Question by stanemac12: How much drinking is considered an alcoholic?
Just trying to find out where the line is drawn between a controlled drinker and an alcoholic drinker. I know the obvious things like if someone gets completely 10/10 drunk every day they are obviously alcoholic, but what exactly is the line? For example my dad has a few drinks every night, he loves sitting down and having a few beers while he watches the game. Technically he is drinking every day, so is that alcoholic? Or my buddy at college gets hammered every single weekend at parties, but never drinks if it interferes with his education. So basically I just want to know where the line is drawn.
Best answer:
Answer by Cocoanut Monkey
When it starts to interfere with your life. Though some people insist that if you drink during the day {when not in vacation}, you’re an alky.
Add your own answer in the comments!
That’s how it started with my dad. A few drinks a night… That led to a few in the morning than all the time. You may think I’m lying but it only gets worse. The line is drwn after one beer I believe.
When you cannot control impulses to the point where your life is affected.
actually your only an alcoholic if you desire alcohol everytime your not getting it…
When You Feel That You Cant Handle It And You Cant Stop Drinking All Time.
And Many People Can Drink Everyday And That Doesn’t Means They’re Alcoholic Because If You Drink In A Controlled Way You Aren’t An Alcoholic Person.
There are so many myths about alcoholism! It sounds like you’ve heard some of the myths, like…..
Controlled drinking is not alcoholism.
Alcoholics cannot hold a job.
Alcoholics drink alone.
Alcoholics drink a lot.
Alcoholics drink everyday.
Alcohol interferes with the alcoholic’s life.
Alcoholics beat their wife and children.
Some people are physically addicted addicted, while others are psychologically addicted to alcohol.
There are different stages of alcoholism.
All these are myths. The truth is, alcohol is drug just like any other drug. An alcoholic is simply someone addicted to alcohol. Many alcoholics hold down jobs and many are very successful. Many alcoholics are very loving husbands, wives, fathers and mothers. Many alcoholics do not have anger issues. Alcoholics do not have to drink everyday, or have a drink when they wake up in the morning, or drink at work in order to be an alcoholic.
Every person who answered this question thus far has mentioned a commonly believed myth surrounding alcoholism.
Once addicted, you are always addicted. You do not have to drink everyday to be addicted. As a matter of fact, many alcoholics quit for years. An alcoholic could stop drinking for 30 years, but they would still be an alcoholic…. so it has nothing to do with the frequency of drinking, but has everything to do with addiction.
No one can know for sure if someone else is an alcoholic. Only that particular individual can know for sure if he or she is addicted or not. There are signs/symptoms that could indicate addiction. Here are some questions someone can ask themselves:
1) Have you ever had a blackout?
2) Do you ever think about drinking or talk about drinking while sober?
3) Could you quit right now, for the rest of your life, and be 100% OK with that?
If you answered yes to the first two questions and no to the last question, there is a good possibility that you are addicted.
If a person “needs” alcohol to function normally, than that basically makes them an alcoholic.
There is no “line”, nor is there even a clear definition of alcoholism.
For that reason I (I used to be addicted to alcohol) try to stay away from labels. Drinking is a problem when it is destructive to a person’s life in some way. If someone is trying to figure out if they need/want to change their drinking behaviors, I have them look at the role alcohol plays in their life and what the positive and negative factors are. If the bad of drinking outweighs the good, then the person needs to quit or cut down. If the person cannot cut down, then the person needs to abstain completely.
So, with your dad, who likes to have a few beers while he is watching the game? The question here is can he watch the game without the beer? If he went to a friend’s house and there was no beer, would it ruin his enjoyment? Does he have the beer whether or not the game is on?
With your friend who gets hammered every single weekend at parties–he is engaging in what is called “binge drinking” which can be very destructive even if he doesn’t drink during the week. The question is what happens during these drinking episodes. Does he drive? Engage in unprotected sex? Is he able to have fun without drinking? Once he starts drinking on a weekend evening, does he HAVE to get drunk or is he able to stop when he’s at a certain point?
One final thought. Often, I’ve found that drinkers who tell themselves things like “I am fine as long as I don’t do ________” are the ones with the biggest problems, because what they have done is made up an artificial “line” for themselves and convinced themselves that they are fine as long as they are on the other side of it. For example, during my drinking days, my “line” was morning drinking. I drank myself into a stupor every night but as long as I didn’t drink in the morning, I believed I was fine. Similarly, I’ve known people who convinced themselves they were fine if they only drank at bars, if they never drank at bars, if they only drank beer, if they only drank top shelf, if they never went to work drunk, if they got good grades in school, if they kept their job, if ….. all rationalizations.
For anyone who is concerned about their drinking and wants a way to evaluate it rationally, here’s a website that should be helpful:
http://www.smartrecovery.org/
When you wake up, crack open a beer and drink all day and night until you go to bed! When it interferes with your life!
I only consider someone an alcoholic if they can not handle it but continues to use it.
there is no set amount – some people are drunk after one drink