What is an alcoholic?

[L A Woman]

Poll question: What is an alcoholic?

I'm not talking about the definition. :-) I am talking about how much drinking YOU THINK someone has to do for you to consider them an alcoholic. I am curious because I just spoke with a friend (native Californian) who thinks one drink a day is a problem. But where I come from back east, one drink a day is just getting started! What say you?

[SPKrazy]

1. It Depends... With Beer You Can Have More!

one drink a day would only be a problem if it got the person in trouble and they couldn't stop when they tried to.

someone else might drink a fifth a day and have reason to quit and quit without any trouble and not have a problem.

one drink a day is just getting started in my book, i've never met anyone who defined their problem like that, it has only been a theoretical proposition.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. It isn't the amount - that's a lie. It's the attitude and the reason for drinking,

and what one does while drinking.

Some can do a drink a day and are fine. Some might even be able to do four a day and not be alcoholics. Some can be alcoholics on one a day.

Quantity is irrelevant (though maybe at the litre a day line, the line has been crossed).

The question is, does the drinking lead to ignoring other aspects of one's life (hygiene, financial management, children, spouse, family, house, bill paying, job). If one is ignoring essential parts of one's life in favor of booze, then one is an alcoholic.

Anyone who thinks it is solely a quantity issue has bought into a lie.

[Serendipitous]

5. Well said.

I swear I am not following around around threads.

You stated it perfectly. In addition to the attitude and motivation, it's also the dependancy and need. Being unable to stop drinking despite a desire to do so

[sammythecat]

55. AH HA !! A stalker!!

Just kidding. I've felt the same way myself numerous times. You'll find that some people here have a knack for saying the right thing and saying it well. Rabrrrrrr's one of them.

Welcome to DU. Good to have ya. :toast:

[ellisonz]

60. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[bigwillq]

76. Hello!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Maddy McCall]

6. Yep.

Good answer, rabrrrrrr.

:thumbsup:

[Truthiness Inspector]

38. Good points

I briefly dated an alcoholic once, and the line was very clear. He would not and could not refrain from drinking EVER unless he was too sick to have another.

I know it doesn't have to be that extreme, but in my experience the line is crossed when it is screwing up your life so badly that others around you are asking (or outright begging) you to put the bottle down. Every drinking session ends up virtually identical: fights, missing work, blackouts, and so on.

On the other hand, lots of people drink without it consuming their lives, whether they have one drink or 12. Their personalities don't change while intoxicated and they don't live in a cycle of drunk - regret - drunk - regret.

[Melynn]

41. That's good

I have three beers everyday at the end of the day. I don't drive after I drink and get all my stuff done before it's Miller time (actually Bud time). I don't think that I'm alcoholic.

[Rhiannon12866]

64. I absolutely agree with you and think that you summed this up very well.

And I'm taking a second look at my behavior...:eyes:

[idgiehkt]

3. it totally depends on the individual

It's weird because once you kill your tolerance you can be slurring and stuff after one beer...it totally depends on the person and where they are at in the cycle of addiction. Some people can have several drinks of hard liquor every night after dinner for their entire lives and not become alcoholic. What defines alcoholism in my view is the inability to quit or exert any control over the drinking, not the amount. Of course there are people who get really drunk and hurt people they care about when they are drinking but can still exert some control by quitting for a while. I don't think it should be defined by amount, though, because people are so different.

[graywarrior]

4. Only an alcoholic can consider hin/herself one.

That's what they tell you in AA, anyhow.

[SPKrazy]

11. I Consider You One...

I mean you were partying with the nuns for Gawdess's sake!

:rofl:

I only consider you one because you consider you one really ;)

[graywarrior]

42. Isn't that taking my "inventory"?

:shrug:

[SPKrazy]

46. Did You Read Anything But The Subject Line!

I said I consider you one because YOU DO


and hell's bell's woman, if you aren't going to take your inventory, then you KNOW someone else is going to!

So get a pencil and paper out if ya need it!

:rofl:

[graywarrior]

47. Slap!

:spank:

[SPKrazy]

49. I Knew It!

you just read the subject line and this is how I get repaid?

:rofl:

[crim son]

7. I think it more depends on whether or you can do without your

one, two or four drinks a day, forever if need be. If you can't, you're in trouble.

[SPKrazy]

50. Yes...

and whether there are reasons that you don't need to be drinking at all.

any addiction ends up being the same issue... can you go without it, and is it causing problems in your life...

:hi:

[crim son]

53. Once again,

:hug:

You're fierce.

[SPKrazy]

54. Fierce...maybe

:hug:

[swag]

8. I don't care. If I am one, I'll die one, and that will be that.

[bicentennial_baby]

9. Heh, i resemble that remark!

Until I get pregnant, then i have to call it quits on the drinkin and smokin...Except for the occasional puff o' herb, that is :)

[SPKrazy]

17. Smoke Some e-coli!

I hear it rawks d00d!

I mean really wasted and shit from it!

:rofl:

[bicentennial_baby]

20. I'd rather smoke salmonella, thank you...

:rofl:

You never do quit, do you? :o

But, that's why I love you so! :D

ps- my feet still hurt...

:*

[SPKrazy]

21. Damn it Bibaby! I already

rubbed them...

but okay



here we go again

pay attention ;)

[bicentennial_baby]

awww, you're a good

foot slave... :loveya:

[SPKrazy]

36. Pfffftttttt!

:spray: foot slave? :rofl:



:loveya:

[SPKrazy]

15. Prolly so...

most alcoholics die drunk...

:shrug:

if ya are one I mean?

[mentalsolstice]

10. My parents think it's 2 drinks per week

I think it's when you're unable to act responsibly. I do all my heavy drinking at home...no worry about a designated driver. And I have several nights of a "no drinking" policy per week for myself...but then again it's all planned around being responsible and caring...

edited for poor grammar...I'm at home and drinking tonight!

[SPKrazy]

13. Where's The Spontaneity?

just kidding

sounds like a plan mentalcase, I mean mentalsolstice ;)

[mentalsolstice]

19. Well, that's my story...

and I'm sticking to it! As long as I pose no threat to another, and I'm not a blight on society...and I plan my drinking around my goals... I'm sticking to it!

Wanna come visit me? All Duer's will have a good time at my house. As long as there's no drinking and driving and you BYOB, you'll have a great time!

[SPKrazy]

22. Okay mentalc... I mean solstice...

;)


:hi:

[mentalsolstice]

24. I'll admit it

I'm a head case if there ever was one! In my case, I just try to be jolly about it!

[SPKrazy]

25. Eh, me too!

that's prolly why I like you!


:hi:

[mentalsolstice]

30. But we're the crazy people

that are really normal, everyone else around us is crazy! :hug: I like you too!

[SPKrazy]

35. I know it!

crazies everywhere abound...

and yet, here we are, so non-crazy :crazy:

;)

:hug:

[MrSlayer]

12. Someone who goes to meetings.

Us drunks don't bother with that crap.

[SPKrazy]

14. Bwahhaaahhaaaa!

good one!

:rofl:

[madinmaryland]

16. I'm thirsty. Pour me another beer Woody!!

[Dude_CalmDown]

18. Either you need more options or I'm certainly an alcoholic.

At least 5 every day for a few months now. But I'm at the gym at 5:30 am every morning so obviously it's not really having much of an effect on me.

[L A Woman]

23. well, it begs the question...

why are you drinking five drinks a day, every day???? My friend's point was that there should never be a pattern to it. Even if it's one a day, or certainly five, if you are doing it EVERY DAY, you have to ask yourself why.

By the way, I don't know how old you are, but I could do that when I was younger. I used to drink until 5am and go to work at 7am. But not now. Oh noooo. I had two glasses of wine the other night and I was sick for two days. I can't handle it, anymore!

[Dude_CalmDown]

27. Eh - I'll stop soon

Sometimes passing out the moment you lie down is better than the shit you think about the moment you see the back of your eyelids. Been telling myself all day every day for a few m onths now that I'm not drinking tonight - but I always do. Oh well - tomorrow. Haven't had a smoke in 57 hours so we'll see.

[L A Woman]

31. congrats!

it can be done. i quit 2 years ago. i whined about it for a few months, then i forgot all about what it was like to smoke. you can do it.

[idgiehkt]

33. congrats on quitting smoking!

they say three days and you have all the drug out of your body so you are almost there.

:toast:

[ellisonz]

61. Dude put the drink down...

and light up a :smoke: or :smoke:

And I say that as someone who's been drinking just a little bit too much the last couple months (no hard alcohol, beer/wine). :spank:

I'm functional, it's the coffee... :shrug:

[Phillycat]

79. I'll save a seat for ya.

[SPKrazy]

51. Yeah, I Could and Did Drink Like that

until I quit altogether.

Many a night/day I really never sobered up much before it was time to party again... of course there were black beauties etc. to keep me going :crazy:

wouldn't even want to think about doing that today, good lord I'm in enough trouble without it!

:hi:

[Left Is Write]

26. You can't specify an amount. There is more to alcoholism than what, when and how much.

Some people who have a drink a day might be alcoholics. Others are not.

[Bryan]

28. It's not quantity, it's the line between recreation and coping

If somebody I know is drinking because it helps to distract him from his unshakable conviction that everyone around him can see what a loser he is, any number of drinks is too many. To put it another way, three or four drinks a day to unwind after work isn't necessarily a problem. Three or four drinks a day to steel yourself to go in to work is a problem.

[Kajsa]

29. Other---

Sorry, but I'm getting into the definition.
( you saw that coming, right?)

Alcoholic- someone with a chemical imbalance
leading to a mental compulsion to drink.
The reaction to one drink is different for an alcoholic.
It sets in motion the compulsion to continue drinking
in spite of the self knowledge that the drinking is causing
harm to oneself and others.
It's a full-fledged addiction.

As the saying states, for an alcoholic

" one drink is too many
and a thousand not enough".

end of lecture----

;-)

[GoneOffShore]

32. I'm going to post this and then walk away

A day without wine is like a day without sunshine.

The big problem is that far too many Americans tend to overindulge at either end of the spectrum, like many things here.

Moderation seems not to be in our national character.

[Fran Kubelik]

34. Makes sense to me.

:hi:

[2bfree]

52. I am happier when I am not drinking.

It took me 40 years to figure that one out. If wine is your sunshine then go for it but it isn't good for everyone.

[KitchenWitch]

37. How much alcohol does it take to negatively affect one's life

It is different for each individual.

I also think, although it is a fine line, there is a distinction between problem drinker and alcoholic.

Have you ever heard the saying, "The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again, while expecting different results."?

An alcoholic will continue to drink, over and over again, worsening his/her life, but keep expecting things to get better, and they do not.

[gravity]

39. Alcoholism depends on the negative consequences

from drinking and the inability to stop

[idgiehkt]

43. sometimes

people can stop, but they turn into jerks when they drink and do hurtful things. I think that that is why so many people drink until they can't stop, because no matter how badly behave when they are drinking they take solace from the fact that they do still have the appearance of control. I was that way; I was a blackout drinker from the time I started drinking at sixteen and no control whatsoever over my behavior while drinking, nor did I remember much of it because I drank to excess just about every time. But as long as I didn't need it to get through the day, and only drank on the weekends, or at night after work, or whatever, I didn't think i had a problem. It wasn't til I was sneaking vodka into work in orange juice bottles during work, and finally got fired for mislabeling medical specimens repeatedly (at 23, years after I couldn't control my behavior while drinking), that I decided to seek help.

[undeterred]

40. An alcoholic is the last person to think he/she is an alcoholic

Denial is pretty much a standard feature.

[Initech]

44. From my personal experience, the alcoholics are the ones who admit they have a problem.

If you don't have a problem with it, then drink! :toast:

[Redstone]

45. Well, what did you expect? Californians are such NINNIES! The state is pretty much full

of people who are afraid to drink anything, afraid to eat anything, afraid to smoke anything...pretty much afraid to DO anything.

Here in the East, we tend to ENJOY life, rather than worrying so much.

(Hey, Californians, you HAVE to admit that's the way you look to the rest of us.)

Redstone

[ellisonz]

62. But I thought we were all dope smoking hippies...

:shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

68. Well, that's the stereotype, yeah

But the word "ninnies" cracks me up. :rofl:

[sandnsea]

48. Is alcohol interfering with your life

and you continue drinking anyway. Has nothing to do with how many drinks or even how often you drink.

[ComerPerro]

56. I'd be inclined to say any number per day might be indicitave of a problem

but there are other factors besides the frequency. For example, when you drink, how much do you drink, and for what purpose do you drink?

Its complicated, and it can't be broken down that simply.

I think age group is a big factor too. When I was 19-21, I drank a lot, three or four times a week, usually got quite drunk when I drank. Part of me is horrified at how much I drank then, but part of me says, well, that was several years ago, I learned a lot, I don't do it now, and all that other stuff we tell ourselves.

But here's the thing: I have friends (or, had freinds, long story, they don't talk to me now and I really don't care either way any more) who still act like we did when we were 20. They go out and get drunk, really really drunk, every weekend. Sometimes three or four times a week. The point is getting drunk, then having fun, but getting drunk first. And staying drunk. Problem is, they are 25-26 now. They are college graduates, they have college-degree jobs, but they still go out and do this. I don't see any sign that they will stop any time soon, either. Every time I would hang out with them, the first part of the plan would be finding a place to drink.

That, I consider to be alcoholism.

[reyd reid reed]

57. It depends

It's not something you can gauge by the number of drinks someone has, but how those drinks affect his/her life and whether they can get through a day (or a day off) without turning to them.

Not necessarily how much they drink, but what it does to them. An alcoholic is gone after the first swallow.

[Oeditpus Rex]

58. I am

So it's not my place to judge.

[ellisonz]

59. Peter Pace can bight my gay ass (and I'm not gay by either definition of the word)

No but seriously...hard alcohol and wine are the marks of alcoholism much more so than beer with it's low alcohol content. And I mean ferchrisakes Pabst Blue Ribbon is water!

mmmmm:beer:

[Oeditpus Rex]

66. Uh...

I drank beer almost exclusively.

[ellisonz]

69. Good to hear...although I do have a soft spot for tequila (not since freshman year, wink, wink)

When's the proper time to switch back to Dodger avatars? I'm not sure I can make it till April 1. Spring training except for the usual nagging injuries is going well, and no more J.D "Break a Bone" Drew! Hooray!

:smoke: >:beer: though, except for Mexican beer.

[Oeditpus Rex]

70. By tradition, I'm waiting until Opening Day

April 2.

At which time the winter beard will also come off, also by tradition.

I think you misunderstood me, though. I drank almost exclusively beer, and I still became an alcoholic.

[ellisonz]

72. I did misunderstand you.

Hang overs pretty much suck...so I'm not worried about being an alcoholic, plus I've gone cold turkey for pretty long periods of time by choice so my self-control isn't absent. I much rather prefer a joint and a book to beer and sports.

You better post before and after pics of the shaving!

[raccoon]

77. It's amazing how many people believe a person can't be an alcoholic if they only drink beer. nt

[ellisonz]

83. You misinterpret me...I'm not denying that alcoholics can be near exclusive beer drinkers.

I'm just saying that "hard alcohol and wine are the marks of alcoholism much more so than beer with it's low alcohol content."

You wouldn't agree that the person drinking 3-6 glasses of scotch a day has a more serious case of alcoholism than the beer drinking? That's a simple fact in terms of the pure physical addiction and not the psychological dependency (which I acknowledge exists with beer drinkers). It's a severity argument, which is why this poll is so problematic.

"Dependence also has multiple definitions, but is not as commonly used as abuse outside of the medical profession. Physical medicine considers dependence to be the body's physical adaptation to the persistent presence of alcohol. Psychological medicine considers dependence to be a person's mental reliance upon something to maintain their mental status quo. These two are occasionally differentiated as physical and psychological dependence. Within the field of psychiatry, alcohol dependence is the term referring to alcoholism. As a result, a diagnosis of alcohol dependence does not necessarily indicate the presence of physical dependence.

The precise definition of addiction is debated, but in general it refers to any condition which causes a person to continue behaviors demonstrated as harmful to that person. For alcoholism, that behavior is the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Some conditions which contribute to alcoholism include physical dependence, neurochemical conditioning, and a person's perception that alcohol benefits them psychologically or socially."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism#Terminology

This country often goes to far with its Moderate Upper-Middle Class Puritanism (See: Prohibition)...if Oedipitus was drinking a 12 pack of Bud-lite and a 40 oz a day then yes he clearly has a problem (besides bad taste in beer). All culture is relative...spare me the anonymous patronization.

The fact is that drinking is as old as civilization itself and that the anti-drinking threads often take on an overly moralistic tone that drinkers (including religious figures) have been fighting and violating for ages. Moreover, the "temperance" movement has often taken on overly class based tones and was often used to deny the working man his drink after a long day of labor. I won't stand for it.

:P :beer:

PS. I haven't had a drink in a week (i.e. not posting drunk/crunk).

[Phillycat]

80. Um.

No.

[LeftyMom]

63. When a person is dependent and drinking creates problems in thier life.

It has nothing to do with what they drink, when they drink, or how much they drink, it has to do with whether drinking changes who they are.

[Ariana Celeste]

65. It's all relative

to the person. It's not about how many drinks a person has per night. Do they NEED that 1, 2, 5, + drinks per night? Does it affect their relationships, work conduct, etc. ?

[Oeditpus Rex]

67. You nailed the keyword

"Need."

I got to where I didn't drink because I wanted to. I needed to — to keep from being afraid of how I'd feel if I didn't drink.

All addiction is a vicious cycle.

[ellisonz]

73. Hubert Selby Jr. is that you?

}(

:hide:

PS: They've now made his life into a movie: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hubert_selby_jr/
Edit: http://www.amazon.com/Hubert-Selby-Jr-Better-Tomorrow/dp/B000LC4ZK8

Just out this week.

[Maineiac]

71. I was married to an alcoholic for 28 years

It's not the quantity of booze, it's the anger, depression, and all around negative vibes that goes with it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

74. It's getting to be a pattern ...

every time I post on General Discussions, I do a shot.

It helps me cope with the responses.

:rofl:

[GoneOffShore]

75. Funny, I was getting to be the same way

:rofl:

But then I discovered the Ignore Thread switch!

And the Lounge!!!!

:silly: :bounce: :silly: :bounce: :silly: :bounce: :freak:

[Phillycat]

78. It has nothing to do with the amount.

You can be the stereotypical person who only drinks once a year, at the company christmas party, and ends up banging the secretary with a lampshade on his head.

It's not how much you drink, or how often you drink, it's what happens to you when you drink.

AA's definition is a mental obsession coupled with a physical craving. That is, even though you know bad things happen when you drink, you eventually do it anyway, and then once you start drinking, you can't stop. All of this is not necessarily hard and fast, for every single time you drink. I used to be able to convince myself I wasn't alcoholic because I was able to go out and have a just a few drinks sometimes. But when I finally got sober, I realized those times were few and far between. Usually, if I drank, I got shitfaced. I wasn't able to stop drinking once I started. And yet, eventually, the mental obsession would push me back into the bar, even though I hadn't liked the consequences last time I drank.

Sober 3.5 years.

[raccoon]

82. Congrats! nt

[skygazer]

81. It's not the amount and the beer thing is false

You can certainly be an alcoholic and drink nothing but beer. I've known several people who fit that description.

In addition, you can be an alcoholic and still function in your job, not miss a day of work and meet your responsibilities. I've known them, too.

[Withywindle]

84. Reading this thread makes it seem pretty subjective, honestly.

I don't think I am one, though. I'm perfectly capable of blowing off my responsibilities and picking stupid fights without drinking.

[Aristus]

85. Well, my wife thinks my having a drink or two makes me an alcoholic.

I keep telling her: "Honey, an alcoholic isn't someone who ends the day with a drink; an alcoholic is someone who can't start the day without one."

So that's my definition of the word.

[Breeze54]

86. Other: When you can't function without it.

When you think or your SO's think you have a problem.