How do I tell if I'm an alcoholic?

[TeddyBearStallion 73]

I drink pretty much every day, does that make me an alcoholic?

[TwiceHorn 32014]

No.

When it starts adversely affecting your life, i.e. your job, your relationships, your legal status, that's when you become concerned.

Then you try to taper off or stop.  If you fail, then you are probably an alcoholic.

It's worth mentioning that drinking is always kind of a waste of time, but so are a lot of leisure activities.  That's not what I mean by adversely affecting.

If you want some real perspective, go to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and read the personal stories.  https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/alcoholics-anonymous

That will maybe give you some insight on the matter.

[JohnnyRage 1617]

Cravings (love the warm buzz, immediately start calculating what it’s going to take to maintain that feeling)

+ Consequences

+ Insanity of going back in and doing it all over again countless times when you know that you probably should’ve quit forget

= You may be an alcoholic

[Marfa Low Crown 2556]

41 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

It's worth mentioning that drinking is always kind of a waste of time

Bruh. 
 

[Jerry Callo 8956]

2 hours ago, TeddyBearStallion said:

I drink pretty much every day, does that make me an alcoholic?

There is a 50+ page thread on the Current Events / Daily Texan forum.  I suggest that you start reading from the beginning and see how many of the behaviors you relate too.  There are plenty of stories of people reading and lurking on that thread for months or years before deciding that they were problem drinkers or alcoholics.  There are also online quizzes you can take to determine if you exhibit the patterns and practices of problem drinkers or alcoholics.  Just be honest in your responses.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

3 hours ago, TeddyBearStallion said:

I drink pretty much every day, does that make me an alcoholic?

How much every day?  

 

[Baboontyme 2877]

Only a couple of pints. Of vodka. 

[deadshank 24654]

You go to weekly meetings with people that have alcohol problems?

Serious:  I hope you aren’t and can enjoy just a few pops every now and then.  Daily drinking is, as 2xHorn said, a waste of time.  

[TwiceHorn 32014]

Also should probably point out that depending on how much you daily drink and for how long, you could have some fairly serious detox symptoms, including hallucinations and seizures.  Detox can be deadly for a heavy long-term drinker that quits cold turkey.  In any event, it will probably be unpleasant.

That's a physiological thing, though, not really an indication that you are an alcoholic.  But it can make stopping difficult.  If you have been daily drinking more than 2-3-4 drinks for six months or a year, you should consult a doctor about stopping cold turkey.  Tapering off would be wiser.

When I say "have trouble," I mean, you detox, you experience weeks or months of sobriety and the attendant benefits, yet for some fucking reason you start back up again and go right straight back to your bad drinking habits and the bad results.  Then you try again, and fail in the same or a very similar way.  Rinse and repeat. That's when you need to seek help.

Edited June 1, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[Quagmire 2148]

Stick your finger up your butt and smell it, if it smells like alcohol you’re a drunk

[StruggleBus 3922]

I have 2-3 drinks per night, six or seven days per week. There might be one or two nights a month that I don’t have a sip. 
 

Decided to take one of the online quizzes mentioned above and shit, it seems to classify my drinking much more severely than I would have assumed. Interesting either way.

[TwiceHorn 32014]

The online quizzes aren't that helpful in my opinion.  The acid test is really, if you want to stop can you?  A secondary test is, do you start to go dien cai dau when you're stopped.

 

[Reagan1k 3042]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

The online quizzes aren't that helpful in my opinion.  The acid test is really, if you want to stop can you?  A secondary test is, do you start to go dien cai dau when you're stopped.

 

I agree with the above.  Based on my experience, the quizzes are something that probably came out of the treatment industry for a cookie cutter answer. 
 

For me, it boils down to some simple questions.  
 

When I have 1 or 2 drinks and try to stop or have to stop, do I feel anxious, unsatisfied, restless, or frustrated?

When I resolve to not drink, do I more times than not “change my mind” and later  drink when I had earlier resolved not to drink?

Am I arranging my life, work, social engagements so that I can drink the way I want and how much I want?

Am I hiding the amount I drink from others or sneaking drinks on the side? 

Whether you are a daily drinker or a periodic drinker, if these things are present in your life then you probably have the physical craving and mental obsession that  are symptoms of alcoholism.  
 

I’m an alcoholic.  If I am controlling my drinking, I’m not enjoying it and if I’m enjoying my drinking I’m not controlling it. 
 

These are questions you have to answer for yourself. 

[After irth 1245]

11 hours ago, Quagmire said:

Stick your finger up your butt and smell it, if it smells like alcohol you’re a drunk

Username definitely checks out. 

[After irth 1245]

8 hours ago, Reagan1k said:

I agree with the above.  Based on my experience, the quizzes are something that probably came out of the treatment industry for a cookie cutter answer. 
 

For me, it boils down to some simple questions.  
 

When I have 1 or 2 drinks and try to stop or have to stop, do I feel anxious, unsatisfied, restless, or frustrated?

When I resolve to not drink, do I more times than not “change my mind” and later  drink when I had earlier resolved not to drink?

Am I arranging my life, work, social engagements so that I can drink the way I want and how much I want?

Am I hiding the amount I drink from others or sneaking drinks on the side? 

Whether you are a daily drinker or a periodic drinker, if these things are present in your life then you probably have the physical craving and mental obsession that  are symptoms of alcoholism.  
 

I’m an alcoholic.  If I am controlling my drinking, I’m not enjoying it and if I’m enjoying my drinking I’m not controlling it. 
 

These are questions you have to answer for yourself. 

Spot on!

[JohnnyRage 1617]

9 hours ago, Reagan1k said:

I’m  an alcoholic.  If I am controlling my drinking, I’m not enjoying it and if I’m enjoying my drinking I’m not controlling it.

Until I arrive at some point where it no longer works for me. The window of enjoying my drinking gets smaller and smaller, arrives quickly and is gone nearly as fast. Just drinking to avoid pain and bring on dark oblivion.
 

May I add on to this 

[Ellellelle 349]

Drinking everyday isn't inherently a problem, as long as it's considered within a moderate amount. Mainly, if you are suffering from negative consequences, like your family is always pissed at you because of your drinking, you're late to work or missing important things, getting DUIs or driving after drinking, spending too much money on alcohol, etc...if you find that you binge drink, even on occasion...if you experience cravings, or when you stop, you experience any type of withdrawal symptom, these can all indicate a problem or an addiction.

I would be cautious about daily drinking, though. Alcohol is so highly addictive that it can easily spiral out of control.

[BearSchlong 8235]

On 6/1/2020 at 9:45 AM, TeddyBearStallion said:

I drink pretty much every day, does that make me an alcoholic?

If you are, you'll know.  I knew in January 2011 at the age of 38.  Haven't had a drink since.  And Alcoholics Anonymous is the best entertainment in the entire world.

Serious answer - my alcoholism is defined by consequences - and when the consequences become unacceptable then you might have a moment of clarity.

Jan 20 2011 I took a pretty lass out for dinner at Liberty Bar in San Antonio - apparently the date didn't go well, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital the next morning after a single car accident where I was in a drunk blackout.  And the nurses looked at me with disgust, gave me a set of paper clothes and slippers, and told me to get the hell out, that their attention was required elsewhere.

I was not an everyday drinker, and I rarely drank before 5pm on weekdays, and never before noon on weekends - a binge drinker through and through.

Jan 21 2011 - on that fateful morning I realized I almost lost my life due to my own actions - still, I had no idea that I was an alcoholic.  A week later my old man, who had been sober for several decades, called me over to the house and said "I can't say you're alcoholic, but I can say that your life shows an astonishing amount of unmanageability" - something clicked - what was wrong with me took a backseat to the consequences - unmanageability.  Had been fired, was going through a nasty divorce, and was pretty much circling the drain.  The idea that I might be powerless over alcohol came when I started going to AA in subsequent weeks.  So I worked the last part of the first step, then became educated about alcoholism.

Step 1 is "we admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable."

The cool thing is that alcoholism is self-diagnosed.  I'm not an alcoholic until I say "I'm bearschlong, I'm an alcoholic" - My psychiatrist, therapist, ex wife, ex boss all said "you have a problem with alcohol" to which I replied "fuck you, mind your own goddamned business" and became oppositionally defiant.

Admitting I was alcoholic was the most liberating experience of my whole life.  The last 9.5 years have been incredibly good.

My advice to you is to continue your field research thoroughly until you can't anymore.  Took me all of 22 years, all of which were necessary to prepare me for a sober life.

Also what TwiceHorn, Reagan, and JohnnyRage, and any of our "I'm an alcoholic" thread contributors write is invaluable.

Edited June 2, 2020 by BearSchlong

[TwiceHorn 32014]

1 hour ago, Ellellelle said:

Drinking everyday isn't inherently a problem, as long as it's considered within a moderate amount. Mainly, if you are suffering from negative consequences, like your family is always pissed at you because of your drinking, you're late to work or missing important things, getting DUIs or driving after drinking, spending too much money on alcohol, etc...if you find that you binge drink, even on occasion...if you experience cravings, or when you stop, you experience any type of withdrawal symptom, these can all indicate a problem or an addiction.

I would be cautious about daily drinking, though. Alcohol is so highly addictive that it can easily spiral out of control.
 

Yes, these are the things that I had in mind when I said adversely affects your life.

Your last sentence raises a conundrum.  You can most certainly acquire a physical dependence (with withdrawal symptoms) by drinking daily in sufficient quantity.  In my estimation, though, that is not full-blown alcoholism.

With some difficulty, the merely physically dependent could detox, say to themselves "God, that was awful, I'm never going to do that again" and mean it and not do it again.  That person might also safely resume drinking in lesser quantities.

The full-blown alcoholic will rapidly "forget" the awful detox experience and resume drinking in quantity at the first highly inopportune moment.  That person can never safely resume drinking in any quantity. 

The full-blown alcoholic has a genetic or other predisposition to this behavior, while a heavy drinker does not.  The alcoholic needs to drink enough to kick it all off, but I don't think drinking substantial quantities for prolonged periods is enough to cause alcoholism.  An unpleasant physical dependence, yes, alcoholism, no.

Of course that also prompts the question, why would anyone drink that much and that often if they weren't predisposed to do so.

Edited June 2, 2020 by TwiceHorn