define alcoholic...

This may seem kinda random but I want to know what your definition, qualification or whatever of an alcoholic is. Brad and a few people had a huge argument at the bar last night about it and they want an outside opinion on the subject...

1-are you an alcoholic if you can give up straight even though you spend most of the time drinking?

2-are you an alcoholic if you drink excessively, but only on weekends?

3-are you an alcoholic if you cling to drinking during a rough patch, but sober up after it's passed

4- are you still an alcoholic if you've gone to rehab, quit drinking and attended AA meetings?

5-explain your own whatever on alcoholism...

 

someone who drinks enough to where its clouding there head.

 

wouldn't that just be a drunk, not an alcoholic? which is pretty much the whole argument, where's the line between the two.

 

I would say that if you feel the nagging urge to drink, and it interferes with your health or personal life, then it's a problem. I believe some people can drink large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis and not be an alcoholic, although regular, heavy consumption is going to creep up on most people in terms of their health in the long run. It really depends on the person. Some people can drink lots of alcohol and not really be affected by it. It all depends on a person's body chemistry and state of mind. It's going to differ from person to person. There were times in the past when I really used to drink a lot. When I came to the realization I was drinking too much, I didn't have much of a hard time cutting back to only once or twice a week, or every two weeks. Some people might not have the same self-control, while others might. I believe there are a lot of external factors that play into this as well.

 

i think people are alcoholics when they feel like they "need" it.

 

Right. Heck, I know I crave a drink (or three or four) every so often. But it's not like I absolutely have to have it. If a person experiences anxiety or irritability when no alcohol is available, then it's a problem.

 

thanks, I have to agree. People are funny sometimes, you have no idea how personal this argument was taken for some people... they were drunk though, but it was funny to watch... and is probably not over yet.

and yay, I'm not an alcoholic! ...wait, what if you crave it but probably just because you can't have it and other people around you do? like at a party when your pregnant? I guess it'd depend on the strength of the urge.

so yeah, this thread is pretty much pointless and proves I should not be on a computer when I'm this tired... good night

 

Mmm... some people just seem to have a disposition to depend or rely on alcohol. It is an addiction, afterall.

I think part of being an alcoholic goes hand in hand with what your peers think of you. If your friends notice that the person they once cared about is addicted and not the same person who they are when they are sober, it's pretty foretelling that there is a problem.

I know people who get wasted each and every weekend and can drink obscene amounts. I consider these people to have problems with alcoholism, and I feel they have a disposition to rely on alcohol, although it hasn't blossomed into a full life-overhauling addiction.

 

an alcohaulic substance is one whose molecular structure incorporates the hydroxyl radical. an alcohaulic person is one who feels a physical dependency on consuming alcohaulic substances.

=^^=
.../\...

 

my father is an acoholic. I am writing a piece on him right now. he drinks to clear his mind. he drinks to go to sleep. he drinks to relax. he drinks cause he had a bad day. he drinks 5-6 drinks a night from the time he comes home to the time that he goes to bed every night.

but in all honesty at times I'm scared that I am alcoholic. I drink almost every night. and when I hit rough times I do have a habit of drinking to try to fix my problems. However, the main difference I see between my fathers drinking and mine is that I know i have a problem and I know how to correct it. He denies he has a drinking problem.





and here is the beginning of one of my poems I am writing about this subject. remember it is not finished.

Take a long slow sip
Savor the taste
Collect your thoughts
Calm your mind
Relax
Go to sleep

At least those are the excuses that you made when I confronted you on your habit
It’s not a problem you said as you slurred your words and stumbled back in the kitchen for round 4 of the night
It’s not a problem you said as you knocked over and tilted every picture on the wall as you made it up the stairs
Its not a problem you said as you yelled at me because you dropped the glass
It’s not a problem you said as you raised your hand to me
Besides you drink too
So it’s not a problem

Only thing is it is a problem
It becomes a problem when you don’t know how to love anymore
It becomes a problem when your daily tradition when you walk into the house is:
One shot vodka and then one double scotch on the rocks
And that is before the drink with dinner
The drink after dinner
And the two or three it takes to go to bed
Ok fine. . So maybe you just like to drink

But maybe this is the problem
You have no control of your temper
I’m sick of lying for you
I’m sick of covering for you
I’m sick of pretending that this will end one day
When for 22 years of my life it has been the same thing over and over again

Maybe it is a problem when you raise your hand to me cause I didn’t answer fast enough
And throw me into the book case to teach me a lesson.
Maybe it is a problem when you bang your head against the desk cause you can’t find something
That you forgot you hid from yourself last time you were drunk

 

wow sorry for the long post. just had a lot to say on the matter i guess cause it hits close to home for me

 

i don't think you can have a good objective definition. it affects everyone differently. although if you take a day off and start going through withdrawal, it's pretty likely that you are an alcoholic

 

Physical allergy coupled with a mental obsession. Thats about as close as I can get. I'm sure everybody differs greatly on the topic.

 

to me, an alcoholic is someone who cant live without alcohol on a daily basis and freaks out if they dont have a drink..

my dad is an alcoholic, he freaked when my mom forgot the wine the other day, and to make things worse, they ran out of whiskey too.. ooh that was a tough night.

its pathetic, but.. my dad comes home from work exhausted and grumpy every day, he deserve his alcohol, i think. if he ever got out of control tho, id call the cops, even before my mom.. but i dont think he ever will. at worst hell drink himself to sleep.

 

If you can't stop, you have a problem. When the booze is in charge, not you.

 

I used to be an alcoholic.

I never came up with a satisfactory explanation, I just knew.

These days I can drink till I black out, and I know I'm not one.

Although my alcohol consumption has drastically diminished, I don't think that is the most important factor in determining whether I'm an alcoholic or not.

I'm not even afraid of the label.

I think maybe what changes is that currently, when I drink I'm having fun with a group of friends.

I'm not depressed in a dark room by myself thinking of jumping out the window.

Exhuberance, not escape.

That's what I think defines addiction in general: escape.

 

i agree completely..

 

Exactly, it's often the situation as well as the individual, people who are stuck in dead end situations in which they feel helpless. The question then is whether you can rearrange your life so as not to have the need to escape.

My definition of alcoholism or addiction is whether it adversely interferes with your life, and can you go without it when you want to.

My mom's an alcoholic. She stopped drinking when she was my age, but she'll always be an alcoholic. I have a hereditary predisposition toward alcoholism myself, it runs in my family, and indeed I may be one, I've certainly had my bouts of heavy drinking, but I regularly participate in activities that require me to be sober, distractions if you will, and that's been my saving grace.

 

there are many contradictory definitions of alcoholism, but I'm pretty sure I'm one because I've found it to be a mostly successful coping mechanism.

 

when it's not alcohol, it's drugs, or sleep.. i consider sleep a seriously addictive and dangerous escape, but.. i am guilty, of all 3..