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August 1, 2008, 2:17 pm
Flag as Inappropriate mikey  

What is the difference between a social drinker and an alcholic. I know that an alkie likes to drink and many say they do it for the "taste" rather than the "feeling you get from it", but what is the difference if a person has one drink a week and then a person that drinks 4x what they should once a month?

An alcoholic has a craving, feeds that craving but does not know when to stop. Then you feel guilty about drinking so you drink some more, all the while convincing yourself that you are not an alcoholic. Well that, atleast is how things used to be for me, and I never even considered myself to have a problem with alcohol.

A person who has a drink once a day is not an alcoholic. That is a social drinker and most social drinkers don't even have one drink a day.

An alcoholic is someone who drinks all the time and doesn't get any pleasure from it except for being able to forget any problems they have. It's more of an urge and they often like to drink alone.

Exactly, it is the craving that an alcoholic makes. It is a physical need, it is a dependence that the body develops, not just that you want to drink.

It takes real treatment.

An alcoholic according to the twelve step program is someone who wants to quit drinking, admits they have a problem with alcohol and other things. The saying "a drunk goes to bars, and alcoholic goes to meetings" is a bit rough but true. There is no rate of consuming alcohol that makes you an alcoholic.

Right now I have someone in the hospital of mine who has been an alkie, quit, relapsed, quit again and horribel withdrawls sent him back into the hospital this week. His liver is failing and he is in intensive care. The family is already expecting the word. Thanks for the feedback all, its been well noted. I know sometimes one can go from one to the other and end up clean, but it hasnt been the case for this guy. And the topics been on my mind for awhile now.

An alcoholic can't really "stop" drinking without help. They might stop for a day or a week, but they will relapse. They also try to hide their drinking because they are ashamed and embarrassed. They might not try to hide drinking a beer with the guys or a glass of wine at a party, but when they go home and drink a ton more that they will hide. My grandfather used to hide alcohol bottles under the house so my grandmother wouldn't find them. (It didn't work.)

Have a drink now and then is not an alcohlic, but one having to drink every single day indicates a problem.

Skatss described it great here.

You can drink a beer every day- say you come home from work and want to wind down with 1 beer. This does not make you an alcoholic.

It is the person who is drunk all the time. Feeling like that have to have it.

It is an addiction it is the feeling of having to have it rather than wanting to have it, waking up and wanting a drink and then drinking at every opportunity, hiding it from friends and family.

I really caution against using the opionons of others when it comes to evaluating your personal choice with recreational substances.

There are 3 things you can evaluate for yourself.

1) Has your blood test showed liver damage, meaning your readings are above the normal range?

2) Have you had legal problems directly associated with drinking, like a DUI, unpaid bills, etc.?

3) Do you FEEL isolated due to your drinking habits?

Because others may have some hidden agenda regarding addictions, you need to decide if your life is suffering from it. Looking at you health issues, both mental and physical, will give you a few clues to work with.

A social drinker can stop. If a person has an urge to drink, there is most definitely a problem. There are other signs of alcoholism as well. I would search Google to help find them.