I would say that it's when you start needing to drink, that it is becoming a problem. When I was in my early 20's, there were weeks where I would drink at least a 6 pack 6 nights a week. Oddly enough, it was usually Friday or Saturday night that I would drink nothing even though I was working a Monday to Friday 8 to 5 job. Although, I can't remember having the feeling of needing a drink. It was usually boredom, and often social situations like after a hockey game that I did drink.
But if you start getting the feeling that you need to drink, and it starts happening daily, you better recognize it, and get it under control. It's only a matter of time until those intervals between needing a drink get so short, that you constantly are drinking.
I certainly don't drink anywhere close to what I used to. But in a social situation, I do tend to have a tougher time controlling myself. I can go out as the DD and be fine as that will be my focus. But go out for a couple beers with the guys can become a couple extra hours and 6 instead of two. I don't think I suffer from alcoholism...but I must have some sort of social anxiety, that I don't maintain the same level of control in that environment.
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I fail to see how that's a sign. I have yet to meet anyone who's exactly the same person sober/drunk. If they are they're probably a huge delta bravo when sober...
I never said you have to be exactly the same, but trust me, this is a big one. Some people, who can act nice and normal when sober, turn in too the fun/party guy when boozing, others turn in too rye-guys and want to fight anything that moves, and others turn in too emotionally abusive a-holes.
The person boozing very rarely recognizes this change. But if it changes who you are when your sober its absolutely a sign of alcohol abuse because more than likely its affecting your relationships.
I'd say getting drunk was fun when I was in my late teens to mid 20's.. But after you get into your 30s the hangovers are just too much, if I get drunk now I need a full day or two to get back to feeling ok again.
Now I find myself just drinking less hard alcohol and more wine and beer when I'm at a party. On occasion the party is really fun and I'll drink more but unlike when I was younger when I hit that point where I'm realizing I'm drunk I will start drinking lots of water and cutting my drinking to near zero so I'm not dying the next day.
You know you might be an alcoholic if you end up with a 24 of beer sitting in the field behind the liquor store with your pants pissed and your 13 year old kid needs to come help you get home.
Actually, TBQH, I have no idea what alcoholism is, other than it really ####s your kids up and then 20 years later while they are posting about it on some message board they want to smash something.
So what a couple people have said here already, if your drinking impacts other people, that is a pretty good sign something is wrong.
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Someone quite knowledgeable on the subject once told me if you have to drink to feel normal, you have a problem.
In large social gatherings, many heavy drinkers tend to think that everyone around them has had as much alcohol as them, when in fact most have had only one or two drinks.
I used to wait until the weekend to drink, and in talking to a liver specialist recently, he said I was lucky in doing so, as I was giving my liver the chance to recover during the week. I think they say anything over 2 drinks per day can cause long term health problems.
I once knew someone who drank quite regularly but not every day, probably 3-4 times a week on average. They would insist that they are not an alcoholic but did admit they had a drinking problem. Of the 3-4 times a week drunk, at least 2 of those I would call out of control..sometimes blackout drunk. Causing fights for no reason, arguing, becoming very abusive and sometimes violent. Having 1 or 2 drinks with a meal was never enough, always had to lead to more. So all in all in my opinion I feel like this person was an alcoholic, always drinking to get drunk not to enjoy the drink, regular issues that effect relationships with others when they are drunk, no ability to really stop after a couple or drinks. Lost jobs, calling in sick, being late, waking up having to explain oneself to their friends after getting blackout drunk the night before. All symptoms of alcoholism if you ask me.
There was a time in my life when I was a full on alcoholic. I drank to get pie eyed 5-6 days a week. I would start at home around around 2 pm, then to a local, then out to any club that seemed good. At the time I was struggling with a number of things in my life, mainly experiences in the military. Looking back the reasons are/were obvious. I credit my now wife with stopping that cylce. We met, again, near the end of the of that stage of my life. She was essentially slapped my head. This is not to say I/we didn't drink going forward, but it was more controlled. I would still get drunk, but not all the time. I got to where I could have 1-2 beers and stop. Around 20 yrs on I still drink, but I get drunk 1-2 a year. Mainly I will have a few beers once a week then stop. My wife drinks even less.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Corporal Jean-Marc H. BECHARD, 6 Aug 1993
The Following User Says Thank You to undercoverbrother For This Useful Post:
To me, it's very simple: if the person is a obnoxious #### when they drink, they're an alcoholic.
I am not an alcoholic. I barely drink . . . probably in part because of the few obnoxious ####s I knew growing up.
Not really true
En Vino Veritas
In wine there is truth. I know a lot of people who aren't alcholics but are complete d$$che rockets when they drink. I know alcoholics who were pretty mellow when they got hammered.
Alcohol just allows your normal personality to open up.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
I usually drink every Saturday. I don't usually get plastered, but I do get a good buzz going. I do it because it's fun, no other reason. I think I am going to cut back though. I find as I get older, I get easily hungover.
For the record though, I have never been in an alcohol related altercation nor does it affect my job or relationships. When I am drunk, most people can't even tell because I control my behaviour so well.
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Last edited by FlamesAddiction; 12-02-2012 at 12:09 PM.
There was a time in my life when I was a full on alcoholic. I drank to get pie eyed 5-6 days a week. I would start at home around around 2 pm, then to a local, then out to any club that seemed good. At the time I was struggling with a number of things in my life, mainly experiences in the military. Looking back the reasons are/were obvious. I credit my now wife with stopping that cylce. We met, again, near the end of the of that stage of my life. She was essentially slapped my head. This is not to say I/we didn't drink going forward, but it was more controlled. I would still get drunk, but not all the time. I got to where I could have 1-2 beers and stop. Around 20 yrs on I still drink, but I get drunk 1-2 a year. Mainly I will have a few beers once a week then stop. My wife drinks even less.
that's pretty rare. when you drink that heavily and can dial it down to moderate without cutting out alcohol completely is something i don't see very often. i have a few friends who don't drink at all, because they have no self control with it. kinda sucks too, because they are very fun guys to be around and i know a night of drinking with them would likely be pretty epic, but they just can't do it
even the times where i go full out with the booze i still keep some sense of reason. when i was in Thailand with a buddy of mine we were drunk almost every night (doesn't help with how ridiculously cheap booze is over there). but even then we would only start drinking in the evening, during the day it was all Gatorade or water to cure the night before
i think alcoholism isn't really about how much you drink or how often, it's all about self control
In wine there is truth. I know a lot of people who aren't alcholics but are complete d$$che rockets when they drink. I know alcoholics who were pretty mellow when they got hammered.
Alcohol just allows your normal personality to open up.
Not really true either. If you're looking for truth you won't find it at the bottom of a wine bottle.
that's pretty rare. when you drink that heavily and can dial it down to moderate without cutting out alcohol completely is something i don't see very often.
Please don't take my post to mean it was easy. I left many incidents....it was by no means easy, and it is by no means easy. Even today, there is a part of me that wants to sit down and drink till I am blind.
As you mentioned, I must control that part of me.
Alcohol is scary, I have seen people, that were on medication that caused them to become deathly sick, to still drink.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
