What is an alcoholic?

[Étoile]

What do you consider an alcoholic? Someone who needs a few drinks to have a good time or loosen up? Someone who gets drunk everytime there's alcohol around? Someone who drinks several times a day? An angry drunk?

I consider all of them alcoholics, but to a certain degree. Someone who drinks a couple of beers everytime he goes out isn't as severe as someone who can't go without a day drinking.

[Zach1992]

Alcoholics are people who drink to get drunk & drink alone on a daily basis.

[Bryan90]

I think like sexual orientation genders (gay, lesbian, etc), alcoholic should be a personal label that one attaches to him or herself. I.e. one gets to decide if he/she is an alcoholic and it should be subjective.

Why do I think that way?

Well if someone drinks a lot, but feels that it's not obstructing his/her life and is happy to be drinking a lot all the time, then what makes his/her addiction worse than our addiction to love, sex, or anything else?

It is only a problem when you feel or others around you convince you to feel that it is a problem.. (IMO)

[NeonCookies]

Originally Posted by Bryan90

I think like sexual orientation genders (gay, lesbian, etc), alcoholic should be a personal label that one attaches to him or herself. I.e. one gets to decide if he/she is an alcoholic and it should be subjective.

Why do I think that way?

Well if someone drinks a lot, but feels that it's not obstructing his/her life and is happy to be drinking a lot all the time, then what makes his/her addiction worse than our addiction to love, sex, or anything else?

It is only a problem when you feel or others around you convince you to feel that it is a problem.. (IMO)

I am going to have to disagree with that most alcoholics are in denial because they do not want to admit they have a problem, for example my mom was an alcoholic she did not admit it, but in the end she ended up dying from her addiction, she did not feel like her addiction was obstructing her life but in reality it was she would get off of work immediately start drinking, then turned physically and mentally abusive, so therefore she did have a problem even know she would not admit it.

But to answer you question there is different types of alcoholism if you would like to know them here is the link it may help.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/are-t...lcoholism.html

[Meropspusillus]

I like Wikipedia's definition: "Alcoholism is characterised by a tolerance, physical dependence as well as an inability to control alcohol use." A college student who drinks on the weekend before they go to parties isn't an alcoholic, (unless they are emotionally or physically dependent on it), whereas someone who drinks every day in a way that has negative impacts on their life, is.

Maybe I'm "unwilling to admit I have a problem" but I think classifying someone who drinks on a weekend to have some fun as an alcoholic is a little bit ignorant. It's certainly not good for you, and you could define it as another disorder, but I wouldn't call it alcoholism.

[Ben]

I think that if someone has recurrent urges to drink alcohol, then they're alcoholic. That applies to people who don't give in to the urges as well.

[kettleoffish]

alcoholics are people who say that alcoholics drink more than they do.

[Maddy]

I see someone as having a problem with alcohol (or a lot of other things, really) if they rely on it. Maybe for a night out, maybe to get through a bad time, maybe just to get through the day, but if you feel as though you can't get by without it, that's what I see as a problem.

[SlickyPants]

Originally Posted by Felismargarita

...whereas someone who drinks every day in a way that has negative impacts on their life, is.

Thank you for making the important distinction between someone who drinks moderately every day and someone who drinks excessively every day to the point where it is disruptive to their life. Moderation is key and it may even be healthy if all those health studies hold any water.

[Corny]

Originally Posted by Felismargarita

Maybe I'm "unwilling to admit I have a problem" but I think classifying someone who drinks on a weekend to have some fun as an alcoholic is a little bit ignorant. It's certainly not good for you, and you could define it as another disorder, but I wouldn't call it alcoholism.

If you keep up drinking way too much over the weekend long enough, you can develop a physical dependency on alcohol. Not sure how you could not label this alcoholism.

You can also become phyically depended on alcohol if you just have "a beer" every day when you come home after work ..

But there is more to it .. regular alcohol abuse (sans physical dependency) also counts as alcoholism. There are quite a few online tests where you can check whether your use of alcohol is alarming.

[Shevanel]

One actively affected by Alcoholism is the simplest answer I could come up with?

[Halpert]

Disclaimer: I get drunk occasionally, yes, I also drink lightly during the week, too. But I do so in moderation (ironic? probably). I understand its playing with fire as I have a predisposition to alcoholism. This is something I've discussed to great lengths with both my parents and doctor, and I fully understand the tragedy that is alcoholism. Am I an alcoholic though? Nope, I've never had such a strong urge that I couldn't say no to and I've most certainly never felt I just had to have had a drink. But I do understand it would be very, very easy for me to acquire a dependency.

Now, I'm going to be blunt, and possibly annoy a few, but I think society is far too quick to label people as alcoholics. Or maybe some don't quite understand the distinction between alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Drinking on the weekends with your friends does not mean you have an alcohol problem. Having a martini while out to lubricate a social situation does not mean you're an alcoholic. Even having a beer, by yourself, after class, does not mean you're an alcoholic.

Alcoholism is a dependency on alcohol, in that there's an uncontrollable need to drink, be it physical or mental, regardless of the adverse effects to one's self and others. Because someone gets drunk with their friends does not mean they have that dependency. Because I have a glass of wine or two with dinner does not mean I'll get the shakes if I don't.

I'm not going to lie, I find it rather offensive that people are willing to say you're an alcoholic because you drink in excess, or have a drink to socialize easier. Drinking in excess is alcohol abuse, not alcoholism. When you have an urge just too strong to say no to, that's alcoholism. When you can't go a weekend without drinking, because its just not fun, that's alcoholism.

Like corny said, if you do drink regularly, you can, and most likely will, develop a dependency.

But, I digress, like any good alcoholic in denial (sarcasm), this is one of my buttons.

[Meropspusillus]

Originally Posted by Corny

If you keep up drinking way too much over the weekend long enough, you can develop a physical dependency on alcohol. Not sure how you could not label this alcoholism.

You can also become phyically depended on alcohol if you just have "a beer" every day when you come home after work ..

But there is more to it .. regular alcohol abuse (sans physical dependency) also counts as alcoholism. There are quite a few online tests where you can check whether your use of alcohol is alarming.

These are all "you might becomes" though. Plenty of people drink over weekends and never become dependent on it. Plenty of people drink a beer every day and never become dependent on alcohol. Plenty of people get drunk often without abusing alcohol, while others can't get drunk without it being considered "abuse". (Abuse is such an obtuse word). Naturally, this is going to change from person to person, I don't know of a single person in my family who is an alcoholic, so I [probably] don't I have a high risk of becoming one, compared to someone who might be more genetically inclined towards alcoholism.

Your warning is very important: I just kinda wanna say this because you kindof made it sound like if you drink alcohol regularly, or get drunk once a week, you're going to become an alcoholic. (This is probably mor true in younger teenagers though) Yes alcohol is a dangerous substance and should be treated (very) carefully, but we shouldn't be so quick to diagnose even its casual use with a disorder.

Also, I agree with most of what Halpert said.

[Swamp56]

Alcohol dependence is what I consider to be a key factor in alcoholism. Binge drinking does is alcohol abuse, yes, but does not always have dependence involved. If you have both, then you might have a problem.

[Black Cat]

Personally I think the perfect definition of an alcoholic is someone who can not (or refuses to) control the amount of alcohol they consume. And if they rely on the buzz they get from drinking to get through the day then they are, at least in my mind, an alcoholic.

Oftentimes they are not willing to admit (or sometimes fail to even take notice) that they have or are on the edge of having a serious problem.

I know several alcoholics personally - and they're all the same. Every day they all make their pilgrimage to the bar(s) nearby and whittle the hours away and often discuss what they are going to do when they leave the bar, which is usually not true - they just go to another bar. Many of them see what they do as nothing out of the ordinary, or nothing that they need help with. They don't even see it as an illness most of the time. Nearly 75% of the local population in my area spends most of their time drunk, or getting drunk. It's a way of life for most of the people around here.

[Chip]

I think that there are various shades of alcohol use that range from perfectly fine and normal to abusive to addictive.

I would also disagree with Halpert to an extent, because there are many who are "binge" alcoholics (also known as periodic alcoholics); they are able to maintain sobriety for periods ranging from a few days to a couple weeks or more, but the drinking pattern is repetitive, and causes disruption to the alcoholic (and his family.) And not all alcoholics drink alone, or are drunk all the time either.

There are also big differences between functional alcoholics and non-functional ones, and between psychological addiction to alcohol and full alcoholism.

If you find yourself needing to drink to feel comfortable being with your friends, you likely have a problem. Likewise, if you find yourself needing to have a couple of drinks every night, or find that you're really looking forward to every weekend, when you can get completely plastered, you probably have a problem. It doesn't necessarily mean you're an alcoholic, only that you have a psychological dependence on alcohol (ditto weed, sedatives, narcotics, or any other drug.)

The acid test, I think, is giving up alcohol for a period. Not saying that you can, but actually doing it. If you can say "I'm not going to drink at all for the next 45 days" and do so, and at the end of those 45 days, you're not counting down the minutes till you can drink again, then you probably don't have a problem. If you can't do that, you probably do. It may not be full-blown alcoholism, but it is likely still a problem.

[Corny]

Originally Posted by Felismargarita

These are all "you might becomes" though. Plenty of people drink over weekends and never become dependent on it. Plenty of people drink a beer every day and never become dependent on alcohol. [..]
Your warning is very important: I just kinda wanna say this because you kindof made it sound like if you drink alcohol regularly, or get drunk once a week, you're going to become an alcoholic.

It is a very thin line. To be honest - alcohol abuse is far more dominant than alcoholism among young people. But most late alcoholics have been alcohol abusing before.

I enjoy a beer and more quite frequently. I occasionally get way too drunk. And between 16-20 I probably was an alcohol abuser as well. I didn't see it that way back then, I was "just" having fun. Drinking at parties, with friends and all that. But just a bit too much and too frequent. That settled on it's own though .. but I worked in an alcohol/drug clinic and have seen plenty of guys who didn't get back on track. And it's not pretty, not pretty at all. It does worse things with your body than some of the "illegal" drugs, and alcoholism is far more difficult to treat then most other drug addictions.
Also keep in mind - there is no cure for alcoholism, once you were dependent on it you have to stay "clean" for the rest of your life or you will have an immediate fallback ..

[Meropspusillus]

Originally Posted by Corny

It is a very thin line. To be honest - alcohol abuse is far more dominant than alcoholism among young people. But most late alcoholics have been alcohol abusing before.

I enjoy a beer and more quite frequently. I occasionally get way too drunk. And between 16-20 I probably was an alcohol abuser as well. I didn't see it that way back then, I was "just" having fun. Drinking at parties, with friends and all that. But just a bit too much and too frequent. That settled on it's own though .. but I worked in an alcohol/drug clinic and have seen plenty of guys who didn't get back on track. And it's not pretty, not pretty at all. It does worse things with your body than some of the "illegal" drugs, and alcoholism is far more difficult to treat then most other drug addictions.
Also keep in mind - there is no cure for alcoholism, once you were dependent on it you have to stay "clean" for the rest of your life or you will have an immediate fallback ..

All I'm arguing is the definition: Just because someone is walking on a tight rope, it doesn't mean that they're falling. I understand everything else that you said, and think its important to learn. (I was going to say that I agree with you, but really, all you're doing is stating facts, which you can't agree too..."2+2=4"..."I AGREE!").