Am I am alcoholic? Please assess.?
I'm a 30 yr old female, 130lbs, 5'4.
I don't usually drink on weekdays because I don't like having hangovers at work.
I usually start drinking on Thursdays (bc I don't work on Fridays). On weekends I binge Drink like crazy.
A typical weekend: at least a bottle of wine a day (thur-sat), sometimes 2 bottles of wine and lots of vodka shots in between. My hangovers usually consist of barfing to the point of seeing bile. On a lucky day I just get a small headache, then I'd return to drinking again with friends. I rarely drink alone btw. if I do, it's just a few glasses to give me a buzz then I go sleep.
When weekends strike, I literally crave for alcohol and feels satisfied only after I guzzle down a glass of wine.
An I am alcoholic?
Comments
Do you consider yourself a social drinker? You seem to all but straight-out acknowledge that there are some problems in your relationship with alcohol. And while you may not drink full-time, you have neatly scheduled every waking hour that you aren't obligated to sobriety to either drinking or getting ready to drink. That sounds like some serious dedication!
Most alcoholics/addicts manage to keep their responsibilities in check, maybe not 100% but they take care of at least the minimum commitments. Some are highly functional, even champions of the workplace.
For me it took many years to fully accept it, but I cannot drink responsibly -- it is a compulsive thing and I cannot have just one. I also discovered that a lot of the reasons I drank were coming as a direct result of my drinking. Much of it was really very obvious, I just chose to ignore the facts long enough to get a few drinks down first.
There is Alcoholics Anonymous http://aa.org/ which is the standard and has been around since the 20s or 30s. It's helped a lot of people, but in some instances it all but insists that no one can be helped unless they are involved with it and it alone. I didn't much care for what I perceived as religious aspects of it, and found out that I wasn't alone in that. There are secular programs and programs that take no particular stance at all, even including AA as being as valid as any other.
Smart Recovery was helpful to me, http://smartrecovery.org/ but it's all ultimately up to you.
And you very well may not be an alcoholic. There are self-described alcoholics that go for weeks without so much as a sip, but then when they do pick it up they really go at it!
But you do seem pretty quick to acknowledge that there could be a problem. So no matter the case, it is a good sign that you are that in touch with your potentials.
Best wishes!
Definitely! Go and see a doctor/therapist as soon as possible and/or find an AA meeting and talk to them.