What is an alcoholic?

Question

What makes a person an alcoholic?

Why is it that some people drink excessively and are not considered to be alcoholics, while others who drink excessively are considered alcoholics? Why are there are others who don't excessively are considered alchoholics?

Is it how much you drink? What happens when you drink? Or why you drink?

Answer 1

An alcoholic is someone who can't go 24 hours without a drink.  The alcohol takes over their life.  They will base all decisions on alcohol.

Answer 2

I don't know who is telling you all that but all together an alcoholic is an excessively drinking person.  

Answer 3

Its someone who is addicted to alcohol.Some people become alcoholics out of habit or they have a weak tolerance for alcohol.Some people drink to relieve stress and some just drink to drink.  

Answer 4

Its a hard question to answer as many people have different opinions on it.  There is alcoholics of all sorts - binge drinkers, constant drinkers....etc etc

But overall an alcoholic is a person who has an alcohol dependance, an alcoholic craving, its a disease that cannot be cured and can only be treated.

Check out this website, its got some interesting facts about alcoholism and its meaning/definitions/symptoms etc...

http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_abuse...

Answer 5

Basically anyone who drinks consistently can be considered an alcoholic. If you have one beer everyday after work....you are an alcoholic. If you only drink on weekends you are still an alcoholic. Binge drinking is a form of alcoholism. Alcoholics are people who drink regularly, or are dependent on alcohol.

a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally.

Answer 6

people drink for all kinds of reasons sad party just because and some lose control and cannot stop

Answer 7

No,

its how much MUCH you drink and HOW OFTEN

you drink that much.

Answer 8

alcoholic is a person who is addicted to alcohol.........n can't live without it........................i dont know wat happens when u drink coz i hav never tried it.............

Answer 9

Any person that drinks alcohol is an alcoholic.if they do it once

without wanting to they are not considered an alcolholic.

Answer 10

Well an alcoholic is someone that drinks alcoholic drinks goer example:

wine,beer,whiskey, vodka ect

It also means someone that drinks alot of it.

A non alcoholic is someone that doesnt drink at all.

Answer 11

Alcoholism is basically an addiction to alcohol.

Like any addiction, the frequency at which the person drinks varies from person to person. As "crazycatlady" pointed out, not all alcoholics are falling down drunks, some may be only *need* a drink a specific times.

Alcoholism usually starts out as a mental addiction. But even people who may not necessarily have a mental addiction, can develop a physical addiction over time if they drink excessively.

Answer 12

An alcoholic is not necessarily a drunk. They are some one who lets alcohol rule their life. Yes a large number of them are known to drink to excess. But a person who absolutely has to have that one drink every day, can't function without it, they are an alcoholic. I rules their life. We are use to the falling down drunks, but not everyone who suffers from this disease is.