I am an alcoholic?

Sir never trust anyone who does not drink beer.

 

Makes sense to me.

 

There is only one person on the planet that can diagnose you as being an alcoholic, and that person is you. If your life is out of control, albeit work or family related matters, then you may want to be careful and possibly seek help. If you're just having a couple of beers a day or even just over the weekend as you mentioned, then you probably have nothing to worry about. If you end up drinking more and more over a span of time, then that might lead to a diagnosis of alcohol dependency.

 

I think your going to be OK, let me know when your doctor writes you a prescription for Valium when you tell him you need to take a break from the creature.

 

Christians (or anybody) don't need to read the Bible to know if they are behaving ok. We all have a gut instinct as to whether we are behaving okay or out of line. It was written before civilization evolved into the delicate chill world (more or less) that we know today existed as it does, and mofos needed to know how to act. Fucking savages and such. The pillars of the law as we know it today are founded on the Ten Commandments.

 

Those pillars are crumbling... time for a remodel

 

America in my opinion is the only developed nation where people think drinking every day always means alcoholism. I was filling out a questionnaire recently and there was a question about alcohol. It said, how many alcoholic beverages do you consume a week? The options were a-none b-1 or c-2 or more..... Apparently if you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a week then you're an alcoholic..... I say whatever. In almost every european nation it's acceptable to drink on your lunch break and return to work.

 

Two or three beers? At that point I'm just getting started. Please, I'm a sailor, gone months without alcohol, yet when we pulled into Port, made up for it in one night. Well, one night and well into the morning. ;-)

 

Oh come on. You've really never heard that before? That alcoholics go to meetings joke has been around forever.

 

I do heroin every day. And I'm not a heroin addict

 

Not until you start going to meetings.

 

Alcoholic is a label that fits something into a square box with other things regardless of how well they match each other. In America we are obsessed with labels, see the constant push-pull of the democrat-republican system where it's a false dichotomy between two states of being, based on labels.

Instead of asking if you're an alcoholic, try some of these questions:

Are my drinking habits sustainable? - Meaning, if you continue as you are, how likely are you to develop diseases, obesity or other issues tied to frequent consumption of alcohol. Are you engaging in exercise and other habits that help to offset some of the more negative side effects.

Does my consumption negatively affect my relationships with friends, family and co-workers?

Does my consumption level negatively affect my means for earning a living and meeting my responsibilities as an adult?

Am I dependent to function on being able to drink?

Do I need to consume at completely inappropriate times to be able to cope (at work, church, taking your kids to the park, etc)?

Do I engage in bad/irresponsible behavior as a result of drinking (drunk driving, vandalism, fights, etc)

If you answer yes to any of the above, probe into the why's, how's and all the details. Look at your behavior and ask how it should be modified to correct that. If you answer yes to a lot of these, I'd suggest talking to your doctor as you probably do have a drinking issue.

I drink probably 10-20 beers a week, I answer no to all of the above except maybe the first one. My method isn't medically proven, but neither are most guidelines for what constitutes alcoholism under US standards. I take a more pragmatic approach to the question of drinking habits where the end results or likely end results are the most important thing to consider.

 

Better stay away from shrimp though, just to be safe

 

This probably isn't the place you should be asking that question. I would guess that 90% of the people on here drink more than that.