Is it ok to drink occasionally if you are an alcoholic

[Fibbke]

And by alcoholic i mean drinking every day, needing alcohol first thing in the morning, drinking the equivalent of 3 bottles a day?

Sorry, to have then done a fortnight sober but planning to have a couple of glasses of wine at a party in a week?

I don't think so. I fundamentally don't believe moderation works once you reach the point of addiction.

No.

It's never just a couple of glasses of wine.

It wouldn't be a great idea.

No, don't do it.

no it will never be just two glasses

I don't think it's a good idea if it's only been 2 weeks since the person has been sober.

No, of course not. I don't think one can go from that level of dependency to a healthy relationship with alcohol ever, but certainly not in the space of a couple of weeks. This person should seek help.

No, I'm afraid not. The first drink does the damage if you are addicted. After that all bets are off.

It definitely wouldn't be recommended. I know someone who has been in recovery for alcoholism and hadn't had a drink in 20 years. He will now have a drink to toast at a wedding or similar but only ever the one and it took him many many years to trust himself to stick to that one.

It depends on the person, their recovery journey etc. However for most people with an alcohol dependency issue, once tee total it wouldn't be advisable for them to ever drink again.

I didn't think so. Someone close to me. I'm not 100% sure i believe they've done a fortnight sober either but I'll never know.

I'm doing my best to be supportive but tbh I'm confused and not sure what to do.

No. Not at all.

Also anyone drinking that much couldn't go cold turkey, they would need to be under medical supervision and treatment or the side effects could be fatal. I'm not even joking.

No, You'll just go back to square one.

Remove you self from any situation with alcohol, do not go to the party

Not if you are actually serious about wanting to recover.

Nope.
Not OK.

Every time I quit smoking I'd hit 6 months and say to myself 'yay! I've cracked it! Now I can have a fag....'

(I have now gone two years because I've realised I absolutely cannot have a fag. Ever)

If you have a few glasses of wine at a party is it really going to be a few glasses of wine? Really? And are you going to piss everyone there off by turning into a total drunken mess?
And then when you're hungover the next day are you going to hair of the dog it to take the edge off?

No, my DF was an alcoholic who became sober and remained so for 35 years until his death. He counselled hundreds of alcoholics and his mantra was - you can never have a drink because one always leads to another. Any of his friends who ignored this were the ones who remained in a binge, stop, binge cycle for the remainder of their lives.

as the partner of an alcoholic. I say no.

you will not stop at one. you will escalate quickly and will probably worse then you were before.

do you have any support? AA meetings a sponsor or NHS/addict meetings?

I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic. She will never be able to drink again. So, no it's not advisable.

They are having counselling and apparently counsellor told them not to give up but to cut down. But apparently with support of partner they went cold turkey and felt fine after 3 days. Not sure what to believe tbh.

Yep sorry, you don't go from 3 bottles a day to none for two weeks.

You're risking fatality. Any Doctor can tell you that. The physical symptoms are not nice and you can't do it alone.

It's not me. A family member.

A fortnight sober is too soon especially at those levels. But are you talking three bottles of wine or spirits?

Wine.

And they'll have been told to cut back gradually to avoid potentially life threatening withdrawal problems. If they're sober and doing well, they need to continue in that vein. It won't just be one drink.