Almost Alcoholic

This is fourth in a series of blogs about the title of a book.  In last week’s blog we talked about signs two and three.  Today we will finish with signs four and five the last of the signs.  The fourth sign: “You Sometimes Drink in Order to Control Emotional and/or Physical Symptoms.  Clearly, Betsy drank in order to compensate for loneliness. Indeed, almost alcoholics often drink for many reasons that have to do with emotional discomfort such as

·         to relieve stress or “unwind”

·         to drown out grief or anxiety

·         to overcome social shyness

·         to try to overcome insomnia

·         to relieve boredom

·         to control pain or other physical discomfort” (pg. 34)

I tried to drink to overcome shyness, although it did not always turn out right.  I either blacked out or did not remember who I even talked to.  Alcohol it never helped me at all.

The last sign: “You and Your Loved Ones are Suffering as a Result of Your Drinking.  The suffering caused by almost alcoholics drinking is often more subtle than that of a full-blown alcoholism, but it nonetheless exists.  Because the process by which a person becomes an almost alcoholic is so insidious, the suffering is also insidious.  It can be years before the connection between drinking and the suffering is made—if it is ever made.  In every case we’ve discussed so far, however, it is easy to see when viewed in terms of being almost alcoholics—this connection.  And it is not just almost alcoholics who suffer, but their loved ones as well. (pg. 34)  We used to say in jail it was the families who suffered more than us.  The same is true with being almost alcoholic or being an alcoholic.  It is one reason in AA you try to make amends if possible.

The book goes on to say: “These questions are related to the formal diagnostic criteria for alcoholism; they are on the same spectrum—only a bit further away in terms of severity from true alcoholism.  Those who answer yes to these questions may not have yet suffered the more serious consequences of drinking; or if they have, they are not aware of the connection between their drinking and negative consequences.  On the other hand, they have definitely moved beyond normal social drinking. (pg.34)  I did not go out to social drink I had the intention of getting drunk.  I would suffer if I only had one drink.  If I started a night of drinking I would continue to I passed out or there was nothing left to drink.

Almost Alcoholic

This is the third in a series of blogs about the book. Last week’s blog we started talking about the five signs of being an almost alcoholic. We finished the first sign and this is the second sign in which we will talk about people presented in the book: “You look forward to Drinking. With respect to this second key sign, both Marcus and Jen qualify as almost alcoholics. Although Marcus’s drinking was mostly limited to parties, he readily admitted that he looked forward to it. He even eagerly anticipated getting drunk. Meanwhile, Jen said she definitely looked forward to her glass of wine and would have been considerably put out if someone told her she could not have them.” (pg. 31) When I was drinking I would look forward to getting off work and getting drunk. I worked construction and sometimes we would not even wait to get home we would buy shooters and drink in the parking lot. I would be drunk by the time I arrived home. The third sign: “You Drink Alone. The vast majority of people who drink begin their drinking careers in a social context. And for many people, drinking remains largely a social activity throughout their lives. When a person’s drinking moves beyond a social setting—when it becomes more than just a social activity and is done alone for its own sake; that is, for the intoxicating effects of alcohol—there is a good chance that he or she has crossed the line separating normal social drinking from the territory we’ve labeled almost alcoholic. Drinking alone is also common among alcoholics, and whether this behavior indicates that some one has ventured beyond the large gray area of almost alcoholic drinking to alcoholic drinking depends on whether a person meets the criteria for alcohol dependence.” (pg.31, 32) When no one was around I would drink alone. It was cheaper than going out and spend money drinking in a bar. Alcohol can make you do some crazy things. Even if they put you in jail, a person will continue to drink after they get out. When they would put me on antibuse and probation, I was just a dry drunk waiting to get off so I could drink. I still had the alcoholic tendencies. To wake up and know what you did the night before is a relief also. Next week we will finish the signs of an almost alcoholic.

Almost Alcoholic

This is the second in a series of blogs about the title of this book. As I said last in week’s blog I am a recovering alcoholic. My first DUI was at the age of nineteen and I totaled another car and damaged mine. I only had liability insurance so I lost my job without a car. Now I will talk about the five signs of being an almost alcoholic. “(1). You continue drinking despite at least some negative consequences. (2). You look forward to drinking. (3). You drink alone. (4). You sometimes drink in order to control emotional and/or physical symptoms. (5). You and your loved ones are suffering as a result of your drinking.” (pg.29) We will talk about the first one first. Because of my drinking I lost a good job. That is one of the first signs, also even though I was always being locked up in jail after the first DUI. I kept drinking, and antabuse and probation were just part of life. The book says about the first sign: “This first sign we discovered is shared by true alcoholics and those who drink more than they should but not enough to be considered and alcoholic. In fact, this is the hallmark of the criteria for alcohol abuse in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV where negative consequences are defined as affecting work, family, legal status, physical safety, and social life.” (pg.29) As we go along I will fit all the criteria when I used to drink. The book goes on to say that: “…estimated 10 to 12 percent of the U.S. population who meet the criteria is needed to be diagnosed as alcohol dependent.” (pg.30) They are not full blown alcoholics but they are close to becoming one. The book asks the question about one of the case studies should they wait to get such a diagnosis: “For an almost alcoholic, even a short delay can cause long-term problems.” (pg.30) It is better to try and correct the problem before it worsens. I will write about more of the signs next week. I let alcohol ruin my life, and I could not see it at the time. I do regret that all the times I was sentenced to probation no one tried to help. The counselor I saw never practiced none of the applications I studied to be an alcohol counselor. It could have saved me from going to prison. Years are lost when an alcoholic is spiraling down. For me abstinence is the only way.

Almost Alcoholic

That is the title of a book that I was sent and am going to review. The book is written by Robert Doyle, MD, who is a psychiatrist and Joseph Nowinski, PhD, who is a clinical psychologist. Both of them have worked as mental health professionals and pursued further training in the area of substance abuse. I will do a few blogs about this book. My major in college was in the drug and alcohol field. I am a recovering alcoholic. I also went through the circle program in Pueblo, Colorado in the early 90s when it was the number one treatment center in the state. The book starts out with a case of a man who is on the way of becoming an almost alcoholic. After that story it talks about the view of two kinds of people and they would be alcoholics and non-alcoholics. It lists an alcoholic as: “Being unable to stop drinking, beginning from the first time he or she had a drink. Repeatedly having blackouts (i.e., can’t remember the next day what happened) after having only a few drinks. Being arrested multiple times for driving while intoxicated, becoming violent on more than one occasion.”(pg.15) I can attest to being just like all that was just said. I had three DUIs before I even turned twenty one. Everything I ever been arrested for has been alcohol related. I would not start drinking unless I knew there was enough alcohol to get drunk. That is something I never want to go back to. I was always angry at the way my life was going. I was asked if it was so horrible why I continued. My answer was I did not know another way. They offered me drug and alcohol treatment way before I went to the circle program. I turned them down. The first chapter goes on talking about cases of people who are almost alcoholic. Then it talks about how alcoholism was first talked about as a medical condition in the early nineteenth century by two physicians Scotsman Thomas Trotter and American Benjamin Rush. “Alcoholics Anonymous was published in 1939 that the idea that alcoholism was a disease with both physical and mental causes begin to take hold.”(pg.23) Alcoholics anonymous sure does help a lot of alcoholics, if you keep going to meeting it helps a lot. I do believe in rock bottom when you are there you finally understand that you do not want to sink further.