Am I an Alcoholic ?
Most people who are drinking too much, in whatever way, will occasionally ask themselves the question – am I an alcoholic?
It’s a scary question to ask yourself, but as with most things the answer will not be a black or white,
“yes you’re an alcoholic” or
“no you’re not”,
but a shade of grey somewhere in between.
What sort of alcoholic are you?
Binge Drinker
- Irregular over-drinking,
- Monster hangovers,
- Doing embarrassing things you regret,
- Alienating your friends,
- Accidents,
- Days off work,
- Mood swings…
If this sounds like you, then get some help here.
Heavy Drinker
- Very difficult to have a day without alcohol,
- Can’t sleep without drink,
- Drinking alone,
- Guilt,
- Cravings,
- Can’t concentrate,
- Low energy,
- Depression…
Or if this sounds more like you, then contact us here.
Dependent Drinker
- Physical withdrawal,
- Drinking from early in the day, every day,
- Isolation,
- Poor health,
- Unstable work,
- Relationships failing,
- Feeling hopeless & ashamed…
If however, this is who you are, then to start with you’re going to need some medical help to detox your liver – go and see your Doctor, then get in touch with us.
You might be wondering, more simply, how can I stop drinking alcohol? But of course it’s never as simple as that. You’ll need plenty of support, and some clear goals, plus some in-depth understanding of how your own particular addiction works. That’s what online counselling will do for you. Try one session at least, and you’ll see how it can help.
If you do nothing about your problems, then nothing will change.
I need to stop, full stop. have rung aa today and was told to attend a meeting tmw night. dont know if ill go. ive drunk for 33 years and only arrested once (dr 10 drink drive). have drunk enough in those 33 years to last any man a life time. good mate tells me i have a self distruct button. i do and its not a button its a lever- it has a greese nipple- the greese is booze.
went to workds do. made an idiot out of myself. did something terrible…. dont know what it was but feel the guilt and the shame. it may come back to me, it may not, either way i know i did something. new by the way collagues treated me next morning- working else where now. someone may ring and tell me. Can cope but MUST give up booze as its causing me to cock up.
Tanya- your story nearly made me cry. You are in a very difficult situation and i feel very sorry for you. Your Mother loves you im sure. If she read what you wrote i know she would cry. Advice from an alcoholic like me is prob not what you need but here goes anyway. You need to try again. take your mother out for a coffee and you buy. sit her down and talk to her. you need to let her know how you feel. try to put aside your dislike for mums boyfriend and explain about his drinking and your mothers and your concern about it. Calm and rational discussion. talk to her. She may stay with him but so what. so long as you dont suffer and your mother dosnt continue to drink to excess then so what. i know this is harsh but your 16. you can move out! dont, your too young but in a couple of years you’ll be 18 and could go to college or work or whatever. talk to your mother again and make her aware fully of your justifable concerns.
Good luck
I am 53 year old single woman and still drinking. My alcohol dependency has cost me jobs in the past and also my family. I have practically no contact with any of my children or grandchildren which I bitterly regret. I dont drink all the time but I go on binges where I seem to have the need to consume as much alcohol as is humanly possible. I just wish that I knew what the trigger was so I could press the off button and then I would feel better about myself,
Sometimes life seems just so awful I just want to shut everyone out. I don’t know why I get so unhappy but its nice to know that I am not alone with my demons.
Hi all.
i am moved and saddened by all the stories here. my wife has just this evening told me we are getting divorced. my heavy drinking is the sole cause. even though i make excuses, i know deep down the truth. this has shocked me into sobriety, but for how long? she is everything to me. booze will always be there but she won’t. how can i not see this? it’s a no-brainer but i am still looking at when i am not hungover so i can have a beer to mourn the loss of my marriage. if i could cut down to a sensible amount but i can’t. if i could stop for more than one day, but i can’t. i can no longer drink responsibly and i need her support now more than ever. we fight, i drink. i drink, we fight. we’re happy, i drink. you name it, i have a reason for drinking.
i am an alcoholic.
i have known this for many years but this is the first time i have really admitted it and it’s an awful feeling.
Hi , my names Rob , two years ago I met and in turn fell in love with a wonderful woman called Suzanne . However I noticed that she always drank , at first i didnt think too much of it as i occassionally liked a sesh . Gradually it became a real problem , massive mood swinds , aggression , unreasonable behaviour , “Mr hyde “. I tried evrything , rationalising , promoting counselling , good cop , bad cop but still i get let down . With her its not so much the amount she drinks but the way it changes her . I left her for 4 months despite still loving her , she pleaded with me to start over , I gave her my heart again , 4 weeks later im back in the same boat . Now i feel like im the insane one , a control freak . So to anybody who’s listening , I love this girl with all my heart , but i am leaving her forever because i am now numb and sapped of all energy. I will never return because I cant trust her with my heart again . I would rather be alone and unhappy in love than in love and unhappy with someone with a drink problem . It boiled down to loosing me or the drink .. the drink won .. it always does . I hate it so much .. happy Christmas and new year .. another excuse to drink .. love ya all Rob x
Hi Rob,
After reading your story i couldn’t help but cry! You see i am in the same possition myself however i am that girl you were talking about. I’ve had so many problems all the way through my life and after following in the same footsteps of my Dadz alcoholism, violent behavour and rebelness. i drink everyday. Two years ago i met my boyfriend and we were drinking every week end and got bloody smashed. It was great at first however i carried it on through the week, through the night and straight away in the morning. I needed something to make me forget what was happening at home forget my past and what happened when i was younger. Basically my parents fucked me up. It has caused my and my boyfriend to break up, get aggressive (badly) but every morning whether it was his or my fault we always said sorry. We’ve done so many bad things to eachother and i regret it every single day If im sobor. Im concerned that you ex girl friend has problems of her own and just needs to hide behind somthing like drink. Please dnt take my reply the wrong way but you have opened my eyes to alot just by reading that!! Im sorry for what you have been through and i admire you for putting up with it and i hope you find another girl who you love more than you ex, i just want you to know there isnt a moment that i am sobor im not sorry for that. I havnt drank since the new year and i am back with my boyfriend i am i willing to make the effort however, ive taken it to the next level before and drank 4 bottles of wine (atleast a day) And im only 20 on the 6th of January! so i need medical help to to this. But you have encouraged me to be possitive so for this im am so so thankful!!
Drinking, in any abusive way is really a bad thing. Worst, it seems that it is very difficult if not impossible to have control over how much is enough, once we have fallen into one or several different traps of alcoholism. To all of us concerned the wisest and safest option is to quit drinking. For those indirectly affected, it is better to address the problem with the person with alcohol problem, remember to be very diplomatic and patient as they are in need of your help. I personnally have decided to quit and I really hope I will have enough will power to do so this time, as I tried and failed to stick to the correct decision in the past. Our body is a holy temple and we should take care of it every moment in life. We are extremely lucky to be born as human beings and as such we ought to nurture a constant love of our beauty. Good luck to everyone.
ive been drinking on and off for yrs,but recently some shit happnd at work? i got of something,which i knw i didnt do.the stress from that accusation has made drink nearly everyday for 2 months!! i even started something new,drinking before and sometimes during work!! this weekend was very heavy for me and woke up this morning feeling horrendous.i walked into work,went to the boss and broke down and told him im an alcoholic!!! ive never heard myself say that? i was shaking and trembling and so upset.iwent to the docs and told him everything.he gave strong vits and min,and librium to calm me down.i came home and told some of my family.they we knw,we just wanted you to finally reaslise it? ive got liver test tomorow.the dr is making an appointment for a good councillor.well i never wanted to say the alcoholic namw to myself,coz its so final. well here goes,1st day of my new life tomorow.
These posts are useful. I am getting the picture now, regarding myself, based on the other posts: (1) I will not be able to control the intake. (2) The boozing will get worse for me in future (3) it is an addiction and has nothing to do with an ”addictive personality”’. (4) I do have a drinking problem (am a so-called “heavy drinker”).
Alright then, today I will be ordering Carr’s book about quitting drinking. Its as simple as that – there is no other feasible option for me. I am just angry that I turned a perfectly pleasant pastime of having an occasional drink, into a problem, and as a result of this, I am going to have to forfeit that original pleasant pastime.
I am writing this in the fond hope that what i say will help all of you that have or think you have a drink problem.
I’m 38 years old and started drinking when i was 15. I would go for a game of tennis with my friends then end up having 1 or 2 cans of lager. As i got older the drinking got worse and by the time i was 18 i was out every night and drunk every night. I knew i had a problem even from that early age but as we all know you kind of go into denial thinking that you will be able to give up if you really try. When i was 21 I went to work as a holiday representative and god this was a big big mistake i worked abroad for 8 years and because i was a rep all my drinks were free i thought i was in heaven but always in the back of my mind i knew what i was doing was very wrong and i knew that i was in trouble. God knows how i managed to conceal it i would keep a lemonade bottle full of vodka in my work bag and just add it to my coffee so no one would know that i was topping myself up. I became so ill while i was abroad i honestly thought i was going mad in the end having had some sort of breakdown the company i worked for flew me home as i was acting like a total lunatic. When i arrived home my parents tried to stop me drinking but they couldn’t and i couldn’t stop drinking i couldn’t cope with the withdrawel symptoms. I tried many times to go cold turkey but would always give up after 2-3 days. I then managed to get myself a job as airline cabin crew and you would have thought i would have known better I don’t know how i got the job because i was half drunk when i went to the interview. Whilst i was working for the airline i am very embarrassed to say i used to steal the alcohol from the trolley’s because i could not afford to buy it as my parents had thrown me out and i was living in a grotty little bedsit and needed all my wages to pay for my little drinking hole. I never got caught stealing from the airline but was sacked for being drunk on duty and i absolutely loved that job. by the time I was 25 i was a complete wreck i had no friends and i couldn’t form any relationships because i was a complete and utter obnoxious man. My family disowned me and i had hit rock bottom living on my own drinking myself stupid not eating and not socialising. I attempted suicide 3 times but would then check myself into hospital and tell them what i did. Nobody could control me i was in and out of hospital back and for to my gp who would give me diazapam to control withdrawel symptoms but i would only mix them with alcohol to get a better high. I come from a very well respected family and hated the fact that i had let them all down. I then started to steal alcohol from supermarkets and sometimes would get away with it and sometimes get caught i then became known to the police who treated me like the local pain in the butt. I eventually landed myself in prison for mugging someone for money to buy the booze which now to this day I hate myself for that and the prison managed to dry me out and when i came out i felt like a new man. About 3 days of coming out of prison i fell into a false sense of security and thought that one drink would not matter and of course i was off again and before long i had hit rock bottom again back to the stealing the horrible withdrawel symptoms in and out of rehab in trouble with the police more attempts on my life etc etc. I moved away because i thought that it would make me better a new start would be good but of course the problem just follows you where ever you go. I tried AA but that didn’t work for me but have seen it work for others so please dont be put off by AA. I kept trying and trying to give up alcohol and eventually something happened inside of me and I stopped and I stayed stopped and now 6 years down the line I am still sober please don’t ask me what happened because I don’t know i think it must have been my sincere determination to stop. I completely did in on my own without any support or help and believe if you have the determination and self will you can do it. I am now 38 years old I am married have a great job and nice home and in good health (god only knows how i never runined my liver or other organs) i go on holiday twice a year and life is good so i guess what i’m trying to say to you all there is light at the end of the tunnel and you will find a way to stop if you really want to. I look back on the bad old days because believe me they were not good and sometimes i could cry when i think exactly how bad I was and what i put my family and friends through and i thank whoever or whatever made me give up everyday for making me well. There is hope for everyone so please never give up giving up because one day you will. I hope that this is of some benefit to some people sobriety is wonderful and long may it last.
Iam a 41 year old indian asian woman who has problems with alcohol. cant stop , am at work and have been heavy drinking fir 6 days help me stop!!!!!
im 26 have been living with my partner for 2 years & have been with each other sixi..we have 2 beautiful kids who we both adore but my partner is controlled by drink..i have threw him out loads of times then he promises to go off it & change for the sake of our relationship & the kids,this change could last a day,a week or a fortnight but always rnds up in him throwin everything up in the air & turning to drink..the last time he was drinking he became soo aggressive & angry that he became violent towards me infront of of the kids..wen he sobered up he promised to change & never touch another drink but sure as per usual he went drinking today..hes tried aa & tried the tablets libium that the doc gives ya but none of this is helping,i love him with all my heart & the kids adore him but i dont think i can put up with this much longer..there must b more to life than living with an alcoholic..any1 any suggestions..
hi, being reading your comments, a couple of years ago I met my x whom I fell madly in love with, at 45 i never thought it could happen again, we were so close, it didnt take long until i relized he had a drinking problem, i tried everything split up got back together, then last year he beat me bad during a blackout, i have never been a drinker and could not understand this, however i stood by him, much to my familys horror. but his behaviour became totally insane, i eventually split a few months agom i still love him so much and think of him every minute of the day, i have changed my phone numbers so i havent heard from him, i feel so sad that i was also powerless over his alcohol problem, i pray for him always.
In a way it was good to read this lot. To hear so many other people who feel powerless, who know they have a problem they can’t seem to beat at least makes me feel I’m not the only failure around – no offence to you. I have been drinking since my teens and I’m now 45. I don’t drink in the day, but I honestly could not tell you the last time I went a day without alcohol. I can keep it quite well hidden I think, but I tend to drink much more when I’m home alone, which is about 4 nights a week since my wife and I split last year. But then even when she was here I would drink loads after she’d gone to bed. Red wine is my poison. If I have a beer or two I don’t want any more beer, but I find myself wanting to move onto the red wine and once I do it slips down far too easily. I like myself better when i’ve had a couple of glasses of wine. I sit here now at 6 in the evening with a dull headache and I know if i go pour myself a glass of wine I will feel better, but then I’ll have another one and so on. i’ll tell myself that i’m having a laugh – although the evening will slip by very quickly in a blur and i won’t achieve anything i can remember. I probably drink 1-2 bottles of wine every night. One night a week I go out and drive. Even then I have a glass before I leave – to take the edge off – and then I get through the evening knowing I can have some more when I get home. I get home about 11 and tell myself i’ll just have one to unwind, but then polish off a bottle in about an hour. In teh daytime I am exhausted and depressed most of the time until I have a drink and then I come to life. I am struggling to kep my job though cos I’m so tired and I can’t concentrate all the time. I have a new partner, but I think she’s starting to suspect all is not right cos if she rings late at night i’m like a different person. I rang the AA a few weeks ago, but i can’t face going to a meeting in case I see someone I know, or i’ll have to lie to people about where i’ve been and then it might all come out in the open and i’ll be ashamed. I don’t know what to do – I feel lost.
alrite mate hope your doing o.k im in the same boat as you but i try hide my drinking from my partner who is my ex after 7year cos she found me drink to much.i wanna kick this shit so much and carry on with my live.your not alone mate as a friend im hear for you and so are other people
i too drink a bottle of wine every night, i feel frustrated if i dont have it and cant sleep, the sad thing about all this i feel as though i am following in my best friends footsteps, she got depressed and started drinking a bottle a night, this gradually progressed to where she was drinking day and night, she sadly died of liver disease two months ago, she had only been drnking for two years, before that she was tee total, the greif has made me want to drink more.
im 33 year old whos drinking is controling my life i just want to stop im not sleeping even tho im shatterd.ive always loved a drink but i drink till i black out i dont even remember getting home sum nights.i have stole money to buy drink i have just recently split with my partner after 7 years so ive been caining even more im not scared ov not ever drinking again im moore scared of losing my family ive got 3 gorgouse girls im scared the booze is gunnna kill me 1 day
look i need help or ill die but your web site aint no help but if i was on drugs ill get help tomorrow so never mind why waste my time