I wanted to say that is too general of a statement and depends of your definition of alcoholism, but then I looked up the current definition [1].
In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions is present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use
So yes it's not a stretch to consider just drinking to the point of (almost) passing out alcoholism (ignoring whether or not the person drinks outside of these episodes). Doing that like twice in a year doesn't feel like alcoholism though. More like one of the many means to satisfying my constant urge and craving to 'go hard'.
I feel like the lack of a decent framework for defining alcoholism is really at play here though.
For example, I drink 5-7 drinks a week on average. Every now and then, I have a bad reaction to some alcohol. I haven't completely identified it, but IPAs seem to trigger it the worst, and drinking while already sleep-deprived, which I am more often than I'd like to be, also is more likely to result in a bad reaction. The bad reaction typically manifests most notably as an extreme flushing in my face (probably rosacea - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosacea), and sometimes flatulence or stomach discomfort.
So "large amounts over a long time period" is pretty vague, but I'd wager the 365 drinks that I might have over the course of a year could satisfy that description.
So is it fair to say that I'm an alcoholic due to those criteria? I think most people would agree that I'm not, but based on the medical definition alone it wouldn't be far-fetched to label me one.
5-7 drinks a week on average isn't 365 drinks a year. That's seven drinks a week. If you're drinking every day it's best not to sugar coat that; especially to your doctor.
Alcoholic hasn't been an appropriate medical term for some time now. It's been split into alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
The medical definition, posed elsewhere in the thread from the DSM definition, declares fuzzier criteria than numbers. There isn't a number. 50 drinks a year might quality someone as alcohol abuse if they only consume four times a year and 500 a year might be normal if no other criteria than tolerance exists.
The whole thing is a mess though. You have a problem when you have a problem. This is compounded by the definition its self allows people to justify their intake in many ways.
Listen to yourself, your body, and input from others. If you want to then talk to your GP doctor and seek an actual evidence based treatment. 12 Step programs are not, and shouldn't be, anyone's only option.
I was taking the high end of that estimate. I don't think having one drink a day makes someone an alcoholic though. Heck, in France it's common to have a glass of wine with lunch every day. Though my own tendency is to have 0-2 drinks Monday - Thursday, and then 5-7 drinks on the weekend.
There is harmful drinking, and you possibly fall into that range, depending how strong the drinks are and how large the serving size is.
If you drink 5 glasses of wine, and the glasses are 150 ml, and the wine is 12.5% you're drinking a bit over 9 units per week so that's ok. But if the glasses are 175 ml and you drink 7 of them a week you're drinking 15 unit a week, and that's a little bit over the recommended level.
There's a dose dependant response, so the more you drink the more harm is caused. There are also genetic factors for some of the harms. And increasing a low risk might not be something you're worried about.
But then there's also dependant drinking. That has a few markers: are you preoccupied with alcohol? Do you seek alcohol if you don't have any? Have you built up a tolerance to alcohol? Do you continue to drink alcohol even though you know it's causing you harm?
> Harmful drinking is defined as a pattern of alcohol consumption causing health problems directly related to alcohol. This could include psychological problems such as depression, alcohol-related accidents or physical illness such as acute pancreatitis. In the longer term, harmful drinkers may go on to develop high blood pressure, cirrhosis, heart disease and some types of cancer, such as mouth, liver, bowel or breast cancer.
> Alcohol dependence is characterised by craving, tolerance, a preoccupation with alcohol and continued drinking in spite of harmful consequences (for example, liver disease or depression caused by drinking). Alcohol dependence is also associated with increased criminal activity and domestic violence, and an increased rate of significant mental and physical disorders. Although alcohol dependence is defined in ICD-10 and DSM-IV in categorical terms for diagnostic and statistical purposes as being either present or absent, in reality dependence exists on a continuum of severity. However, it is helpful from a clinical perspective to subdivide dependence into categories of mild, moderate and severe.
So is it fair to say that I'm an alcoholic due to those criteria? I think most people would agree that I'm not,
Depends on who 'most people' is I guess. In my book, I'd rather describe your situation (sounds like almost daily drinking to me, i.e. a proper addiction, and trust me I know those) as alcoholism then my current situation (once or twice a year I'll totally overdo it, but for the rest it averages out to like 1 drink a month).
Drinking to the point of passing out is alcoholism no matter how you look at it. Try to get them help if you value them.