What is an alcoholic? Traits etc?

Question

I'm 20 and i've recently noticed my friends who i've spent the last 3 years drinking with beginning to comment on my frequency and level of drinking. I'm always weary to some extent that some members of my family (uncles, cousins relations etc) are alcoholics and that i may have inherited the gene. Or is it a genetic thing? I'm wondering how much alcohol consumption in a week, in pints and shots, would be excessive to the degree that you could call a person an alcoholic? What sort of drinking habits would attached to an alcoholic?

Would it be an idea to do something like buy a car to take my drinking money away (or most of it).

Would it be an idea to do something like buy a car to take my drinking money away (or most of it).

Answer 1

An alcoholic is someone who goes to those weekly meetings to beat addiction.

A drunk is someone who is too stupid to realize that they are an alcoholic.

Personally, I was a drunk. I had an addiction that I was fortunate to overcome without external help.

There is no magic number of beers in a day that defines an alcoholic. There are no action that suggest you have a drinking problem. The answer lies within you.

At the height of my drinking, I was 5 ft 11 in and about 170 pounds. My tolerance to alcohol was so high, I could drink a case of beer in a sitting and still walk away (quite drunk, but I could still walk all the same). A bottle of Bacardi 151 would last me maybe two days. At that time, I didn’t think I have a problem.

I didn’t hurt anyone with my drinking and it did help me cope with the stress of college. Drinking was an issue at my school, a difficult private Engineering institution. My senior year, if I slept 4 hours any night of a week, that was a lot of sleep. Stress was so bad in one class, a group of us used to take turns bringing a Mountain Dew bottle filled with Vodka to class and pass it around. Still, I didn’t have a problem.

One day, I tried to stop drinking. I was running low on money. Stopping today turned into stopping tomorrow. Stopping tomorrow turned into stopping next week. Then I realized, I couldn’t stop. I had a problem.

My defining moment in my addiction was when my ex-gf came home (we lived together still) and I was sitting on the steps in the lobby of my apartment crying. When I admitted to someone else I had a drinking problem, it was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I stopped drinking one day. One day turned into two. Two days turned into a week. After a few weeks, I drank a little. I stopped for another week. I had finally gained control…just like someone turned a switch. I was able to drink in moderation.

I was never really on the wagon, but I guess you could say I fell off it a couple times anyway. I had a couple benders that lasted a few months. I quit drinking when I met my wife (who I met on dollar drink night of all things) and I was in graduate school. I guess I matured.

Looking back on it, I definitely had a problem. I would drink heavily and not remember how I got home from the bar (I was just lying in my living room with the door wide open, my friends still at the bar calling my cell wondering where I was at). I would drink heavily and walk two blocks home; the walk would take an hour and I had no clue where I was at (and the two beers I carried with me for the walk were empty). When I had to choose between food and beer, I went to a bar that had free appetizers during happy hour and eat there. There was an episode where I woke up in the elevator of a hotel...never figured out how I got there.

From my perspective, you might be an alcoholic if…

1.Absolutely the most important thing I’ll say…If you think you might have a drinking problem, you already do have a drinking problem.

2.If you rearrange your life so you have time to drink, you probably have a problem.

3.If people are telling you that you have a problem, you have a problem

4.If you look back on a night and wonder what you were thinking and this happens over and over again (whether you blacked out, drove home, etc.), quit drinking before you kill someone.

5.If you drink over eating, you probably have a problem.

6.If you can not go a week or two without drinking, you are screwed…get yourself to AA

7.If you can not cope with life or stress without drinking, you have a problem.

8.If you think you might have hit rock bottom, you already have and sunk into the mud on top of it. You have a problem.

9.Moderation is the key. If you can’t moderate, you have an issue.

There is no shame in admitting you have a problem. Like I said, that was my turning point in my life…not just my drinking problem, but my life. I was lucky. I was too stupid to ask for help, but I was able to beat the addiction anyway.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

That's a tough one. You have to separate learned behavior from physical dependancy. From my own limited knowledge of alcoholism, it is not an exact science and you really need to think about your need vs your want. I think I can say this about dependancy:

1 having to have a drink (or 2) in order to deal with a stressfull situation. You can't cope without one.

2. having a drink (or 2) every day at some point in the day. Social or not, not a day goes by.

3. getting the next drink (or 2) becomes the focus of your day, and actually becomes the priority. This could extend to those people who work all week to binge drink on the weekend.

4. genetics - yes there is a predisposition to the disease, but it is not the cause.

5. regular (or increased) periods (during drinking) are blacked out or fuzzy.

6. a week doesn't go by that you don't have a drink (or 2)

7. being secretive or deceptive to others (or yourself) about how much you drink, when, or how often.

I've known people who have been able to "quit for a month" just to prove they can do it. That's the not fixing the problem.

My thought is that since people close to you have commented on your behaviour, then they probably have reason to say it, and you should listen. They know you well, and they know what you are capable of. Perhaps they are looking out for you?

You are a lucky boy to have people step up to the plate, and confront you (even gently). They did the right thing, because you are now giving it some sincere thought. Yay for them!!

Answer 3

It's not a number per day or week, it's your capacity to stop. Can you stop after 1 drink? Can you stop after 2? Can you do that without it being a huge mental game? Can you stop 100% for an extended period, even when alcohol is present?
When 20 year olds (who are partiers) comment on levels of drinking, something is going on that is worth you taking action on (congratulations for asking here, a good first step). Don't worry about numbers or the actual label or definition of alcoholic. Just start with "I'm drinking too much" and I need to start down a path of drinking much less, if not stopping out right .
As for buying a car, I'd say don't do that as a means to stop: DUIs and killing people suck. Alternatively, you could not drink for say 6 months straight, and reward yourself with a car. But only if you honestly make it.

Answer 4

Put it this way -- if your friends are commenting about it and you are considering whether or not you have a problem with alcohol, maybe you should chill out for a while. If you have to ask whether or not you have a problem - you probably do. Maybe you aren't a full blown alcoholic - but you should maybe learn to drink a whole lot less. It's a lifestyle change (and a lot healthier too). Look on the brightside - If you curb your drinking to a minimum now when you're 20 - you'll look a LOT better when you get older and not haggard from too much drink!

Answer 5

Its really not that hard to tell. If you feel compelled to drink alcohol then you are an alcoholic. I used to be a very heavy drinker, many people considered me an alcoholic. But I am not. At the time I only drank because I enjoyed it. When I had something in life better, I stopped drinking (mostly, I still have a drink every once and a while but only for enjoyment).

Answer 6

Only one way to tell if you are an alcoholic. If you can't stop after one or two drinks you are an alcoholic. Drinking two drinks every night doesn't mean you are an alcoholic. Drinking once every ten years and not stopping until you black out does make you an alcoholic. It's not the frequency, it's whether or not you can stop after one or two drinks. An alcoholic can NEVER drink socially, not ever. It is inherent and I believe there is an alcoholic gene.

Answer 7

Someone who wakes up and feels like they want a drink instead of a normal tea or coffee

Someone who cant go into a pub and order soft drinks but has to have alchohol

Alcoholics can also go weeks without having a drink but once its there they have to have it and get drunk pretty quick

Try giving your body a break - call it a detox and just have healthy drinks for a while and see if you miss the booze?

I apologise to any alcoholics who read this and I have got things wrong but thats what I think and what I would do.


Good Luck xx

Answer 8

I think it varies from person to person, some people drink a bottle of vodka as soon as they wake up, for others it is more subtle than that. I think if it comes to the point where you cannot get through a day without drinking then you should have cause for concern. Check out Alcoholics Anonymous web site as they will be able to give you a better idea.

Answer 9

i have the same problem.. i have had family and friends worried for years about my drinking levels. im a 28 year old professional woman, but drink to excess. the av. for a woman should be 14 units a week - i have about 40... and i know it is damaging but i cant help it.. i have no health problems (yet) but i recommend taking thiamine (vit B tabs). and maybe counselling - ive had it before and will probably have to have it again. ive lost many friends, my job and boyfriend due to drinking too much (ive been told i turn mean when drunk sometimes) - but keep drinking as its a great stress reliever, and relieves loneliness and boredom. however, its all about weighing the pro's and con's. i'd seek help, before it gets bad, and you end up in hospital, losing your friends etc. i'm going to..
i also recommend 'SMART' recovery (an american based organisation like AA but different methods - the groups were fantastic (all backgrounds - there were lawyers, teachers etc) but u share in your experiences and provide moral support.
i wish u luck : )

Answer 10

An alcoholic drinks everyday, and he/she will drink alone as well as socially....the amount he/she drinks is not the issue, it is the frequency...drinking in secrecy and lying about the habit is prominent...... food becomes unimportant and therefore a drink is more preferable......to the best of my knowledge alcoholism is NOT a genetic thing.