Does drinking a bottle of wine every night make you an alcoholic?

[LyraSilvertongue]

I ask because I was having a conversation about drink with a (male) colleague and he says he drinks a bottle a night. I was a bit . He's quite small, shorter than me, so the men can drink more thing doesn't really apply. Do you think he's addicted?

Chess is a hobby, no? Is drinking a hobby or past time? Educate me.

I only asked because you mentioned you had a reputation for drinking a lot and I wondered how you felt about it.

Madamez, no it's not my business, I was just wondering. Like I said, it's not like I'm going to confront him or book him into the Priory or anything.

Is it media sales or planning, DSM?

Only asking because out of all my friends, the ones who are the heaviest drinkers are in this field.....

madamez - not condescending at all, just true. I never used to suffer hangovers, at all. Now I do. It does get worse with age as well.. I certainly imagine that as the years go on, I will probably drink less and less frequently. I have no doubt about that

Marmaduke - I will normally begin drinking at say, 7 or 8pm and get home about 9am. But I am working during that time as well. This is an example, it is different all the time.

The people I work with all do the same. I am not unusual! And we all go home relatively drunk, but never hammered.

There is a wide specrum peoples relationship with alcohol. It is very complicated. What maybe be excessive to one person can be the norm to another. There are alot of factors involved. I find it interesting that everyone is suddenly so informed on units. Prob due to the massive alochol awareness drive by media/ government.

VVVQV - yes, I would say that socialising, and social drinking are hobbies, yes I would.

DSM - it's not a hobby for you then? As it appears it is an important part of your working life also

Would you be able to function, or work to an optimum level if you weren't drinking? Or is it an important part of the culture?

Oh yes, socialising is definitely a hobby.

What would your colleagues think if you didnt drink at all?

everyone even George best could give up alcohol for periods of time. Some alcoholics never drink during the day and have no problem waiting until the evening before consuming their units. I think the question to ask is " If you were told you could never drink again would this have a major impact on your life?

You can easily become unwell and even die from drinking too much without ever being an alcohol or even drink-dependent. Your organs don't care! Dependency is really irrelevant to the physical health issues.

A bottle of 75 cl wine contains 6 standard wine glasses not 4 btw.

It would on mine, paranoid, and I wouldn't consider myself to be an alcoholic by any means.
It's the same as telling someone they can't eat chocolate/play football/whatever they enjoy, ever again. Of course it would have a negative impact.

In A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof it is all about 'the click' when the alcoholic feels like a human being only when having drunk something. I think (A level research)

OP - Yes

I absolutely always fancy a glass of wine in the evening (unless I'm ill), but don't always yearn for one and am perfectly fine without. Found evening socialising really dull and tricky when I was pregnant. But in the morning, I'm always so glad when I didn't have a drink the night before because you feel so good. Hangovers are hideous.

Oh goodness - no, I do it at work for the fact that I enjoy it. My colleagues would think nothing, there are usually, on any given night, some people drinking, some not. I don't always drink at work.

I can absolutely perform to an optimum level without a drink. Again, I don't drink every day at work.

I think the word 'alcoholic' has so many connotations and sometimes becomes unhelpful for defining alcohol problems ( unless someone is choosing the word to define themselves). I have worked with many people with alcohol problems and as so many have said on this thread already, people can drink very different amounts of alcohol and be affected differently.

I used to ask people to look at their drinking in terms of the 4 L's - liver (affect of alcohol on health), Livelihood (affect of alcohol on work), Love (affect of alcohol on intimate relationships) and Law ( Whether alcohol had led to an offence - i.e. drink driving, violence etc.) People seemed to be able to consider their drinking much more honestly in this way than by looking at arbitrary amounts of units etc.

Hope you don't feel I've been on your case, DSM

You do drink a lot, though, and I have met a lot of dependent people in my life

I would advise you to apply the brake a little? For your liver's sake, if nothing else

People aren't called alcoholics any more, they now suffer with alcohol dependence syndrome. There are lots of symptoms - cravings, withdrawals,increased tolerance to alcohol, rapid reinstatement of previous drinking patterns after abstinence, prioritisation of alcohol over other activities etc. However, not everyone who is a heavy drinker will fit these criteria, but this does not necessarily mean anything. If people are drinking huge quantites over a long period of time( and I would say a bottle of wine a night is a lot) then at some point their liver will be fucked - unless they are very lucky

nnb - not at all. I enjoy a lively discussion

I also really do appreciate your concern, as there are many dependent people who would benefit from such advice.

Thankfully, I know (and hope I have convinced you ) that I am not in any way dependent. I have not had anything to drink for the last 3 days, for example, and the thought has not once entered my head until now. I still don't particularly fancy a drink right now though!

I tend to go through phases of drinking 4 or 5 times a week for a month or so, and then maybe only once or twice a week for another month or so, its not conscious, it just happens. I don't really feel the need to 'apply the brakes' as it were, as I don't think it is quite as bad as it sounds, given the line of work I am in, and my age. However, as I used to drink a lot more when I was younger, I am sure that over the years, it will continue to naturally decrease.

This thread just goes to show how different people are - how much they drink, how much they think is safe for them.

It comes as no surprise to see that the goverment's recommended unit figure is such a guesstimate.

DSM, I admire your honestly.

I drink about a can of lager a night - I prefer lager as I am such a gulper . I can easily drink half a bottle of wine a night (which I think is too much for me) so I don't buy wine as a rule, and if I do, I drink a few big glasses of squash or water over the evening.

I think I could drink a bottle of wine a night without becoming dependent on it, but I would get the most screamingly awful hangovers.

Me too tigermoth, the hangovers just aren't worth it. And its not fair on DC to have a grumpy mummy because she's drunk too much the night before.

I don't think it's true that 'you're an alcoholic because you drink X number of units a week'.

It's all to do with why you drink and whether you need it to function. You can easily drink stupidly for 3 nights in a row on social occasions, exceed the recommended units by a long way, and not be an alcoholic.

Tiredlady, you said perfectly what I meant to add...it doesn't matter whether you're classed as an 'alcoholic' or not, if you drink too much over a period of time, your liver will pack up.