In AA we say that it does not matter how often or how much you drink but it does matter what happens when you drink.   If it is causing problems in your life you may have a problem.   These twenty questions may help you decide for yourself.

Please note that this is from John Hopkins Medical Center.  In AA we never judge a person to be alcoholic.  That is a decision that we each have to make on our own

Larry,

1. Do you lose time from work due to your drinking?

2. Is drinking making your home life unhappy?

3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people?

4. Is drinking affecting your reputation?

5. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?

6. Have you gotten into financial difficulties as a result of your drinking?

7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when drinking?

8. Does your drinking make you careless of your family's welfare?

9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?

10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily?

11. Do you want a drink the next morning?

12. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?

14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business?

15. Do you drink to escape from worries or troubles?

16. Do you drink alone?

17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of your drinking?

18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking?

19. Do you drink to build up your self-confidence?

20. Have you ever been in a hospital or institution on account of drinking?

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If you have answered YES to any one of the questions, there is a definite warning that you may be an alcoholic.

If you have answered YES to any two, the chances are that you are an alcoholic.

If you have answered YES to three or more, you are definitely an alcoholic.

Hello Star, welcome to the board. This question, that you ask, is supposed to be answered by you after taking a good look at your situation and doing some comparing to other's stories. You can read the "Big Book" of AA here for free http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm. There are many personal stories, and you can start by reading Bill's story. But to try and answer your question, I'd say that if your here and questioning your drinking than probably Yes. It's usually a bit worse than we think, as alcohol tends to cloud our thinking and judgment. We have a saying that "The alcoholic is usually the last to know".
The good news is that there is life after booze and life is very good. Death, jail, and mental institutions, Not so good. Why don't you call the AA phone number in your book (or look it up in google AA intergroup your town) and talk to someone there. The phones are manned (and Womanned) by recovering alcoholics that have been right were you're at. They can suggest a Speakers meeting for you to attend in close to you, so that you can hear 2 people talk about how it was, how they got sober, and how their life is now. Then you will have some information to make your decision. Good luck in your new journey.

Welcome Star! If you are here,you may be there!.Stick around and help us stay sober.One of our biggest helps is following program  suggestions,you in?Nice meeting you....

Alcoholism and The Blues have a lot in common

With The Blues, if you gotta ask, you'll never know

With Alcoholism if you gotta ask, you already know

Welcome, you are in the right place, alcoholism and addiction are an equal opportunity destroyer, the people afflicted are not "bad", they are sick, and there is help, there is a solution, it's contained in the first 164 pages of the Book "Alcoholics Anonymous"

Try a meeting, listen, see if you relate, try more then one meeting, you will be welcomed

Aquaman wrote:

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Ask a professional. We're a bunch of alcoholics. Sure, we're working to get better and have experienced a bit more about addiction than the average person, but we're still just a bunch of hopeful alkies.

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I didn't have any luck with the "Pro's" personally unless they were sober members of AA, and I dealt with MANY, I have yet to meet a non-alcoholic that truly knows what it is like to suffer from this disease or have any good suggestions other then "go to AA" to arrest this disease, however I had luck talking to alcoholics who were recovered from a seemingly hopeless condition of mind and body by working the 12 steps

I am not a "hopeful alkie" I am a sober alkie for whom the problem has been removed, there is a world of difference

Highly competent psychiatrists who have dealt with us have found it sometimes impossible to persuade an alcoholic to discuss his situation without reserve. Strangely enough, wives, parents and intimate friends usually find us even more unapproachable than do the psychiatrist and the doctor.

But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.

That the man who is making the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man with a real answer, that he has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured these are the conditions we have found most effective. After such an approach many take up their beds and walk again.

 

-- Edited by AGO on Wednesday 16th of June 2010 08:51:59 PM

-- Edited by AGO on Wednesday 16th of June 2010 08:53:16 PM

ljc wrote:

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I only needed to ask myself 2 questions.

1. Can I stop drinking after having only 1 drink every time I drank ?
2. Can I stop drinking completely - on my own resources ?

I answered No to both and therefor realized I was powerless over alcohol. And it didnt take long to come to the realization that my life was unmanageable either.

Im done with step 1 and I move on to 2 .....

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Bingo. So hopeful. That was my eureka moment too.

It took me a loooonng time to get there, which is why, though I had ostensibly started working the steps after that, the rest of the program it didn't work for me. I hadn't done the first things things first.

I finally did that (and that was only b/c I kept coming back and listening, even my sponsor couldn't get that into my head), and the program immediately started to work.

Steve

 

Welcome Star - I'm glad you're here.  I, nor anyone else can tell you if you're an alcoholic.  After answering those questions you decide.

I too, at first, did not want anyone to know that I was looking for help.  The good news is that my family, and the friends I didn't have anymore, didn't need to know.  The second word in A.A. name is Anonymous.  My alcoholism is mine to share if I choose.

Please come back, we'd love to help you get started on your recovery path, if you are an alcoholic.

Some people hate to hear this and I did too at first, but today I am a very grateful recovering alcoholic.

Thank you Star

In my own alcoholism, I was not completely sold on the idea that I was an alcoholic, so my 1st relapse nearly cost me my life. When I returned to AA, I was not going to play around any more. Alcoholism is like Russian roulette. I sought to get the best sponsorship. I asked questions. I helped others. I got involved in AA. I found out much later that I was a real alcoholic and I got better. That was 22 years ago.
On Pg 20-21 of the AA book is a very good description of the 3 types of drinkers. Read it and see where you fit in. On pg 44 of the AA book, 2 questions are asked in the 1st paragraph. Answer them honestly and diagnose yourself.
If you still not sure AA gives you what I call the acid test on Pg31 last paragraph. I hope that you find what the problem is soon so that you can get with your recovery.

Your drinking sounds a lot like mine.  I drank almost every night, rarely went out - I drank at home.  My wife and kids at the time were "morning people" and went to bed early.  If they saw me drink on most nights, it was just one or two beers.  After everybody went to bed, I did my serious drinking.  I didn't drink to passing out every night, or even completely wasted drunk.  I drank anywhere from 3 to 15 beers, sometimes I'd drink booze and I'd easily put away half a fifth, and at times a whole fifth.  I went to work every day - my job was not physical which was probably a good thing, because I usually was hung over.

This pretty much describes my entire drinking "career", the only change being the frequency and quantity.  In younger days I was a weekend drinker although I had an early on preference for loading up on Sunday nights.  I would drink 1-3 beers on weeknights otherwise.  This just steadily increased over a period of 13 years, until I was drinking every night and putting away a 12 pack or better more often than not.  There were nights I didn't drink or only had a couple, but they were less and less common.

After reading the Big Book and a few months sober, it clicked.  If I compared the quantity I drank, or the amount of trouble I had gotten into (yet) with some of the others I had met and heard their stories, I'd come up a lightweight.  But when it came to the mental obsession with alcohol part of the story, it had been with me always, from the very beginning of my drinking.  Even if I had not yet drank enough to damage my liver, or go to jail, or wreck my car, or lose my job, my life still revolved around alcohol.  Alcohol had such importance to me that I tailored my drinking to avoid trouble, avoid driving, avoid conflict with the family.  People who aren't alcoholics don't do stuff like that.

I went to AA to find out if I was an alcoholic, or if I could curtail my drinking back the way it used to be.   I haven't found it necessary to take a drink of alcohol since then.  My life has gotten nothing but better.  People who know me and never really saw me get into a lot of trouble back then say "You can't be an alcoholic".  Well this program for alcoholics - don't drink, go to meetings, say your prayers, clean house - it sure has worked well for me.  So I guess that makes me one.

Barisax

I just want to say thank you to everyone you have helped me a lot. I scored 8 on the test so I guess that says it all. I am going to keep coming back. I have decided that I am going to stop drinking. I can't go to a meeting then I would have to tell my husband and I am not ready for that. But I will stay here. It is the time of day were I would be having my first drink. But not tonight. So I will go clean the kitchen. Hugs till later. :)

I answered yes 8 times so I have my answer.  Now I just have to figure out how to deal with it.  My husband comes home Sunday, Maybe I will find the courage to tell him.  I am so afraid of what he will say.  But more afraid of what I may become if I don't get my self together.   I can already see the look of failure in his eyes. This is soooo much to deal with.

-- Edited by Star on Thursday 17th of June 2010 06:03:03 PM

Thank you. Your words sting but there the truth. I'll let ya know what happens Monday. Hugs til then.

At the time I came to my first meeting, I would be a yes on 11 of the 20.  I remember going over that list and thinking I had 10 or 11, only about 50% and thought that's not too bad.  Then I read the part about 1, 2, 3 or more... LOL.

Barisax

I had 17 of them...go figure.  And what is odd is that now at about 21 months sober my "forgetter" is telling me it wasn't that bad..  Um...yah.  It was that bad.

-- Edited by pinkchip on Saturday 19th of June 2010 07:22:52 AM