I was soliciting ideas for columns the other day when Kevin suggested that I write one questioning whether any or all of us could possibly be alcoholics. This came on the same day that Jeff confided that he was considering a moratorium on drinking after a particularly rough few days. With a girlfriend and no alcohol, Jeff is becoming an infinitely more boring person. As he put it, if he follows through he will be the "Chris McClung of Houston".
Now why would I even question if any of us has a drinking problem? We are the intelligent, disciplined, future leaders of America...or at least that is how it appears to the outside world. Honestly, though, I have my doubts. Basically, my issues came down to one question...when do I ever see any of my friends without alcohol being involved? Let's see...occasionally we go to movies....but that is usually before or after a night of drinking. We started a softball team...that basically serves as a precursor to a night of drinking. Umm, there are the road trips we often go on...but
5-5-04 - Best Pictures
5-4-04 - NBA Second Round
5-3-04 - The Bachelorette Party
4-26-04 - Eternal Sunshine
4-25-04 - EBall
4-21-04 - Kevin on Running
4-20-04 - Some Thoughts
Archives
1) Reasons to be Cheerful Pt. 3 - Ian Drury and the Blockeheads
2) Dragon Lady - Lucy Loves Schroeder
3) Sad and Lonely - The Secret Machines
4) Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
5) Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney
6) Flying High - Jem
7) Absolutely Cuckoo - The Magnetic Fields
8) Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks
9) The Laws Have Changed - The New Pornographers
10) Frontier Psychiatrist - The Avalanches
Maybe questioning our alcoholic tendencies has some merit. To examine further, I decided to research alcoholism a little more thoroughly. According to the National Institute on Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism, there are four primary tenets of alcoholism. Let's take a look at each individually:
TOLERANCE - The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high".
And here I always thought that the only problem with building up your tolerance were the increased bar tabs. This is definitely a category that I qualify under...over the last six months my tolerance has increased to almost Mary-Margaret like levels (For those not in the know, this isn't sarcasm...the girl can drink). It has gotten to a point that if I stay away from rum and tequila, I can drink steadily the entire night and never get too drunk. I think most of my Houston-based friends (read: regular drinkers) can say the same thing.
LOSS OF CONTROL - Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun.
You mean there are people who can do that? The next one I meet will be the first. Seriously, though, there have been numerous nights that I have planned to make light that turned into something much more once I had a few drinks in me. I'm not sure if it was loss of control or just rationalizing my inner id, but this is a fairly regular occurrence for me. And if you claim that it isn't for you, than I may just have to call you a liar.
CRAVING - A strong need, or urge, to drink.
The way I see it, there is an ENORMOUS difference between the words "need" and "urge" in the definition above. Nearly every weekend, I have an urge to drink...why would anyone do it if they didn't? But I have never had a moment in my life where I felt like I needed alcohol. Wanted, sure, but I don't mindl settling for a Diet Coke if the party is floated.
PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE - Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shaking, and anxiety after stopping drinking.
Ok, I am nowhere near this playing field yet...nor do I ever want to be. The closest I have ever come to this is drinking the morning after to get rid of a hangover...the whole "hair on the dog" phenomena. If any of you have these symptoms, you have always done a good job of hiding them from me.
Since I don't qualify under all of these categories yet, I don't feel like I am in denial for classifying myself as a social drinker. If I'm being honest with myself, though, I think I definitely would be considered as a "heavy" social drinker. If you don't think there is a difference, you probably missed last months frightening article on CNN.com. Post any feedback on the message board...do you think we should start looking for other social activities?
