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Am I an alcoholic?

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 37

Hi Carrie,

I joined today and you sound a lot like me (particularly the things that you don't do). I'm also a graduate student. :)

Like you, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to not drink as much, as I find it very hard to stop once I get started. Hopefully this forum will provide support for us both.

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1009

Hi Carrie,

All really good questions and since you are studying addiction it seems a erectly normal to ask yourself these questions. From personal experience you seem like a someone who has a really good handle on moderating your drinking. As Foxman suggested, reading the Big Book of AA would be of interest, if for no other reason out of professional interest. Since I quit I've had a fair bit of dialogue with alcoholics actively involved with AA and the 12 steps and your consumption seems at the opposite end of the spectrum. It's great that you do question it. I find myself asking the question "What motivates me to drink?" Usually it's to gain control of a feeling of helpfulness over a situation.

As someone studying the subject of addiction I'm really interested in hearing your point of view.

All the best and "Thanks!" for joint in and sharing.

Dave

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1562

You may want to read the book called Alcoholics Anonymous especially the chapter "More About Alcoholism". It gives a clear illustration of what alcoholism is using various stories. Its an obsession of the mind that forces us to pick up a drink after a gap and then when we do, then the phenomenon of Craving kicks in where the drink more than originally planned for. And when we are not drinking we are miserable. Thinking about drinking or staying away from it, restless, irritable and discontended state of mind. People become depressed, carry this unexplained anger within. Its like a time bomb ticking, they may emotionally have frequent outbursts. All these are un-treated alcoholism.

Hope this helps. I was all the above but today, I do have some serenity in my life, that I owe to working the 12 steps of AA.

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 252

Carrie,

in answer to what do you do, I suggest you keep coming here for the moment. This is a good sounding board for working through your thinking on the matter. Plenty of people here in the same boat and in due course you can work out your own answers.

Take care.

Rob

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5

Hello everyone.

I'm new here. And I'm really unsure. My name is Carrie, I'm in my 30's; I'm a graduate student who is ironically, studying addiction, and I think I might be addicted to alcohol.

Now, I'm not sure if I'm overanalyzing this or not. I function; I'm completing my Graduate degree with flying colors, my family and friends aren't affected by my drinking, they don't think my habits are out of the norm, and I've flat out asked them. I don't engage in dangerous activity while I drink, I don't drink during the day, I don't constantly think about when I will have my next drink, and I don't drink every day. I drink maybe 3-6 times a week on average. I don't feel drunk every time I drink, but 3-4 glasses of wine on any given drinking day is normal, sometimes less. Sometimes more, especially on weekends.

This is really hard for me to put it out here in words. My concern over my drinking habits started about a year ago, after going through some really hard times with my bf and I was assessing people who were battling their own bad habits... I realized that maybe I'm not so different..

I don't know if I'm an alcoholic or not. All I do know is I've been making conscious decisions to drink less, and it hasn't been panning out so well. There's awlays an occaision, or a reason... What do I do?

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Am I an alcoholic?