What is a sign of being an alcoholic?

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

you serious? I thought alcoholics drink to get drunk though?

No. Alcoholics drink to go to sleep, drink to have ***, drink to enjoy watching tv, drink so that they can go out, drink so that they can do their laundry, drink to take a shower, drink to get the mail.

If you ask a true alcohol why they drink, they'll have 101 reasons why, but 'to get drunk' is never one of them.

One of my roomates has a true drinking problem. Even nights when he's not "drinking" per se, he drink 10-12 beers in an hour or two just watching tv, or hanging out.

He doesn't even get drunk, you wouldn't know he'd been drinking.

If you have a drinking problem, even if you don't notice, people around you will. You should ask someone who actually spends time around you what they think.

 

[LuNaTiC 10+ year member]

No. Alcoholics drink to go to sleep, drink to have ***, drink to enjoy watching tv, drink so that they can go out, drink so that they can do their laundry, drink to take a shower, drink to get the mail.
If you ask a true alcohol why they drink, they'll have 101 reasons why, but 'to get drunk' is never one of them.

One of my roomates has a true drinking problem. Even nights when he's not "drinking" per se, he drink 10-12 beers in an hour or two just watching tv, or hanging out.

He doesn't even get drunk, you wouldn't know he'd been drinking.

If you have a drinking problem, even if you don't notice, people around you will. You should ask someone who actually spends time around you what they think.

Like I said, it's a serious problem.

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

Nobody can tell you if you are an alcoholic. Imho, an alcoholic isn't defined by the degree of his indulgence (to a point obviously), but the degree that it AFFECTS HIS/HER LIFE.

If you wake up with a shot of whiskey every morning to loosen up, and nothing in your life is sacrificed for alcohol or arranged to be alcohol centric to the point of detracting from anything else, I would say no you aren't an alcoholic, even though "normally" one would consider this alcoholic behavior.

Likewise, its thoerhetically possible that a person who drinks once a month could spend every waking moment fantasizing and planning for that one day a month. Amount isn't as important as mentality.

Alcoholic behavior is behavior relating to drinking that negatively impacts your life.

 

[delvryboy 5,000+ posts]

there's many levels of alcoholism. you don't have to be a falling down gutter drunk to be an alcoholic.

if you can drink one and walk away, chances are you aren't a problem drinker. if one turns into many(usually unintentionally), whether it be once a week or once a month, i would say some reading up on alcoholism could be a benifit.

 

[delvryboy 5,000+ posts]

No. Alcoholics drink to go to sleep, drink to have ***, drink to enjoy watching tv, drink so that they can go out, drink so that they can do their laundry, drink to take a shower, drink to get the mail.
If you ask a true alcohol why they drink, they'll have 101 reasons why, but 'to get drunk' is never one of them.

One of my roomates has a true drinking problem. Even nights when he's not "drinking" per se, he drink 10-12 beers in an hour or two just watching tv, or hanging out.

He doesn't even get drunk, you wouldn't know he'd been drinking.

If you have a drinking problem, even if you don't notice, people around you will. You should ask someone who actually spends time around you what they think.

while it does describe an alcoholic, it isn't always the case.