crusty problem and heavy drinkers have not lost the power of choice. alcoholics have thats the diff. i know normal ppl who have gotten drunk many times but are not alcohoics.Gunthar thats way too much to read

I'm with those that have said the difference is one of control.

Some people drink heavily/unhealthily/ dependently with terrible consequences but have not lost control in the same way that alcohlics have.

Gunthar, in relation to all the things that have happened to you as a result of drinking, I would still say that the distinction would still be based on control or lack of it rather than all those other consequences.

Get a frickin grip, Gunthar!
Sheesh.

I don't believe there is a distinction between "problem drinker, hard drinker or alcoholic" I guess these terms can be used to describe different stages of alcoholism But an alkie is an alkie regardless of what stage they are in.

We all have individual separate problems... If someone doesn't accept it, so be it. I don't give a sh**. It's not important.

I see passionate opinions and advice which I'm comfortable with even if I completely disagree & get pissed! Lol.. I've learned a lot on this forum.

Julz-
I think there is a very big distinction.
An alcohol abuser does not go thru withdrawals like an alcoholic.
That's my distinction. I wasn't always an alkie even though I drank for many years.
I mean I certainly set myself up to be one and my genes gave it an extra kick but I wasn't always one.
I wish I could go back to Kansas but I can't.

I just don't see it that way..

I used to be a soft drinker.
I used to be a problem drinker.
I used to be a hard drinker.

The stages increased as a result of the disease of alcoholism.

It was not a conscious choice to increase the drinking. The disease kept growing and took control my life.

The disease was always there in the first place.

I'm confused. If you can't put the drink down regardless of the definition, you are an alcoholic. Are you not?

Nicky,
Do you consider yourself a problem drinker/hard drinker, or an alcoholic?

To me, if you've got a problem with it, your most likely an alcoholic.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
this is a tough one.
Some people think alkies were born alkies.
I like to think I was born a perfect baby.
I think one can abuse alcohol and not be an alcoholic.
My sister abuses alcohol when she can't get her drugs. Cocaine.
But she is not even close to being an alkie.
If I didn't have alcohol and was jonesing I very well might do some sort of drug...really doubt it...but let's say I would and did...
I am by no means a drug addict.
I've seen many people abuse alcohol on a regular basis but keep it at that regular basis and I don't consider them an alkie.
Well, heck...maybe they are.
Perhaps there are different levels of alcoholism?

Kate, I think what you are describing in reference to "abuse of alcohol" is a functional alcoholic.

Addiction is addiction whether you swap alcohol for cocaine or vice versa.

Call it alcoholism or drug addiction. It's the same thing in my opinion.

Jim agrees w/ Nicky & Kate and says there is a distinction.

IMO, I believe the distinction of "abuse" or "dependence" is an insurance ploy.

I don't buy it.

the only difference between abuse and dependence is the medical aspect. The dependent person has a greatly increased (or decreased) tolerance for the drug of choice and withdrawal.

Hit the bottle long enough and you become a alcoholic, it's a addictive drug, some folks don't use enough of it to become addicted.Then there's people like me who are are pre-disposed to becoming addicted, something in our genetic make-up. who knows. I just know I can never safely take that first drink, or use any other mind altering substance. Problem drinkers are nerotic, I never had any problem drinking,

When I started waking up between 1 - 3 am with sweats and all of a sudden barfing yet drinking the same amount of alcohol - if not less - that is when my body changed into an alkie.
I had no clue what was happening to me. So unreal that I didn't even associate it alcohol abuse because I was drinking less, as a matter of fact.
I remember when I could drink 10 beers and go to work and not have shakes. Not have a thought in my mind all day long about drinking. Didn't really care about it if I had it when I came home after work or not but that's because I always had it so that comment doesn't count.
I understand it is a progressive disease. For a while there, with this one boyfriend, my drinking increased wildly because he drank a lot and we were keeping up with eachother, I guess.
When I put a lid on it things went wacko. Things never went wacko before when I put a lid on it....

this is a good post, i always tried to say i had a drinking problem for a short period of time due to a divorce or whatever else, soon i found i was drinking on everything that went right or wrong in my life and that i couldnt stop when i wanted to. In the rooms of AA i have heard many an alkie say a number of reasons they beleive themselves to be alcoholic and this ranges from when drinking they drink to excess on single occassions, i.e blackout or just more than they origionally intended, to drinking around the clock. Like step one, we admitted we were powerless over alcohol, so whatever that means in regards to your own drinking. Also, I have heard, if you are questioning whether you have a drinking problem, are a heavy drinker or an alcoholic, you are obviously worried enough to warrant you probably are an alcoholic...so come join us in recovery and see how great life is without alcohol...