Wednesday, 21 October 2009

  • Can You Be a "Semi" Alcoholic?

    Can You Be a  

    As a college student, I've been told several times that there's no way I could be an alcoholic; that I just like drinking. I suppose that's true, but I drink to solve my problems, I drink to make my issues seem smaller and I drink just because I like the taste.

    Recently, I got an underage consumption charge because I blew .003 over the legal limit on a breathalyzer while at a bar. I was told to go to alcoholic meetings (basically Alcoholics Anonymous) and that I had to pay a fine. 

    Now I saw the problems of my actions, and realized that I had done wrong and needed to face consequences. But should I really have to go to these meetings? These officials have no idea of my normal drinking activity, and does being caught once constitute having to explain your entire life history of alcohol consumption? Personally, at the age I am now, I am not comfortable telling a room full of people that I've been actively finding ways to drink since I was eleven or twelve. I don't drink all the time, but I still don't like telling people I took my first shot while in middle school.
     
    I realize kids are drinking at younger ages these days, and finding more creative ways to do it, but subjecting us to meetings with forty and fifty year old TRUE alcoholics could possibly make us more upset with our conditions and push us to drink further. I have been doing more drinking, even though I know it leads to bad choices, partially because I'm so comfortable with it, and so uncomfortable talking about my problem.

    Is it possible to be a "semi-alcoholic"? Or, do people like me suffer from actual alcoholism?

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Comments (57)

  • tigerdauphin@xanga

    Of course you can. I am one!!  =oD
  • rawrchicken@xanga

    i dunno... i feel like if you're using alcohol to solve/avoid your problems, that you're an alcoholic...
  • Kevin_is_a_pirate@xanga

    Whats so bad about drinking :3
  • whitetrashpoet@xanga

    There's alcohol abuse, and alcoholism. They're different, similar, but both bad.

    You should read the book "Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood" by Koren Zailckas. It's an unusually honest take on alcohol abuse, specifically in women.
  • BunnyParfait@xanga

    You can't be semi alcoholic; you're either alcoholic or you're not. Do you depend on alcohol? Then you're an alcoholic.

    Certainly there are different degrees of alcoholism, but you're still an alcoholic.

  • Swhatley@xanga

    @rawrchicken@xanga - Agreed. 


    And from the way you're talking, you sound a little bit like you're in denial.
  • tsh44@xanga

    That's a tough one. You sound more like a habitual user who could one day be an addict. To me addiction is more about being out of control. If you're at the point that you cannot function without alchohol then you are addicted. I also think forcing you to attend meetings with people much older than you is probably not really helpful. Maybe they are trying to scare you off alchohol?
  • npr32486@xanga

    Nope.  An alcoholic is one who loses control because alcohol takes over.  Time to consider stopping drinking.  Also, if you need to justify or minimalize your drinking...  Yeah, I've been there, done that - you're on a bad road
  • morbidcoronerchick@xanga

    You're an alcoholic. There is no such thing as a "semi" alcoholic. If you're finding ways to drink at 12 or 13 and/or drinking to solve your problems (hint: IT DOESN'T HELP), you have a big problem.
  • BoStOnIaNMoMmY@xanga

    Like most said up above, there is no such thing as semi alcoholic u either one or ur not and what its sounding like to me is that u ARE ONE! ur way to young to be putting urself thru this. i hope someday u will realize liquar isnt the answer. take care of yourself.
  • aZnPrinCess888@xanga

    To me it doesn't sound like you're an alcoholic; but it does sound like you need to find real meaningful ways to deal with your problems and issues rather than drinking.  
  • jamie1506@xanga

    Someone once told me that If you only drink once a year, say, on Christmas, and only that once a year, but if you HAVE to have that one drink. That makes you an alcoholic.


    To me, drinking everyday, because you hate your life and you dont want to deal with your problems, is being an alcoholic. Having to have it. Being addicted.



    I think that you should have to go to classes of your peers though, I dont think its right to make someone your age go to AA meetings with creepy old guys, then again, maybe thats why they do it. to try and scare you into quitting?
  • dearFLOPPY@xanga

    i drink...wait no, my bad, i USED to drink hard liquor (gotta love my JD <3) before bedtime, about 12oz before i head to bed, just to "help" with my sleeping. then one thing led to another, the fire alarm in my res room ran out of batteries, my don came in and saw my massive collection of empty bottles of JD. this all happened while i was out of town, so when i came back i got a notice to make an appointment to see my registrar. i did, and was told to go to weekly AA meetings as well, or else they would suspend me from university. SO now that's all done with, i am still the occasional drinker, and i still love my JD <3
  • Ork58@xanga

    @jamie1506@xanga - Wow, way to stereotype. AA meetings are for creepy old guys huh?
  • Ork58@xanga

    AA meetings will help educate you, give you perspective. Talk to family and friends, those who know you best. This will help you determine the true picture. You cannot rely on your own judgement here, becuase it is your judgement mechanism that may be out of adjustment.


    There are many degrees of alcoholism. Some chronic, some devastating, some not. AA will help you determine that. Certainly no one on some random blog can authoritatively state that without knowing you and your personal situation.


    Just curious, but you were at a bar, and got a ticket for underage consumption? How did you get into the bar? And you stated you were ticketed for blowing a .003 over on a bar breathalyzer? I calibrate those for our Corrections Department. The units used in places like bars are not that accurate, and usually only read out to two decimal points. Even our Alco-sensor III has a +/- of .002.  Surely you meant 0.03, not 0.003. Standard procedure for issuing a ticket in our State says that the handheld units are used for preliminary readings, that if you blow over the limit, they bring you to Corrections or the Police Department, have you rinse your mouth with water and test, then wait 20 mins and test again on the Alco-Sensor III, which is a much more precision instrument.


    By the way, instead of seeing the older people at AA meetings as someone you can't relate to, remember they were once your age and didn't think they had a problem either. You can look at them as a glimpse of your future, unless you make some behavior changes. Thinking that being amongst them can cause you drink more is an excuse, and one of the danger signs of someone that has a drinking problem. Good Lcuk with all of this.
  • Johnjonbon

    There's alcohol abuse and there's alcohol dependence. I work in the field of addictions. If you truly have concerns, see your health care provider. There are questionnaires (very short) that can identify if a problem exists or not. You may just need some substance abuse education, or you may need more. If you need AA, or you choose to go, look for meetings that cater to your age group. They're out there.
  • jamie1506@xanga

    @Ork58@xanga - Yeah your'e right I shouldve just said a bunch of creepy old people. Cause I was trying to make the point that a 20 year old girl who screwed up once shouldnt be stuck in a group of people that she has nothing in common with.  Calm Down.
  • sheilajoyce

    Well...  I was of the same mind, figured if I'm never ever drunk, never sick, never out of work, whats the problem, right ?


    Then I was hit after 25 yrs of moderate drinking, with one of the five most common, silent, permenant health afflictions, ya huh !   None of these have any warning signs nor cures.  While I've been without liquor since the death of my dear hubby 30 months ago, I've NOT been to a AA nor Alanon meeting, only because I will no doubt burst into tears because of my loss, but, thats not to say you might grow stronger from it...


    God Bless & remember, you're NOT alone !
  • Bluekiller2025@xanga

    Yes.  I would consider myself as one.  While I love drinking and drink quite abit compared to my friends. I am responsible enough to keep a handle on my money and know when I can afford to drink and when I cannot afford to drink.  I sometimes have to go a couple weeks without a drink. Which sometimes stinks cuz I'd like a drink but it doesn't affect anything in my life.  
  • soul_survivor@xanga

    You're an alcoholic.  There are AA meetings that are "youth" focused although everyone is welcome.  There are also ones for gays, for women only, men only, etc.

    There is no requirement to tell your story if you don't feel like it.  Most people do not do so until they are more comfortable with their recovery journey. Everyone is there for support, not judgement or to pry. Even if you decided to introduce yourself, you don't *have* to say that you're an alcoholic until you can admit that.  You could say that you have chosen not to drink, that you would like to stop drinking or you could say nothing at all.

    In answer to your question, no, you can't be a semi alcoholic.

    This might help.

    http://www.step12.com/alcoholic-20-questions.html
  • Ork58@xanga

    @jamie1506@xanga - Appreciate your reply. Calm down? Didn't realize I was excited about anything....  :(
  • HisKeiki@xanga

    police don't know everyone's drinking habits, so they have to treat everyone equally with the charge. Personally I don't think anyone can be a semi-alcoholic, you either drink or you don't drink. I've seen too many problems happen because of it. If you drink 'just because you like the taste', find something ELSE. All alcohol does is harm your body and -always- has the chance to ruin things.
  • lupa@xanga

    You're an alcoholic and you're in denial.  You've been trying to get alcohol since you were 11 or 12?  ALCOHOLIC.  Wanting to minimize/avoid discussing your drinking?  ALCOHOLIC.  I'm sure there are a number of other signs that you're either ignoring or don't want to talk about, but those two points right there are quite sufficient.

    There's no such thing as a semi-alcoholic, but there are stages, phases, and types of alcoholics.  Some people can drink all day, literally from the moment they wake up until they crawl into bed, but still maintain a job and some semblence of a family life.  My husband didn't realize his dad was an alcoholic for years because the man was so functional in his alcoholism, and my grandfather was the same way.  Not every alcoholic is a sloppy, beligerant drunk, but the ability to get through life without everyone telling you you're a drunk doesn't mean squat.

    Remember, the people who are in AA on their own and not because of a court order are typically the people who have already hit the bottom.  They're history with alcohol stretches back for years, sometimes decades.  You may be closer to the beginning of your addiction than anyone else in that room, but it doesn't make you any less of an alcoholic.  You've been sent to those meetings to get a reality check, to see and hear what your life could become if you don't stop drinking.  It doesn't matter if you share your own story.  Just take a long hard look at these people, listen to their stories, and ask yourself if that's what you want for your own life.
  • soyeahthatswhathappened@xanga

    you're an alcoholic or you're not, there's no such thing as being "semi" addicted to something.
  • sororitygirl_slimdown@xanga

    It's not alcoholism when you're still in college. It's normal to drink a lot then. 

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