How Many of You Have Been Accused...

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My bitchface ex wife called me an alcoholic, but she called me lots of things :D Back when I was going through The Unpleasantness, I found out from a social worker that drinking two alcoholic beverages every day is considered 'heavy drinking' by the government. Meh. It's more about attitude and how you deal with your life than how much you drink (or not drink)

For more on the subject, see my sig.
 
Before I left Active Duty I had a Commander who said- More than 2 drinks in a sitting means your an Alcoholic. I replied- Thats why I get up and walk around. He was not amused.

Also apparently no one should be able to drink 5 gallons of beer in a month.
 
I read somewhere something that kinda describes my persona - I only drink beer on 2 occasions.

When I am with someone, and when I am alone.
Does that make me an alcoholic? :p
-Me
 
I'll have a few on a Friday or Saturday (but usually not both days...unless I'm on vacation or something), maybe two more at some point during the week.

I do have a ton of bottles that I've saved for homebrewing purposes (before I kegged), so I can see how someone could get the wrong impression from that. But it took me a few years to gather those. (I should really pass them along to someone else now that I'm not bottling much, I guess.)

But no, no one's ever accused me of being an alcoholic, other than jokingly.
 
From wikipedia...

The Journal of the American Medical Association defines alcoholism as "a primary, chronic disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking."

The DSM-IV (the standard for diagnosis in psychiatry and psychology) defines alcohol abuse as repeated use despite recurrent adverse consequences. It further defines alcohol dependence as alcohol abuse combined with tolerance, withdrawal, and an uncontrollable drive to drink.

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, alcoholism is the popular term for alcohol dependence. Note that there is debate whether dependence in this use is physical (characterised by withdrawal), psychological (based on reinforcement), or both.
 
Well there we go, great to see a definition. Though by that definition, I don't believe anyone who is able to type on a given forum would be considered an alcoholic.
 
I have been accused of being an alcoholic but to be fair that was in college when I would drink a 30 pack of PBR a night.
 
I'll normally drink a beer with my dinner, then maybe another beer sometime in the evening. Anywhere else in the world this would be considered completely normal, but we've become so prudish about alcohol as a society that it is now "unacceptable."

When I discharged from the Marines I went to the VA, and as part of my initial physical they asked me how much I drink. I should not have told them the truth. Every time I go in there I get, "So tell me about your drinking." They even mailed me pamphlets about alcoholism. I've tried sharing my views on alcohol with them, but no one cares. If you drink anything at all you have a problem.

And try telling some of them that you brew and drink beer because you appreciate great beer. That you enjoy the taste and like to see how your beer compares to others. I don't even like to be drunk. I hate that beer is still so taboo.

Ok, ranting finished.
 
My beer intake has increased 1000x since I started brewing, 24 beer used to last me months. The best decision I made was to keg now nobody knows how much I drink....not even me.

As a SAHD I never have a drink until my wife is home from work (unless a friend stops by.....it would be rude to let them drink alone) My wife does a fair bit of traveling too so when she's out of town I'll let myself have one when the kids are in bed.
 
I've only half-seriously been called one by a friend of mine because I can handle alcohol much better than she can (there supposedly have been studies that people of asian decent have fewer alcohol metabolizing enzymes in their stomach) so therefore I must drink a lot to have such a high tolerance, therefore, I am an alcoholic.

In the DSM IV, there are a TON of criteria for potentially having an alcohol problem. Unfortunately, people don't understand the DSM IV and think that if you have any of those criteria you automatically ARE an alcoholic.

EvilTOJ said:
My bitchface ex wife called me an alcoholic, but she called me lots of things :D Back when I was going through The Unpleasantness, I found out from a social worker that drinking two alcoholic beverages every day is considered 'heavy drinking' by the government. Meh. It's more about attitude and how you deal with your life than how much you drink (or not drink)

For more on the subject, see my sig.
Click to expand...

One of the criteria I mentioned above is, for men, having MORE than two drinks per day. But again, there are many things that play into it.
 
There is no way I can be called an alcoholic...I have cases upon cases of beer in my house I have not yet drunk!
 
I think people tend to conflate "alcoholism" and "binge drinking".

According to NIAAA, "a 'binge' is a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 gram percent or above. For the typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming five or more drinks (male), or four or more drinks (female), in about two hours.

This of course also leads to people to conflate "binge drinking" and reasonable consumption. I don't think there is anything pathologic about drinking 4 or 5 drinks over the course of 3 or 4 hours with a meal. One might argue it isn't the healthiest habit if you do it daily, but an alcoholic it does not make you. While I have never been accused of it myself, I have seen people accused of being an alcoholic with very moderate consumption.
 
I love these forums, pretty much everyone here has either seen or been a target of "alcoholism" from brewing beer or appreciating one or two every evening. I'm not typically the kind of person who seeks validation of my convictions, but this is one of those things that makes you stop and think every now and then.

My 30th is coming up in a few weeks and you can bet your butt that the inlaws are gonna take the little one and we're gonna throw down with a couple of friends. It may just be my first bender since my college days. Too bad my timing on my homebrew is off. I'd love to have this altbier ready for the party.
 
I mean really, does this look like an alcoholic to you?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur9svvCRUT0]YouTube - Meaty's Greek Drunktime Fun-Odyssey[/ame]
 
There were times in my life when I thought I might be an alcoholic.....functioning.

I'm not too worried really, it's better than shooting heroin which is what I was doing 12 years ago.
I have a wife and a kid and pay all my bills as a senior computer dude I don't have isssues with drink impacting negatively on my life.
During the week, I'd have between 0-3 pints in a night, at the weekends I'd have between 3-wooooah beers of a night, I cycle to work every morning. I don't drink at inappropriate times, using the british naval premise that if the sun is over the yardarm at the weekend when nothing needs doing then it's all good.

I don't drive, it's not an issue.

Am I justifying myself?? Meh.....
 
I got questioned yesterday by the wife. She came home at lunch and found me at the computer with a glass of beer in front of me. "Are you drinking that at lunch??"

Uh, I had ONE taste.

But you have to go back to work.

One taste, look the glass is still half-full!

(It was one of those Killians tasting glasses).

Don't let them smell the beer on your breath!

Uh, ONE taste?

I just had to see how that blonde was progressing since it had chilled. It was more to see how it came out of the tap, than the beer itself, but you know I had to see what the flavor was doing. It was literally one swallow.

Normally she doesn't mind if I get a little happy now and again.
 
Homercidal said:
I got questioned yesterday by the wife. She came home at lunch and found me at the computer with a glass of beer in front of me. "Are you drinking that at lunch??"

Uh, I had ONE taste.

But you have to go back to work.

One taste, look the glass is still half-full!

(It was one of those Killians tasting glasses).

Don't let them smell the beer on your breath!

Uh, ONE taste?

I just had to see how that blonde was progressing since it had chilled. It was more to see how it came out of the tap, than the beer itself, but you know I had to see what the flavor was doing. It was literally one swallow.

Normally she doesn't mind if I get a little happy now and again.
Click to expand...

When I worked in France, the company provided the lunch including half a bottle of wine. Then it was back to work. Roofing! :D
 
My mom and my cousin have both accused me of being an alcoholic, if only because I seem to drink a lot.

Because to them, 1-2 beers 2-3 times a week, plus the occasional (read: every couple months) 5-6 drinks in one night, is "drinking a lot".

That whole side of my family is ridiculously uptight.
 
bernerbrau said:
My mom and my cousin have both accused me of being an alcoholic, if only because I seem to drink a lot.

Because to them, 1-2 beers 2-3 times a week, plus the occasional (read: every couple months) 5-6 drinks in one night, is "drinking a lot".

That whole side of my family is ridiculously uptight.
Click to expand...

It would appear you are also in the veil of the bible belt buckle. Ain't it fun?
 
It would appear you are also in the veil of the bible belt buckle. Ain't it fun?
Click to expand...

My boss recently took off 3 weeks -- at a critical time in our project developent -- to do missions work in Belgium.

In any case my family isn't from here. We grew up in Wheaton, IL, a nice little piece of the bible belt half an hour outside Chicago, with a church on every other street corner. My grandparents were licensed MDs, but served as missionaries in Afghanistan while my mom and her siblings were growing up. So if you think I have issues...
 
When I tell people I homebrew, and also of my love of beer and beer collecting, as well as the fact taht at any given time I have 15+ cases of beer in my basement, I've been told by more tahn a few people that I must be an alcoholic. I respond back with "No, I just enjoy good beer"
 
Here's how the conversation goes:

"You're an alcoholic."
"No I'm not."
"That's denial. It's a sign you're an alcoholic."
"It's not denial, it's an honest assessment of all the evidence."
"It just looks that way to you because you're an alcoholic."

:facepalm:
 
bernerbrau said:
Here's how the conversation goes:

"You're an alcoholic."
"No I'm not."
"That's denial. It's a sign you're an alcoholic."
"It's not denial, it's an honest assessment of all the evidence."
"It just looks that way to you because you're an alcoholic."

:facepalm:
Click to expand...


Tut tut, denial is not just a big river in Africa you know?
 
When someone asks me if I drink, I just tell them the truth; I do enjoy a snifter of port at Christmas.
 
Hey what's this got to do with me I'm not in denial, or am I? This is complicated.
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"I'm not an alcoholic. In fact, I've never had a drink in my life."
"But you just said you're not an alcoholic! Therefore you ARE one!"
"Crap! I can't beat this on my own! I need help!"
"You're lucky to have a caring friend like me around."
 
Homercidal said:
I got questioned yesterday by the wife. She came home at lunch and found me at the computer with a glass of beer in front of me. "Are you drinking that at lunch??"

Uh, I had ONE taste.

But you have to go back to work.

One taste, look the glass is still half-full!

(It was one of those Killians tasting glasses).

Don't let them smell the beer on your breath!

Uh, ONE taste?

I just had to see how that blonde was progressing since it had chilled. It was more to see how it came out of the tap, than the beer itself, but you know I had to see what the flavor was doing. It was literally one swallow.

Normally she doesn't mind if I get a little happy now and again.
Click to expand...

What is the problem with having a beer with lunch? I have been to many lunch meetings where beer and wine were served but I am the boss. Both myself and the wife have been known to have a beer before lunch specially when we are camping.

non of my friends or family have ever called either of us alcoholics .. but then again their drinking with us....



I may have to think about it
 
Most places I've worked are zero tolerance for alcohol. If it's on your breath, you're sent home. It's a liability issue to have people under the influence at your place of employment.

I don't agree with it, but that's the way it is.
 
Company policy. I didn't know this at first. I used to have a glass at home at lunch (I live a couple of blocks away) and no big deal. I mentioned it to a girl who worked here and she said, "Don't do that! They can fire you for that, even if they jsut smell it on your breath."

So, since then my work days have been much less enjoyable. Although they are pretty good about drinking. We have our Xmas party at the local VFW and they buy the booze. Just can't go back to work afterward!!

And the taste I had yesterday was actually only one swallow. I could get more alcohol from eating an overripe banana.
 
GM's just as uptight, but let me tell you. Best day ever at work was St. Patty's this year. Kuhnhenn put on a St. Patty's breakfast with 5 or 6 beers. Deeeelish.
 
When I worked in Germany in the restaurant and bar game it was common for a customer to buy you a drink, and that didn't mean you put the cash in a glass like in the US, they would insist you drank it with them....I loved some aspects of that job :)
 
I visit Mexico frequently for my job. Lunch is often the big meal of the day. Beer with lunch is the norm. Even if you just stop at a little taco joint, everybody gets a beer.

If it is a big lunch in a nice restaurant there is usually some sippin' tequila as well.

Mexico kicks ass.
 
I have no desire whatsoever to drink and then have to go back to work even if I could. Did S*&%$ like that when I was a teen or my early 20's but I have too much responsibility now and again, I just don't want to. I prefer to wait until the end of a long hard day to have a beer, kind of my reward at the end of the day. :mug:
 
That's how I feel too. I don't really enjoy drinking at bars much anymore either, because I'll have to drive home. Get home, change into an old t-shirt and shorts, pour a tall one and put my feet up, knowing the furthest I have to walk is my bedroom.
 
I'm like most of you... a pint glass or 12oz bottle on a weeknight, maybe 2 each weekend day. I might have an extra one after getting sweaty doing yard work on the weekend, but that's usually 4-6 hours away from the other 1 or 2 I'd have that day.

If we have company, I usually mix some drinks and partake one or two of those as well (we have the cool house, best booze and are the best cooks of our circle of freinds, so everyone comes here)

Most of the time, I'm not drinking for the buzz, though, I do find that a beer helps me wind down / relax after we get the 2 & 4 year olds to bed.
 
jrfuda said:
I'm like most of you... a pint glass or 12oz bottle on a weeknight, maybe 2 each weekend day. I might have an extra one after getting sweaty doing yard work on the weekend, but that's usually 4-6 hours away from the other 1 or 2 I'd have that day.

If we have company, I usually mix some drinks and partake one or two of those as well (we have the cool house, best booze and are the best cooks of our circle of freinds, so everyone comes here)

Most of the time, I'm not drinking for the buzz, though, I do find that a beer helps me wind down / relax after we get the 2 & 4 year olds to bed.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I have quit before when I thought is was not healthy but then after a few months I realized I had nothing else to induce relaxation after being wound up all day. I had trouble sleeping because my mind wouldn't calm down so I would read all night or put up with thinking about all kinds of things instead of resting. I tried sleeping pills but they wore off if I could not fall asleep in an hour or two. I decided hell with it; I am not enjoying this at all and went back to enjoying beer and its calming effect it has on me.
Click to expand...
 

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