Do you think my friend's an alcoholic?!
Do you think my friend's an alcoholic?
My friend...cough, cough...can drink nine, twelve, fourteen rum and cokes on a Friday night and have a polite conversation perfectly decently at the end of it. Trashed but not obviously so. She's...cough, cough...26.
She has a family history of addiction and when she plugs in her drinking habits to one of those cheesy online tests, she gets "You're an alcoholic." Okay, it's me. Me! Am I?
Thanks, y'all.
Answers:
What? You can drink so much and not even puke? I don't know if I envy you or feel sorry for you. Yes, I'm sorry but that does not sound like moderation, and your liver will suffer tremendous pain if you don't stop and get help now. I'm sorry but you asked for the truth. Good luck.
if you have a family history of alcohol abuse you may be. but do you you really have a problem, do you feel the need to drink or can you go a while without a drink.
Just because you have a high tolerance, doesn't mean your an alcoholic. But if you are drinking multiple times week, drinking until you get drunk, craving a drink or if the hangover interfers with work on multiple occasion, you probablly have a drinking problem.
I would say that there is a strong possibility that she is an alkie. Folks don't choose to be alcoholics but they can choose to take responsibility for it. You can't instill the desire in her. She has to do it for herself.
do u drink alone if no one else wants 2 drink with u? do u party whenever u want no matter what your responsibilites may be? Do u lie about how much u drink to concerned friends or family members? does your behavior hurt people u care about or even yourself? If u answered yes to most of these questions, u should probably talk 2 someone professionally about alcholism.
well it seems you've grown a tolerance for the alcohol. it depends how long you've been drinking and if it's impaired your relationships with family, friends, ect.
Yes your an Alcoholic !! Its probably in your genes and you need to start by cutting back and getting help. My Dad died at the age of 35 and I am the only male member in my family that has never taken a sip of alcohol. So for the sake of your future kids don't drink. Get some help or some new friends that don't drink. You can have fun and not drink. Even here in San Francisco. Peace !!
Sounds like there's a strong chance of it. An alcoholic can be functional, but generally alcoholism is described as someone who is addicted, cannot stop drinking, and interferes with personal relationships, work or school. Those who have a family history of it are especially prone to it.
At the very least, someone who can down 14 rum and cokes in one night will have serious health problems as a result, regardless of how tolerant they are. That by itself indicates she cannot stop and is out of control of it when drinking.
YOU, and only you can decide that. Alcoholics Anonymous can help you get beyond that. I can see that you already know the answer to that. So, you are still young, go grab sobriety by the tail and hang on for the best ride: your life.
By the way, being sober is a geat place to be. No hangovers, thousands of dollars saved, you know who you slept with last night, you're far less likely to kill someone in an accident, lots of brain cells to use in old age, no DTs, much healthier children when you have them.
Okay, enough from me. Go get it, girl!
you are asking, so obviously it is a concern the label thing 'alcoholic' and all that goes with it I have a problem with. so, here's the thing...peoples tolerances levels differ by genetics, usage,etc. if you are screwing up your health, relationships, work, etc. because of it then I would recommend cutting down...get your yearly checkups and your liver function tests, etc. be honest with your GP. in your twenties is still young and the liver is a pretty hardy organ, still heavy chronic alcohol use can affect other organs as well, (heart, brain,etc.)...
its like anything thats ultimately 'bad' for you but feels good at the time and that you do too much of it... it could come to bite you in the butt at a later date...forewarned is forearmed, otherwise, cheers!
The ability to handle a lot of drinks and "have a polite conversation perfectly decently" is not, I'm sorry to tell you, the defining factor for alcoholism. Those "cheesy online tests" are not so useful, either. My own personal definition of alcoholism is a no answer to this question: Can you drink safely and responsibly, in moderation, without becoming intoxicated? Put another way, can you have a few drinks and then stop, or do you always drink to the point of becoming, as you put it, "trashed"?
My advice is to go to www.alcoholics-anonymous.org. I'm not saying you are an alcoholic--I don't know nearly enough about you & your situation to assess that--but there's lots of good information there, whether you have a dependency problem or not.
i am the same way as you are...i can drink a lot and still not be drunk... my cousin had to go to an alcohol class for getting 3 MIP's (minor in possession) and he was told that an alcoholic is considered someone who drinks on a regular basis. whether its every day or every weekend or even like the same day every week, you are considered an alcoholic
Bah it runs in my family too. I can usually go a good half of a 5th and be the same as her. But thats when i was drinking nightly. Once i stopped a half a 5th messed me up.
In my opinion your only an alcholic when it is affecting your daily life and relationships. Like works, school, people etc. If she is nice and just drinks alone and doesn't affect, i don't think its a huge problem. One thing you need to remember is everyone does it for a reason.
Sometimes they feel alone, sometimes they are just having a hard time, its not an excuse but she is only 26. I mean you shouldn't judge how much she can drink as being an alky, but more how often she does.
10 rum and cokes in a night is not terrible.
10 rum and cokes EVER night might be a problem.
You probably are if you need to ask... I have a friend (cough cough) thats sober 3 years now, you wouldnt believe how much better my I MEAN HER life is.
You need to quit smoking....that cough is going to kill you.