Drinking alone

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Ok, I have heard that drinking alone is a sign of alcoholism--but here is the problem with that; I drink alone, but I am no alcoholic; I drink alone because at the moment I have no one to drink with.

But then I worry that I do have a drinking problem, because being depressed I often drink just to feel good enough to do anything, besides just watching tv, or just to shut up my overactive mind.

But here is one thing I AM concerned about: I have gotten used to drinking alone, since I see it usually more as a temporary medication until I get stable and have friends. But will drinking alone turn it into a habit, being that I get so used to drinking alone, that drinking alone will become the norm? I have when with friends drank with them and enjoyed it for its social nature though. And I know that once I am in a position with friends to distract me from my inner world (which WILL be happpening in at least a month), then I will not feel the need to drink at all even. When I have been happy with friends I have not felt the COMPULSION to drink like I do now.

AND I DRINK ALONE...

YAAAAAA WITH NOBODY ELSE

YA YOU KNOW WHEN I DRINK ALONE..

I PREFER TO BE BY MY SELF....

Heh, i dont buy that, what is wrong with sittin alone watching tv with a good ail?? Because I do this im an alky??

Yeah, if there's no one you hang out with, it's a given that any drinking will be done alone. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I drink a couple glasses of wine every night while I watch TV, mostly out of boredom (and I like the taste of wine).

Drinking becomes a problem when it literally becomes a problem - you're missing work, disappointing people, showing up drunk at events, get a DUI, etc. Watch the show "Intervention" to see some graphic examples. Alcohol becomes the focus of an alcoholic's life, and they feel powerless over it, usually with some sentiment to the effect of their life "spinning out of control."

Having a few drinks by yourself isn't in itself anything to worry about. When the day comes that you screw up at something, and the answer to "why did this happen?" is "I got drunk," then I'd start to worry.

That has not happend yet, excepting maybe two or three "why do I feel like crap", but those were with people.

Basically I am here at Oxford England alone, and although I do have freinds, I have been drinkng less and less; now I only feel like I actually NEED anything every maybe second, thired, or fourth day, and I've been a week without feeling the urge. Though the past week it's been perhhaps every other day. Though I never drink enough to get a hangover (I've had a genuine one maybe two or three times)

And the waitress is practicin' politics,
as the businessman slowly get stoned,
Yes, they're sharin' a drink called loneliness,
but it's better than drinkin' alone ....

Alone, that way I can afford the good stuff. Three days a week, a drinking man, four days a drunk.

Two I find best. Sometimes I forget, but I never quit.

I don't see a problem. If you don't drink too often and don't binge you probably won't become dependent, at least not physically. If you feel like you need to drink everyday and crave a beer all the time it's probably a bad sign.

Only problem I have is that good beer is too expensive for what it's worth to me. I won't drink crappy tasting alcohol.

The key is quantity and frequency. There's nothing wrong, or weird, or negative about having a drink or two. Three or four...still not too bad, assuming it isn't in rapid succession. I was at the point of drinking a pretty obscene amount every other night, in not all that long of a time span. That is where it becomes a problem. (Well, before that point.)

I really don't even see a problem with getting a little drunk on your own, something I did before it went a bit too far, so long as you aren't using it to cope with things, or to forget about things, or that sort of deal, and it isn't something you feel like you have to do. If you're getting more than just drunk, to the point of passing out or blacking out, again, that suggests a problem.

Some will view almost any amount of drinking done alone as a bad sign. It really doesn't have to be.

I don't drink because i'm underage...and i've seen the effects of alcohol and don't want to end up there.

Anyway...my mother does drink alone. She drinks every evening and night more than 1 bottle of wine.
I don't think it is alcoholism...bit when I have asked her to go one night without a drink, she refuses, so then i'm not quite sure...

Keep in mind alcoholism is nothing to do with how much you drink, it's about why you drink. You drink by yourself because you have no-one to drink with. So what? My dad drinks by himself if he's got no-one to drink with, just while watching TV or reading a book or something.

You said you feel no compulsion to drink in the same way when in people's company.

Until you start having to drink just to wake up in the morning, you're okay, man.