Are you an alcoholic

louisecm · 25-05-2007 01:40PM

I think there are a couple of things to consider here. First of all, I think this test is a bit skewed for the Irish because we have unhealthy drinking patterns anyway, and not always an addiction. Also, if you are someone who actively seeks out a test like this then the chances are you are someone who is concerned about your drinking anyway, which is indicative of a problem. Thirdly, the worst thing that could happen as a result of this test is that someone might think, I have a problem, go to a meeting and then be better able to assess themselves. I don't think tests like this were ever intended to be true diagnostic tools, just indicators. I think people should be careful before they write off an entire organisation based on something like this - unless you know alcoholism first hand, and have experience of AA you probably won't understand its workings - and don't need to. But for anybody out there who genuinely thinks they have a problem, you should check AA out before you make any decisions.

DavyD_83 · 25-05-2007 01:42PM

Hill Billy wrote:

Sore feet?

Yep.:( Spent another 2 hours drivin round lookin for the bike when i finally sobered up the next day, spent that one in beed. Problem is it could be pretty much anywhere on the southside of Dublin. Kinda given up at this stage. Maybe some day i'll spot it:p

So Glad · 25-05-2007 01:50PM

According to this I am an alcoholic, although I am not such a thing. I do drink often, I enjoy going out to pubs with various friends, purely for the social part, the drinking just happens. I know of AA a lot due to my mother being in it for about 11 years and although it did stop her drinking it gave her a whole load of problems, all her friends were in AA and most people in AA are depressing, arrogant, problematic people so I'm not sure if it brought much good into her life to be honest.

If anyone does have a drinking problem, if can be treated by you and you alone, it's your problem, you created it, you can fix it. Just, stop, drinking.

professore · 25-05-2007 01:55PM

DavyD_83 wrote:

Said YES to 8. All the past tense questions are what piss me off. Surely that just means i may at one point have been an alcoholic or at risk of being.
Oh, yeh and i think i've suffered every form of drink induced memory loss known to man.
Still missing 4 hours from a couple of weeks ago. I was cycling home from town, blinked and it was 6:45, i was happily walking down the street bout 3 miles from last point. Haven't seen my bike since.
Maybe i do have a problem...

Alien abduction is your problem ... did you have trouble walking straight afterwards or tenderness in your nether regions ?

petes · 25-05-2007 01:58PM

professore wrote:

did you have trouble walking straight afterwards or tenderness in your nether regions ?

That doesn't necessarily mean "alien" abduction.

louisecm · 25-05-2007 02:35PM

So Glad wrote:

According to this I am an alcoholic, although I am not such a thing. I do drink often, I enjoy going out to pubs with various friends, purely for the social part, the drinking just happens. I know of AA a lot due to my mother being in it for about 11 years and although it did stop her drinking it gave her a whole load of problems, all her friends were in AA and most people in AA are depressing, arrogant, problematic people so I'm not sure if it brought much good into her life to be honest.

If anyone does have a drinking problem, if can be treated by you and you alone, it's your problem, you created it, you can fix it. Just, stop, drinking.

I respect that that is your experience, but it is not representative of everyone's experience. Unfortunately, "just, stopping, drinking" is not as easy as it sounds if you are an addict.

25-05-2007 03:13PM

How about substituting boards.ie for "drinking" in the questionnaire? Hick-up!

barrett1965 · 25-05-2007 03:54PM

I don't think that there is such a person as an alcoholic. Alcohol abuse is a form of 'acting out' It stems from an underlying personality disorder with the individual. Treat the individual and your remove the problem. Certainly, a person may have a drinking problem, but it is not the 'main' concern. It is only a physical manifisation. Substitute the word alcohol with anything else that's negatively affecting ones life and you get the exact same result.

I prefer the term 'probelm drinker' instead. It's a much more acurate and less offensive description.

My opinion is strictly non-professional, but I am a former problem drinker and so I feel I have some knowledge on the subject to comment.

angelbaby · 25-05-2007 04:16PM

k now im in doubt to whether im an alcoholic or not!!!

that is such a badly thought out questionnaire!!!i answered yes to 6 but im definately not an alcoholic!!!!im sure alot of people have drank so much on a night out that they cant remember it...but how the hell does that make you an alco?!!!!

Stabshauptmann · 25-05-2007 05:03PM

barrett1965 wrote:

I don't think that there is such a person as an alcoholic. Alcohol abuse is a form of 'acting out' It stems from an underlying personality disorder with the individual. Treat the individual and your remove the problem. Certainly, a person may have a drinking problem, but it is not the 'main' concern. It is only a physical manifisation. Substitute the word alcohol with anything else that's negatively affecting ones life and you get the exact same result.

I prefer the term 'probelm drinker' instead. It's a much more acurate and less offensive description.

My opinion is strictly non-professional, but I am a former problem drinker and so I feel I have some knowledge on the subject to comment.

I disagree. I dont think the existence of problem drinkers as you define them excludes the existence of alcoholics.

Remember there are two types of attiction, physical and emotional.

kittenkiller · 25-05-2007 05:08PM

Ay Ay Kraptain, I'm DEFINATELY an alcoholic!
Cart me off right now!
Just let me grab my bottle of vodka first.

barrett1965 · 25-05-2007 06:40PM

I want to clarify that if an individual feels they might have a drinking problem, then don't ignore it and hope it will go away. In my case it got worse at a very alarming rate, so much so that I was caught on the hop with the ammount of alcohol I ingested. If you think you have a drink problem, then you probably do. I would never be flipant about the negative aspect of alcohol abuse.

johnnyrotten · 25-05-2007 06:44PM

No.

dame · 25-05-2007 09:58PM

No, I'm not.

I wish people would stop talking about the amount of alcohol they consume though. It's boring. Either you drink or you don't, who cares how much. If you think you might have a problem go and talk to an expert (medical person not expert drinker) and quit telling anyone with the misfortune to be near you how much you drank last night/at the weekend/whenever.

Oh, and people with stale beer breath on the Luas in the mornings....please don't stand over me.

Mr. Presentable · 25-05-2007 10:13PM

Am I an alcoholic?

If I'm in America, then yes, I am.

If I'm in Ireland, no, I'm having a drink, what's your problem?

Am I an alcoholic?

Actually, yes, I probably am, but not in a way that harms my work, money, family, lifestyle, sleep. No, then, I'm not.

Look, I like a drink, and often really, really want one. I often have many drinks, but I am a successful business owner, have a healthy and happy family, wake up sober every morning, don't abuse anyone. By some puritan's definitions I am an alcoholic and a danger to myself and others, but how do AA (or more particularly, the ad agency that drew up the questionaire) get to judge me. They don't know me.

robinph · 25-05-2007 10:27PM

Finally a test that I can pass.

26-05-2007 04:47AM

6. Do you drink alone?

Does this mean that you cannot have one small glass of wine (alone) with a meal cause it tastes good without becoming halfway qualified by this questionnaire as alcoholic? Get real!:rolleyes:

SimpleSam06 · 26-05-2007 08:16AM

dame wrote:

I wish people would stop talking about the amount of alcohol they consume though. It's boring.

The Americans love it though. The test is an AA recruitment tool, tbh. Whenever I read about the evils of drinking, I give up reading. My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle. Or as Oscar Wilde said, work is the curse of the drinking classes. However since its 8am, my favourite has to be tequila; its not just for breakfast anymore!

Blush_01 · 26-05-2007 11:53AM

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

There are two types of memory loss, fragmented and en bloc.

Fragmented is the common one, where you dont realise that memories are missing (cos you can piece together the night pretty well). You may remember the missing fragments when prompted.

I think everyone has experienced fragmented memory loss at some stage of their drinking.

I don't drink the majority of the time when I'm out and this still happens to me regularly. Often there's just too much going on on a night out to remember everything that happens, everyone remembers different aspects to the night out because the individual events may have more or less significance for each individual (that's my take on it anyway).

Since Christmas I've had about 8 or 10 drinks, normally only one on each occasion for whatever reason. That doesn't say I can't occasionally drink others under the table, but frankly, that's a bit boring, and if that's the best thing you can claim about a night out, then maybe you didn't have as much fun as you think you did. However, according to that survey, because I fell and broke my foot when I was 17 (wet stairs, not used to high heels and tipsy = bad combination), because I got stupidly drunk at a cousin's 21st when I was 18 and as a result felt really, really guilty about making such a fool of myself because of alcohol at a family event that night... well, I'm a raging alco. I should really watch that.

Attol · 26-05-2007 12:23PM

The inferior environment part confuses me. When sober I'm sure few people would venture into Fibbers. When sober we're more likely to be in our nice, clean houses that have toilets that don't flood every once in a while and where our feet don't stick to the floor.

Crumble Froo · 26-05-2007 01:05PM

1. Is drinking making your home life unhappy? nope
2. Does your drinking make you careless of your family’s welfare? my what?
3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people? mebbeh

4. Is drinking affecting your reputation? sorta. is 'hardcore' a good thing?:D
5. Do you drink to escape from worries or trouble? sometimess
6. Do you drink alone? haha, had the best night ever on thursday, was drinking alone at the computer with e-friend in america, also drinking alone, while chatting on irc/msn to 4--6 other e-friends. awesome night.
7. Have you lost time from work due to drinking? unfortunately, no...
8. Has your ambition decreased since drinking? my what?
9. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking? my what?
10. Is drinking jeopardising your job or business? haha, no.
11. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking? mebbeh.... >.>
12. Are you in financial difficulties as a result of drinking? occassionally...
13. Do you turn to or seek an inferior environment when drinking? wtf does that mean?!
14. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily? not daily.
15. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? drinking = me getting good night's sleep
16. Do you want a drink the next morning? only if i see the remains of last night looking lonely.
17. Do you drink to build up your self-confidence? well..not so much build up, as a temporary tearing down of my self-consciousness.
18. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of drinking?only when smoking not-cigarettes at the same time.
19. Has your doctor ever treated you for drinking? i cant afford doctors. but no.
20. Have you ever been in hospital or prison because of drinking? no.

... i am so totally not an alcoholic.

i swear.

LovelyTom · 26-05-2007 01:16PM

According to this I'm an alco... and I'm only 16

Donald-Duck · 26-05-2007 04:05PM

3-yes
11-Twice, not for what I did, for what I didn't do one of the times though.
17-If dancing is required, yes.
18-Twice.

All others are no.

slade_x · 26-05-2007 04:54PM

What are the signs someone may have a problem with drinking?
You could have a drinking problem if:

You are angry when other people mention or discuss your drinking
Other people tell you they are worried about your drinking
You need alcohol around
You have to increase the amount you drink in order to feel the effect, or increase the frequency of your drinking
You feel sick, have the shakes - however slight, or sweat in the morning or in the middle of the night
You get into trouble because of your drinking, ie drinking and driving, trouble at work either with work performance or if you are taking Fridays or Mondays off sick on a regular basis etc.

Do not feel that you are alone in the way you are using alcohol - 1 in 25 people develop a problem around their alcohol use at some time in their life.

http://www.ads-helponline.co.uk/alc_you.asp#12

Endurance Man · 26-05-2007 04:56PM

Don't even need to take the test, i'm comfortable with my alcoholism.

Are you an alcoholic

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