So answer me this ATOT: which behavior is more representative of alcoholism?

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Both are signs that you may have a problem.

any particular reason why you say this, jules?

Yes, my Step Dad was an alcoholic, he used to drink alone and he used to drink excessively. He ended up putting a rifle under his chin and pulling the trigger early one morning after drinking heavily all night. Didn't kill himself but he made a big mess and that incident was the final straw in his relationship with my Mom...I was 9 years old at the time.

Also, a good friend of my wife's husband is an alcoholic and his addiction to alcohol is destroying their marriage and his life.

I've seen the signs and know enough to recognize them.

 

[Perknose]

OP, not sure about your examples, but hanging around outside liquor stores offering yourself to strangers for sex in exchange for enough coin to score a nice big bottle of Mad Dog 20 20 definitely suggests a problem.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

I would say that if the OP has a drink or two one or two nights a week, he's probably not an alcoholic, but I would caution him to pay attention to see if that habit becomes 3 or 4 or more nights a week.

And I also would say that IMHO alcoholism does not require you to drink to get drunk, nor does it require you to drink to the point of illness or blacking out, though that is common. I would posit that having 3 or 4 drinks and getting that buzz is also alcoholism if done with regularity.

Drinking to get drunk is what us alcoholics do! Our bodies process alcohol differently than normal people's bodies. When I put alcohol into my system, it sets off a chain of events inside me that makes it impossible for me to stop until I pass out. How you drink is not the important part...its what the drinking does to you that makes you an alcoholic.

No one should ever call another person alcoholic. Alcoholism can only truly be self diagnosed.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Both are signs that you may have a problem.

any particular reason why you say this, jules?

Yes, my Step Dad was an alcoholic, he used to drink alone and he used to drink excessively. He ended up putting a rifle under his chin and pulling the trigger early one morning after drinking heavily all night. Didn't kill himself but he made a big mess and that incident was the final straw in his relationship with my Mom...I was 9 years old at the time.

Also, a good friend of my wife's husband is an alcoholic and his addiction to alcohol is destroying their marriage and his life.

I've seen the signs and know enough to recognize them.

wow sorry to hear that

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: NSFW

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

I would say that if the OP has a drink or two one or two nights a week, he's probably not an alcoholic, but I would caution him to pay attention to see if that habit becomes 3 or 4 or more nights a week.

And I also would say that IMHO alcoholism does not require you to drink to get drunk, nor does it require you to drink to the point of illness or blacking out, though that is common. I would posit that having 3 or 4 drinks and getting that buzz is also alcoholism if done with regularity.

Drinking to get drunk is what us alcoholics do! Our bodies process alcohol differently than normal people's bodies. When I put alcohol into my system, it sets off a chain of events inside me that makes it impossible for me to stop until I pass out. How you drink is not the important part...its what the drinking does to you that makes you an alcoholic.

No one should ever call another person alcoholic. Alcoholism can only truly be self diagnosed.

yup, but I think you also know that most alcoholics ignore the signs, and downplay their actions.

and I would think that many alcoholics start out have 3 or 4 drinks a couple of nights a week, and then that turns into every night, and then that turns into a 12 pack a night, and so forth as the buzz starts coming later and later.

Some alcoholics start hard and fast, but most grow into it in my experience.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

yup, but I think you also know that most alcoholics ignore the signs, and downplay their actions.

and I would think that many alcoholics start out have 3 or 4 drinks a couple of nights a week, and then that turns into every night, and then that turns into a 12 pack a night, and so forth as the buzz starts coming later and later.

Some alcoholics start hard and fast, but most grow into it in my experience.

Downplay, yes. Ignore...I don't know. Most of the people I know knew damn well they were alcoholic. They did all they could to hide it, then felt terrible guilt and shame for their actions.

Again, there is no rule for quantity or how a person drinks. I know plenty of people who were instant alkies...some drank mildly normal but knew that they didn't drink like normal people. I spent almost 10 years trying to drink like a normal person. I knew I had a problem but kept trying to fix it on my own. If I could only not drink alone, not drink at bars, not drink liquor, not drink beer, not drink in the morning, not drink to get drunk, only drink when I wanted to get drunk......FUCK!

I am not saying that I know everything there is to know about alcoholism. Only that the majority of people I associate with are recovering/recovered alcoholics. I have heard so many different definitions that people had before they were finally ready to admit they were licked. No two are the same because us alcoholics have a great ability to lower our standards to meet our circumstances.

There are plenty of people who drink alone that aren't alcoholic. There are plenty of people that go out and get hammered once or twice a month that aren't alcoholic. But there are plenty of alcoholics that do one of those and not the other. I can link to stories of alcoholics that did one, the other or both. I can't link to stories of non-alcoholics that did either because I don't think they have ever wrote a book about their drinking experiences.

 

[CRXican]

What if I go get a 40oz of Mickeys and drink it by myself while watching football? Easy to get buzzed off a 40oz.

 

[Deeko]

Drinking alone, without question

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: CRXican
I wish drinking wasn't so taboo that we had to worry about crap like this

Drinking is not taboo, and that's not why he's worrying about "crap like this."

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: CRXican
I wish drinking wasn't so taboo that we had to worry about crap like this

Drinking is not taboo, and that's not why he's worrying about "crap like this."

then explain it to me oh wise one

 

[Red Squirrel]

The fact that you're doing it because you enjoy the drink and not to get drunk (and probably don't get drunk) then I don't see how it could be wrong.

 

[Amused]

Alcoholism is, quite literally: the inability to moderate alcohol.

If one or two a night is all you have, AND you can take it or leave it, you have no problem.

If you NEED those two drinks a night, and have issues when you don't get them, then you have a problem. If this is compbined with an increase in the number of drinks each night over time, you have a problem.

As for binge drinking... If you have a pattern of drinking to excess everytime you drink, you have a problem. You are unable to moderate your intake.

 

[zinfamous]

your friend has killed too many braincells to think rationally.

try and explain it to him that way.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: CRXican

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: CRXican
I wish drinking wasn't so taboo that we had to worry about crap like this

Drinking is not taboo, and that's not why he's worrying about "crap like this."

then explain it to me oh wise one

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Drinking alone, without question

I say this because, those who endorse the blanket statement "drinking alone = alcoholism" also think drinking = intoxication.

These types are true alcoholics, because they have no concept of drinking without getting plastered, and to be honest, they don't really like alcohol. Otherwise, they'd be able to drink it and enjoy the taste and relax, not just spend $10 on a case of Coors and get shit-faced.

On the other hand, consistently drinking a case on your own is a problem, though it is no different than consistently drinking a case with your "Bros."

I suppose the now-annual self-destruction of the Cowboys is a valid excuse, however

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: Deeko
Drinking alone, without question

I say this because, those who endorse the blanket statement "drinking alone = alcoholism" also think drinking = intoxication.

These types are true alcoholics, because they have no concept of drinking without getting plastered, and to be honest, they don't really like alcohol. Otherwise, they'd be able to drink it and enjoy the taste and relax, not just spend $10 on a case of Coors and get shit-faced.

On the other hand, consistently drinking a case on your own is a problem, though it is no different than consistently drinking a case with your "Bros."

I suppose the now-annual self-destruction of the Cowboys is a valid excuse, however

The question was which is more representative of alcoholism, and the unequivocal answer to that is drinking alone. I didn't say drinking alone makes you an alcoholic, just that its far more representative of alcoholism, and that it leads to it more.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I believe that I AM an alcoholic (quit for nearly a year now) and looking back it was pretty clear even when I started drinking. Alcoholism isn't so much a chemical addiction as it is a slight difference in the wiring of your brain that makes it easy to drink and keep drinking. The chemical addiction comes as well, which further complicates things, but an alcoholic will always have failed to find that point of "enoughness" even before they were addicted. One drink was never enough for me. If I had only one beer and I drank it, the nagging, worrying need for more would be all I could think about until I acquired more. It was like that from the very beginning.

Alcoholics like to believe that everyone has their weakness. I've seen other people drink and perform the magical act of stopping after just one or two and then seem to completely forget about the rest of the alcohol in their fridge. Because that has always been an impossibility to me, it clearly marks them as having capabilities that I do not. Thus I come to the conclusion that people who can drink in moderation DO exist, and having a small drink while they watch the evening news or fool around the house in the afternoon is a perfectly normal activity FOR THEM. Not for me.

If you're having 5 or 6 a night then you have a problem. If you're having one or two and having to actively fight the urge to make more you have a problem. Otherwise I say you're fine.

 

[skyking]

It is defined by a pattern. if you have a pattern to your drinking and departing from that pattern takes any effort, you need to think about it.
A pattern can be the binge drinking, once I start I don't stop.
It can be the two beers every night.
It can be getting buzzed every friday night. Think back and try to remember when you did not do that one, for example. If you can't really remember when, try not doing that.
If not doing it really ruins your evening, that might make you think about it.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: skyking
It is defined by a pattern. if you have a pattern to your drinking and departing from that pattern takes any effort, you need to think about it.
A pattern can be the binge drinking, once I start I don't stop.
It can be the two beers every night.
It can be getting buzzed every friday night. Think back and try to remember when you did not do that one, for example. If you can't really remember when, try not doing that.
If not doing it really ruins your evening, that might make you think about it.

this is problem the best answer I've seen in this thread.

alcoholism is a dependency on alcohol. you don't have to get drunk to be an alcoholic, some people need their one drink a night to function, without it they have issues. that's the sign of alcoholism. and of course getting smashed frequently throughout the month is probably a clear sign of a problem

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: Deeko
Drinking alone, without question

I say this because, those who endorse the blanket statement "drinking alone = alcoholism" also think drinking = intoxication.

These types are true alcoholics, because they have no concept of drinking without getting plastered, and to be honest, they don't really like alcohol. Otherwise, they'd be able to drink it and enjoy the taste and relax, not just spend $10 on a case of Coors and get shit-faced.

On the other hand, consistently drinking a case on your own is a problem, though it is no different than consistently drinking a case with your "Bros."

I suppose the now-annual self-destruction of the Cowboys is a valid excuse, however

The question was which is more representative of alcoholism, and the unequivocal answer to that is drinking alone. I didn't say drinking alone makes you an alcoholic, just that its far more representative of alcoholism, and that it leads to it more.

eh no

the option is: having a few drinks alone

regardless, the fact remains that "consistently drinking excessively," in an any situation, is more of an indicator of alcoholism than is "drinking alone." These are the two options given.

If you think about it for a second, you should be able to deduce the qualifiers for each statement, and which statement is inclusively inherent in the other.

 

[JohnCU]

alcoholism: wanting to stop but not being able to.

thread over.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: skyking
It is defined by a pattern. if you have a pattern to your drinking and departing from that pattern takes any effort, you need to think about it.
A pattern can be the binge drinking, once I start I don't stop.
It can be the two beers every night.
It can be getting buzzed every friday night. Think back and try to remember when you did not do that one, for example. If you can't really remember when, try not doing that.
If not doing it really ruins your evening, that might make you think about it.

this is problem the best answer I've seen in this thread.

alcoholism is a dependency on alcohol. you don't have to get drunk to be an alcoholic, some people need their one drink a night to function, without it they have issues. that's the sign of alcoholism. and of course getting smashed frequently throughout the month is probably a clear sign of a problem

yes, but the current thought on a healthy diet includes one beer or one glass of wine every night. It's very true, but also constitutes a pattern by your description.

How can this both be considered healthy and a disease by the medical community? Overall, I tend to agree with your statement than an inability to break a buzz pattern can be a problem, but I think this becomes person specific.

I tend to think 2 beers every night is completely fine, but not everyone is going to manage a buzz off of only two beers, so it depends on the person. Are they going for the buzz specifically, or health benefit, or light buzz + health?

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: skyking
It is defined by a pattern. if you have a pattern to your drinking and departing from that pattern takes any effort, you need to think about it.
A pattern can be the binge drinking, once I start I don't stop.
It can be the two beers every night.
It can be getting buzzed every friday night. Think back and try to remember when you did not do that one, for example. If you can't really remember when, try not doing that.
If not doing it really ruins your evening, that might make you think about it.

this is problem the best answer I've seen in this thread.

alcoholism is a dependency on alcohol. you don't have to get drunk to be an alcoholic, some people need their one drink a night to function, without it they have issues. that's the sign of alcoholism. and of course getting smashed frequently throughout the month is probably a clear sign of a problem

yes, but the current thought on a healthy diet includes one beer or one glass of wine every night. It's very true, but also constitutes a pattern by your description.

How can this both be considered healthy and a disease by the medical community? Overall, I tend to agree with your statement than an inability to break a buzz pattern can be a problem, but I think this becomes person specific.

I tend to think 2 beers every night is completely fine, but not everyone is going to manage a buzz off of only two beers, so it depends on the person. Are they going for the buzz specifically, or health benefit, or light buzz + health?

It is the psychological response to breaking that pattern that I am emphasizing.
Drink as much or as often as you want, but consider your response to breaking a pattern.
Therein lies the answer to the question.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: CRXican

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: CRXican
I wish drinking wasn't so taboo that we had to worry about crap like this

Drinking is not taboo, and that's not why he's worrying about "crap like this."

then explain it to me oh wise one

He's not asking how society will view him if he drinks alone, he's asking about the disease alcoholism.

 

[nageov3t]

getting smashed in public is worse than having a drink or two in private.

but getting smashed in private by yourself is worse than getting smashed at a bar with your friends.