Posted by oona on April 25, 2002, at 23:07:32
In reply to Questions about *Alcoholism*, posted by JonW on April 25, 2002, at 22:30:51
> Hello all,
>
> I haven't had a drink in 6 months or more because I decided it was a bad idea because I'm bipolar II and it rocks the boat too much. Anyway, at my last hospital stay the doctor said to me that "normal" people just get relaxed by alcohol but don't really get any major mood elevation. Well, alcohol definitely elevates my mood. I mean, I really really like alcohol, but does this make me an alcoholic? I would drink until I passed out most of the time but a lot of people do. Since I've stopped I definitely crave beer - even 6 months later my mouth waters and something perks up inside me when I think of drinking. However, drinking never got in the way of my life and I didn't have any trouble stopping. Does this mean I'm not an alcoholic? The doctor at the hospital told me that it takes time to develop a problem. Is this possible... I'm confused?
>
> Thanks,
> Jon
Hi Jon,I am not an expert but when you said you drank until you passed out and "a lot of people do", I had to smile a little because I used to think that to. I realized later that those that "drank till they passed out" had a problem also. Whether you want to call it "alcoholism" or a problem with drinking. I am not sure about what the doc said about it 'taking time' to develop a drinking problem. My drinking was always a problem from the get go. It was never just 2 drinks at a party, then a coffee to go home. When it gets to the point where you are "passing out", I would stop and think about it.
I also stopped drinking about 7 years ago when I first started on Zoloft. It really did take my craving away. Even now, tho I know I never want to drink again, it still is in the back of my mind.
Jon, it is better not to drink, if you have a choice and if you are young now, it will save you and your family a lot of grief in the future.
I did a lot of "party drinking" when I was younger, then a lot of what I called "sustenance" drinking as I got older. Just to keep myself together. There is a lot of bi-polar and manic depressives in my family and also a lot of alcohol and drug abuse. I think they may go hand in hand.
I am 53 now and still feel the effects of my father's drinking, my drinking, my husband's drinking, my sons drinking and drug abuse and if you want to go back further, the destruction that drinking caused in my maternal and paternal families.
Sorry to go on so long.
Good luck with your journey, stay optimistic and stay sober if you are able.oona
poster:oona
thread:104162
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020425/msgs/104166.html