Do you have a big book? The first 3 chapters help you to find out if you are an alcoholic or not.

You NEED to read this if you are having trouble.

I have downloaded it on my ipad. Its audio too so I when I get some me time I will have a listen x Thank you x

you say potato, I say tomato
it just doesn't matter what you want to call it,

if you have a problem with alcohol and have a hard time stopping, you really should do whatever you can to stop and stay stopped.

When drinking.... I drank and drank and drank til I passed out. I found myself drinking more and more and more til I reached a point of being completed wasted and pass out. I had the blackouts, the remorce the regret. I came to a stage where I was downing it like water and where I couldnt get enough... begging my husband for more drink even tho I was already wasted. That sounds like an alcoholic to me. I need to keep focused on my sobriety. My drinking scared me, sometimes at the time of the month Id never know how alcohol would affect me... like a flick of a switch I could be a happy drunk to almost psycohotic where by I scared my mum and my husband they both had said I was unrecognisable I have been abusive verbally and also physically. This is why I need to stay sober.

I am an alcoholic.

:grouphug:

At least you can see it...that's half the battle to at least finding a way to solve the problem.

You have lots of support here.

Thank you x x

Sounds like alcoholic behavior to me Blueberry.....good job on identifying it. Like Croissant posted...that is 1/2 the battle. Best Wishes on your journey.

Hi blueberry -

Sounds like you're getting some good perspective and insight into your relationship with alcohol.

You mention that in the past you've had trouble staying stopped. What is your plan going forward to get you through the next time that you want to pick up?

And, that's really all that matters. The words you use to describe the condition are just words. :)

Im taking each day as it comes, ive self referred myself to drug and alcohol counselling and ive started to go to AA meetings... next one is Sunday for me I cant wait to get there! Im not making any promises to myself or to others, I just tell myself today I won't have a drink. Need some coping stratergies in place for at times at severe stress how to deal with that without reaching for a bottle. I am using distraction techniques to subside the cravings.... ive meds if I really need them. My mindset is very very focussed right now on sobriety. I want that more than I want a drink. Ive been craving today again... but im ignoring it and distracting myself the best way I can.

You know when I went to AA there was people there who had waaaaay worst problems than me lost everything, it made me question am I actually an alcoholic

Blueberry, I know this was an earlier post in your thread and since you have realized you need to stop drinking.

The reason I point it out is, (noting I am very early in my own sobriety) is this will be something that could come up again for you. It does for me, and I have read it time again from newcomers and those with longer sober time a like.

Comparing our problems (or lack thereof) as not so bad to others' problems can be a slippery slope, leading back to -" maybe I'll have just one, I really wasn't that bad, was I?"

It's a process, and sounds like you are doing great! :grouphug:

Its all I can do for now. Im trying real hard and the sense of taking back my personal power is very addictive. I want to beat this.