How bad it is to find it hard to go even one day without drinking? I won't call myself an "alcoholic" since it's limited to 1-2 high abv beers a day and to most people here alcoholic means drinking in extreme excess, but it seems like I am addicted. How concerned should I beer?
>>34449969>How concerned should I beer?Kek*how concerned should I be?See, I am even thinking about beer right now
>>34449969If drinking is a hobby, you're an alcoholic. It doesn't matter how much you consume in one sitting or night. At least be honest with yourself.
>>34449983So I am an alcoholic? I made a thread about this a few months ago and called myself an alcoholic in it and everyone laughed at me for drinking so little.
does whether or not the label 'alcoholic' applies really matter? obviously it's a problem if you find it hard to skip a few days
>>34449991In my opinion that makes an alcoholic. You're making alcohol an occasion, something that you look forward to. It's not to say it's inherently bad or wrong, I'm an alcoholic too.
Do you control it or does it control you? Can you decide to not drink and be fine?And when you drink does it cause problems?
They call alcohol use disorder now because, not every alcoholic is drowning in it. It's not good, because you'll want to drink more eventually. I used be the same because I was in a crappy relationship and I would chug tallboys to make it bearable, eventually I had an incredible burning pain in my stomach, so I cut down a lot, but still have a little tenderness that never went away.
>>34450263>Can you decide to not drink and be fine?I went yesterday without drinking anything. But I had 2 beers today. Yes I have no physical withdrawal symptoms to speak of
>>34450281Two beers a day isn't too much. But I just dont think it's a good habit to drink every day. Maybe have a week like that sometimes, bit it just seems unhealthy. I wouldn't call you an alcoholic though. I had a buddy who drank every day and It really just make him really fat, but he wasn't a mess or anything.
go see a specialist like a therapist please. it's not normal and you need serious help.
It's a good question and one I've asked myself. I've heard a lot of different definitions. Is it the amount you drink when you drink? I don't think someone who gets shitfaced 3 times a year counts as an alcoholic. How often you drink? In some cultures having a glass of wine with every dinner is perfectly normal. Whether it's hard to go <length of time> without drinking? That leaves the cutoff point vague, and someone could always argue "well you went a week, but how about a MONTH?" Whether the drinking is causing you problems, but you continue? This one might be the most valid. I enjoy drinking but sometimes it feels like I do it to fill a void and because I'm bored which is not a good reason. Maybe ask yourself that, why do you drink?
I'm not an alcoholic. I can have a beer and then never think about alcohol again for a month. Or I can drink a bunch, feel hungover, and then never think about alcohol again for weeks. If you're craving alcohol that's an incipient problem.
>>34449969After reading the thread, you seem fine. I used to drink a soda every day. I started cutting back and one year for a new year's resolution I challenged myself to go an entire year without. I won. Celebrated NYE with a soda. I now drink them much less than I used to and think it would be good for my health to quit entirely. Also do monitor your weight. I've had a good metabolism, and am underweight, but finally went up a jean size after 15 years. It felt bad, but I am actually supposed to gain weight. My problem was it wasn't muscle weight because I don't exercise. I have since cut back on eating chips.As for addiction, I do think the defining thing is if you cannot help yourself. I fap daily and sometimes often. I know I have an addiction to porn. I don't think I was ever addicted to soda. You said you skipped a day but had two beers today. I've been able to go multiple days in a row without porn, but I usually spend a large chunk of the day fapping after a break. If I isolate myself away from it by going camping or something, I'm fine, but wake up horny. I can sit for a moment and be fine and I don't get horny when I'm out and about. However, once I return home, I relapse. I also feel the need strongly after about 3 days of no fap. My test to you to figure out if you are truly an alcoholic would be to go an entire week without a beer. If you feel like you're suffering, you are addicted to light drinking.
>>34449969You should be very concerned. Obviously you are not physically addicted to alcohol - yet. But equally obviously you do have a psychological dependency - it's the beer that decides when you drink, not you - and these things ALWAYS escalate. You need to get off the conveyor belt now, while you still can. Right now, it won't be too hard to stop; but the longer you wait, the harder it will be.
>>34449969Very.Alcoholism is not a matter of quantity but of dependency. If, as you say, you NEED a drink to get through the day, you are an alcoholic.
>>34449969It's about the risk of going from 1-2 beers a day to 1-2 bottles of vodka a day in like 5-10 years. If you stick to the golden rules of drinking, then it's fine. As in only drinking in social settings, only in the evening. It's also not healthy by itself, but that's just normal. Obviously if you are friends with other drinkers, then that's something else. If you would stick to 1-2 beers until you die, then it doesn't matter. But again it's more about the risk of physical and mental addiction. My issue was, that it went from the only way to enjoy social gatherings to a crutch to enjoy anything at all.
>>34449969Bingedriking retards envy you
>>34451128>You need to get off the conveyor belt now, while you still can.I will. I promise every reader of this thread right now. I have been listening to very fucked up stories from more seasoned alcoholics for the past few days and I don't want that to be me.
>>34449969Does it ever get in the way of other things in your life?Have you shown up to work drunk?Have you cancelled plans because you wanted to drink?Do you have any withdrawal symptoms when you go without a drink for a while?If you said yes to any of these, you have a problem.>t. beer-a-day drinker on my off-work weeks, uncle an alcoholic who killed himself
>>34452421>Does it ever get in the way of other things in your life?It may be just 1-2 beers but I am currently very poor and the price of them adds up. It will be better for me financially if I stop drinking>Have you shown up to work drunk?Not drunk but buzzed, which is also unacceptable>Have you cancelled plans because you wanted to drink?No but I've had a bad habit of drinking before any social plans I may have because of my social anxiety, which I am well aware actually keeps me from growing out of the anxiety>Do you have any withdrawal symptoms when you go without a drink for a while?Not physical ones. Whenever I am by a store and aren't with other people I am always tempted to get a beer, though. I agree with >>34451128 about saving myself while I still can. I didn't see what I am getting myself in to
>>34452430Then it sounds like the sooner you stop, the better. The good news is you're pretty early on, so quitting shouldn't be as hard. If you had been a heavier drinker and tried to quit, the withdrawal symptoms can actually kill you (google Delirium Tremens). There are resources all around you to help, hospitals, support groups, phone numbers, so you're not alone. Good luck.
>>34452439Probably my biggest motivator to not let this get any worse is that I recently repaired a friendship and no one (who isn't one themselves) wants to be friends with a drunk. There's a guy I watch on youtube with all kinds of horrible stories about getting drunk at his friend's wedding, getting drunk and ruining christmas. I don't want to be that
>>34449991I wouldn't worry until you blackout every night and have withdrawals. You may get there eventually but I would need 20 beers when I was drinking not two. Then a shower beer in the morning. But that's not sustainable because of the heartburn so you start drinking whiskey until that's not affordable and then you start drinking rum or in most peoples cases vodka. I sustained a habit of ~500ml of 40% hard alcohol a night for about 7 years. Any more than that and it would be a bad time at work the next day not that it didn't happen. But that was the magic sustainable number for nightly problem binge drinking.
