What do you consider an alcoholic?
Someone who sleeps on a park bench with a bagged bottle? A 'respectable' citizen who drinks 3 times a week? A binge drinker? Someone who can't stop once they start?
Just wondering what other people think?

To me a alcoholic is just someone to drinks more than the average person.

What does an average person drink then?

Depends on that society.


In New York for example, there may be more people who, and more people to drink a lot. Where as in my city where there's no big buildings and its really quiet and such, not much people may drink.

They were all of the list. How much is the person drinking 3 times a week, one beer or a 12 pack, Can that person go a couople weeks without drinking anything, if not they are addicted. The rest are fairly clear to have drinking problems

Drinking past the point of no return. But continuing to keep on drinking.

A person who cannot stop from taking that first drink? A person who has suffered because of drinking but continues to drink? A person that allows drinking to interfer with their home life? A person who choose drinking over family and friends?
I don't think it matters how often or how much they drink. If it is a problem and they continue to drink, they need to seek help.

There is no magic number or a chart to tell if some one is an alcoholic. It depends on if they can resist that first drink when some one they care for is telling them that they are doing things ( while drinking) that is hurting others or hurting themselves.

When whatever your doing cause problems in your life, and you keep doing it, then they are addicted. The substance, or the amount, is not important.

If a beer once a year causes you problems, and you still drink that beer once a year, you have a problem that needs to be addressed.

Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Signs, Symptoms, Effects and Screening

This website I have found very informative.

My experience of an alcaholic is or should I say was my father he drank to get through the day he would drink from 5am till 11pm at night every day without fail.
He did this to prevent himself from dealing with the real world it took over his life and he soon became someone I and my family didn't know after 8 years of continual abuse his body finally gave up on him.
Most alcaholics drink for a reason and they believe that it helps them cover that reason so they don't have to face it.
As I have always said from my learnings with my father there is no answer at the bottom of that bottle just a headache the next morning.
Then of course you have what us brits call binge drinkers these are normally of late teen age early twentys they go out most nights get absolutely smashed and have a great time because they can but this can also become habbit forming and cause all kinds of problems.
The guy/girl that has say a beer in the evening or a glass of wine with there dinner well that's just enjoyment and a way to wind down its when it turns into a bottle of vodka or many cans or bottles that it needs looking at.

Someone who cannot stop and craves more.

I just heard the legal definition used in a Courtroom - it was someone who cannot or does not stop using alcohol, despite social or health problems caused or exacerbated by the alcohol.

It has nothing to do with the frequency or amount, according to the Court.

All that you listed and more. You forgot the person who has to start their day with either a beer or some other alcoholic beverage as soon as they get up.

If you are questioning if you are an alcoholic or if someone you know is then more than likely the answer is YES

An alcoholic is a man or woman who has lost the ability to control his or her drinking.

A person who looses control over his/her senses after consuming alcohol, will be called as alcoholic.
So, you are supposed to know your limit of drinking. No matter how much you drink, but you should be in your senses all the time. You should be knowing what are you doing and what are you speaking after getting drunked.
Every person has different limit of drinking, so find out yours and be in limit, that's it. U'll be sober even after getting drunk.

I do not believe this is true - there are many, many "functioning" alcoholics. Losing control over his/her senses is not an indicator of an alcoholic.

I don't know what "you'll be sober even after getting drunk" means - ?

A person who develops a dependency, or addiction, to alcohol is an alcoholic. The same as a person who develops an addiction or dependency to gambling, prescriptions, work, etc.

Not all people are in the same boat. Some can learn to manage their dependency, and live normal lives with alcohol. Many people have never learned what responsible drinking is, but are able to learn. Not everybody needs to join a 12 step program for the rest of their life.

Some alcoholics are the people on benches with the paper bags. Some are executives, some are teachers, religious leaders, etc. One size does not fit all.

The key is being able to determine why a dependency exists, how it manifests itself, and how it affects one's life. Alcoholism is not something that occurrs overnight, it is a process developed over time, for reasons that are different for each individual. Any addiction is not something you suddenly wake up in the morning with, nor is it something you are born with. It is not a pre-determined path in your life.

If you think you have a problem with alcohol, get yourself into counselling, and figure out what is causing the change in your life that has led you to wake up in the morning sick and confused. Don't make the mistake in thinking that everything bad that happens is because of drinking alcohol. Taking away the alcohol, does not solve all the problems, and alcohol is not solely responsible for causing all the grief in your life.

Change isn't easy. Figuring out what triggers and leads you down the path of addiction is a very hard process. But, you don't necessarily have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We tend to look for easy answers, but the truth is, changing behaviour (whether it includes alcohol or not, is a long, difficult process)

No two outcomes are the same with any individual with an addiction. There is no magic bullet, there is no pill, there is no one size fits all to overcome any addiction.

What all I said, is not the direct meaning of an alcoholic. Its just what society and people feels abt a person who drinks and looses control. U r getting bookish in this case and I'm going practical. That's the difference.

Let me ask the people visiting this thread. Please answer this after thinking over it practically.

To whom u'll call a alcoholic or drunkard?
1. A person who drinks to but still in his/her senses and behaving properly.
or
2. A person who is behaving like an idiot after drinking and has lost his senses completely.

Alcoholism is a disease, a very serious disease that can kill you. Its not about how much you drink or if you look like an idiot when you drink. Its about the effect it has on your mental health, your family and people around you who care about you. If everyone is saying to you you have a problem with alcohol but you can't see it, you probably have as this disease will also tell you that you haven't got it.