What constitutes an alcoholic?

[Bob Kontak]

The Big Book says if you can't stop once started or you can't choose to go a day successfully without drinking you are an alcoholic.

I have been to AA across the decades a half dozen times. Sober for a year or more on at least one occasion.

I don't black out, but I have occasionally if drinking strong beer or wine. Can count on one/two many fingered hand(s) if the entire collection is embraced. The exception, but I literally do not remember passages of the night before.

Based on history, I like 8 to twelve beers a day. However, easy not to drink at all if I feel hung over/lethargic. If anyone remembers my thread about ceasing Adderal (stimulant) for ADD, this is the reason for my question. I am now way more aware of my body reactions to alcohol, crappy food with big salt, any lack of sleep, etc.

Never pissed on myself, puked in my sleep except twice as a kid (barfing from "shooting" beers).

I know the answer, unfortunately.

[Rikao4]

it's not unfortunate..
as your aware & being honest with yourself....
now the hard part..

Rika

[vash]

you drink alone
you hide the stuff
and you calculate when your next drink is...

right?

i am stunned many of my friends are dry because they are recovering..i never knew. i just figured they didnt drink.

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, you know the answer.

Having one beer with a meal is normal. Maybe one more in the evening later. Even if you never missed work because of drinking or because of the hangover, that just means you have gone over the limits of normal.

When you avoid going to an event or just leaving home because you will not be able to have a drink, that is one big indicator. If you can't just stop for a week for no reason whatsoever other to see if you can, you are an alcoholic.

I love my beer. After mowing the yard a beer is required. After working on the car and fixing an issue, a beer is desired. If you are drinking just to get drunk, your are a drunk.

[HardDrive]

I prefer to refer to myself as a 'lush'. Sounds much better.

I drink too much, but I consider it a bad habit like eating too much. I hate being 'drunk'. I like to nurse 3-4 glasses of wine from the time I get home until I got to bed. No problem stopping when I want. I do stop occasionally (typically Jan/Feb) just too lose weight.

[John Rogers]

I was in the "Old Navy" when there was drinking like crazy, smoking for $1.00 a carton and no women on ships. Except for a few of the engineers that were Mormons or something, when we pulled into port.......we were drink until we left a week or so later. Didn't see anything wrong with it until we got in the shipyard and then I was drunk most all the time except for duty days. I finally stopped in Oct 1978 after loosing 4 days somewhere in Seattle Washington and my guys covered for me. Fortunately at the same time I had some pieces of a disc break off in my spine so I was put in bed, in traction until an opening for surgery could be set, about 2 weeks later. I wasn't allowed out of bed since I was in traction and by the time the surgery was over the nicotine had burned out and there was no desire for any drinking!

Neither one since then which at times was a struggle but........

If you think you've hit "bottom" then it is time to stop?

[aap1966]

Alcohol still has health effects even if you are not an "alcoholic".
Any regular alcohol consumption (probably) increases the risk of prostate cancer.
15 to 20 /week increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and liver.
28 /week is the threshold for alcohol induced cardiomyopathy (heart failure).

Also, kids (especially teens) mimic the alcohol consumption patterns of their parents. Are you OK with the thought of you son or daughter drinking as much as you do?

My attitude is alcohol is analogous to motor bikes. Any participation carries some risk, you have to decide your own risk benefit ratio......

[Bill Douglas]

I'm the first Douglas in six generations not to be an alcoholic. Sure I do enjoy a glass or three of vino but after having suffered the beatings and constant being yelled at from my dad, I'm determined not to end up like that. Plus I'm far to smart to be an alkie.

[jhynesrockmtn]

8-12 a day was all the info I needed. I grew up with both parents being alcoholics. My Dad passed at 71 with 30+ years sober. If he could wrestle that one and win, I'm convinced anyone can. Best of luck.

[pavulon]

Long lines of alcoholics in my genes. Was lucky enough to have figured out the potential for problems before any started.

Ask your friends and family to be brutally honest.

[Rikao4]

alas..friends and family are often..
part of the problem..
he knows..
he's even 'tried' to quit..
then worked on 'control'...
he's reading what he knows..

Rika

[Craig T]

My father was an abusive alcoholic, mostly verbally abusive, but on real benders would smack me around in what today would land him in jail (luckily the SOB left us for his secratary when I was 12). My grandparents were old-school hardcore alkies, 5th of vodka a day at least. They bought it by the gallon. When we were kids playing hide and seek, we'd find pint bottles hidden everywhere at the grandparents house.

Considering that, hard to believe, but I drink 1 to 2 1.5 oz scotches every evening, but never before 6pm. About every two months I quit for a week, just to prove to myself I'm not an alcoholic....and I NEVER drink until I'm drunk.

I know I'm at risk, because about 4:30pm I start watching the clock in anticipation of 6:00pm.

[KNS]

My wife worked in an ICU for a few years where many patients would stay for a few days (or much longer). A lot of them would answer "absolutely none" to any issues with alcohol but after two or three days she said it was amazing how many of them were climbing the walls. She said that many of them were being truthful and actually believed they did not have a problem.

[sc_rufctr]

My Theory? It's an allergy... Some people can drink with no issues, others can't.

I was dating a Lady years ago. She was a great chef but everything else in her life was a shambles.
Most nights she'd drink until she became unconscious but then get up at the crack of dawn for work and always turned up on time.

Once she started she wouldn't stop. 8 beers and a bottle of wine was the norm for her.

[Oh Haha]

My Dad was a working alcoholic. Never abusive but would come home drunk every work day night. Bowling night? Pfft, that was a given he might not make it home. He did and never missed work because of beer. My Mom never drank or smoked.

My siblings and I discussed this recently and concluded that his behavior is why we rarely drink alcohol.


Bob-asking about it is a great start on turning things around. 8-12 beers a night sounds excessive to me. I hope you find your way out of the hole.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Yea, you know the answer.

..................

If you are drinking just to get drunk, your are a drunk.

Yep, I am. It's one thing to say, "Hey, I like the buzz" It's another to say "I like a certain volume of adult beverages every day"

If that changes, not the volume but the source, I am an effed chicken (drunk-wise)

I don't appreciate the difference between piss-water "domestic" US beer and 8%+ wine or nice/ proper "heavy" beer.

Hard liquor is a big no. Learned that 15 years ago.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

Bob-asking about it is a great start on turning things around. 8-12 beers a night sounds excessive to me. I hope you find your way out of the hole.

Thanks - trust me, this has been years. Just a nice steady intake of beer. Nothing like DUI's, puking on peeps, etc. Just a bit of too much. Functional drunk.

[Scott R]

Bob, I had a relapse early this year and tried going back to AA, same as the last times I hate it. So I saw my GP and put be on Naltrexone and I've been dry ever since. It's not for everyone, but it works for a lot of people.

But I couldn't really tell if you were soliciting this type of advice so please ignore if not wanted.

[Seahawk]

I am a Vodkaholic. If I drink Vodka I am in for the duration, the appropriate governor I have with beer or wine a distant memory as me and my good friend Ketel light the candle and burn to the wick.

So I don't drink vodka because I can't.

Figure what you shouldn't do because you can't then don't.

I screw up every few years for a day or maybe two. It is a loathsome experience.

Best, Bob. We all do our best to figure out the right balance.

[motion]

Bob, congrats for owning this one. You know what the next step is.

As a complete control freak, I never let myself consume too much wine. About 2 1/2 glasses per night is my limit. Last night, the wife and I celebrated a bit and I drank a bottle, which is very unusual. I felt like hell all day today and am not eager to repeat that anytime soon. I guess I have my own built in governor. Not too much alcohol abuse in my family, although my little sister is quite a heavy drinker. I stay away from the hard stuff. Never really enjoyed it. 1 beer and I am asleep on the sofa an hour later.