When does a person have a problem?

[crassus]

I often wonder when a person becomes an alcoholic, as a I know a lot of people who consume a lot of alcohol. Some of them have DUI's. Others just seem waistful with their money as they spend too much on alcohol. When is a person labeled as an alcoholic?

[rick]

Hi Crasus;

Alcoholism is defined as an obsession of the mind and a compulsion to drink that is triggered by physical cravings. The short answer is that alcohol becomes a problem when it starts to cause problems! One quick brief screen for alcoholism is as follows:


"Red Flag" Complaints for Substance-Abuse Problems

Frequent absences from school or work
History of frequent trauma or accidental injuries
Depression or anxiety
Labile hypertension
Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as epigastric distress, diarrhea, or weight changes
Sexual dysfunction
Sleep disorders

Adapted with permission from Schulz JE, Parran T Jr. Principles of identification and intervention. In: Graham AW, Schultz TK, Wilford BB, eds. Principles of addiction medicine. 2d ed. Chevy Chase, Md.: American Society of Addiction Medicine, 1998:250.

TABLE 2
Physical Findings that Suggest Alcohol and Other Drug Problems

Mild tremor
Odor of alcohol on breath
Enlarged, tender liver
Nasal irritation (suggestive of cocaine insufflation)
Conjunctival irritation (suggestive of exposure to marijuana smoke)
Labile blood pressure, tachycardia (suggestive of alcohol withdrawal)
"Aftershave/mouthwash" syndrome (to mask the odor of alcohol)
Odor of marijuana on clothing

Hope this helped.

[Ricardo]

That's an interesting piece, capecod.

I think sometimes people may be in a kind of gray area as to whether they're technically alcoholics, but they are doing some damage in their lives.

[schatzi]

Thank you capecod for that more information.

[the-glyphon]

There are two basic thing people tend to look for in addiction.

One is dependency. The person simply could not give alcohol up. If forced to give it up they will suffer withdrawal and perform extreme acions to get alcohol.

The other is that use has ill effects. Whether it is personal health, behavior (like drunk driving), losing jobs, broken relationships etc.

Some people do seem to manage to drink a lot without immediate problems, but that doesn't mean that will be true forever. With age the risks become higher.

[shinningstar]

Drinking too much alcohol is not a solution of problems in life. I only drink alcohol if I want to express my feelings. I think alcohol is a medicine inorder to gain self-confidence.

[QuietLunatic]

Alcoholism is in my family. My father was, and at least one of my brothers is (he goes to AA and has done so for a long time, but still...) and although it doesn't worry me, I do have a solid rule for having a drink.

If I have one of THOSE days, and I think to myself, "Man, what a day. I could use a drink." I limit that drink to Pepsi, or juice or tea. I will NOT let myself have anything alcoholic when I'm in that state of mind. However, if I've made a decent supper, and I think a glass of wine or a beer would go nicely with the meal, then I go ahead and have one. Two or three on a hot summer day and there's barbecuing going on. :) I can see that going the other route would be a bad step for me, given my family history.

[schatzi]

I could only suggest that alcohol is something that gives us confidence as what others think, but please not too much. It is ok if you drink one or two glasses after a meal but not oft.

I know how hard to avoid it, think of your future. Remember, you are not killing anybody but yourself.

[QuietLunatic]

MADD would disagree with you on not killing anyone else but yourself. A big problem with chronic alcoholism is that you think you're functioning like a sober person, and I know several people who drink regularly and then get behind the wheel of their car. Crazy.

[ozzie]

I think alcohol gives a person a "false" sense of confidence. They often think they can do anything and everything. Sometimes they will dance, try to be funny and are too loud. They often think they can drive just fine when they don't realize that they are too drunk!

[britjojo]

Aside from the definition of alcoholism, a person can still suffer from a prolonged misuse of alcohol that never quite reaches the level of being an alcoholic. One's liver still suffers, and cirrhosis and cancer may result. Moderation is the only way to be safe.

[websurfpro]

A person can be "labeled" as a alcoholic at the point when he cannot retain himself from having a drink, this on a daily basis. A person that consumes alcohol every day, more than 3 measures is allready an alcoholic.

[LW75]

I've heard that it is a matter of whether a person could easily stop all drinking indefinitely (not just for the work week) or not.

That may be over-simplified, but not being able to stop doing something usually amounts to an addiction.

[why123]

Thank you capecod for that more information.

[surfville]

i thin they are called alcoholic once drinking alcohol is what they want to do? and affects there daily normal life's.

[jbt]

i think there a different forms of alcoholism...reading up on it and you'll get something like 'alchoholism' and 'alcohol abusers' as the accepted forms.

i dont drink every day, in fact its more like every week, but when i do its disastrous. i am seeking help for it, but i guess it puts me in the latter camp. exactly how addicted i am i'm not sure is the issue. it has ruined my self respect, relationship and confidence. On a binge like that i could probably drink 10 pints in one go once a week, which may not sound too much if it was spread out, but it cant be denied: it's a problem, and a pretty big one.

so yeah i think anyone who is having problems with thier life is a problem drinker, whether every day or through binge drinking.

[clubJWP]

according to studies and data available, tolerable maximum weekly consumption of alcohol for men is 21 units (168g), and for women 14 units (112g). One unit of alcohol is defined as a half-pint of beer, a measure of spirits or a glass of wine. But how is anyone supposed to know how much these volumes are if they are not in a bar?

safe alcohol levels?These are often referred to as ´safe drinking levels´, but of course no level of alcohol consumption is totally risk-free. The levels are officially described as the amounts below which it is unlikely that someone will develop significant illness or an early death. Pretty vague I´m sure you´ll agree. But it just illustrates that there is no real way to tell exactly how much you can safely drink. The more you drink, the worse the effects, that´s all you need to know.

JWP

[Swastik]

I don't know why people are alcoholic if they drink. But i will share my personal experience with you guys. My husband always says that i will drink ocassionally. But after every 5-6 days he says I feel like drinking alcohol. And then he had something. I just hate all this. Ocassionally is tolerable but this seems that he will become an addict very soon. i am getting tensed what to do?

[boleo]

Its not a matter of how much or how often a person drinks that defines alcoholism but is the progression and lack of control that defies the disease.

Once a person starts to lose control of their drinking it always gets worse and never, EVER gets better so long as they continue to drink any amount.

[happyguy]

It is not always not easy to tell who an alcoholic is. While some get druk with few bottles, severla bottles will be taken by many other people before you cna say they are drunk. But one thing is clear. Alcohol does your body no good and so, it should be stopped.