alcoholic?

Question

iv been recently told that my drinking behaviour is getting a little serious, im 18 and i rekon i drink the same amount as any other 18 year old. i have never thrown up from drinking but i have come close a few times. it doesnt take much for me to get drunk and i usually need someone to carry me home or to bed by the end of the night. i do get drunk almost every weekend but thats only because ive been going out. some things have happend which im too happy about while being drunk such as kissing guys i normally wouldnt or ending with guys i shouldnt. is this anything to be worried about or am i just doing what most normal 18 year old do?

Answer 1

Every hear the story about the jaywalker? There was this jay-walker who use to get the biggest rush out of just walking across the street. As you could image this didn't always go over well and he would at some point get hit by a car, break something, heal and get right back to jaywalking. One day it killed him. The point being the only time its a problem is when your causing problems for yourself and continue to do it. From the sounds of it thats what your doing, also can see that you can't enjoy your weekends without it. So yep your developing the beganings of alcoholism... and just so you know its normal for most 18 year olds now adays to be alchies so acting like the rest of the 18 year olds out there isn't a good thing....

Answer 2

Ok well yea you are developping the beginning stages and signs of Alcoholism. Which its ok but one would reccomend stopping before things get too serious and you start to have liver problems. Having one or two drinks every once and a while is cool and all but you really don't need to be wasted every weekend. If you need someone to carry you home or to bed then yes im sorry but you have a problem and should more than likely stop drinking. Most 18 year olds aren't even smart enough to recognise that they might have a problem with drinking and think that they're immortal and can't be harmed by drinking but they're wrong so please don't act like all the others out there.

Answer 3

wow. I got goosebumps from reading your question! I started drinking when I got to college(at 17) and I started out just drinking on the weekends with my roommate and floormates. I really liked it, but my roommate and floormates weren't into going out as often as I wanted, so I started hanging out with a group that partied like I wanted to. I did things while I was drunk that I would wake up in the morning and just be "OMG! I can't believe that I did that...I would never do that sober!"At first I was kind happy with the outcomes of my drinking...but it progressed to the point where I was often asking my self "why is that my friends don't suffer these consequences and I do?" that's because my friends weren't prone to alcoholism ( or maybe for them it's going to take longer to develop)
so fast forward 6 months (of attemping to control my drinking- which didn't work-I would end up drinking more than I had planned for the night, alcoholim denial, absoutley horrible consequences that were more than I could deal with) I got fed up of not having control over the amount I drank for a night, and with help (which I recieved from another drunk), decided that alcohol wasn't for me.
Just like you, my consequences started out like that, but got tremendiously worse with time.

I don't know why, but once my body and brain have alcohol, it wants more, it starts an obsessive compulsive thinking and it doesn't stop until your wasted or can't get more alcohol.

So to answer your question, yes this is something to worry about. and most "normal" 18 year olds (believe it or not) only go out once a month and drink SOCIALLY(2-3drinks a night)

Try to go without alcohol for a month. See how you do.

Send me an e-mail with ANY questions that you have or just to say hi and I'll be so happy to respond.

Take care!

Answer 4

Many college age people, whether or not they go to college, go through an experimentation stage with alcohol and/or drugs at this stage of their lives. Most learn to moderate or quit on their own.

Some won't and will end up being alcoholics and addicts, and others will run into some serious consequences for their behaviors.

There are no guarantees on which group you'll end up in. You're underage so you're already taking chances, try to limit those chances, be careful of where and who you're with. And for heaven's sake don't drive if you've had ANY! An underage DUI or DWI even without an accident will follow you.

Check out this website:
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/YouthIssues/index_CollegeStudents.html

Answer 5

When I was eighteen I was drinking just like you are. I was not an alcoholic - yet - but I was on my way.

But that doesn't mean YOU may not be one - it just means I was not one yet at 18. . Eventually I became one. But I have recovered thankfully - but not before harming a lot of people I loved and myself as well. The best thing you can do see if you ARE already an alcoholic, a potential alcoholic or just "misbehaving".

Get yourself a copy of "Alcoholics Anonymous" and read the first 43 pages, which is designed to help you make a determination whether or not AA is for you. In other words, "Are you REALLY an alcoholic?"

You may not be. And only YOU can make that determination. In fact the chances are good you are NOT. (Only roughly 10% of the world population actually is.) If you are, it’s like winning the lottery with odds like that. (Because AA has a real solution.)

Unless I had LEARNED to answer that question - it was impossible to know if I was "In the right place" - AA members say they don't like to proclaim individuals as alcoholic (Those don't betray their own precepts that is.) -- so I had to do it myself – as it is supposed to be.

Luckily the book showed me how, just as it was designed to do.

Then when YOU, not anyone else, decides that you are a "One of us", or if there is anything you don't understand about how to make that determination, tomorrow go to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous and get a sponsor who has experience in taking others through the 12 steps and identifies him/herself as someone who has recovered. If someone says they are still "Recovering" politely pass, and keep looking till you find someone for whom the Program has actually worked.

Disregard how "Nice" or "Knowledgeable" the still recovering person seems. If you want to be that person's friend, fine - but do not permit yourself to fall under their sponsorship, unless they have recovered from alcoholism. "Not drinking" today does not count. If you are a real alcoholic YOU may NEVER drink again safely nd this person’s method may KILL you - as earnest and nice as they seem.

Your sponsor will refer to him/herself as "RECOVERED"

She'll know EXACTLY what to do with you from there and you can trust that without reservation.

Do not let anyone sponsor you whose solution is "Don't drink and go to meetings", or "Just don't drink" or "One day at a time". These concepts are not part of Program, but they are rampant never the less. These people may mean well, but they have NO IDEA what “The solution” is and are only saying these things because they don’t know what else to say. If that is their solution, and it works for them, it may KILL you, if you are a real alcoholic as described in those first 43 pages.

If you determine from that book that you are a real alcoholic, that kind of advice does not work. Never has, no matter what they tell you.

If anyone tells you aren't ready to take the steps, RUN! If anyone tells you they did it slowly, therefore so can you RUN! They may not be a "One of us".

If anyone tells you that you ARE an alcoholic, just because you showed up. RUN! "We don't like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic." YOU must ascertain it yourself, by those 43 pages.

I hope this helps. If not now, then maybe later.

Good luck. If there is anything else I can help you with, just email me. You have a long life ahead of you - if you are an alcoholic but can recover - you might as well know now so you don't waste time ruining things for you and everyone who loves you.

Peace,

Danny S
recoveredalcoholic
I am Googleable

Answer 6

Sweet innocent Mel, I have told you about this a while back and you vehemently denied it. Now that you have more members backing me up in my statements to you, will you please quit that self-destructive behavior? Hon, I never meant to hurt your feelings, but from your other questions I know that you are trying to go to Europe. In Europe, like I told you, you will be able to legally obtain alcohol at your age. While I want you to go out into the world and to collect your own experiences, I am afraid for you that, while being in countries that make it easy for you to continue in your current behavior; therefore, I am begging you to get a hold of yourself before you even go overseas. Mel, you can't do this on your own. You know I am telling you the truth. Won't you please take this serious. It's perfectly normal for young people to go out on weekends and party, even to drink some, but while you find yourself doing things (i.e., kissing guys you normally wouldn't, or ending up with guys you shouldn't) which you know are strange occurences, that ought to give you reason to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself the question: "Why am I doing this to myself? What is missing in my life that I am trying to fill in for by getting 'slushed' to the point of no remembering? What is it I am trying to run and hide from? What is it I am trying to forget?" Mel, all these are valide points and I really need for you to stop at the mirror and say: "Today is the day, I'll put the bottle away"! Hey that rhymes :) Again, it is definitely something for you to worry about. After all, you made the first step by coming to this site, trying by owning up to your responsibility. Obviously, you know what you are doing is only hurting you and could, potentially, endanger your well being. Not just from the alcohol standpoint, but from your actions while you are highly intoxicated. I don't have to point out to you the risks you are taking while your mind is clouded with alcohol. You know where I am getting at. Thus far, you may have been lucky, no, blessed, to not have caught any serious disease from one of the guys you wake up next to in the morning. Nevertheless, to ease your own mind and out of respect for your future mate(s) please go and get tested for STDs and HIV. Hon, I am not trying to scare you, but I was young and stupid too. I too partied every weekend and some times during the week, while I was your age. And yes, I too woke up to a complete stranger one morning. At that time noone spoke of AIDS yet, but I was scared nonetheless. Enough to stop drinking like I was. Beside, I grew up with an alcoholic father and thought drinking and getting drunk under stress or on weekends was normal. I got lucky, no, again I was very blessed! I never caught anything. Stop while you can! But ask for help. To fight this by yourself is an almost impossible battle to win. Get help! Confide in either a parent or a very good friend or relative. Even a counselor, as I have told you before! Have someone help you. Don't be ashamed to admit to your mistakes. We all make them at one point or another. If you need to or feel like you have to, please don't hesitate to contact me again. I promise, I will be here for you! Good luck, Sweetie, and may God bless you and watch over you. MsB.

Answer 7

OK this is very serious you need to get into rehab ! this will help you stop drinking and its a mirichal!