Is My Husband an Alcoholic?

My husband is concerned about his drinking. He drinks on weekends, starts Friday after we get home from work and will drink 10-12 beers.

He is 6'5'' and weighs 225 lbs. Then he will drink again on Saturday the same or maybe 2-3 more. He does not drink until he passes out but has occasionally.

Now if there is a sporting event on TV or something like that on Sunday's he may drink 3-4 beers. We have been married almost 16 years and he has always been a beer drinker.

I guess I don't see it as an issue because it does not keep him from doing anything - well driving. He does not wake up and immediately start to drink and it does not interfere with our relationship, etc. Thank you.

Alcoholism-and-Drug-Addiction-Help.com Answer

Alcoholism is defined as dependence and loss of control. If your husband has the need to drink that many beers, even if only over a weekend, there must be some level of emotional and/or physical dependence.

And by drinking till he passes out clearly shows a loss of control, i.e. he can't just stop after having had a couple. So on the face of it he definitely would seem to be an alcoholic.

Here's a handy test for alcoholism that you may want to try as well, because it does give a very good indication as to whether there is a drinking problem, and to what extent.

People who don't have a drinking problem don't drink to the levels your husband does. Twelve plus beers every day of the weekend is excessive. And just because he doesn't do it every day and has more of a binging profile - doesn't mean he can't be an alcoholic. Many alcoholics are binge drinkers and don't necessarily drink every day of the week.

So best encourage your husband to address his drinking problem, which may require getting professional help. The long-term health effects of drinking that much will sooner or later also catch up with him, and you definitely don't want it to get to that. Hope that helps. Take Care.

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