what is your definition of an alcoholic?

Question

i think there are different stages/levels. whats your opinion?
and how often and how much do you drink?

Answer 1

i agree about different stages or levels. you don't just wake up one day an alcoholic it has to grow from somewhere.

from needing a drink to relax to needing a drink to get through the day.

my next door neighbour goes to work in a morning is in the pub for his dinner so he can get through the afternoon then goes straight to the pub after work until kicking out time. then starts all over again the next day!

my other half has a drink every night to help him relax! when he goes out he drinks till he drops. even if when he leaves the house he wants to be home early. it never works like that though. he doesn't know when to stop. his drinking is causing a lot of arguments between us.

i only drink every now and again and only if a don't have my daughter. you can't be fully responsible for someone else when your under the influence.

i have a lot of friends that think i'm weird cause i can go out and have a goodnight without drink. personally i think its them with the problem!
when i do drink i know its time to stop when you start telling everyone you love them and wanting to tell them whats wrong with them followed by 'but its OK i can tell you this cause
i
love
you!!!!'
xxx

Answer 2

An alcoholic is someone whose life is chronically disrupted by the drinking of too much alcohol too often. That's putting it kindly. If alcohol has caused problems in your life and you can't stop drinking in spite of these problems, you're an alcoholic. Yes, there are different stages. The first is social drinking. The second step is uncontrolled drinking--drinking until you pass out. Next, you start having blackouts and can't remember where you were the night before so you have to start making things up. By now you've probably lost a job or two due to drinking or because you're frequently hungover and unable to go to work. If you're married your wife/husband is either thinking about or has left you. You've been in trouble with the law. You're lucky if you haven't killed yourself or someone else by now because you insist on driving when you're drunk. Eventually you'll end up with cirrhosis of the liver and/or dementia. How often do I drink? Never.

If your drinking has become a problem for you, get help now. Believe me, drinking won't solve your problems, it will only make them worse. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

I tend to find it pretty easy to make the diagnosis in a patient face to face. However unlike with most diseases, when I though about it, I found it difficult to scientifically quantify how I attached the disease label.

The web as ever had many different definitions, from which I chose this one, 'The term alcoholic is generally defined as someone who is addicted to alcohol. Addiction in turn is defined as a maladaptive pattern of drinking that leads to significant personal problems as defined by 3 or more of the following in the same 12 month period.'
www.classkids.org/library/ref/glossary.htm

I have often heard it said, that the definition of an alcoholic is someone who drinks more than his doctor. Though this sounds like just a joke, I understand that it means a little more than this. It is suggesting that the diagnosis is a subjective one, which might be affected by the doctors personal view on alcohol and indeed his personal drinking habits, since few people wish to admit that they drink too much.

Answer 4

Stages...levels? Nope....sorry. An alcholic is an alcholic and always shall be so. As far as levels, someone may start as a heavy drinker and alcoholism follows. Not every havey drinker is an alcoholic or will be tho. An alcoholic is a person who kind of has a severe allergy to alcohol.......one drink is too much and a thousand aren't enough. An alcoholic does not have to drink every day or even every week. It's what happens when they drink. Blackouts, inability to stop at a reasonable amount, etc.

As for me......I don't drink at all....haven't for 18 years and yes, I'm an alcoholic! If you are asking the question there is probablya problem. Check out AA.....we're a great group of people!

Answer 5

An alcoholic is someone who is addicted to alcohol.
In other words, they have a craving for alcohol, inability to stop drinking even if they want to, physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms, and tolerance (increasing difficulty becoming drunk).

There are three stages.
1. The person begins to depend on alcohol to affect their mood and give relief from thinking about problems. Tolerance begins to form.

2. The need and desire to drink increases, larger amounts are being consumed earlier in the day, and withdrawal symptoms begin to appear when drinking stops.

3. Obsession with drinking to the exclusion of everything else. Damaged liver function. Malnutrition. Mental and physical health deteriorating. Personal relationships destroyed, financial and legal problems become severe.

I used to drink a lot in my 20's, social settings, never alone. When I found myself drinking a LOT (like two bottles of wine) in social settings, I stopped drinking. I don't drink at all anymore; not because I dislike drinking, but because I have no tolerance at all for alcohol. A half a beer makes me tipsy!

Answer 6

Definition of an alcoholic to me is some one who has to drink when waking in the morning ,drinking at lunch time and tea time instead of eating . I personally only drink if i am on a night out which is not that often and then i only have one pint .

Answer 7

An alcoholic is someone who doesn't have control. Either they can't control how much they drink, or they can't control how they act when they drink. Another term that's useful is "alcohol problem." That means that drinking is leading to problems in the person's life -- in their health, work, relationships, etc. It is possible to have a drinking problem and not be an alcoholic.

I only have one or two drinks a week, but my extended family has about 50% alcoholics.

Answer 8

I never drink, because "I" choose not to, not because I think that everyone who drinks anything at all is "bad." That said, I think that an alcoholic is someone who "needs" to drink at all. The word "needs" is the important factor. Someone who can not do things that they normally would be able to "without a drink." Dependency on anything is not a good thing and needs to be dealt with... one or two drinks once in a while for pleasure is fine, beyond that, we may need to look at the reason "why."

Answer 9

i think that there are different levels in the sense of how people function but an alcoholic is someone who depends on alcohol for many different reasons and different amounts. but it is a problem for all of them and should be treated as the illness it is. i drink about once a month when i go out with the girls and i binge drink which is very unhealthy for me but i cant help myself?????

Answer 10

Alcoholic is when someone drinks when they are depressed to help them cope with living.

I drink alot but thats cause im in college hehe.

"Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholic's normal personal, family, social, or work life. Alcohol consumption caused by alcoholism can result in psychological and physiological conditions, and ultimately in death. Alcoholism is one of the world's most costly drug use problems; with the exception of nicotine addiction, alcoholism is more costly to most countries than all other drug use problems combined.

While alcohol or sedative use is required to trigger alcoholism, the biological mechanism of alcoholism is uncertain. For most people, alcohol use poses little to no danger of addiction. Other factors must exist for alcohol use to develop into alcoholism. These factors may include a person's social environment, emotional health and genetic predisposition."