What defines an alcoholic?

Question

What defines an alcoholic?

Answer 1

Someone that don't know when he or she has had enough.

Answer 2

u know u are an alcoholic when u drink by urself

Answer 3

My boyfriends best friend is an alcoholic. Heres why i define him as that.

-Drinks a 24 pack EVERYDAY!!

- Alienates all his relationships.

-Lies about his drinking (saying he has it under control or doesn't have a problem)Thinks its everyone elses problem

-Hes gotten a DUI and during that DUI he hit somebody and took off so he also got a hit and run. Blamed it on the people and not his drinking.

- Went to jail for not taking care of his responsibilities. Got out of jail, started drinking that day.

-Sleeps on OUR couch because everyone he knows he has ruined there relationships so he has nowhere to go.

-When girlfriends he has had have asked him to either stop or slow down. Instead of trying to make it work, he will just break up with them and use the excuse "shes trying to change me"

- cant hold a job due to the execessive drinking the night before making it hard for him to wake up before 10 AM to get to work.

-Lazy

-Sloppy idiot that thinks hes the life of the party and thinks he's "funner" when he's drunk.

-Drinking is the one thing he CAN control (so he thinks)

As you can tell I think this guy is a complete idiot and not worthy of anything that is offered to him.

Answer 4

You will hear all kinds of things like"if you have more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day" or "if you binge drink, even if the binges are weeks apart" that you are an alcoholic.  An alcoholic is a person who cannot simply have one or two drinks, but always drinks to the point of being drunk.  After a time, the person reaches a point where they cannot function at all without drinking, and they stay drunk.  Many become what are called "functional alcoholics", and hold jobs and seemingly keep it together for years.  Eventually, most people reach a point where they realize they need to sober up, whether due to alcohol related health problems or the fact that their lives have become so unmaneageable that they cannot continue with the behavior.  Even with detox and rehab however, the relapse rate is very high. It has a tendency to run in families.

Answer 5

if drinking (no matter how often or how much) creates problems (relationship, DUI's, getting fired, brain fog, pickled liver, dementia) you're alcoholic.  most alcoholics take years before they "get it" and many more before they get help.  why suffer alone - AA was created for a reason.

Answer 6

when the necessity to drink overwhelms your sober wishes not to, or when every social drink ends in inebriation

Answer 7

One who thinks they can quit any time.

Answer 8

You do

Answer 9

Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite the health problems and negative social and personal consequences it causes.

Answer 10

not exactly sure....a lot of my friends call me an alcoholic...but i dont think i am....i think an alcoholic is someone who needs to drink....like is physically in pain with out the alcohol in them....but like me i just like to party on the weekends so i dont consider that alcoholic....do u?

Answer 11

someone who drinks (almost) uncontrollably and during hang-overs. someone who is addicted to drinking alcohol.

Answer 12

persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences

Individuals with alcoholism suffer from an addiction, typically becoming preoccupied with drinking and not able to control how much or how often they indulge. Though they might be aware of the risks involved in consuming too much alcohol, they are often unable to resist, despite the known dangers.

Answer 13

Need and nothing else... no matter what AA would like you to believe.

An alcoholic has an uncontrollable need for alcohol.

It has nothing to do quantity or frequency... just need.

EDIT:

Keep coming with those thumb downs... cuz I'm going to rant!

We live in a country of p##sies! Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. Kids are fighting in school... blame it on video games not bad parenting. Some nut shoots everyone down at the post office he was... over stressed and temperarly insane, but it sure wasn't his fault. Some self-important d##chebag runs over a kid when he runs a stop sign... it isn't his fault, we was destracted by the cellphone.

And finally... Some d#ckhead doesn't have any selfcontrol and is so self indulgent that he doesn't care... it isn't his fault, he's an alcoholic. Blame the alcohol.

EFF THAT! Take responsibility for your own actions for once. Learn to control yourself. Scientific studies show that less that 33% of those diagnosed as alcoholics and/or those attending AA or similar meetings are actually acoholics. That means that 67% of them are just problem drinkers that need selfcontrol lessons.

Is alcoholism real... YES! And I feel sorry for those that are truly addicted to alcohol. Is it as wide spread a problem as people would like to think it is... NO! But mass media and the special interest groups that control it sure as sh#t would like you to believe that it is the single greatest plague human kind has ever faced. And I sure don't feel sorry for self centered a##holes that can't or won't control themselves.

Grow up people. Have a drink or two. Then stop and take a taxi home... and if you can't... blame yourself... not the drink.

(Sorry, about any typos... I'm ranting and my spell check is being a douche.)

Answer 14

The symptom that differentiates the alcohol drinker  from the alcoholic  is the inability to moderate one's drinking.

Answer 15

How do you know if you have an alcohol problem? If you are asking yourself that question, you probably do have one. But, if in doubt, ask yourself the four CAGE questions.

1. Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?

2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?

3. Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?

4. Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

Two positives and you are in trouble.

Answer 16

ONE WHO IS UNABLE TO LIMIT ALCOHOL USE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

Answer 17

someone who drinks to excess every time they drink, they can stop for indefinite periods leading them to believe they do not have a problem, but when they take one drink, they are off and running once again... Also Alcoholics cannot drink Non-Alcoholic beer, because even though it's called non-alcoholic, it contains enough alcohol to trigger an alcoholic into falling off the wagon...

Answer 18

A good pair of beer goggles...