I was always a social drinker, drink on the weekends at most and only when I was in a social setting. Now I’m looking forward to drinking and will drink alone on the weekend. I think I’m addicted and don’t know what to do?
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Welcome. I hope coming here helps you find the answers you are looking for. Many people have come here with similar thoughts as yourself.
If unsure of whether you are addicted or not, why not try a 30 day challenge. Dont drink for 30 days and see how it goes.
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Something I’ve heard over the years is that normal drinkers never wonder if they’re addicted to it, never wonder if it’s a problem.
Advantages of of @Thirdmonkey’s suggestion is to note whether a) you can make it 30 days without changing your mind or encountering a situation (social or emotional) when you “have to” drink, and b) you are fixated in reaching the end of the 30 days so you can drink again. A wise man once challenged me, that if I could drink one day a year without consequences and still call myself sober, would I spend the whole year thinking about, fantasizing, planning, getting irritated that the one day wasn’t sooner? I would, and that helped identify my problem for me.
Blessings on your house 
as you begin your journey.
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I had stopped drinking for a month a few years back, and yes I can tell you initially I was just waiting to see when I could drink again, but after about 3 weeks I didn’t want another drink.
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Drinking is boring as hell. I have way more fun now. Just took me forever to realize
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You’re seeking which is very important. Keep looking inside and you will know if you are an alcohol or not. No one else can really tell you you’ve got to find out for yourself. If you are you’ve found the best community to join.
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Welcome. There are some great replies here, another idea is to look at some onlines quizzes, not to get a definitive yes or no answer, but to get a clearer idea of what issues are important.
If you feel you want to change your drinking, then there is plenty of ‘quit lit’ around. I read This Naked Mind early in my journey, and it really taught me a lot about my own drinking and drinking in society. Other ideas are here
Resources for our recovery
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I have a couple observations about that time you quit a few years back. The fact of feeling well and the lack of physical craving is not uncommon after a time separated from alcohol - but that is only part of the problem. Having the shakes or DT’s is not required to be an alcoholic ( it helps some people to identity but it isn’t an absolute). More than the physical, addiction is mental. After 3 weeks you felt better and one week later you decided to return to drinking. And now, a year or two on, you are in worse trouble than before. This strange twist of thinking, when we decide that abstinence is pretty good but we’ll take back our drinking life, that’s a strong symptom of addiction - acting contrary to logic.
So you did quit, but as soon as you felt better you returned to it.
And now it’s worse - it always gets worse, the course of alcoholism over time is downward.
But building up sobriety (not just counting days staying dry, but working on our personalities) is an effective path to a happy life. So I wish you well on your journey.
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I would rather be sober and wonder if I’m an alcoholic than to know I’m an alcoholic and wonder if I can get sober.
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Now is a terrific time to act. What harm will come if you quit drinking? What harm can come if you do not?
If you indeed are addicted to alcohol and you choose to ignore it, years can pass and it will get much worse before you think of seriously stopping again.
What is the risk/reward of alcohol? I know what my risk/ reward assessment is… all risk, zero reward.
You are asking yourself the right questions. Best wishes on your journey
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This is great feedback and I appreciate everyone’s feedback. There should be a ZOOM or teams AA meeting for the group.
In any case I was fine until I was asked to stay at a customers place by the Jersey shore. It’s a big customer and I don’t want to be the only one that didn’t drink. People typically feel judged by non drinkers and is not conducive to building a rapport in my world.
Then once I had a few beers I thought I’m back on drinking now so I may as well continue and now I know I can handle it.
I wish I could have one day, a glass of wine or beer and be done with it.