abuse or not?

[Rooni3]

I love drinking. Hate smoking ciggarettes but I still do it.and the only time I do that is when I get really stressed out. I even go crazy searching for cigs when they're not in the house, I'll look for them literally everywhere. Its also the same when I drink sometimes. I'm afraid I can potentially become an alcoholic or something.but I still like drinking for other purposes..not just stress related. Is this totally wrong? I'm not sure how else to explain.

[sassygurlone]

Honestly, it depends on how much you are drink and why you are drinking. Are you drink a little or a lot? Are you drinking for fun, or to get completely wasted and black out?

[bitesize]

I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but as far as I know alcoholism can often be associated with becoming inebriated in inappropriate situations. If you find you're getting drunk during the day, by yourself, you feel that you HAVE to drink to cope with particular (e.g. social) situations, or you're blacking out most or every time you drink, they're definite problems. I think the fact that you hate smoking and still do it might be a bit of an issue though. :/ x

[Dr.Bobby]

Rooni, there are some things here about your behavior you should know. The first is that regardless of how much you like (or dislike) to smoke, nicotine (the active ingredient in tobacco) is highly addictive. That means that once you're exposed to it regularly, your body actually 'needs' it, and without it, you start getting physical and mental cravings, that 'need' you experience.

The other thing is that you can also develop a physical dependence on alcohol, too, it's a psycho active substance as well. So, what you might be going thru here is the result of your dependence on both of these substances.

The good news is that there's now effective medications to help with the nicotine cravings, and you might try to control your response to the urge to drink, too. See if you can regain control on your own, to effectively say 'no' to drinking in situations which clearly are out of bounds. If not, then it might be time for some form of professional help, either Alcoholic Anonymous or some behavioral therapy and meds to ease those cravings, too.

[Rooni3]

I always drink by myself nowadays and usually its because I think a lot and get really depressed and feel that my drink all I have.