Based on the definitions below I'd say that I fall within the "problem or at risk drinker" category. Like you Turquoise, it does not affect me socially and my health is very good. I have never lost a friend or family member due to alcohol, I'm a happy drunk. Recognizing that this is a problem, I have been able to avoid jumping into the "heavy drinker" category, and I refuse to take that leap.
Dave I have always envisioned an alcoholic as that person who is at the extreme end of the spectrum, a savoury character with no morals. My mom always hung out with this type of person, and still does. The people who were not nice, had no direction in life, were basically the strays of society. These were the people she brought home for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners. I learned very early in life that these are not the kind of people I would want to associate with in my adult life. I know that I am stereotyping because this is not how all heavy drinkers are, but because this is what I experienced as a child, this is what I perceive to be true. When I started to consider myself an alcoholic, I automatically thought that I had become an unsavoury character. I know this is not true, but it scared me to think I'd become my mother.
The definitions you provided below Turquoise gave me a sense of relief. Yes I have a problem and I'm definitely at risk, but I can not classify myself as a heavy drinker.
From what I see in society today, there are a lot of problem drinkers. It's become the norm to have a few glasses of wine every night for so many people. Society has glamorized wine, and alcohol in general, and it's become socially acceptable to drink on a regular basis. I can't tell you how many people at my former office that drank regularly. It astonished me. When I go to the liquor store it's always packed with people buying a cart full of wine. Seeing that opened my eyes to the fact that alcohol has become an integral part of life for so many people.
I didn't drink again last night, I'm proud of that.
