- What makes someone an alcoholic?
- When does alcohol become bad?
- Can you drink alcohol without being an alcoholic?
- Only you can decide what qualifies you as an alcoholic. It differs for everyone. I’ve had friends who were daily drinkers for years who are not alcoholic.
- When alcoholics drink it, it becomes bad.
- Most people drink just fine. I do not. I never have. I drank alcoholically from the first drink I picked up until the last one I set down. If I were to pick up a drink again I would be a full blown alcoholic again.
This is the DSM-5 criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder.
Alcohol use disorder is defined as a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by at least 2 of the following criteria over the same 12-month period:
Alcohol used in larger amounts or over a longer period of time than intended
Persistent desire or unsuccessful attempts to cut down or control alcohol use
Significant time spent obtaining, using, and recovering from the effects of alcohol
Craving to use alcohol
Recurrent alcohol use leading to failure to fulfil major role obligations at work, school, or home
Recurrent use of alcohol, despite having persistent or recurring social or interpersonal problems caused or worsened by alcohol
Recurrent alcohol use despite having persistent or recurring physical or psychological problems caused or worsened by alcohol
Giving up or missing important social, occupational, or recreational activities due to alcohol use
Recurrent alcohol use in hazardous situations
Tolerance: markedly increased amounts of alcohol are needed to achieve intoxication or the desired effect, or continued use of the same amount of alcohol achieves a markedly diminished effect
Withdrawal: there is the characteristic alcohol withdrawal syndrome, or alcohol is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
1 Its up to the individual to truly make the decision if they are an alcoholic. For me it was not because I started drinking it was when I couldn’t stop.
2 It became bad for me when it consumed my thoughts and became an obsession
3 Yes I know many people that drink that are not alcoholic.
A good litmus test is to stop for a while and see if you have cravings and can’t do without.
If drinking is getting in the way of your life, you are abusing alchohol.
If life is getting in the way of your drinking, you are an alcoholic.
I scored a 100% ahhhh
My doctor suggested that I try for a month to limit myself to not more than two drinks in a day, no more than three times a week. He said I should reevaluate whether I should drink at all if I had problems with those limits.
I didn’t even make it through the first week.
Funny thing - so did I!
I would have made it 2 hours before I hit my weekly limit of two drinks
Well I got 10 of those. Guess I’m on tnt right path