Do i need to go into rehab?

[Patricius]

I dont know if I am an alcoholic or not. if i do the AA online quiz the it says I am, things like have i missed work because of drink and do i ever had missing memories from teh night before.

my situation is this. I live alone and I never have alcohol in the house. I never drink alone and I never drink in the daytime. I tend to get tipsy quite easily and usually have bad hangovers. I probably go out once or twice a week.

However what unfolds during the course of the evening depends upon who I am with.
I can have a few quiet ones with certain people, with others , we end up getting wasted (usually only on beer) and going onto girlie clubs. About 6-8 pints of lager is a very big night as far as i am concerned.

When i wake up in the morning I am sometimes late for work or feel shame and regret after the little mental video player kicks in again, replaying those forgotten moments about halfway through the afternoon. but i never feel the need to drink really. I only do it because thats where I can meet my friends and have a general chit chat , joking round and stuff,loss of social inhibitions - having a good time  - or the illusion of having a good time...

I am on prescribed meds for anxiety/depression. Otherwise I am physically quite healthy. Im 38.

But keep feeling the need to stop the boring and costly cycle. Same people same drinks same places same sense of shame....
I have had a discussion with 2 people about this and i think i am being melodramatic.

[soberfrank]

hi,  only you can answer the question of alcoholism or not.  It sounds to me like your not yet, but it would be possible with added consumption and cravings from addiction.  Try to set your clock earlier for work next time.

[tobus]

Patricius,

boogieman is right, the fact that your alcohol consumption is solving some problem for you is more troubling than the frequency of your drinking. The more you lean on the bottle, the faster a dependency will evolve into full-blown addiction.

Addictions are progressive, and alcohol can produce an addiction more stubborn than heroin--ask any rehab counselor!  

Proceed with caution here....better yet- learn to deal with your own feelings without the need for drugs!

[snappytom]

hi,

I've been exactly where you are. I was broke but felt I needed to go to rehab to get help. It really is something so hard to tackle on your own. I felt I had no-one to support me...I was ashamed and embarrassed. My husband heard about a book called The Butterfly Plan. I got it online (I think it's only available online or it was) It was amazing. The woman who wrote it was just like me...she was an alcoholic but unsure about whether she was or not and she figured out a 'balance' program that treated the whole person. I did the forty day program and only slipped up once. Now I find I can deal with alcohol without losing my mind because I can have a drink and not let the drink have me. If you can address underlying causes and understand yourself better, it seems to help. If you can afford to find a support program good but if you want to do some work on yourself at home and without having to talk to groups of people, I think the Leda fox, Butterfly PLAN is a great idea. Good luck. I wish you all the best.

[boogieman]

hi there. the  amount or frequency is no where near as crucial as to what happens when you do drink. if it is already causing some negative consequences, you may want to take a serious look at your consumption. try to keep a journal as to the things that booze does to you good and and and then look st it objectively . be honest and thave faith, gm