Do I have a drinking problem?

[Polgara]

A friend recently told me that I have a drinking problem because I drink 6 nights a week. To prove a point, I went two weeks without a drop last month. I never miss work, though I do show up with a hangover every so often, like this morning. I'm a Citrix Administrator.


Can't I just enjoy getting tipsy every night without being a drunk?


Sarah <-- sipping Jack-n-coke as she types


PS: I have done things while drunk that I would NEVER do sober.

 

[RossMAN]

In order to determine if you have a drinking problem, we're going to need some hardcore evidence.

Picts?

 

[PsychoAndy]

check the sig ross

 

[glen]

Face to face, sightless solitude.
And it's finger popping.
Twenty four hour shopping in rapture.
Fab Five Freddy told me everybody's fly.
D.J. spinning, I said, "My, My."
Flash is fast, flash is cool.
Francois, c'est pas flashe non due.
And you don't stop, sure shot.
Go out to the parking lot.

 

[glen]

Just have your party on T.V.
'Cause the man from Mars won't eat up bars where the T.V's on.
And now he's gone back up to space where he won't have a hassle with the
human race.
And you hip hop.
And you don't stop.
Just blast off, sure shot.
'Cause the man from Mars stopped eating cars
And eating bars
And now he only eats guitars.
Get up!

 

[LordMaul]

<< Sarah

PS: I have done things while drunk that I would NEVER do sober. >>




Um...

Pics?

 

[Polgara]

Ross,
The Pic in my Sig is from a UT fragfest/kegger I went to in Tuscaloosa AL. My cup runeth over.

Sarah

 

[StinkyMeat]

If you have to ask whether or not you have a drinking problem...

you have a drinking problem.

 

[LordMaul]

Damn, didn't read the thread.

 

[charrison]

Polgara,

Sounds like it could easily develope into a real problem..but given you are citrix admin you may need it

 

[XMan]

<< The Pic in my Sig is from a UT fragfest/kegger I went to in Tuscaloosa AL. >>



Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Where are all the women like you? All the ones I meet just wanna go shopping . . . !

 

[Polgara]

Sounds like it could easily develope into a real problem..but given you are citrix admin you may need it

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's great. I went Citrix due to high demand/low supply. Jobs are everywhere with above average pay. It's not a cakewalk.

Citrix = pain in @ss.

Sarah

 

[Sir Fredrick]

Sounds like you are quickly developing a serioius problem.

My grandmother was able to go a few weeks of being completely sober, but she definitely had a drinking problem.

 

[Platypus]

I am such an angry drunk

 

[Kadarin]

<< A friend recently told me that I have a drinking problem because I drink 6 nights a week. To prove a point, I went two weeks without a drop last month. I never miss work, though I do show up with a hangover every so often, like this morning. I'm a Citrix Administrator.


Can't I just enjoy getting tipsy every night without being a drunk?


Sarah <-- sipping Jack-n-coke as she types


PS: I have done things while drunk that I would NEVER do sober. >>



Heh.. I think every woman has done things drunk they would never do sober... (pics?)

However, that doesn't indicate a "drinking problem"; and neither, I think, does the fact that you like to get tipsy a lot. More worrisome is the apparent obsession with the subject: "to prove a point.." Has this issue come up before? Does your family have a history of alcoholism?

Then again, like charrison states, you are a Citrix admin......

 

[amnesiac]

If you REALLY want to check to see if you have a problem, here is the DSM-IV definition for substance abuse/dependence:

DSM-IV Criteria for Substance Dependence

? Maladaptive pattern of use that causes distress or impairment
? Manifested by 3 or more of following:
? Tolerance
? Withdrawal
? Substance taken in a larger amount or for longer period than intended (loss of control)
? Desire/repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down or quit
? Lots of time spent in obtaining substance or recovering from its effects
? Important activities given up because of use
? Substance use is continued despite knowledge that it is causing physical or psychological problems


DSM-IV Criteria for Substance Abuse

? Maladaptive pattern of use that causes distress or impairment
? Manifested by 1 or more of following:
? Failure to fulfill role obligations at work, home, or school
? Use in hazardous situations
? Substance-related legal problems
? Recurrent interpersonal problems
? Never met criteria for dependence



Also, take the CAGE test. If you answer YES to any of these 4 questions you may have a problem:

CAGE Questionnaire


C Have you ever felt you should Cut down on your drinking or drug use?

A Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking or drug use?

G Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about drinking or drug use?

E Have you ever taken a drink/used drugs first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?

 

[amnesiac]

From a purely clinical standpoint, you do NOT have a problem given the information you've provided (i.e. you can still do your job, you haven't had any interpersonal problems b/c of drinking,etc..)

But keep those points above in mind, those are the best ways to realize you may have a problem.

 

[Polgara]

Heh.. I think every woman has done things drunk they would never do sober... (pics?)

Which is why, for the price of conversation, I can always get free drinks. I figure a guy who was really interested in me wouldn't try so hard to get me drunk.

There are no alcoholics in my family. People ask WHY I drink, and I think it's a just a bad habit I picked up in college. It's a lot easier to avoid boredom if you are tipsy. I think that if I developed more of a social life in my new location it would be easier, but my social life for the last 6 years has centered around parties with free-flowing drinks.

by social life, i don't mean dating. The last thing I need right now is more of that sort of attention. It's always been a lot harder to develop girlfriends than boys who are friends. Problem is that evey boy who I have become friends with wants to escalate the relationship. At times I have gone along, but....well never mind. I'm rambling. Another danger of drinking alone. Goodnite all.

Sarah

 

[Zenmervolt]

Coming in to work hung over is, IMO, worse than missing work because the company is then paying you for unproductive time. Of course, if you're salaried then the point is largely moot if we assume that when hung over you are not distracting to other workers (which you are likely not). Still, I think that it shows a lack of respect and professionalism to come to work hung over. Were I in the position to do so, I would not tolerate any employee who made a habit of coming in hung over. Once or twice a year after big celebrations is excusable, a couple times a month is not. But I don't know where you are on the frequency of this, so I can't judge.

The general rule for me is that something is a problem if it begins to interfere with other aspects of your life. There's nothing wrong with going out and painting the town with your friends, but if it gets to the point where it impacts other areas of your life then it's time to think about getting advice from some place with more credentials than an internet message board.

ZV

 

[Kadarin]

<< by social life, i don't mean dating. The last thing I need right now is more of that sort of attention. It's always been a lot harder to develop girlfriends than boys who are friends. Problem is that evey boy who I have become friends with wants to escalate the relationship. At times I have gone along, but....well never mind. I'm rambling. Another danger of drinking alone. Goodnite all. >>



Spoken like a true engineer Actually, I've heard this a lot. I've known some women who prefer to have guy friends because "women are just so stupid" (not all women, of course, but I think you know what I'm talking about)

Good night

 

[Jzero]

<< I'm a Citrix Administrator. >>


Stop right there. You probably do have a drinking problem, but it should be the least of your worries.
Don't feel bad. I'm a Windows NT "security administrator."

 

[tcsenter]

<< A friend recently told me that I have a drinking problem because I drink 6 nights a week. To prove a point, I went two weeks without a drop last month. I never miss work, though I do show up with a hangover every so often, like this morning. I'm a Citrix Administrator. >>

I am responding to your question as if you're being serious. But, as I have learned, people will hear what they want, see what they want, believe what they want. So, I'm just going to say what I have to say, what you chose to believe is up to you.

Proving you don't have a drinking problem by not drinking for one, two, three, four or more weeks does NOT prove you don't have a drinking problem. In fact, many bona fide alcoholics go through a stage of denial where they attempt to 'prove' to others they have no drinking problem. They can frequently go weeks - MONTHS - without a drop. In the case of a person with a real drinking problem, this is a VERY dangerous 'stage' of denial. Why?

Because in going without alcohol for so long, an alcoholic has, in his own mind, removed all doubt or suspicion that he has a drinking problem. He was not only trying to prove to others he has no drinking problem, he was trying to prove it to himself as well. Now that there is no longer any doubt in his mind that he is in full control, and that it is everyone else who has the problem, not him, it almost always results in the alcoholic pressing-on with their drinking - full steam ahead - removing any barriers to increasingly severe stages of alcoholism.

Drinking 'daily' is NOT the definition of alcoholism, thus not drinking daily cannot disprove alcholism. Being unable to go significant periods of time without a drink is NOT the definition of an alcoholic. These are only individual factors in an overall "profile" of behavior which taken together define or strongly indicate alcoholism; each factor being in and of themselves insignificant.

 

[Polgara]

Actually, I've heard this a lot. I've known some women who prefer to have guy friends because "women are just so stupid" (not all women, of course, but I think you know what I'm talking about)

Astaroth33

Not stupid, but irrelevant. I mean, who really wants to go to a Pampered Chef party? How 'bout a Baldurs Gate all-nighter? Try to get the girls together for that!




tcsenter,
Thanks!




Sarah <--really goin' to bed now.

 

[Freejack2]

Tsk Tsk and you complain everytime Belgarath has a drink?!? Me thinks we should have a talk with Durnik about your drinking problem.

All kidding aside, it may not be a bad idea to go to some alcoholics anonymous meetings... :/

 

[kduncan5]

It is not my intention to rain on your parade, but as a recovering alcoholic I just wanted to suggest that what may not currently be a problem could become a problem if you don't keep it on a leash. And that's kind of hard to do. Consider:

I started drinking, or partying as I used to call it, several nights a week. Before I realized it had happened, it was every day, then whenever I wasn't working, then even when I was working, then all day, every day.

You say you like to get 'tipsy'. But to what degree is 'tipsy'? I'm assuming it's not what I used to call 'sh*t-faced drunk'. Some people can drink 'socially'. But if you're not a 'social' person, then how is one to define 'social drinking'? I couldn't/can't drink socially, because I didn't/wouldn't want to stop until I passed out in my easy chair. Then I'd wake up shaking so bad I couldn't trim my beard without holding the scissors with both hands. Then I'd sip a few until I didn't throw up anymore, and I was fine.

I'm not trying to scare you, but the fine line between 'social' drinking and alcoholism is such a fine line, I never knew I'd crossed the line until it was too late.

Now, 10 years (April 10th), and several hospital stays later, I know I can never go back to drinking.......ever again.

I hope your trials will never be as bad as mine were.

Good luck!!! -kd5-