how do u know when your an alcoholic?

Answer 1

-When you can't go more than a couple days without it.
-When you immediately get goosebumps thinking of your ext pina colada.
-When you don't know how to answer someone when they ask if you are an alcoholic (i.e. "Define alcoholic". Yes, you are one).
-When you know how to make more mixed drinks than the bartender- and you've never been a bartender!
-When you ask a question like "How do you know when you are an alcoholic?"

Answer 2

There's no real clinical definition of an alcoholic. Alcohol support groups tend to scare people with their "answer yes to two or more of these questions and you ( are a drunk ) " questionaires. Most people will have answered yes to moe than two at some point in there life. I think the best definition of an alcoholic is someone for whom alcohol causes disproportionate harm in their life than good.

Consider:

Do you regularly consume more than the safe level of units per week ( liver problems will creep up on you over time without you noticing - you can reverse the damage but only before the signs show )?

Do you regularly need to take time off work as a result of drinking, does drinking effect your work performance?

Does your drinking negatively impact your relationships with friends and family ( even if you think it is their problem or attitude towards your drinking that causes the problem ) ?

Do you regularly do or say things when drunk that you later regret and wish, on balance, you had not got drunk in the first place.

Alcohol can be a wonderful enhancer to a moment. Looking at it objectively, if it is doing more harm in life than good, one needs to redress that balance by giving up or cutting down.

Answer 3

I like the 3 day rule. If you can't go 3 days without drinking you are an alcoholic. There is one exception though. If you drink every day, but you only drink the equivalent of one or two beers, then you are only a small time alcoholic, not a real one.

Answer 4

A lot of people will say it is when you start to have problems in your life because of alcohol, but I don't agree. I think you should get help as soon as you realise that the thing you think of when you have a problem is alcohol. Don't wait for it to progress into something where you're drinking everyday, get it early.

Answer 5

Several tools may be used to detect the habitual abuse of alcohol. The CAGE questionnaire, developed by Dr. John Ewing and named for its four questions, is one such example that may be used to screen patients quickly in a doctor's office.

Two "yes" responses indicate that the respondent should be investigated further.

The questionnaire asks the following questions:

1. Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?
2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
3. Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?
4. Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

Another screening questionnaire is the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), developed by the World Health Organization.

The Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire is a more sensitive diagnostic test than the CAGE test. The Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire serves to distinguish a diagnosis of alcohol dependence from one of alcohol abuse.

Answer 6

alot of these answers are stupid. my brother is an alcaholic so i kno the signs. you kno ur an alcaholic wen you'll do anythin 4 a drink. you dnt ave 2 drink all day to have the illness. alot of alcaholics that are in the worse part do drink all day but that leads on from drinkin every nite all weekend n ne time ur not workin. some people are unsure if they're alcaholics or just binge drinkers if its got 2 that stage go a full 7 days not drinkin, that way not only do you find out if ur alcahol dependent your body has a chance 2 ave a break. if you cnt do this plz seek medical advice, like i said iv seen first hand wat its like n the pain n hurt effects the people around ya as wel as yourself

Answer 7

An alcoholic doesn't know or see that they're an alcoholic. Ever heard of denial?

Answer 8

Well I'd imagine if you feel like a vodka and tonic instead of cornflakes you might get worried :)
I think it's crazy to drink and drive, if you cannot go somewhere with your car without taking a drink its not a good sign.
We could all test ourselves if we felt we were going overboard by saying to ourselves, 'ok I have had drink every evening which isnt great for me, let's see can I cut it down to just weekends.
If we cannot manage this, there certainly is a problem.

Answer 9

I will invite my friend who is an Ex alcoholic round for a few drinks and ask him

Answer 10

If you were an alcoholic, you wouldn't be trying to get attention by asking. You would just be drinking...