Alcohol

EireRoadUser

When is an alcoholic an alcoholic?
How do you know if somebody is an alcoholic and what would you say to them if worried?
BTW i drink a lot ,sorry

Crucifix

There's a million definitions to choose from out there. I reckon when your drinking is having serious negative effects on your life (health, work, personal, whatever), but you can't stop.

mikemac

Have you tried the AA website?

Sorry, don't have a link

kittex

I reckon you get 2 kinds of alcoholics - functioning and non-functioning.

Functioning alcoholics appear to the outside world to be fine. They hold down a good job, they get by, but likely have little or a difficult personal life due to their drinking. The key thing affected is their long term health.
I know many of these.

If that spills over to affect their job, money, their more public 'face', they become non-functioning.
I have known a couple of these. One, my ex's mum, drank herself to death. But she was like, a 2 litres of vodka a day woman. Compared to the functioning alcoholics I know who come home from work, open a bottle of wine, drink a bottle or 2 over the evening and struggle by with the hangover the next day.

Oh and Edit: There is very little to say to them. You can explain to them you're concerned but at the end of the day you can't make anyone stop.

EireRoadUser

I drink about 5 or more bottles of wine a week
Have done for the last 3 years or so.
Felt guilty at first drinking at home ,felt dirty like .
but as time went by i'd be cool with it ,even get the mates to stop by my gaff and pick up a few bottles from my house on the way to a party.

EireRoadUser

btw i don't do anything else
I use to go into town ,sides ,asylum ,olympic but obviously not anymore

kittex

It's bloody tough.
I'm pretty much sober at the moment, apart from the odd couple of glasses with dinner. (Not because I have a drink issue, but for various work reasons I can't risk a hangover.)
But the other night I was out to the pub then club and only had a couple of drinks. Man everyone was sooo boring. Or was it me?

They just seemed to want to shout out lots of drunk silly things, while I was into proper chat.
You should be able to go out and have a good time without booze, and I did to an extent. But if they had been sober too, it would have been much better.
It's just that after a while I found myself itching to get hammered so we were all on the same buzz.

LegacyUser

why did you start drinking at home in the first place? if it made you feel 'dirty'. fair enough, the club scene mightnt have been your thing, but why start drinking a bottle a night on your own? i only go out the odd weekend, and 2 out of 3 times id be all-right, but other times id end up drinking way too much, making a fool of myself, and not remembering half the night, but when i dont go out, i could sit in, watch a film, maybe have a can or two, or maybe not. i can only remember(??) staying in on my own, and getting ****faced once (maybe thats a bad thing??)

as for getting out more, what used to intrest you? get back into that, join a club (yeah right =o) take up art... for me its proper house music, a bit of tech trance aswell, none of this euro-trance, funky-house ****e, i find that if im out with friends in a situation that im not 100 percent happy with, i drink way too much, but if im on my own, watching a film, or dancing to proper music, i drink a lot less, and enjoy myself more, (tho its nice to get drunk with friends once in a while)

koneko

If you feel bad about it, and ashamed, and feel the need to ask if you're an alcoholic.... something is wrong. Even if you aren't an alcoholic then something still isn't right, you don't feel good about this so why do it?

Give up the drink for a while, tbh. Can you have a night in on your own and watch a movie, without needing a drink? If the answer is no...

rugbug86

various times really, if you're doing it to make yourself feel better, or to hide from your problems, or find yourself reaching for a bottle whenever something goes wrong, then maybe you have a problem.

thats just my opinion though, if you have worries you really should speak to a professional.

Nevyn

http://www.vhi.ie/hfiles/hf-075.jsp

Alcohol Abuse wrote:

What are the signs of a problem?

Dependence on alcohol has two components, psychological dependence and physical dependence. When psychologically dependant the person feels a need for drink, but would not develop withdrawal symptoms if they were to stop. When physically dependant, a person develops a craving for drink and experiences unpleasant physical syomtoms if he or she does not drink. In such cases, it would be irresponsible and dangerous for the person to stop drinking suddenly, without professional medical support and guidance.

Early Warning Signs

How can you tell whether you, or someone close to you, may have a drinking problem? Answering the following four questions can help you find out. (To help remember these questions, note that the first letter of a key word in each of the four questions spells "CAGE.")
• Have you ever felt you should Cut down on your drinking?
• Have people Annoyed you by criticising your drinking?
• Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking?
• Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover (Eye opener)?

One "yes" response suggests a possible alcohol problem. If you responded "yes" to more than one question, it is highly likely that a problem exists. In either case, it is important that you see your doctor and discuss your responses to these questions. He or she can help you determine whether you have a drinking problem and, if so, recommend the best course of action for you.

Even if you answered "no" to all of the above questions, if you are encountering alcohol-related problems with your job, relationships, health, or with the law, you should still seek professional help. The effects of alcohol abuse can be extremely serious, even fatal, both to you and to others.

First step is to see if you can go with out drinking for an evening and then a few evenings in a row.
If this is a problem then talk to your dr and maybe see about getting in touch with a support group.

EireRoadUser

I appreciate the response.
I'm ok in regards to not drinking ,i wreckon it's a habit that i have to stop.
I gave up the smokes a couple of years back and thats when i started to have a few drinks at home, just to kill the cravings so i wouldn't take a drag when i was out.
I was concerned as to the amount I was drinking at home ,but now i know it's not always the amount but the circumstances in which i am drinking that matters most.
Lost track of things big time.
None tonite and none for a while to come, no more verbal diarrohea from me for at least a fortnight.