problem behaviour?

When alcohol causes problems, alcohol is a problem. You may not be an alcoholic now, but some day you could be. At some point, alcohol may become the bigest activity in your life. At some point you may start doing things while drunk that cause you problems, but that you would not have done if you were not drinking.

If you ever decide you may be an alcoholic, AA works. I have not had a drink for many years, since my first contact with AA.

james

I read a bit on your website, james. You seem to have had an incredible journey through the bad and the good. You seem very strong. I liked what I read of your story.

wanderingmoon,
Thanks for your kind words.
Jim/James

when one is drinking, what is the average alcohol intake?

for someone who is/isn't an alcoholic?


curiosity.

google or wiki could prolly help, i suppose.

in school i learned this conversion

one beer=one shot=one glass of wine


is that true?


i feel like it's all sort of subjective anyway.

This question about the amount of alcohol consumed by an alcoholic is hard to answer. It's not the amount that one drinks, but the effects. I often drank just a 6 pack most nights. Some alcoholics just drink that much or less. However, some alocholics have a great capacity and seem to function well even with blood alcohol levels that should make them unconscious or dead.
Jim S

Moon… It seems to me the only people who ask questions like how much can I drink? or how much is normal to drink? or how much is too much? are people who are obsessing about alcohol.

Normal people (whatever that is) don’t think about it that way. They drink on occasion, and then they don’t drink, these questions we ask ourselves never occur to them.

That complex hydrocarbon in a bottle sure has a grip on our imaginations. Sometimes it’s hard to think about anything else, it’s effects are so powerful.

But I think the average intake for a non alcoholic is something like two drinks a week. That would never do for me when I was drinking. I always wanted more.

Richard

I know I sound like the stereotypical alcoholic in denial. Heh.

Thanks for the input, guys.

It’s not a problem Moon, we each of us need to work this thing out for ourselves. It’s all part of the process.

Richard

I stopped drinking two days ago...

I'm willing to admit what I was doing with alcohol was unhealthy. Whether I consider myself an addict...that's a different story, but I am proving a point to myself.

I had been drinking a lot. I don't think I had had a completely sober 24 hours for almost a month.

So, anyway, I've stopped to prove to myself I am not addicted and I don't need it.

Saturday I knew I was being unhealthy when I went out with friends on what was supposed to be a happy occasion and had to have alcohol to keep from being angry or crying...both emotions which I felt intensely. I didn't like that feeling at all.

Moon… keep us posted on how it goes for you. I for one will be rooting for you. I think what you are attempting is a very worthy goal. It is good to have a clear understanding of just where we stand when it comes to alcohol.

Do you have a target time frame you will be shooting for?

My personal best was 13 days, nothing to write home about, but I personally know someone who didn’t touch a drop for 6 months.

I get it when you said… “had to have alcohol to keep from being angry or crying” It was that way for me. My perceptions get distorted after a while and what would have made me happy in the past, just made me uneasy and sad.

Best of luck with your experiment, and please keep in touch.

Richard