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Old 02-02-2011, 10:49 PM #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaspar View Post
Is it possible to be addicted to alcohol -- i.e. be an alcoholic -- if the amount consumed is 1-2 shots of scotch (3 max & rarely) each evening without getting drunk?

Like... if ... although it isn't much, the person CRAVES ... really wants... that drink at night. And.... if the person just has 1-2 each night for years and years without being addicted is it possible to become addicted even after all that time of not being addicted?
I think what it comes down to is, its not how much you drink, its what it does to you when you do drink

If its not interfering with your life, I wouldnt be too concerned about it, untill it does


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 family’s 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.
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Old 08-14-2011, 10:49 PM #12
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There's a AA tape called the Big Book experience and it talks about people who are "addicted to alcohol" but not alcoholic. They explain it very well. You should maybe check it out.
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Old 08-16-2011, 10:25 AM #13
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Originally Posted by Grizabella View Post
It's not how much you drink, it's what it does to you when you drink that tells the tale. And people who aren't alcoholic don't wonder if they are.

I've been sober coming up on 24 years on May 5th. I could always stop, but I just couldn't stay stopped and I never drank because I was an alcoholic. I drank to calm my nerves, to make me feel better when I was sad, to celebrate things, to grieve things, because I was angry, because I was happy, because I was sad, and because "you" made me do it. Never because I was an alcoholic. But then when it quit working, I had to admit I'm an alcoholic and it was the best thing that ever happened to me as well as the hardest thing I've ever done----besides quitting smoking.
I lurk around here a bit when I'm missing AA.

You coulda signed MY name to this, Grizabella, shown it to me in a couple weeks telling me it was my statement, and my only comment would have been, "Well, there's a typo. AA's birthday's May 9th, not the 5th."

My story! You're telling my story!

Don't know how many times I've heard that in AA meetings around the country since 1993. A lot.

JASPAR, everyone's body chemistry differs, but listen to these folks. However the outward details may vary, what alcohol does to every body is essential the same. There are lots of "open" AA meetings, & believe it or not you'll hear laughter there (go find out why). .C.G.
 
Old 08-22-2011, 10:54 PM #14
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I have to tell you that I am completely addicted to alcohol. I have tried other drugs in my life and have never gotten addicted. For some reason, alcohol gets to me. My mom abused me when i was younger and at that time i enjoyed the taste of wine (I would sneak a little here and there.) I would sneak it every time I could. Regardless, I think you can get over the addiction, you just have to want to. I want to, but my husband drinks and he doesn't have a problem.... (Really??????) anyhow, I don't feel like I can stop my pattern with him still drinking. it's not his problem, it's mine. So, the best to you and do what you have to do and make your life right for you. The best to you.... <3
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Old 08-23-2011, 02:43 AM #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffheart View Post
I don't think being an alcoholic means that you have to get drunk every time you have a few drinks
I had a high tolerance for alcohol. I remember in college jocks loving how much I could "put away" without ever seeming drunk. Alcoholics becomes alcoholics because they can "handle their liquor." I don't remember ever meeting anyone at AA who was an alcoholic who got tipsy on the 2nd glass of wine.

Don't get me wrong--it's possible. But I think it's really rare.
 
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Old 08-23-2011, 03:02 AM #16
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Originally Posted by leighjackson View Post
I don't feel like I can stop my pattern with him still drinking. it's not his problem, it's mine. So, the best to you and do what you have to do and make your life right for you.
You are in a very difficult situation, but you know that. Can you take the very sage advice that you gave Jasper? You advised him to "do what you have to do and make your life right for you." WoW! Spot on!

Do you go to AA? Al-Anon? With him drinking, both would help. Is there a time, maybe when he's at work, when you could go?

You sound much too bright to be so hopeless. Please bring your objectivity to bear here. I think the world could really benefit from you, sober.
 
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Old 10-17-2011, 01:12 PM #17
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What I don't understand is that I used to drink a lot and use drugs, but now I have a major aversion to any substance that alters how I feel. Why do I feel this way now? Shouldn't it still be somewhat of a daily struggle even though I've been clean and sober almost 7 years?
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Old 10-24-2011, 09:12 AM #18
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Originally Posted by Katiebell View Post
What I don't understand is that I used to drink a lot and use drugs, but now I have a major aversion to any substance that alters how I feel. Why do I feel this way now? Shouldn't it still be somewhat of a daily struggle even though I've been clean and sober almost 7 years?
What are you doing to stay clean and sober everyday?..Do you go to AA?

If not, in some cases some people go through a phase where they drink and drug like and addict/alcoholic, and for some reason they can put the booze and drugs down without a struggle

I had a friend in high school, who I drank and drugged with during our high school years, and quite a few years after..We drank, smoked pot, did acid, etc..During the time we drank and drugged together, one day he told me that I was an alcoholic!!..I thought to myself, "If this isnt a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, then I dont know what is!!"

Well my friend met a girl, and eventually they got married, bought a home, and had a couple of kids, and lived a normal life..My friend would come to the bar occasionally, have to Miller Lite beers and go home..Then I didnt see him for years

Quite a few years later I got sober, and after going to AA meetings for a few years, I realized that the reason why my friend told me I was an alcoholic, was because he wasnt an alcoholic, even though he drank and drugged like me..But the difference between him and I, was that he was able to stop drinking and drugging without a problem, and I could not stop untill I self destructed, and the pain began to be worse than the pleasure, and actually, the pleasure had been gone for years, but I continued to drink in spite of it..I tried to quit many times..I would last a few days, and I had pneumonia a couple of times and couldnt drink for a few weeks, but when I started drinking again, it was like I had never stopped..I now have 22 years of sobriety




This is from our AA text book "Alcoholics Anoymous", aka known as the "Big Book"

It describes the 3 types of drinkers


Quote:
'Now these are commonplace observations on drinkers which we hear all the time. Back of them is a world of ignorance and misunderstanding. We see that these expressions refer to people whose reactions are very different from ours.'

It begins to explain the three... types of drinkers. It said: (p. 20, par. 6) 'Moderate drinkers have little trouble in giving up liquor entirely if they have good reason for lt. They can take it or leave it alone.' This is the one we talked about last night, the moderate or social drinker. It's not a big deal for them. They have one, two, or three drinks. They get a slightly tipsy, out of control, nauseous feeling, and they just stop drinking. They can take it or leave it alone. They really don't much care one way or the other.

(p. 20, par. 7; p. 21, par. 1) 'Then we have a certain type of hard drinker. He may have the habit badly enough to gradually impair (top of p. 21) him physically and mentally. It may cease him to die a few years before his time. If a sufficiently strong reason--ill health, falling in love, change of environment, or the warning of a doctor--becomes operative, this man can also stop or moderate, although he may find it difficult and troublesome and may even need medical attention. '

We see this person all the time. We call him the hard or heavy drinker. This is the guy that said, when I was in the service I was an alcoholic also, but then when I got out of the service I got married, and I just quit drinking and I don't see why you can't either. They drink exactly like us. But if a sufficiently strong reason present itself to them, they will either stop drinking entirely, or they will learn to moderate their drinking. These people are not alcoholics.

Now then it says: (p. 21, par. 2) 'But what about the real alcoholic?' If you're a drinker, you're going to fit into one these three categories. Now what about the real alcoholic. We just love that term there, real alcoholic. (p. 21, par. 2) 'He may start off as a moderate drinker... ' And many of us did. (p. 21, per. 2)

'... he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker...' Some of us were binge drinkers, we didn't drink every day. (p. 21, par. 2-3) '... but at some stage of this drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.'

'Here is the fellow who has been puzzling you...' Remember now, we're describing the people who make up this fellowship. (p. 21, par. 3-4: p. 22, par. 1) '... especially in his lack of control. He does absurd, incredible, tragic things while drinking. He is a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is seldom mildly intoxicated. He is always more or less insanely drunk. His disposition while drinking resembles his normal nature but little. He may be one of the finest fellows in the world. Yet let him drink for a day, and he frequently becomes disgustingly, and even dangerously anti-social. He has a positive genius for getting tight at exactly the wrong moment, particularly when some important decision most be made or engagement kept. He is often perfectly sensible and well balanced concerning everything except liquor, but in that respect he is incredibly dishonest and selfish. He often possesses special abilities, skills, and aptitudes, and has a promising career ahead of him. He uses his gifts to build up a bright outlook for his family and himself, and then pulls the structure down on his head by a senseless series of sprees. He is the fellow who goes to bed so intoxicated he ought to sleep the clock around. Yet early next (top of p. 22) morning he searches madly for the bottle he misplaced the night before. If he can afford it, he may have liquor concealed all over his house to be certain no one gets his entire supply away from him to throw down the wastepipe. As matters grow worse, he begins to use a combination of high-powered sedative and liquor to quiet his nerves so he can go to work. '
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Old 10-24-2011, 03:03 PM #19
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I drank heavily in college and pretty much quit when I turned 21. A couple years later I was introduced to heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana. Heroin was my DOC and I used everyday for four years. I went to expensive rehabs in that time but none helped. What did work for me was changing my people, places, and things - I moved back home to Tennessee and went to AA and NA religiously for almost a year.

I think I stayed clean and sober because I was properly diagnosed as having depression and treated accordingly. When I was using, it was to feel anything but normal. Now, I like feeling normal and try to avoid medications with major side effects.

I no longer have the urge to use because the consequences now outweigh the benefits. No drug is worth losing control of my faculties!!!
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Old 11-12-2011, 09:00 PM #20
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[My husband never thought he was addicted and he had the same patterns with his drinking. His habbits led to depression which led him to attempt suicide by hanging himself, I found him in enough time and started CPR. My thoughts and prayers are with you on looking into getting some help it wouldn't hurt to try.
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