Am I an alcoholic?

[Professor Willow]

I don't class myself as one but I do wonder about my alcohol consumption.

I am a regular drinker, I drink about 6 nights a week but never more than 3 pints and sometimes just the one.

The last time I was pissed was three years ago at a wedding (SA nightmare)
and I don't drink to get pissed but I have noticed recently how as soon as I get in after work I raid my beer supply.

Maybe it's just boredom, this afternoon for instance I'm sat here bored shitless and the only thing that came to mind was a nice bottle of cider, I feel more relaxed when I drink but notice also how I can become more gloomy as it wears off.

Several times I have said to myself no drink today but 9 times out of 10 I cave in

Idk?

[ExSAguy]

General rule is

Are you hiding drinking from people?
Could you turn down a drink?
Has anyone said you drink too much?
Would you spend money on booze instead of food?

From what you say, you're a casual drinker who drinks to unwind.

Just keep an eye on it and make sure up to 3 pints doesn't turn into up to 4,5,6 etc

[Between The Bars]

You're far from being an alcoholic.

At a max, you're drinking 3 pints of beer per night, that's nothing as far as am concerned.

If you're a wee bit overweight, cut the beer oot for a month, and then the weight will just drap aff ye.

If you're not overweight, enjoy yer pint(s).

[Between The Bars]

Are you hiding drinking from people? No.
Could you turn down a drink? Aye.
Has anyone said you drink too much? Aye.
Would you spend money on booze instead of food? No.

[Schmosby]

For me, anybody that drinks more than twice a month has a drinking problem.

[Between The Bars]

Originally Posted by Schmosby

For me, anybody that drinks more than twice a month has a drinking problem.

Aye, they only have one mouth.

[ExSAguy]

Originally Posted by Between The Bars

If you're a wee bit overweight, cut the beer oot for a month, and then the weight will just drap aff ye.

Really really does! Im a month sober yesterday after years of drinking a minimum of 12 units a day, every day.
I went from 90kg to now 78kg.
In one month!

[BritishPeace]

I don't believe alcoholism exists, so you cannot be an alcoholic to me. And it seems you enjoy it so carry on.

[Professor Willow]

Thanks for the replies

I do feel it is becoming a habit more than an addiction.
I have succeeded in only drinking on three nights this week.
I definitely miss it but its not unbearable.
Going to see what happens when my supply of booze runs out - how long before i have to go to the shop to get some.

[hollowone]

You're likely not an alcoholic though might be at risk. You should have a few more drink-free days a week. That 3 pints might over time no longer do it for you as you tolerance grows, turning into 4, 5 or more over time, eventually leading to dependence. It's important to take days off to prevent that from happening.

Maybe it's just boredom, this afternoon for instance I'm sat here bored shitless and the only thing that came to mind was a nice bottle of cider, I feel more relaxed when I drink but notice also how I can become more gloomy as it wears off.

Sounds like boredom is a major trigger for you. What is it that alcohol does for you? What could make those situations less uncomfortable without drinking?

I do feel it is becoming a habit more than an addiction.
I have succeeded in only drinking on three nights this week.
I definitely miss it but its not unbearable.

Good for you, sounds like you're managing. An alcoholic wouldn't be able to drink that moderately.

[Rockysocks]

If you feel you have a problem, go along to an AA meeting.

[Coffee]

I believe the distinction is if you can't not drink on any one occasion and/or if it's negatively impacting other aspects of your life.

Society isn't necessarily a good judge as the level considered "normal" is by now quite far removed from what would considered "healthy".

How is the cutting back going?

[Professor Willow]

^ The cutting back is going okay, only drank on two nights this week, have had some other things to occupy my mind which has helped.
Beginning to think I was being melodramatic, but it did seem that drink was my first and only thought when I got home in the evening.
Would be nice not to drink at all in some respects or maybe just socially - which would also mean never as I have no one to socialise with.

[GhostOnMagneticTape]

I was struggling with "alcohol dependency" in the evenings to help me sleep over the last 4 years or more. It's so tempting to pop out in the evenings, buy 4 cans of beer and knock them back. Fortunately I've somehow kicked the habit over the last few months though, I still like a drink at the weekends but am trying to only make it a social event rather than the old habit of drinking alone at home. I'm taking Mirtazapine which has helped me sleep better nowadays.

Alcoholism to me, is when one constantly needs to drink 24/7, waking up in the morning and having breakfast with a beer over cereal, going to work drunk etc.

[sillypenguin]

I'm not an alchohlic but I'm a problem drinker if that makes sense. Basically I could go a good couple of weeks without a drop of booze but could then go out, drink waaay too much, end up getting delusional and going off the rails worrying everyone around me to death. I don't know if that's worse than casually drinking?

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[hollowone]

For clarity's sake, an alcoholic is someone who/to whom;

• Is physically-dependent and has withdrawal symptoms when they stops
• Engages in a pattern of drinking known as 'relief drinking'; to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay
• alcohol has become central to their life, that they'd even put it before relationships or even break the law to obtain the resources to obtain it

If you're not that, you're not an alcoholic. There is a broader umbrella called 'problem drinking' which is not the same as alcoholism.

If the following is true you're not necessarily an alcoholic;

• You drink alone or 'self-medicate'
• You sometimes find it hard to stop drinking once you start

These are signs you're at risk. These are signs that drinking has become a coping mechanism for certain situations and that something's not right. If you drink heavily episodically, it could be that the situations in which you drink have learned associations. I don't agree with the belief that one is an alcoholic if that is true, but I personally would see them as types of 'problem-drinking'. I think it's damaging to make someone to whom that applies feel like an alcoholic.

If you experience cravings during certain times, among certain people, or with certain activities, that's a sign that drinking has become a learned association, a 'conditioned stimulus'. People don't have to be drinking at alcoholic levels to get cravings. The presence of cravings is an indicator of a psychological degree of dependence; learned pattern by the lower brain. Certain things have become 'conditioned triggers'. Exactly the same as the smoker. Even so, that doesn't mean one is an alcoholic in the medical sense, but a sign that they could spiral towards that direction.

Alcohol dependence operates on a spectrum with those at risk at one end (the self-medicators, the binge drinkers), and the true alcoholics at one end (the shakes, relief drinking). What's not acceptable is this view that one is either an alcoholic or not. The aa-centric, 12-step-centric status quo view just happens to perpetuate the idea and reinforce negative stereotypes for all problem drinkers, which I think is damaging, both to people's dignity and their willingness to be open about it. Why is something so antiquated, arrogant and ignorant of science got so much authority that it doesn't deserve? It's one I don't agree with. It's also the stereotype that's insinuated into most people minds, if someone admits that say, they have sometimes can't stop once they start, or that they drink alone because their circumstances are depressing, bang, they're an alcoholic. If anything, the fear of being seen as an 'alcoholic' is an artificial stigma that's been created by the cult of the 12 step program and the arrogance.

Just to reassure you, none of you in this post are alcoholics, or are drinking anywhere near alcoholic levels. It looks like you're doing incredibly well despite your circumstances. There's no need to fear being seen as an alcoholic.

Excuse the rant

[hollowone]

^Various self-help books, websites and therapists I've messaged. Drinking alone is a common way people cope with problems such as loneliness ad feeling of powerlessness.

But that is just silly lists in magazines

Exactly. Most of what you read in magazines and articles is meant to appease people's prejudices, it's shallow click bait.

I also disagree with some of the criteria for alcoholism; ' not being able to stop once started', and 'drinking alone'. Many people have had situations where they cannot stop once started, night-out with new people, getting layed-off from work. Does that mean they're alcoholics? No way. Drinking alone; sign of a shitty situation that you're struggling to cope with; 'self-medication'.

Best to address it now and be open about it, and your drinking sooner rather than later, before it develops into something more serious.

You are most certainly not an alcoholic, you're self-medicating because all those things you mentioned are too painful.

If it stopped being fun or useful I feel I would stop.

You've got to ask yourself, what is it giving you that you are missing? Start asking every time and you will find answers.

[яemus]

I think you are teetering on the edge OP, If you keep it measured an in control I reckon you should be OK.

[hollowone]

I drink alone, but then I do everything alone. I don't like drinking around other people and I don't like drunks. Maybe that gives me a special dispensation to drink alone, I don't know.

My dear friend, you don't specifiy what those 'other people' are like to be around, whether, or the degree to which you enjoy their company. There's something there that stops you getting a degree of rapport with people you meet. You don't like drunk s for the same reasons I don't, the though of being seen with one by someone you know hurts your dignity and secondly, they;re boring as sin.

I think you are teetering on the edge OP, If you keep it measured an in control I reckon you should be OK.

Disagree, this is a sign of unhappiness, it's self medication, simple. Not to be sneered at. It is a sign that the loneliness and boredom is getting too much, not a sign of an addiction. Did anyone read my previous replies? Of course not. Not to be arrogant, but I'm not half as arrogant as the status-quo view.

Stop with this black-and-white view that all complaints regarding difficulties stopping drinking=alcoholic complete with the shakes. Stop with this view that certain amount of pints=alcoholic.

I'm not defending myself, I'm sticking-up for the dignity of people who are coming-out here. If anyone can't relate to the hell that the loneliness that this anxiety, the loneliness it directly causes, plus the sense that no-one cares can put you in, they've got no right to be giving advice or calling people an alcoholic if they are drinking more than a set amount of pints a weak. It's not right for people who are self-medicating, due to finding loneliness too much, not having anyone to talk to and who are drinking more than they should be labelled as, and to be seen as 'alcoholics'.

I've already explained the criteria for what makes an alcoholic. Most folks posting here do not meet that and I hope that their drinking will NEVER progress to that level,

Read my last bulleted post.