so i have previously been told from mental health professionals that i am an alcoholic.. so i never thought i had a problem, but i don't know maybe i did..

anyway now i've started drinking again.. i'm not getting smashed like i used to but maybe 3 standard drinks each time.. but i'm drinking at any time of the day if i feel i need to calm down (8.30am before an psych appt) and i'm drinking in public toilets and hiding in my room alone drinking.. i don't know if this is bad.. my psych wants me to work towards abstinence but i'm not feeling like it's a problem.. it's not disrupting my life..

what do you all think? any advice would be great.

thanks.

Originally Posted by TheQuietOnexx

so i have previously been told from mental health professionals that i am an alcoholic.. so i never thought i had a problem, but i don't know maybe i did..

anyway now i've started drinking again.. i'm not getting smashed like i used to but maybe 3 standard drinks each time.. but i'm drinking at any time of the day if i feel i need to calm down (8.30am before an psych appt) and i'm drinking in public toilets and hiding in my room alone drinking.. i don't know if this is bad.. my psych wants me to work towards abstinence but i'm not feeling like it's a problem.. it's not disrupting my life..

what do you all think? any advice would be great.

thanks.

I drive to the bottle shop...unshaven....no shoes
...
no shirt

just shorts

I dont hide my problem

I think thats obvious here Rose

I keep going back to it

Originally Posted by dubblemonkey

I drive to the bottle shop...unshaven....no shoes
...
no shirt

just shorts

I dont hide my problem

I think thats obvious here Rose

I keep going back to it

umm i don't mean to sound rude/uncaring/b*tchy but i guess i was looking for some insight on if what i am doing would be considered a drinking problem.. it sounds like you might need some help in terms of your drinking, maybe post in one of your threads about it? but i guess this thread is to try and help me..

[splitimage]

Hi TheQuietOnexx,

First off I think it's great that you're looking at your drinking and asking if you have a problem. While only you can say that have a problem or not, there are some things in your post that suggest that yes you might have a problem with alcohol, even if it's only in the early stages.

Drinking in the morning. Most people don't do this, although I did in the latter stages of my career.

Drinking throughout the day and hiding it. This suggests to me that maybe you're a little ashamed of what you're doing or worried that other people might find out.

Are you sure about how much you're drinking? The way you describe your drinking would actually make it very difficult to accurately measure how much you're drinking.

The fact that medical professionals have suggested you have a problem is another big clue - anyone expressing concern that you have a problem, is a concern really, but more so from a professional.

Finally there's a line I like that I hear fairly often in AA "Normal people don't sit around wondering if they have a drinking problem"

Here are a few more questions for you to think about?
Has drinking ever caused problems in your life, financial / relationships / accidents?

Have you ever tried to control your drinking but have been unable to?

Do you find you need more alcohol to get the same buzz than you did say 6 months ago?

Do you use your substance to change your mood. Your drinking in the morning before a psych appointment suggests to me that maybe you're trying to self medicate anxiety.

If it were me, and I was being told by Dr's that I was an alcoholic I'd want to explore with them in more detail, why they think that way.

There's also a couple of experiment's you can try. Try to control your drinking - don't drink at all during the day and then go out to a bar and have no more than 2 standard drinks. Then stop & leave. Can you, or do you have to keep drinking? How does stopping drinking make you feel?

Try stopping drinking for a few days, and see how you feel? Again can you do it?

Alcoholism is a bit of a loaded term. It's not actually a medical term per se, although it is used a lot. On the less severe scale, the Dx is substance abuse disorder, which might be used to describe someone with problematic drinking habits or who drinks more than the safe drinking guidelines. Then there's substance dependence disorder. That's when you're physically dependent on the substance and it's a lot harder to stop.

The good news is that if you do decide you have a problem, there is help available. There are treatment centers both residentail and outpatient to help you stop. There's AA, there's Women for Sobriety if you're female.

And quite honestly, if you do decide that you have a drinking problem, the sooner you get help and stop the easier and better it is. It doesn't have to destroy your life. I let drinking pretty much destroy my life and I'm still trying to come back from that, and it's really hard. About my only regret in life is not getting help when I first realized I had a problem, rather than wait until my life was totally out of control, because then I had a very serious problem.

Good luck.

splitimage

[Caretaker Leo]

I agree with splitimage that it is important that you ask yourself those questions. And a trial of not drinking at all - whether for a week or a month - could help you discover what is the truth.

Not one of us actually wants to ADMIT we are alcoholics - but unless we question and test ourselves and decide to be honest with the results - well, we may well end up on a path that does create chaos that starts to disrupt our lives.

I know that is what happened to me.

[RaggedyAnn67]

I struggled with this concept for years. In fact, my mind still wants to fight accepting it.
Alcoholism may not be what you think it is. Often, when talking about an alcholic, images of a disshoveled person sitting on the street comes to mind or of the person who has a drink in their hand and a bottle in the towel closet, one or two under the bed, one hiding behind the books, etc. It is more than often associated as a 'weakness' of the mind and shameful.
Be objective when you think about alcholism and how it may not or may truly appear a concern for you. Alcoholism is a disease that some people have and not a mental weakness. There is no 'choice' in being an alcoholic. Accepting if we have the disease and what we do about it are choices that can be made.
So, taking a look into what alcohlism really is, is essential. It is more than these standard images that come to mind. People don't end up on the streets right away. It takes some time. Stages of a sort. Some move through these stages faster than others. Consider this, if you are at an early stage and get a grip on it now...the better!
I would recommend going to an AA meeting and listening. You would be amazed at how the stories can relate to your own. You are not committed to going every day and forever. Give it a try.
I would drink heavily on occassions. But, because I did not keep alcohol at home, drink at home, drink in the mornings, etc. I didn't think I had a problem despite what the professionals were saying. I argued with them forever until I attended meetings and heard what people were saying.
This disease (addiction) is progressive. Something to keep in mind while you process this information.
And, why drink in the first place? Why do people think they even have to drink in the first place? What purpose does it really serve? Is it even necessary to live life?
And, I don't know if you are taking meds, but that wouldn't be a good ideas to mix if you are.
I now have almost 2 and a 1/2 years of not drinking. And honestly, I love it. There really was no purpose for me to drink. Society sort of created this image for me that having a drink was necessary for 'relaxing'...'blowing off steam from the stressful workday or workweek'. I can assure you that drinking is not necessary at all. Consider why you chose to drink at all.