Ok fellow prongers, I’m asking this because apparently my girlfriend is pissed at me tonight for getting drunk two nights in a row…
To begin with I was really stressed out for my friends wedding, I was only an usher but still… had to get the right clothing and perform the duties… It was stressful for me, a guy that isn’t the most outgoing social dude on the planet…
So I performed the duties right, even had a great social night with my mans family… drank a little bit, but just enough to be fun and sociable while still able to carry on a conversation and not be embarrassingly drunk. I was actually proud of myself, as in the past I can either be annoying drunk or just plain anti-social…
But here I am drunk the next night too… and not even annoyingly so, just enough to get a decent buzz while watching some 80’s horror movies! Apparently though, according to the lady, I have a problem, which is crazy to me because a couple of years before I knew her I was drinking EVERY DAY!
Nowadays I’m back in college and I drink once or twice a week… I have a feeling she is bitter cause she likes to smoke pot and hasn’t been able to, cause she is trying to get another job!
But please, fellow prongers, tell me I’m right and that a guy that likes to get fucked up on the alchy-hol once or twice a week truly isn’t an alcoholic!!!
I usually see an alcoholic as someone who cannot (or has great difficulty) in stopping drinking when they need to. Drinking in the morning is an obvious symptom of alcoholism. One or two nights a week drinking (even binging) is NOT alcoholism. I’ve been drunk 3 nights over the past 5 days. But today I feel fine and am not interested in having a drink. I’m not an alcoholic but I do like to drink. So don’t sweat it. Herself needs to heed Godlike’s advice.
Alcoholics go to meetings. I’d say you’re more of a drunk.
Just kidding. Nothing wrong about getting drunk two nights in a row. And from your description, it was more tipsy than drunk. As long as you don’t miss school/work, hide alcohol around the house, and don’t feel the need to ‘have to drink’, you’re doing fine.
There’s been many a time I’ve gotten drunk Friday and Saturday nights.
You’re not. Think she’s just jealous that she can’t do her thing, but you can. Think she’s just making excuses since i’m assuming she doesn’t drink much? I knew a girl who didn’t drink at all, and didn’t like my then-excessive drinking. I wasn’t willing to change, and she turned out being crazy.
You’re not. Think she’s just jealous that she can’t do her thing, but you can. Think she’s just making excuses since i’m assuming she doesn’t drink much? I knew a girl who didn’t drink at all, and didn’t like my then-excessive drinking. I wasn’t willing to change, and she turned out being crazy.
Not jealous, possessive.
She’d only be jealous if she was a recovering alcoholic. Or an alcoholic.
Dude, you just got advice from basically a super star! (well for this board anyway, I mean were not star struck or anything over here but this still amounts to “fuckin’ cool!”
as far as my two cents, I think if you mash up Mick’s answer with Wempathy’s answer that’s the total answer.
Also, wondering how long it’s been since the wife smoked up… If it’s been under a month I’d bet it’s her irritability kicking in and will probably subside after a month or so off the smoke… also, with the stress of finding another job, I’m sure magnifies it… might be nice to do your part, that way she has no reason to be a nanny goat! or kick her loose.
Late,
grmpysmrf
Thanks guys for backing me up here… I wrote that in an inebriated state and just needed to know I wasn’t crazy.
To be fair there have been times where I have gotten raging drunk and probably just a real pain in the ass to be around, but this weekend was not one of them, I’ve been much better at pacing myself lately and haven’t gotten “wasted” in quite a while.
Anyway, if this lady can’t lighten up and accept casual drinking I’m afraid our long term relationship might be doomed, not because I value the booze more than her, but just that I don’t think I should have to change to adapt to her, and I’d just plain rather be single than deal with any amount of excessive nagging.
It is alcoholism once you’ve reached the point where you both don’t enjoy drinking and no longer get any relief of tension from it, yet are compelled to continue drinking anyway. If you enjoy the experience more while drinking, but still enjoy the same activities without it that is pretty normal human behavior. Likewise if it helps you through a tough time but when appropriate or necessary you can still push through any trials without a drop then you’re fine for the time being.
In my own case I never really liked alcohol in the traditional sense but found it… I guess amusing and good for fast forwarding through time that would otherwise be unremarkable. During high school I very much preferred every other drug I could get my hands on. It wasn’t until I turned 21 and the immediate availability of it presented a problem. That very first day I started drinking heavily to suppress my constant situational anxiety and to help myself off of the harder drugs I preferred. {Obviously there are much better routes to go about this but when in a situation of such desperation the first few steps tend to be poorly thought out and do more harm than they do good.} After a few years I had depleted my brain so badly of B vitamins I started experiencing panic attacks and heart problems (palpitations, dizzy spells, tachycardia) completely unrelated to any outside or conscious internal stimulus. I could be doing something simple and every day like walking down the aisle at the grocery store or sitting at a traffic light waiting for it to turn green when I noticed everything seemed darker than normal. A few minutes later my vision would suddenly blur and my heart started pounding like I was sprinting in fear of my life. During the worst episodes I also experienced uncomfortable facial twitches with one side or the other twisting into a lopsided grin. The point of this story is that any sensible person without an addiction thrust into the same situation would have immediately stopped drinking and seen a doctor, whereas I did neither. I was fully conscious of the crux I put myself in yet chemical compulsion still won out to reason more times than not.
I very much agree that the reasons why you use in the first place are the most crucial for determining if you already have a problem or if you’re on the road to one. I don’t personally think you have a problem because most people can do the same as you and still break even. Of course everyone should be wary of drugs for stress relief as there is usually something else that offers a better benefit/risk ratio.