I'm not an alcoholic...i swear!! [Archive]

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JustinR

04-28-2002, 10:17 AM

My mom thinks i'm an alcohlolic. Every time i go home she goes off about the men in the family's history with alcohol.

I never drink to get drunk. I only drink at most 2 drinks. And if i'm driving I take tremendous care to make sure i dont drive home drunk. Heck some nights (like cruel circus, I WILL ONLY HAVE ONE BEER!! )

I never really drink on school nights and i know when to say when. Its probally when i graduated HS and i started to drink socially more often. During HS i would have drinks after every few MONTHS

Now how the hell do i convince her| I'm not an alcoholic and i wont start to become one?

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Yerdaddy

04-28-2002, 03:45 PM

She's right that family history is a big factor in developing alcoholism. The first thing any doctor will ask if you say you think you might be an alcoholic is "Is there a history of alcoholism in your family?"

Science has long shown that genetic predisposition is a key factor in developing alcoholism. Genetic alcoholics' livers process alcohol into a different chemical before being sent to the rest of the body. Genetic alcoholics also generally have a lower level of endorphins than non-alcoholics and alcohol increases the endorphins in the alcoholic's body. Genes for alcoholism have been identified and there is a great deal of information about genetic predisposition to alcoholism.

Does this mean that you are an alcoholic? No. As you describe it, your drinking patterns show none of the patterns of alcohol abuse that would suggest the disease of alcoholism.

I think your mother is aware of the genetic links to alcoholism and is concerned about you developing the disease. She doesn't go out drinking with you, so she doesn't know for sure if you have a problem with it. From other members of your family she has learned about the power of denial, so it won't be easy for her to just take your word for it.

I'd suggest this: for your mother's sake and because you do have the family history, do a little research on alcoholism. Then show her that you have taken her concern seriously and are aware of the risks of drinking with a family history. Show her that you know the warning signs and would take control if you began to see them in yourself.

My problem a couple years ago was the opposite. I went into recovery from alcoholism five years ago, but my mother continued to drink herself to death until she succeeded a year ago.

Alcoholism is such an ugly disease, and good recovery is hard to come by in our society, that I'm not surprised that your mother is worried about you. Show her that you take the risk seriously and she should ease up on you.

Here are some sources of information:
National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (US Department of Health and Human Services)
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc.
http://www.ncadd.org/

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Ryan the Great

04-28-2002, 03:50 PM

yea im in high school right now, my sister is 20 and her boyfriend is 21, i only drink when she throws parties which is like twice a year, when my parents go on a 3-5 day vacation, when im "drunk" i become more social according to my sisters friends, nonetheless, i do not plan on becoming an "alcoholic" or anything, a couple parties a year isnt much, and i dont do drugs, including weed, so i think i will be fine.
this has been my 2 cents.

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Ryan the Great

ADF

04-28-2002, 07:02 PM

, i do not plan on becoming an "alcoholic" or anything, a couple parties a year isnt much, and i dont do drugs, including weed, so i think i will be fine.

No one "plans" on becoming an alcoholic, it just happens. The likelihood of you becoming an alcoholic will increase with the availability of alcohol. A man who's never taken a drink but has a predisposition to become alcholic (genetic or otherwise) isn't technically an alcoholic.

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TheGameHHH

04-28-2002, 08:33 PM

Dude, from what you are describing, you are far from an alcoholic. I think your mom is just paranoid.

IT'S TIME TO PLAY THE GAME-AHHH!

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brodieman

04-28-2002, 08:40 PM

it's ok lent i believe you, remember my status on the old board, you get a little tipsy at ONE party and they brand you for life :P

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HordeKing1

04-29-2002, 08:35 AM

LENT - From your description it sounds much more like your mom is trying to maintain some level of control over you - not that she actually believes you're an alcoholic. Telling you about alcoholic familly members is supposed to endear herself to you when you realize that she's looking out for you.

From your description, you are not anywhere close to being an alcoholic.

And although there is a genetic link to alcoholism, it's very far from being the primary cause. Many factors contribute and the person on the whole has to be taken into account.

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JustinR

04-29-2002, 10:34 AM

LENT - From your description it sounds much more like your mom is trying to maintain some level of control over you

That's kinda true. She's still trying to realize that i'm older now. I guess this is part of that process.

One thing i'll note when i talk to her, she seems to see the members of the boards i hang out with as degenerates. Several times i tell her many of them have dynamic lives. She thinks that they have led me to be a social drinker which isnt really the case.

It had to be when I started college in Rhode Island last year. It was either you drank with them or not. I was seen as an outcast for not going to bars and such so i kinda gave in. But i kind of hated the college bar scene and still do. All it is the same cilque that wears ambercrombie/girbuad/coogi/iceberg or what ever lame clothing style of the moment. Always with lame ass music and watered down drinks. (I even hear that some taps are comtaminated)...woah i'm going off base. That's another thread.

I only got drunk once. It was so unpleasant and embarassing. I threw up on the floor of one of the many dunkin donuts in providence. I'll never do jTHAT again.

I'm fortunate not to have the problems that many alcoholics have. Its sad that in this day and age people continue to succumb to this disease. But people can overcome it. I've meet Rich Vos and Jim Norton several times and they've havent had drinks for several years and look what it did for their carrers.

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zathrus

04-29-2002, 11:57 AM

Lent
I think your mom is just worried about you. My grandma does the same thing. That i know of there is no way to stop her from worrying.

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HordeKing1

04-29-2002, 02:05 PM

LENT - Calling your board friends (or other friends) degenerates is another example of control issues.

Attempting to control you doesn't mean she doesn't love you. It just means she is having a hard time accepting you as an adult. Most parents eventually come around, although my 94 year old grandmother still called my father 63 at the time her "baby," as he was the youngest of her children.

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