Is it alcoholism?

I have been questioning myself for a while and have talked to my parents. They don't think I have a problem. I can't help but wonder. Someone, whose opinion I put some credit to told me that I have a form of alcoholism. I don't drink regularly. When I do drink it is usually ridiculous. And I have displayed this tendency to be at extremes in other areas of my life. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about or what it is that I'm experiencing when I talk about being one to go to extremes; like I went from being someone who suppressed emotions to someone who says everything that she feels and thinks. But anyway, when I do drink it's to the point of intoxication sometimes to the point of being falling down drunk. The thing I've found that I like that intoxicated feeling. I guess I feel extremely happy, sociable and my inhibitions or harsh feelings toward others, particularly toward the opposite sex seem to relax some. (I was raped by my stepbrother at a young age, which I think effects my relating to the male gender). Does anyone have an opinion or view? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dear evil,

Good for you to recognize this problem!!! I am an alcoholic who has been sober for 3 years.

What you are describing is binge drinking. Many people come into AA and question whether or not they are really and alcoholic.

Some of the things that people say are:

'Can you have just one drink?'
'When you drink is the intention to get drunk?'
'Can you go to a social situation where drinking is occuring and not drink?'

Most importantly:

'Do YOU feel your drinking is an issue'?

If yes, then you have a problem. In addition if you google an AA website they will have a list of questions that they offer for you to answer that asks "Are you an alcoholic?" There are 20 questions and then it says what they think based on how many questions you answered.

-Tranquility

how often do you drink?

I think it does not matter if you are an alcoholic or not. What matters is if the drinking causes you problems—are there negative consequences? Getting falling down drunk could cause problems—maybe make you do and say things you would not normally do or say. Binge drinking can also be dangerous. I am not a professional, but I think over time, abusing alcohol just gets worse—the consequences become more severe. Maybe now is a good time to address the issue—especially if it is bothering you. The only solution I can think of is abstinence. Try stopping and see what happens—the booze will always be there if you change your mind.

I have found that I like being sober—at first it was difficult and I thought I’d never make it—but now, I really like being in control of my life…and I have learned how to have fun without booze. Although, in the end, drinking was rarely fun—it was something I had to do to survive—or so I thought. Today, I am extremely grateful for my sobriety.

I don't drink regularly or anything. The last time I drank was January. I am aware that when I do I do binge. I can be in social settings where drinking is going on and not drink, but usually it is not my choice that I'm not drinking. And when I'm in that situation I do want to drink and what not. Like I get kind of mixed feelings about being in that sort of situation.

You hardly ever drink so it wouldn't be alcoholism, but getting "falling down drunk" is probably not the best idea. Just be careful and be aware that it is possible to get alcohol poisoning especially since you don't drink much. Your body isn't really used to it like it could be in somebody who drinks regularly

Do you feel like you 'need' to get drunk and get any ill effects from not drinking? Or is it more getting carried away but being fine to go without it? I have drank too much many times and sometimes have had embarrassing/s***ty situations....Part was enjoying being drunk but also I was self medicating unpleasant aspects of depression, anxiety and ptsd didn't see it that way at the time though.

Alcohol can lower inhibitions so you might feel more confident, care less what people think of you and be more talkative(though depending on how drunk you are it might just sound rambly)

I don't know perhaps trying to moderate more would be a good idea, I still do drink but less than I was and when I do drink I try to avoid over-doing it, though I am not going to mentally beat myself up over 'oops I had one to many drinks last night' either. I guess in my experience I have had issues with reckless drinking/alcohol abuse, but never a real addiction and what you describe seems somewhat similar....but if this is really effecting your life negatively it would be a good idea to look into maybe therapy or other help.

Whether or not you are an alcoholic is irrelavent in my opinion. Why do you people drink? The answer is always "It makes me feel good". The more important thing you should be asking yourself is why do you not feel that good being sober? It's certainly possible and finding out how to do it is the difficult part. You are stated a very emotionally changing experience in your life and you recognize it as being a possibility for your over drinking. That is the first major step. Do I personally think you are an alcoholic? I do not. I do think your type of drinking is deadlier than the average alcoholic. Alcohol poisoning for binge is a very real danger so please take caution. The way I see it is if you need to drink to drown out a problem you have, then you have a problem.

Hello, evildouble102.

A Brief Overview of Alcoholism | Psych Central

I wish you well.

I am not sure if you would fall in with the traditional definition of an alcoholic, especially because you are able to identify the issue yourself. At the same time, you are continuing the behavior despite the fact that it you know it harms you and others around you – at the very least you are a problem drinker.