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OP asked what we thought was too much. In MY opinion, every night is too much. Those studies have nothing to do with my opinion. I personally have seen way too many alcoholics and too many people that have allowed alcohol to screw up their lives, so I have a different view that you do, perhaps.
I have questions about the methodology of those kinds of studies. I posted on page 4 of this thread. Best.
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I don't necessarily think its based on a number of drinks. I spent some time in Europe and my friends there drank far more wine (and other alcohol) than what would be recommended here in the states. I dunno, everyone just seemed more relaxed about it.
I don't know any teetotalers, other than former alcoholics or people who lived with them.
What I find alarming are my wine swilling friends. I have some friends who are ingesting some serious amounts of wine. They have wine while cooking dinner, wine with dinner, wine after dinner. Nobody seems to think it's bad because, they claim, wine is healthy and it's not beer or hard liquor (their assertions, not mine).
Last time I checked, wine was still alcohol.
As for defining an alcoholic, I think it would be when it negatively affects you in some way (health, relationships, finances, etc).
Last edited by bande1102; 12-19-2015 at 10:35 AM..
Is it a beer every night? Couple times a week? A glass of wine every night? A bottle? How about a pint of vodka a couple times a week and 2 fifths on the weekends?
I know this seems like a weird place for me to post this, but it is pertaining to someone in my life. I do not care to go into details, but just wondering opinions on "how much is too much"?
Thank you.
Binge drinking on a regular basis is too much as is having drinking as your focus at a party. If you're constantly obsessing over booze at a party and pushing others to drink, you drink too much.
If you have ever had someone in your family drink themselves to death you would never ever touch the stuff. Simply cleaning the home or apartment of the loved one after they pass is a terrible filthy experience.
The amount of pain and suffering caused by alcohol is simply not worth any amount.
More than a glass is too much for most folks. I think too much is when your mind is altered. So, once you start feeling "relaxed", I think you've had enough.
IMO, when drinking becomes the destination, it's time to turn it down or maybe just knock it off altogether. It's not the frequency or the amount (assuming that a person isn't getting wrecked every night), as much as the pattern behind it. Example: Number of nights a week does not indicate much. But quantity consumed going way up after a bad day or stressful situation, might. I don't believe that abstainers have any higher ground than drinkers when it comes to arguing about how much is too much, or how little is just right. Like many other things, it's all about a balanced life. One person says any amount might indicate a problem, while the other says a twelve pack a night is fine. IMO, neither is being reasonable.
I drink about 6 ounces (2-3 drinks) of scotch per night, generally before dinner and while at home. For a reference point the mini-bottles (airline bottle) contain 1.7oz and 1/2 pint contains 8oz. It is 5:15pm and I am sipping my first drink of the evening which I poured at 5:00pm.
One of the worst, but functioning alcoholics, I ever knew drank about 32oz (a quart) of vodka per day between about noon and 10pm. I also knew a fellow that became a fall down drunk after drinking about about 8oz. At 8oz I would be far from sober, but I would also not be falling down drunk. I might be stumbly at about 10oz.
There are funny/pleasant and there are mean/nasty drinkers. It is best to avoid alcohol if you fall into the mean/nasty drinkers. My wife was a quiet/polite person but with her 3rd drink, she could become argumentative/belligerent. Not mean/nasty but also not her quiet/polite normal such. We were aware of it and kept an eye on it so it was not a problem
When the alcohol negatively affects your life (even the simple not feeling well the next morning), you are drinking to much no matter the amount. The one thing that keeps me from drinking more is the price (hangover) I would pay the next morning and that is usually the difference between people that have problems with something and those that do not. Those that do not have a problem can think past the moment and stop. Those with a problem only react to the moment.
It's not a drink every night. One night it may be nothing, the next, a whole pint. No losing control, but change in behavior for sure. Most of the drinking occurs on the weekend, with a pint or 2 during the week. Sometimes it may just be beer.
It is not beer, wine or gin, etc. that is getting someone drunk. It is the alcohol intake. Think about, when someone has a breathalyzer test what is measure is the alcohol in their system, not the beverage that it was in or how many drinks they had.
Thus, it is not a question of being able to say, "just beer" as opposed to big bad whiskey. It's the alcohol intake.
As for "losing control" versus "change in behavior," those are pretty vague terms. I can certainly imagine that someone sucking up a pint by themselves in an evening is going to change their behavior for sure.
A glass or two of wine, a bottle or two of beer, or an oz or two of hard liquor a day sounds ok to me, but nothing over that limit.
Anything over one or two/daily, then I think who ever? needs to cut down. He/she is heading to alcoholism.
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