Does drinking every day make you an alcoholic??
I have one bottle of wine every single night does that mean I should stop. I do not feel the need for it during the day but helps me unwind on an evening.
Love to hear your views please
IANAA, but I think Alcoholics make a distinction between the amount and/or frequency of alcohol consumption. Some people can drink massive amounts of alcohol and yet somehow maintain control over their lives. An inability to stop and inability to function normally seems to be the key, not the amount.
My understanding is that it’s a problem if drinking is interfering with the normal running of your life (causes family problems, missing work, etc.).
It also could mean that you’re a functioning alcoholic.
It should not take an entire bottle of wine to ‘unwind’ from your day. The key is to try to eliminate stress from your day, (if possible) and see if you still need that whole bottle of wine.
I work in a center for drug and alcohol programs (in the States), so if you want more information, email me and I’ll see what I can find for you.
Hopefully it’s not a problem for you. If it is, you’re on the right track to get some help just by asking about it.
That’s funny, because I started thinking the same thing just the other day. Usually, most people are like “I don’t want to drink alone becuase I don’t want to seem like an alcoholic,” but the other day, I had a long day at work, and someone bought a bottle of tonic water. I thought “Hey, I’ve still got some gin left over from two months ago, why not make myself a drink when I get home?” So, I bought some tonic and some limes, and for the past two evenings have made myself a drink in the comfort of my own apartment.
Like others, I think the difference is whether or not you “need” the drink for something. I once worked with a guy who didn’t feel he could handle the day if he didn’t have a six pack before coming into work (and work started at 7:00 a.m.). I don’t need the drink before I go to bed, it’s just I have the booze, I haven’t had any of it for a long time, I just feel it’s going to waste. I’ve got maybe one or two more drinks left, so once those are gone, I won’t rush out to buy another bottle. The difference is the “need” as opposed to the “want.” Every now and again I go with some employees to a local bar after work and have a beer, and on the weekends, friendly activities usually include a drink of some sort, but it’s not a necessity to having a good time. Alcoholics on the other hand, feel that in order to function properly, they need to have the drink, and that’s where the problem lies.
No, it doesn’t make you an alcoholic - as mentioned above - unless you need it (as opposed to simply wanting it). Maybe AA would consider that a cop-out, I don’t know - but I’m not the one making money off my advice. 
I have a colleague who is a certified wine cellar manager, wine taster, and loves really nice wines. She and her husband have a bottle with dinner almost every night. Are they alcoholics? Not in the least - they’ve simply traveled the world and have developed a rather expensive taste for good wine.
I worked in France briefly, and wine was served with every meal at every restaurant we attended (and we weren’t alone, the other patrons were doing the same from what I could see) - are the French all alcoholics? Whiney, maybe - alcoholics, I doubt it.
Personally I wouldn’t say that makes you an alcoholic.
I love soaking in the bath for a few hours with a good book and a bottle of wine - I find its the perfect way to relax!
I drink a bottle of wine most nights, and most days I go to my Local and have a few beers with my partner or friends.
I drink way above the recommended 14(?) units of alcohol a week for a girlie. (Is it 21 units for a man? I forget)
I run my own company, I get out of bed in the morning with a perfect memory of what happened the previous night, and no cause for embarassment. (And I only have a couple of scars from drinking injuries…:D)
Its not how much you drink, or how often. Its how it affects your life.
You sound like you’re concerned that you drink too much, but you’ve mentioned that you don’t “need” alcohol. In that case, stop, or cut down. If you enjoy it, and are able to function as a “normal” (as much as any of us are) person - then by all means, ENJOY IT! 
If I drank a bottle of wine every night I’d consider myself an alcoholic. But that’s because it would SERIOUSLY interfere with running my life. 2 glasses of wine will pretty much make me loopy…an entire bottle would put me to the point of passing out, throwing up in the morning and having to call in sick. I would never get anything done!
I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said–if it’s not affecting your relationships, your work/school, etc. you’re probably ok. When it starts to “rule” your life, you’re in trouble.
Only you can make that judgement. Frequency or amount of alcohol isn’t the deciding criteria but merely a factor to be considered. My father, 23 years recovering alkie and 10+ years drug/alcohol counselor, had one patient who was an alcoholic but he only drank once a year. If you feel you need that drink and cannot do without then you should probably seek counseling.
Personally, I’d be concerned about a bottle every night (not to mention the expense, depending on what you drink*), but everyone is different.
Why don’t you try going without for 2-3 weeks and see how that affects your life? If you miss it a little (hey, it’s a nice routine) versus desperately miss it, there’s probably no problem. But vice versa I’d be concerned.
[sup]*So, what are you drinking? I’m seriously considering buying some futures in the 2000 Bordeaux[/sup]
So what happens when you reach into the cupboard for the nightly bottle and discover you’ve run out? And let’s say it’s raining really, really hard and you’re already in jammies with a new episode of your favorite program about to start on the tube.
- Do you say, darn, out of wine, hot cocoa will have to do?
- Do you fidget and fret and search the cupboards and have difficulty getting into Masterpiece Theater?And then run to the liquor store the next morning to stock up?
- Do you change into jeans and a sweatshirt and brave the thunderboomer to get to the grocery store before it closes?
If you answered 1, don’t worry. 2 or 3, time to worry.
The line certainly blurs between heavy drinking and alcoholism.
IMO, drinking an entire bottle of wine by yourself every night (5 glasses) is ingesting quite a bit of ETOH. Twice as much as a couple sharing a bottle.
Just wondering, why a whole bottle instead of a couple of glasses? I drink a bit, and I definitely can feel a couple of glasses. A whole bottle would have quite an effect. They make really effective stoppers for wine bottles. Why not stop after a couple of glasses?
Is your drinking necessarily a bad thing? Of course not. And only you can decide for yourself. Tho my unfounded WAG is that that level of consumption approaches a level that might have some deleterious long-term effects.
Never underestimate your ability to rationalize things to yourself. “No, I don’t NEED that drink - I just WANT it.” Again, the line blurs, and is individualized.
Along the lines of rationalization, you must be aware of the effects of your social group. If you hang with people who drink regularly and heavily, then your drinking will not seem excessive. However, as you buy your case of wine every 2 weeks, realize that (another WAG) a huge percentage of the population does not go to a liquor store every month for personal consumption.
Regarding ability to handle work/social obligations/etc. There is such a thing as a functioning alcoholic. Not to say you are one. I have a good friend who has his own very successful business. Yet he drinks at least a 6-pack ever night and could not imagine not doing so. Is it a “bad thing?” Not necessarily. But he doesn’t deny that it exists.
I think it is possible that just because someone can perform at a certain level despite drinking, does not mean that they couldn’t perform at a higher level if they abstained. Of course, I am not going to suggest that everyone ought to maximize their potential.
The issue of social approbation is an individualized factor. If your SO/spouse is a teetotaller, you might experience relationship difficulties even if you only have a drink once in a while. The fact that someone reacts poorly to your drinking does not mean that your drinking is necessarily the problem. OTOH, however, if all of your friends are lushes, you can be pretty far gone and always have someone around who is worse off than you - making you look good by comparison. You don’t have to bottom out - lose a job, DUI, divorce, injury - before examining and possibly changing your drinking habits.
Another thing that I focus on is, how often do you think of drinking. When you wake up, are you already thinking about what you will drink that evening and how good it will taste? As things go tough through the day, do you look forward to that wine? Do you think of it as rewarding yourself for doing things well, or pampering yourself if things go badly? If you have alcohol in your house - do you drink it until it is gone and then replenish it? Or do you just drink it off and on - with a bottle occasionally going bad on you?
Just a bunch of questions I think might be relevant.
And IMO - the term alcoholic is merely a word.
The first step of Alcoholics Anonymous:
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
I think that pretty much sums it up. It’s up to you to decide whether it fits.
I’d agree with the others who have posted to go without for a couple of weeks, your response can tell you much if you are honest with yourself.
Many years ago I went through a very bad patch in my life, and I ended up drinking heavily before, during, and after work. After a huge blowout week where roomate and I drank more than I would have previously imagined survivable, I started worrying about alcoholism. So I decided to just quit for awhile, see what my reaction was. I was dry for six months, never even had an urge for drink, so I started drinking socially again, though never even close to the level I was at before.
I guess what I found out is that I wasn’t alcoholic, but still needed to have more control, which I proceeded to implement. I can (and do, on occasion) drink heavily, but also go weeks without. YMMV, of course, but finding out where you are really at will tell you what you should do next.
My family is prone to alcoholism, on both sides (Mom’s and Dad’s). As a result, those family members who are NOT alcoholics tend to get really alarmist and judgmental. Hell, you get the hiccups around here and people start seeing red flags.
And of my immediate family, I am the only one who drinks at all.
THE ONLY ONE. You can only imagine what that’s like. :rolleyes: Everything I do seems to be an indicator that I’m headed down the road to Wino Doom.
Getting remotely tipsy (which happens maybe once every two or three months, tops) means I’m in trouble.
Drinking WITHOUT getting tipsy means I’m in trouble (high tolerance=drinks a lot).
Being somewhat picky about my wine means I’m in trouble (because only an alcoholic drinks enough wine to know the difference between good and bad wine, or to care).
NOT being picky about wine means I’m in trouble (because an alcoholic will drink ANYTHING, after all).
You get the picture. Rather than actually BECOMING an alcoholic as an act of revenge, however, I’m limiting my retaliation to the refusal to be alarmist and judgmental like my family.
That said, I too am a little concerned about your drinking a bottle of wine a night. Like others here, I’m easily affected by a couple of glasses, so an entire bottle seems extreme. Then again, I don’t have a very high tolerance for wine/champagne, and perhaps you do.
Still, since you’re asking, I’m led to believe that you yourself might be concerned (is it something someone has said to you?). I’d check out the AA quiz and see what you come up with. I also thought that kittenblue came up with a good litmus test…
Why thanks, auntie em. I spent 16 years married to an alcoholic…too much experience, i think