Whats an Alcoholic?

Whats "your" definition of an Alcoholic?

" the first solution is to admit you have a problem.."

An Alcoholic is someone who admits to having a problem.

whats a "problem"?

A product of admittance.

I believe it is defined by the physical addiction to alcohol

I've always thought of an alcoholic that requires (not desires) to have alcohol in almost any form. I know it sounds like a boozer-idea but I test myself every so often by going dry for a week or two.

I have friends that if they buy a 30 pack, then they will not go to bed until it is gone. That is an Alcholic in my eyes. I can have 2 with dinner and then drink water or tea the rest of the night. Geez, if I had to drink all the beer in my house before going to bed....I'd be dead.

Hammy71 said:

Geez, if I had to drink all the beer in my house before going to bed....I'd be dead.

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True dat. I don't think my guts could even hold it all.

If you drink to pass out, you're an alcoholic. And you probably have other serious issues that lead you to feeling like you need to do that.

If you drink because you cannot function socially otherwise, you're an alcoholic. Again though, it may have been other issues that lead you that way.

A lot of substance abuse can be traced to other reasons. Other things trigger it or give a person reason to use the substance as a crutch.

But if you get drunk just to get drunk, all the time, if you don't even want to but just feel like you have to in order to feel normal, or you get sick if you're not drunk, that maybe straight up addiction to the substance.

Zuljin said:

But if you get drunk just to get drunk, all the time, if you don't even want to but just feel like you have to in order to feel normal......

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I have a few friends like this. I believe that yes this is a problem, but i feel that I have that same problem. I like to drink (Love it actually, mmmm different types, smell, taste, mouthfeel, Everything!). Not really pound beers one after the other every night, but i do have alcohol every day. Honesty i couldnt tell you the last time i have eaten dinner without a beer or glass of wine. It just became a habit over time.....

I think that is what "Alcoholism" is..... (a habit.. To many many S**tty days at work and people go home and start pounding. Have a bad month? Hey thats atleast 21 days so thats now a habit) and as Zuljin said, people get drunk to just get drunk... because of events (jobs as my example).

**Also, I would like to say +100 to Hammy71. First post i have ever wrote, Hammy71 help me decide what brewing kit to start with and answered all my questions about homebrewing Thanks man

DrewBrew08 said:

I have a few friends like this. I believe that yes this is a problem, but i feel that I have that same problem. I like to drink (Love it actually, mmmm different types, smell, taste, mouthfeel, Everything!). Not really pound beers one after the other every night, but i do have alcohol every day. Honesty i couldnt tell you the last time i have eaten dinner without a beer or glass of wine. It just became a habit over time.....

I think that is what "Alcoholism" is..... (a habit.. To many many S**tty days at work and people go home and start pounding. Have a bad month? Hey thats atleast 21 days so thats now a habit) and as Zuljin said, people get drunk to just get drunk... because of events (jobs as my example).

**Also, I would like to say +100 to Hammy71. First post i have ever wrote, Hammy71 help me decide what brewing kit to start with and answered all my questions about homebrewing Thanks man

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Thats why we are all on here. To help and learn from each other. Cheers!!

I have some alcohol every day, in varying amounts. Maybe one beer, maybe four. I also have coffee every day, usually one pot before work and one or two cups during work. A couple of years ago I stayed in my Phoenix home only to wake up to no coffee. No physical effects like headache, etc. but it made me try to remember the last coffee free morning I'd had. I couldn't think back that far.

I also have coffee every day, usually one pot before work and one or two cups during work. A couple of years ago I stayed in my Phoenix home only to wake up to no coffee. No physical effects like headache, etc. but it made me try to remember the last coffee free morning I'd had. I couldn't think back that far.

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Alkie!

Me. I don't drink excessively, normally 1-4 a night even on the weekends. I have even gone dry for 3-4 weeks at a time. However, I never go a day where I don't think about beer. I'll think about it in the shower in the morning, on the bike ride to work, while teaching, and of course at the end of the work day. It runs in my family and I have the gene.

I think being aware of it and being honest about it helps. I am very vigilant about the amount that I drink. The majority of the beers I brew are 4.5% or below, so I can have my drinks and not affect my performance the next day. But the desire is always there. I need beer.

This question is absurd, it makes no sense and is not warranted on a forum like this. Nuff said.

People who drink ****ty beer have a problem. Us, we the home brewers of America and abroad have a passion!

I think I found a good example of an alcoholic this weekend.

Having a BBQ with some friends, 2 of us are homebrewers.

(non Homebrewing) Friend: "would you drink beer if it didn't get you drunk?"

Everyone else: "yes"

Friend: "BS!! NO ONE likes the taste of beer, its just the best alcohol and the easiest to drink a lot of!"

H-ost said:

I think I found a good example of an alcoholic this weekend.

Having a BBQ with some friends, 2 of us are homebrewers.

(non Homebrewing) Friend: "would you drink beer if it didn't get you drunk?"

Everyone else: "yes"

Friend: "BS!! NO ONE likes the taste of beer, its just the best alcohol and the easiest to drink a lot of!"

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That's what I tell people. I drink beer because I enjoy it. I would drink beer if it was free from alcohol and was still good.


The buzz is just a bonus!

The rubber-hits-the-road element of alcoholism (or any addiction) is if it negatively impacts your life. Does drinking (or any other addiction) negatively impact your relationships with your family or friends? Does it negatively impact your work (or ability to get and hold a job)? Does it negatively impact your health?

A member of my family is struggling with an addiction now and the answer for him to all of the three questions above is "yes". He doesn't see it, but I (and all of us who care for him) do.

Pappers_ said:

The rubber-hits-the-road element of alcoholism (or any addiction) is if it negatively impacts your life. Does drinking (or any other addiction) negatively impact your relationships with your family or friends? Does it negatively impact your work (or ability to get and hold a job)? Does it negatively impact your health?

A member of my family is struggling with an addiction now and the answer for him to all of the three questions above is "yes". He doesn't see it, but I (and all of us who care for him) do.

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I totally agree with you.

You're not an alcoholic just because you drink beer daily. However, you could be. For a proper diagnosis, I would consult a real doctor... not members of a beer forum. But for overall health reasons, I would suggest only having 1-2 beers every other day, or every third day.

I'm 29 years old and I went to the doctor in February for my first physical & full blood panel in three years. Everything was normal, even my weight, but my triglyceride level (fat in the blood), shot up from 110 three years prior to a whopping 286. The odd thing is that my cholesterol levels and weight were both normal. The doctor said that avid alcohol use can do this along with poor exercise... even if you eat fairly healthy. That definitely made total sense since I eat healthy and did not start drinking beer on a very regular basis up until three years ago. Before that, I only had a couple beers a week. Now, I'm back to my old schedule and taking very high concentrations of Omega 3 EPA/DHA and working out regularly.

A Mirror.