How to Tell if You Are Almost Alcoholic, and Whether You Need to Quit

If drinking problems exist on a continuum where does yours sit?

May 02, 2023

Blue wild flowers against green leaves and grass.

Before I quit drinking, my understanding of so-called ‘alcoholism’ was very limited. Booze dominated my life, and I didn’t seem able to escape it, but I didn’t think I was an alcoholic. I drank more than the government guidelines, but didn’t everyone? It was concern about my boyfriend’s drinking that drove me to start seriously considering my own. Late-night Google spiraling led me to the idea of the almost alcoholic.

Clinical psychologist, Dr. Joe Nowinski, and Dr. Robert Doyle, a nationally recognized expert on alcoholism, came up with the term. It describes a type of drinker who falls into the huge grey area between normal and alcoholic drinking.

This kind of drinker experiences negative consequences because of their drinking, but would not yet meet the diagnostic threshold for what they call ‘true alcoholism’.

“Put simply, the “almost alcoholic” does not drink normally but also wouldn’t be labeled an “alcoholic.” Because this is a new concept to many people, they often don’t see the connection between their drinking and the various problems it is causing. Similarly, the doctors or other professionals they consult with may not connect the dots either.”
— Doyle and Nowinski, Almost Alcoholic

So how can you tell whether you are almost alcoholic?

And more importantly, what should you do about it, if you suspect that you are?

1. You can hold your liquor

This may be a point of pride for you. To be able to match your friends drink for drink, and not lose too much dignity along the way? Victory!

Being able to drink heavily feels like a super skill when you love the pub. Weaklings fall to the wayside, but you just keep on chugging. It’s admirable the way that you can keep going, and not get sloppy until much later than most people.

Except for the tiny little, unwelcome fact that increased tolerance is one of the earliest signs of a drinking problem.

It doesn’t ensure a drinking problem, but it’s one of the trademarks along the way.

Tolerance develops as a direct consequence of regular drinking. You get used to the buzz and need more to get the same effect.

Over time, this means you can soak your brain in way more pickle juice before you start to ferment.

2. You have a list of times you’re ashamed of, and in each one you were drunk.

Have you ever cheated or started a fight?

Stolen or said something unforgivable?

Told somebody else’s secret or hidden a secret you shouldn’t have?

Alcohol feels so good as it loosens our inhibitions, but it can make us go too far. The morning after we wish we’d never allowed ourselves to get so free in the first place.

If you are almost alcoholic, it won’t be immediately obvious that alcohol is causing your problems. But on closer inspection, you might notice that booze is always there, in the background, for these unconnected troubling events.

3. You may worry about your drinking, but you can’t imagine life without alcohol.

The hallmark of the almost alcoholic is that they don’t necessarily worry about their drinking.

They are more concerned by the issues their drinking is creating. And they may not notice how frequently drinking plays a part.

The people that Nowinski and Doyle describe all showed up in a clinical setting to get support around something else. After a period of counseling and discussion, the role of alcohol became apparent in their situation.

This is precisely what happened to me. I was worried about my relationship and my lack of motivation, the way I kept missing deadlines and my horribly increasing anxiety levels. It wasn’t until after some therapy that I recognised the role alcohol played in all of this.

Because of stereotypes around what ‘true alcoholics’ look like many almost alcoholics will not recognize the part that booze is playing in their problems.

“the line separating normal social drinking from being almost alcoholic is not bright and sharp, but is more of a gray area that a person can venture into before they know what’s happened.”
— Doyle and Nowinski, Almost Alcoholic

Drinking seems incidental and unrelated. Like a great solution to the stress that life problems and bad luck are causing.

4. Your hangovers are cause for concern.

Alcohol is a depressant, and sustained heavy use plays havoc with your mental health. Maybe you experience chronic hangxiety and have to send out reassurance-seeking texts before you can face the day.

Maybe you can’t drag yourself off the sofa to do all the important and life-affirming things you had planned for your weekend.

Maybe the sickness, shakes and headaches feel as serious as an illness, but nobody gives you any sympathy, and you understand why: because you brought it on yourself.

Whatever your hangovers look like, they are severe enough that you dream of a life without them.

And yet somehow, you still can’t imagine life without drinking.

Okay, this sounds like me or someone I love. What should I do?

Firstly, congratulate yourself for acknowledging that you, or your loved one, has a problem.

If you are reading this, then you have begun an important journey into learning more about how addiction works. This is a wonderful thing.

As Julie Silver, MD, states in the foreword to Almost Alcoholic:

“Diseases can develop slowly, producing milder symptoms for years before they become full-blown. If you recognize them early, before they become fully developed, and take relatively simple actions, you have a good chance of preventing them. In many instances there are steps you can try at home on your own; this is especially true with the mental and behavioral health disorders.”

If you begin to address the problem now, then you might happily avoid ever becoming a ‘true alcoholic’. Here’s Silver again:

“In short, recognizing the almost effect has two primary goals: (1) alleviate pain/ suffering now, and (2) prevent more serious problems later.”

Do some research and find out what alcohol support is available, locally and online. Visit your GP and get some medical advice. Then start experimenting.

Maybe mindful drinking would work or Moderation Management. Almost Alcoholic, the book, offers solutions, too. It helps readers identify and assess patterns of alcohol use, and to develop strategies and goals for changing the amount and frequency of their drinking.

And if you find controlling your drinking too stressful and difficult, then try abstinence-based programs of recovery like Smart or AA.

Once you understand that ‘alcoholism’ or Alcohol Use Disorder exists on a spectrum, it makes sense to reflect honestly about where your drinking fits.

In the huge grey area between the ‘normal drinker’ and the ‘true alcoholic’, where might you sit? More importantly, do you want to keep sitting there?

Because while the almost alcoholic’s problems are not as severe as the ‘true alcoholics’:

“they are nonetheless real and can have devastating effects on the lives of almost alcoholics and the people around them.” — Nowinski, Doyle, Almost Alcoholic

As someone who floundered in the hinterland of almost alcoholism for years, I can attest to the value of leaving it behind.

Once you have rid yourself of the conviction that drinking is your favourite pastime ever, there is a whole new world to discover. Hangover-free.

If you’re ready to try something different, try Smart, AA or Soberistas.

Listen to Recovery Elevator and SHAIR podcasts. Read This Naked Mind. Try Moderation Management.

There is a whole community of people waiting to help you. Reach out. Something better is waiting.

Chelsey Flood is the author of award-winning novels Infinite Sky and Nightwanderers, and a senior lecturer in creative writing at UWE. She is currently working on a literary memoir about getting sober and then finding out she’s autistic - Beautiful Hangover: how a late autism diagnosis helped me make peace with a drunken past, and a new YA novel.

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