how long do you have to drink before you become an alcoholic?

Question

do you have to drink everyday.... for like years? or can you become and alcoholic by drinking 3-4 times a week for years?

Answer 1

Alcoholism



Modern Day System



Alcoholism is described as a chronic, incurable disease. The person is not responsible for his uncontrolled drinking, nor is he responsible for his behavior. The lies told, the people hurt, the family and social relationships damaged, the working abilities strained, and the crimes committed will bring consequences, yet it is the disease that caused the behavior.



The medical model is dominant in society today because the urge to drink often feels like a disease. It feels like something else takes over when alcohol is available. The experts define alcohol abuse as “for those who experience it, it feels like anything but a decision. If there is a decision to be made, it feels as if the disease does the choosing.”[i]



The disease model was first popularized in the 1930’s by Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Wilson did not use the disease label because it was well-supported by research. He used it because he thought it would help men and women to be more open about their drinking problems. In other words, he was using a metaphor: drinking is like a disease. Over the past fifty years the disease model has lost its metaphoric quality and the sentence has been shortened to “drinking is a disease.” The disappearance of the little word “like” has made a large impact in how our society understands alcoholism.[ii]



What is Alcoholism?



Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease that includes these symptoms according to the NIAAA:

· craving – a strong need, or compulsion to drink

· loss of control – the inability to control one’s drinking on any given occasion

· physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking

· tolerance – the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to ‘get high’[iii]



Other ways to define alcoholism are given in the Recovery Resource Book by Barbara Yoder:

· A chronic disease that has a biological origin. It is progressive, fatal without treatment, and affects a person mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

· A way to drown feelings.

· The heart gone astray; a spiritual disease.

· A progressive disease A lifetime disease. An equal opportunity disease. A drug addiction no better no worse than any of the others. It cannot be cured but can be arrested using AA, self-help groups, therapy groups, and most of all “a higher power.”

Answer 2

Alcoholism is herditary. So some people have a predisposition to the disease meaning to much drinking can lead to becoming an alcoholic. For others drinking 3-4 times a week may not bother them. It's only when an individual becomes dependent on the substance (alcohol) to function is when they are considered an alcoholic. Usually, they will do anything to get a drink. This does not have to take years to develope especially if it runs in the family. But at the same time it does not happen overnight. It just depends on the person and what they are drinking and how much of it.

Answer 3

Some people will become an alcoholic on the fist drink. SIC!!
Normally it takes time, some times years of daily drinking, but if you want to check it up, if you have become an alcoholic there is a way to find out.
If you offer an alcoholic a beer or a drink and that person wants more, it might be an alcoholic, if the person doesn't have a limit and is not able to say no thanks.
It is common that people who have been using benzodiasapin for some time, will become alcoholics when they stop using it.

Answer 4

It's not a matter of how long, The question you should ask is why you drink, how much you drink and how many times a day. You should also think if you hide to have a drink or if you lie to other people about how much yo drink.
And yes, you can be an alcoholic by drinking 3-4 times a week for years.

Answer 5

Alcoholism is like a disease except they say it's in your genes. If you are a person who is more inclined to alcoholism, you can become an alcoholic immediately. Others may never become alcoholics. While I was a scooter tramp, I drank almost 24/7 for close to 20 years and yet I could still take it or leave it. When I quit drinking alcohol completely, I just quit drinking. It was not a problem.

Answer 6

There's no formula for how to become an alcoholic. Many people drink every day and are not alcoholics. You become an alcoholic when you can't go without a drink.

The back-door prohibitionists say that anyone who drinks every day is an alcoholic. But, that's very untrue for other countries where wine is served with dinner every day. However, those people would not go into withdrawal without their daily glass of wine.

Don't believe the MADD hype. One beer does not make you crazy. A few glasses of wine will not make you so drunk that you go home with some stranger. Everyone has their own limits, but it's way over the .08 that MADD got through the courts.

Answer 7

It is not how much you drink that makes you an alcoholic. it is why you drink, and how hard it is for you to stop. Winston Churchill ran his blood Alcohol level at .06 for months at a time. But he was never drunk. An alcoholic would never have that much self control. What I have been told is an Alcoholic has a hard time deciding when to start, so they start too easily. And Alcoholics have a harder time stopping. The question is, if you went out with some tea totaling baptists, could you have a good time, without having a beer?

Answer 8

It's not about how long. It starts with the first drink you take. If you are high risk--alcoholics in your family--you probably shouldn't drink at all. In an alcoholic, consumption of alcohol changes your physiology making it difficult not to have another drink. This does take some time, but most likely varies depending on frequency and volume of consumption. Experts don't agree completely on the subject, so I recommend the "AA Big Book" as the best reading source.

Answer 9

You become an alcoholic when you have a need to drink every day.
It is like a craving and you have to have one which leads to two, three or more drinks a day until the effect on you is nill and then you drink some more to get a good buzz on. It is like any other addiction, such as smoking or drugs. The more you have, the more you want. Also most alcoholics are in denial about their drinking habits and refuse to get any help for it until something bad happens. Like Mel Gibson!!

Answer 10

It's not a matter of how long. It's to the point where alcohol becomes a part of your daily life. It affects your everyday life. It affects your everyday functioning. It's different for people. For some it could take days, for others years. But it's best not to start at all. Or if you are drinking, do your best to stop now before it's too late.