Am I an alcoholic if I only drink wine (everyday), don't get drunk, but need to do this almost everyday? Acoholic - I think I am - My wife thinks I am. I don't want to stop all together, I just want to stop most of the time. For years I thought it was not having an impact on my way of being, today I know that it is.
Alcoholism is a self diagnosed disease, well to get well from it anyway
here are some questions:
Take this 20 question test to help you decide whether or not you are an alcoholic.
Answer YES or NO to the following questions.
1. Do you lose time from work due to drinking? YES __ NO __
2. Is drinking making your home life unhappy? YES __ NO __
3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people? YES __ NO __
4. Is your drinking affecting your reputation? YES __ NO __
5. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking? YES __ NO __
6. Have you ever got into financial difficulties as a result of drinking? YES __ NO __
7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when drinking? YES __ NO __
8. Does your drinking make you careless of your familys welfare? YES __ NO __
9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking? YES __ NO __
10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time? YES __ NO __
11. Do you want a drink the next morning? YES __ NO __
12. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? YES __ NO __
13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking? YES __ NO __
14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business? YES __ NO __
15. Do you drink to escape from worries or trouble?
YES __ NO __
16. Do you drink alone? YES __ NO __
17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of drinking? YES __ NO __
18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking? YES __ NO __
19. Do you drink to build up your self-confidence? YES __ NO __
20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution because of drinking? YES __ NO __
What's your score?
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 answered YES to three or more, you are definitely an alcoholic.
(The test questions are used at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, MD, in deciding whether or not a patient is an alcoholic).
At AA we narrow it down to one question:
If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.
If you answered "yes" to 3 or more questions, the following is a chapter about alcoholism, see if you relate to any of it, let us know how you did and what part of the chapter you related to
One thing about alcoholism however, is either all or nothing, you either drink or you don't, there is no "moderation" as that is the definition of alcoholic is someone who can't enjoy and control their drinking
If they are enjoying it, they aren't controlling it, if they are controlling it, as we are able to do briefly on occasion early in our careers, we sure as hell aren't enjoying it
We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals usually brief were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better.
We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men. We have tried every imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing a making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so yet.
A good test is drinking two glasses a wine a night for ten nights, that's two 4oz glasses of wine, if you can do that you may just be a heavy, or "hard drinker", if you can't....well....we'll talk
-- Edited by AGO on Monday 28th of June 2010 05:57:50 PM
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Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a night, light a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
Welcome to the board. In my case, it took me three years to answer that question for myself, since I too just wanted to stop "most of" the time. Couldn't quite pull that off. I am very grateful that I had (& still have) a suggested program of recovery and the fellowship of others to help me deal with what, in my case, did indeed turn out to be the chronic, progressive disease of alcoholism. There is no cure, but I am enjoying many years of remission.
If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.
This made it real easy for me...
Welcome!!
-- Edited by MLB on Monday 28th of June 2010 07:46:34 PM
Powerless over alcohol ?(need to do it everyday) Life is unmanageable(for years thought it was taking over ,now I know it is?) Step 1 We admitted we were powerless over alcohol our lives had become unmanageable. I would highly suggest making a meeting,getting some literature and seeing if you are ready for "honest admission and total surrender.Hope to hear back from you!
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
I have come across all sorts of former drinkers in AA that had many different patterns of drinking. I would add to the comments above that, in my opinion, non-alcoholics don't have to have any alcohol, whatever the amount or timing or types of the drinks. If a person is obessing about having any amount or disturbed at not being able to drink it, something is up. Try a meeting. BTW, the label of alcoholic, which I fully believe applies to myself, has not been the horrible thing I thought it would be. This acknowledgement has proven to have lead to a new freedom in my life, and has probably saved my life based on my commitment to a program of recovery.
Best wishes and Hope to hear from you again, Angela
I don't want to stop all together, I just want to stop most of the time. For years I thought it was not having an impact on my way of being, today I know that it is.
I think a lot of us wandered into AA thinking somehow we could learn how to modify our drinking, to become sociable drinkers again, instead of drunks. Most of us found out that it's not possible to go back, "once you're a pickle, you'll never be a cucumber again" The reality is that our liver changes and it no longer processes alcohol on a steady predictible basis. Sometimes it works overtime removing the alcohol from our blood stream, and on those nights we can "drink people under the table". Other days it removes alcohol very slowly or not at all and a few drinks get us tanked and we stay drunk. Add to that the fact that we cannot stop drinking once we've started and you have no control. What we figure out is that we can no longer drink safely and it's the first drink that gets us drunk. I am allergic to alcohol and my system can no longer tolerate alcohol so I just don't drink, one day at a time. I found the book "Staying sober- a guide to relapse prevention" By Terrance Gorski very helpful with explaining the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of this disease. There are some many things working against us when we are trying to quit. We really need to have an education to see what we are up against.
