When do you draw the line between someone who likes a drink and an alcoholic?!


Question: When do you draw the line between someone who likes a drink and an alcoholic!?
if someone has a drink every night, not because they need it but because it helps them to forget about things for a while, would you call them an alcoholic!?Www@Answer-Health@Com


Answers:
Hi loopy,
You don't have to be drunk all the time to be alcoholic!. I used to drink every night, not heay, but enough to knock out a few brain cells!.
It was one day when I actually admitted to MYSELF that I was alcoholic!. I have not a drink now for 9 months and feel well better for it!. It took six months to get the effects of alcohol out of my system!.
Alcoholism is an ILLNESS and people shouldn't condem drinkers so easily!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

They may not be an alcoholic but if its something they cannot do without - then they do have a problem and its best if they can admit they have a problem, cos then it becomes something that can be dealt with and treatment or help can be sought - the thing is that they need to realise that they have a problem and to actually do something about it
It might also help them to seek some sort of counselling if there a things to forget about - some therapy can go a long way to improving the situation so that they do not feel the need to drown the sorrow
Best of luck in helping them deal with it - its not always an easy thing to do!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

A alcoholic will wake up in the morning and must have a drink of alcohol immediately or they will get DTs ( withdrawal symptoms ) hands that will be shaking and will drink the first one out of the bottle or two hands to lift the glass to stop the shakes!. No i would not call a person a alcoholic if they have a few drinks every night after a hard days work and want to chill out!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Technically anybody that has to have a drink every night is an alcoholic!. Even an occassional drinker is an alcoholic as far as the law goes!. A drunk is a horse of a different colour, a drunk has to drink to get drunk every time that they can!. If they can quit after one drink that isn't too bad!. A glass of wine with dinner is good for you, but that is only one glass!.!.!.after that there is a big difference!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

When you say that the person has the drink to "forget about things" this does sound like an alcoholic!. Drinking to forget is a classic sign of alcoholism!. What is so bad you need to forget!? Can forgetting or relaxing be done equally as well in another way without drinking!?

It is incredibly hard to say where the line between someone who enjoys their alcohol and an alcoholic is!. In my opinion it is for that person to decide and not anyone else!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

I was once told as a medical student, that an alcoholic was someone who drinks more than his doctor!

More seriously, one definition of alcoholism is continuous or periodic impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial !.

Another is simply anyone who regularly exceeds the WHO maximum intake of alcohol, 14 units/week for a female and 21 for a male!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

An alcholic is someone who NEEDS the alcohol, they CAN'T go without it!. They feel like they need to to function, it starts to control their life!. If its jsut one drink, and they could go without it for a night, its nothing to worry about, many people get into a habit of having a drink everyday after work or whenever, its nothing to wory aboutWww@Answer-Health@Com

I don't think having a drink every day is a good thing at all!. If it isn't alcoholism it could easily become alcoholism!. Some alcoholics are binge drinkers and some are "maintenance" drinkers!. Maintenance drinkers drink all the time but never seem drunk, but the damage to their liver can be just as bad!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

If they are dependent on the alcohol to " improve things" in their life then I feel they have a problem!. Some people could,I feel, construe this as alcoholism!. I feel it is a problem that needs to be addressed!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

I reckon it's not so much the amount you drink as how long you can go without needing a drink!. I sometimes go on the wagon for a couple of weeks, just to prove I'm not an alcoholic!Www@Answer-Health@Com

no!.!. they become and alcoholic when they depend on alcohol to get them through the day - as in they HAVE to have it to function and will go to any length to get it!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

yes!. like some children have candy everyday because it makes them happy, an alcoholic has a drink every night because it "helps" them!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Yeah, alcoholism isn't about how much you drink, it's about how much you need to drink!. That kind of sounds like an alcohol dependency to me!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Yes, I'm afraid I would!. Ask them not to have that drink and see what the reaction is!.!.!. then you can judge for yourselfWww@Answer-Health@Com

no, everybody needs to escape from time to time the fine line is waking up with one for breakfast one for dinner and one for tea xWww@Answer-Health@Com

i would look at it as the beginnings of an alcoholic
the person shouldnt be called an alcoholic yet but should be really careful not to get there!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

No, and be careful!.!.!.a drink to get away and a drink to escape are different things- can he manage reality is the questionWww@Answer-Health@Com

Yes!. Drinking to forget will simply lead to more drinking!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

No, I call them Senator Kennedy!.

Driunk up, fuggerWww@Answer-Health@Com

if they have to have that one drink!.!.!.!.then yes!.!.!.!.they are using alcohol to forget!.!.!.not a good thingWww@Answer-Health@Com

No, they're just drowning their sorrows for a while - happens to the best of us at some point in our lives!Www@Answer-Health@Com

someone who has one of those hats, with the straws on the sides!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

it depends, if your worried ask your doctorWww@Answer-Health@Com

not at all!. cheers!Www@Answer-Health@Com

if its yourself you are asking for i think that terlls a lotWww@Answer-Health@Com





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