Are you bipolar or an addict looking for insight from a like-minded soul? Have a loved one suffering from bipolar or addiction and want some inside advice? While I’m not a doctor or medical expert, I can tell you about my experiences with this dual diagnosis and look to support others with replies. Note that your submission may be used in an upcoming blog post, although names will be changed.
This week Nathan C. writes:
Am I just a heavy drinker or am I an alcoholic?
Chances are, if you are questioning whether or not you are an alcoholic, you probably are one. You think you can take it or leave it when it comes to drinking. But can you? Chances are, if you are questioning whether or not you are an alcoholic, you probably are one. Give it a try. To determine criteria for alcoholic behavior, let’s debunk some myths about alcoholism.
- I’m not an alcoholic because I don’t drink during the day.
Hollywood portrayals of alcoholism make it seem like you’re only an alcoholic if you need a drink to start your day, that you wake up with the shakes and need an instant hair of the dog, a little tipple to get rid of the jitters. I’m a recovering alcoholic and I’ve never had a drink before my morning shower in my life. Maybe a bloody mary or mimosa or three with brunch, but I never needed a shot to get myself moving in the morning.
- I’m not an alcoholic because I don’t drink every day.
Some people go out on a bender every weekend but abstain during the weekdays. They rationalize that they’re not alcoholics because they don’t drink every day. For men – there is a five-drink threshold. For women, it’s four drinks. This is according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. If you drink this much or more in one setting, you are binge drinking — dangerously close to alcoholic behavior. Granted, some people have a higher tolerance than others, but if you reach drunken oblivion more than once in a blue moon, you are probably an alcoholic.
- I’m not an alcoholic because I don’t drink hard liquor.
This is an excuse I used back in the day. I never drank vodka, whisky, gin, tequila, or any of that. Cocktails and shots just weren’t my thing. My alcoholic beverages of choice were beer and wine. Drinking hard liquor gets you drunk faster. We all know that. So you might assume that all alcoholics would choose hard liquor to get their fix fast. But alcohol is alcohol. It’s not what you drink, it’s how much you drink. The ABV level (alcohol by volume) of a beverage is not relevant, it’s how much alcohol you are actually ingesting over all.
- I go to work, I do my job, I’m an upstanding citizen. Therefore, I am not an alcoholic.
Drinking does not have to get in the way of your daily routine to be a problem. Alcoholics are pretty damn good at being stealthy — hiding their drinking from people at work or their families. But there are many alcoholics who always arrive promptly every day at work, even though they engaged in binge drinking the night before. I’ve met them at AA meetings. They thought they were invincible until something bad happened.
Many in AA talk about “the yets.” You haven’t gotten a DUI. Yet. You haven’t been to jail. Yet. You haven’t been to the ER to get your stomach pumped. Yet. In other words, it’s a good idea to quit while you’re ahead.
So, if you are questioning whether or not you are merely a heavy drinker or whether or not you are an alcoholic, take a test online. Or go to a rehab and have an addiction expert assess you. You’ll be surprised at how much your drinking affects your life after it faces scrutiny.
