What is an alcoholic?
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Answers:
This is a question that will give you as many different answers as people you ask. There is a book called the "DSM IV," short for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (quite a mouthful, eh?) that is used by psychologists, psychiatrists, and other people in the mental health field. I don't have a copy handy, but as a general rule, the people who wrote the DSM-IV use the following rule of thumb: if something interferes with your ability to function at work, in relationships, or in school, and if it causes you distress, it's a disorder that can be diagnosed. So, if someone's alcohol use is leading to the above-named problems, it's pathological--a fancy word for sick. The DSM-IV makes a distinction between alcohol dependence (basically, addiction) and alcohol abuse (alcohol use that is problematic in some way). Ignore all that and think of it this way: if someone's alcohol use is regularly causing them problems, it's gone beyond normal use of alcohol and into the territory of being sick. Whether you want to call that "alcoholism" or not is matter of semantics--what terms you want to use. Another person suggested that you visit an AA website; you'll probably find a quiz on it that helps make the diagnosis. AA is a movement that has helped many people, but they have their own ideological axe to grind (something that's true of much of the mental health field). I think that asking yourself whether a person's alcohol use is causing them problems in functioning is the best way to think of that. Yes, coming to work hungover would be an indication of problems functioning at work--nobody does good work while hungover, and in certain kinds of work, it could lead to someone getting hurt or dying. Also, as alcohol affects nearly every part of the body, if someone's alcohol use is causing health problems, that person could be labelled as an alcoholic.
There is a Question and Answer available at AA, which shows an alcoholic is someone who drinks every day to someone who binge drinks only occasionally. Drop by an AA center and see if you can pick up copy of that Q&A. Or maybe it's online.
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