How often must one be drunk to be considered an alcoholic?

Answer 1

I don't think it's the volume you drink but the reasons for it. If drinking is a coping mechanism, you are an alcoholic. There also seems to be a genetic tendency.

Answer 2

Whether you're an alcoholic has nothing to do with how often one gets drunk, how much one drinks, when one drinks, what one drinks, or even why one drinks. Alcoholism is defined by the physical and psychological dependance on alcohol. Some people indulge in daily drinking binges for years without becoming an alcoholic (although they certainly have a drinking problem, which is defined differently), while others become alcoholic after surprisingly few drinks.

Problem drinking can be just as damaging as alcoholism. The only difference is that you're not necessarily a problem drinker "for life". Alcoholism is an incurable disease. Problem drinking is a behavior. It's difficult to tell the difference, particularly while the drinking continues.

If you have a drinking problem, please consider getting help. The damage you're doing to your life and your body will have far-reaching effects that you cannot imagine.

Answer 3

It is not the frequency of the drink. It is whether drinking interferes in your life or not. A person can drink every day and be an alcoholic or once a month. My husband is a recovering alcoholic. When he drank he would drink maybe 3 liters of vodka at a time and get stupid and miss work and make me hate him. He didn't do it often, but when he did he was someone else and turned our world upside-down. Now he knows that he can't even have one drink because one is too many and a thousand are not enough.

Answer 4

There is no straightforward answer to this question. I knew of someone who would go out for 6 months and drink morning to night, The next 6 months theyed stay in and be teetotal. They died. I dont think i could go 6 months without a drink and love to get blottoed on a saturday night. I once worked with a lady who drank vodka steadily through the day. i never saw her drunk. I dont think you need to be drunk to be an alcoholic. If you need alcohol to get through the day every day then you are an alcoholic. Everyone else needs to look at their own personal situation.

Answer 5

It's not the amount, but the fact that you need alcohol that makes you an alcoholic.

I know old ladies that drink sherry all day long, they're out like a log at night but they behave beautifully, so well you would'nt even know they are drunk.

On the other hand there are people who just drink two beers and act like Conan the Barbarian.

If you have a reason to drink, because you need it, you are an alcoholic.

Answer 6

You can never drink and still be an alcoholic. It's not the amount you drink, it's the manner in which drinking (or the desire to drink) controls your life.

If you wake up in the morning craving booze
If you constantly think about when you can drink again
If you drink alone often
If you blow people off to drink
If you lie about how much you drink
If you black out when you drink
If you're losing friends or a job or a loved one because of your drinking


Then you are probably an alcoholic.

Answer 7

I don't think it's the frequency, but rather the quantity. If you go out every night and have one beer, you're not neccesarily a drunk. But if you drink a six pack every night in 1 hour, you're more likely to be. You could also only drink once a year but if you don't know when to stop, you could still be an alcoholic.

Answer 8

More than 3 drinks a day is considered alcoholic.

Answer 9

It's not how often you get drunk. It's whether you are lured into drinking more than you should, which usually leads to other bad drunk behaviours too. If you can tell yourself I'm sticking to one glass an hour and stay with it you should be ok if you don't drive. That's if you're at a party once in a while, and if you're sipping and not drinking it all at once.

Answer 10

It isn't how often you drink, it is how you react to the drinking. I know someone who drinks very sporadically, but when he does, he gets into fights, get arrested, had a DUI, etc. He drinks probably twice a month. I keep telling him he has an alcohol problem, but he keeps telling me he doesn't drink alot. He will end up killing someone under the influence, and then everyone will be screamng that he had an alcohol problem.

Answer 11

Everyday, I think.
My parents are both alcoholics.
My father cannot be at home and not be drinking beer. The only time he's not drinking is when he's at work. And there have been times when he's shown up drunk at work.
My mother is almost the same way. Alcohol isn't the only thing she drinks, but almost...