Can problem drinkers or alcohol abusers back up and continue with controlled drinking? It depends on what point in a time line we are looking at.
By Bill Urell
To answer this, we have to be very careful of terms used, let’s follow the progression of use and consequences:
Social Drinker:
Drinks alcohol on occasion but drinking does not occupy their thoughts. They can enjoy a drink, or take it or leave it. There are no negative consequences as a result of their drinking, it does not cause any problems. There is no loss of control concerning actions or consequences relate to drinking. Neither family nor friends express concern about the drinking. It really is a non-issue.
Problem Drinker or Substance Abuser:
Usage has progressed to the point where some negative consequences occur. A prime example is getting a DUI, or tangled up in other legal problems like assault. There is no question that alcohol was abused and a bad consequence occurred because of the decision to risk lives drinking while impaired. Drinking in any situation where judgment and reflexes are needed for safety is abusing alcohol.
Drinking may start to occupy thoughts more frequently now, looking forward to and planning drinking. Use is more for effect. Drinking is starting to interfere with obligations of family, and work.
The substance abuser or problem drinker still has the ability to set limits and stick to them. This different from the social user who needs no limits and the alcoholic who cannot set limits and stick to them.
Negative consequences occur but are not repeated. Complaints by family and friends are heard and dealt with.
A good example is someone getting their first DUI, being properly embarrassed, and vowing to never drink and drive again; and they don’t. There is no question drinking caused a problem but they dealt with it. They have not yet ‘crossed the line’ into alcohol addiction or alcoholism.
Therefore it is possible for a problem drinker to back off into social use. However, if there is a progression noted, almost always the progression will get worse.
Alcoholism, Alcohol Addiction:
A primary characteristic of alcoholism is the loss of control over drinking. By definition, an alcoholic cannot return to controlled drinking.
We now know that changes in the brain occur at the neuron level which is not reversible. The old Alcoholics Anonymous concept of ‘crossing the line and not going back’ has now been proven true. They state the great delusion of every alcoholic is to once again drink like a normal person.
In addition to loss of control, we start to see tolerance, withdrawal, and drinking more over longer periods than we had intended. A prime characteristic is that an alcoholic cannot quit despite efforts to do so, and they continue to drink despite knowing there are negative consequences.
Can a problem drinker control their drinking? That really depends on how far down the road they are.
Bonus Tip:
The only safe solution is to stop drinking completely.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
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I am very confused about where I stand as per what you say in this post and what I have read elsewhere about such distinction, thought I’ll share my situation here.
I have been struggling with drinking and other substance abuse for some time now and I am very confused about where I am, on the one hand I do have some amount (only just) of self control and I will not slide down after a point. I go to meetings and find others who have gone on much much farther than where I have gone. I am even made aware that yes I am an addict but not a hardcore one, maybe on the fringe of being a hardcore addict.
(A doctor dealing with alcohol and drug addicts since about 10 years told me this last week when I meet him at his out reach center)
I have more of a problem with drugs but even that I do not take beyond a particular line. To start off, I have been drinking for about 7-8 years now. (since I was 17 I think) I had 2 bouts with drugs also in all of this, the first time it went for two years and at around 20 , I quit drugs and decided that I will only use alcohol since it is a controllable socially allowed vice. There is no question that drinking caused problems but I did not have the same appetite for alcohol an alcoholic might have; I would often drink alone but I found it boring after a couple of pegs, about a maximum of a pint of whiskey or any other hard drink like rum. When drinking alone, I never drank enough to cause vomiting, total loss of self control, black outs etc. I would only drink to that point when I was drinking with friends (It happened occasionally at first but it did slowly get to the point where each week 1nce or 2wice I would be out drinking all night with friends who were good company to drink with and occasionally get in to fights and other hassles) I didn’t enjoy drinking too much when I had boring company though. This is where I was about a year and a half ago, this is how most of my weekends were spent; getting together with my drinking friend and drinking and then doing our kind of mischief, the kind that amused us a bit but not got us in to trouble too often)
and then I hated it the next day because I would have the hangovers, feeling completely lethargic for all of the next day, stomach issues etc. I hated it in the long term as well because I would schedule the weekends to catch up on my reading, catch up with certain other friends or often to simply rest and get things in perspective after a week’s work. But the drinking friend of mine was too pestering and would call me and lull me anyway, he liked alcohol much more than me I could tell, it probably had a genetic component to it I guess as well. (his father died of drinking at 31) So whenever I was able to stay away from this one particular friend and another friend I had at work, I could stay away from booze or maybe slip up a little here and there but not too much.
Then after a while, I tried opioid prescription medicines with an office mate and loved it initially. This is what I got hooked on to big time, slowly but surely I was doing different stuff all together, booze, marijuana, meds all of them. I was taking only this on weekends than in the middle of the week, then on some weekdays as well (you know how it works).
After about 3 months of trying opioids, I was doing them everyday, the use of opioids I can not control I admit. I raved like this for some months until the money ran out and then I did only the meds each day.
(but still I only tried the harder stuff like hydrocodones rarely and stayed away from the dirty ones such as doing opium itself or heroin which I had tried as a teenager.)
After using codeine everyday for about a year, I have actually put on weight, I still don’t look like a junkie, I can pass of a respectable member of society everywhere I go. [where they don't know I use]
But then the downside is, that much of my time and money is wasted (I’ll admit I have done both crazy and low things to get the money to keep me high) with doing codeine, when I could write a blog post or read up about things I am in to now, learn this or that, meditate, find spiritual peace, go to a gym, spend time with my family or do a million other things that I’d like to do, I go out have a couple of bottles of C syrup and then go to some place of solace I like and sit contemplating nothing of importance while chain smoking ciggs or listening to music. (at first it as on an iPOD I had which I sold and then my phone which also I sold later I’ll admit I got there)
Recently, many a times, I have alcohol as well.
Coming back to A drinking, I see that I can still control it, I am content with a quarter or somewhat less amounts or maybe I will have 3 beers but I don’t do more because then I don’t like it, I only like how you feel after 2-3 drinks, when your perception is just changing and then you get a pleasant buzz, I in fact hate it when I drink to much and the buzz is overwhelming.
Now, ever since I found about the 12 step programs, I have wanted to live the life all of those NA & AA members live; absolutely clean of everything and serene but I have not been able to do that, Often I have the urge to get back to drinking socially once again, stay of drugs, just have alcohol in moderation but the trouble is I haven’t been able to get clean of C. Finally, I’ll arrive the question (which you might find stupid and excruciatingly redundant) but I’ll ask it anyway:
Is it ok if I can get back to drinking in a controlled manner even if I tend towards problem drinking at times. (If I can manage it which it seems to me I can)
Drugs I can not have and don’t want to have, but I still feel like being able to enjoy a booze buzz every once in a while. My mind rebels when I tell it that I’ll be sober of all things till I die …
Rajs last blog post..On Course
Raj,
Think of switching drugs or alcohol from one to the other as a ride on a bus.It appears you are traveling down the road on a bus called addiction. If you get up and change seats on the bus like switching from one drug to another it really does not matter. The fact is you are still traveling down the road just in a different seat.
The trick is not to go from one seat to the other…but to get off the bus. That means stopping the use of all mood altering chemicals. One cannoy argue with the simple fact, if you do not want trouble with drugs and alcohol, stop the use.
Regards,
Bill