darling0

The important question is this:

Is your drinking affecting the quality of your personal or professional life in an overall negative manner?

I've spent, at this point, about half my life as what many people would call a functional alcoholic; I prefer term drunk or heavy drinker.

Alcohol is one of our societies last demons to be left culturally acceptable but it is still vilified by those who dislike it, can not handle it or simply do not understand the attraction to sweet, sweet inebriation. I drink to much, and I have for well over 10 years now but I refuse to consider my self a problem drinker, I not only hold down my job but do well, I have a fair amount of friends whom I do more then just drink with and as a whole booze is not dragging my life down. Do I have bad mornings? Is it eventually going to effect my health and shorten my life? Are there people in my life it has driven off? Yes to all, but not to a degree I find alarming or that makes me sad and that is what makes the determination when it comes to having a 'problem.' See, no one but you can determine if you have a problem; each person has a different idea of what is acceptable when it comes to how much of the downsides you are willing to accept. If YOU are happy where are in life and enjoying things overall then your are OK. If you have reached the point where you dislike what the drinking has made you, you hate the drinking but can't stop or think that much of the negative things you feel are a direct result of the alcohol/chemicals you need to start to think about talking to people about it or getting help.

Unsolicited advice: cut out all but the soft drug of choice (alcohol is a drug ya know), learn to enjoy it without making others unhappy use it to help you cope. Stay away from hard drugs and those who use them with great regularity, there is far to much unpredictability there.

Stop by the drunks group of booze is your poison of choice.