How Do You Know When You Have An Addiction.

[Mosnar_K]

I don't drink a lot because I'm under 21 and it's hard to find someone around here that is 21, I usually drink vodka to make me happy and if I can't get alcohol I take pills. I don't do this often, just occasionally but still I crave vodka and I crave prescription drugs. I've never taken heroine or cocain or anything though, I won't touch it. when I see alcohol, I have to have it or if I see Klonopins, I have to have them. Is that addiction? Can you be addicted to things you only take occasionally. I know it's illegal but I'd rather be happy and stoned just relaxing in my room that committing suicide because my dysphoria is very bad. It's the only thing that makes me happy...

[spacerace]

You have an addiction and you know you do - just read your own post

I usually drink vodka to make me happy and if I can't get alcohol I take pills.

I crave vodka and I crave prescription drugs.

when I see alcohol, I have to have it or if I see Klonopins, I have to have them.

You're using it to avoid your problems:

I know it's illegal but I'd rather be happy and stoned just relaxing in my room that committing suicide because my dysphoria is very bad.

[Mosnar_K]

So craving those things but not taking them often still means I have an addiction? I thought addiction is when you constantly took those things. I seriously wasn't sure if I had an addiction or not and I didn't want to talk to my mother because she would be upset with me and my yahoo answers isn't working so I couldn't post the question on there so I thought maybe someone else would be able to tell me if it's an addiction if you only do it occasionally...Does this mean I need some sort of rehab?

[Jack_M]

It may not be full blown, partake every-day addiction right now but you're well on the way to it, and have a serious problem.  Drinking alone is a sign of either addiction or impending addiction also, within reason.  Save the occasional beer or something after work, one does not normally drink vodka on their own in any decent amounts.  You're already craving prescription drugs or vodka in-between your occasional bouts of them.  Being unable to say no is a huge sign that there's a problem.  For example, I'm trying to eat clean in preparation for a tournament where I have to make a certain weight.  Do I crave burgers and chocolate, you bet I do!  Can I go into a store or walk past a fast food joint without buying either?  Yup!  You no longer have the ability to say no according to your post.  If you see it, you must have it.  And that's a very real problem. 

Are you aware that the weekly limit for alcohol is 14 units a week with no more than 3 units a day?  Just one shot of vodka around 25ml (if it's around 37-40% which many are) is 1 unit.  So strictly speaking you shouldn't have more than three of those shots in one day.  Are you drinking more than this?  Does you weekly amount exceed 14 units?  If either are correct you could well be damaging your liver.  And that's without even getting to the Klonopins.  They're addictive and lead to dependence very easily.  It's dangerous to prescribe them for 4 weeks or more.  You develop a tolerance each time you take them by minimising the receptors that bind with it which means that you end up needing more to get a buzz and then if you don't get them you can go into withdrawal which can be bad enough to cause seizures.  Long term use can also lead to depression, or worsening depression if already present.

You should talk to you mum and/or seek professional help.  It's dangerous to take illegal substances or alcohol to ease dysphoria.  For one, alcohol is one of the worst things you could take because alcohol is actually a depressant!  And like I said, long term use of Klonopins can lead to depression itself, without the added issue of your dysphoria.  What you're going through is definitely not uncommon but you've made the first step by addressing it. Even just in questioning whether it's an addiction is your brain admitting there's a problem; if you didn't have a problem, you wouldn't need to ask if you had an addiction.

Please seek some professional help, and best of luck!

[Danielle Emmalee]

It may not be full blown, partake every-day addiction right now but you're well on the way to it, and have a serious problem.  Drinking alone is a sign of either addiction or impending addiction also, within reason.  Save the occasional beer or something after work, one does not normally drink vodka on their own in any decent amounts.  You're already craving prescription drugs or vodka in-between your occasional bouts of them.  Being unable to say no is a huge sign that there's a problem.  For example, I'm trying to eat clean in preparation for a tournament where I have to make a certain weight.  Do I crave burgers and chocolate, you bet I do!  Can I go into a store or walk past a fast food joint without buying either?  Yup!  You no longer have the ability to say no according to your post.  If you see it, you must have it.  And that's a very real problem. 

Are you aware that the weekly limit for alcohol is 14 units a week with no more than 3 units a day?  Just one shot of vodka around 25ml (if it's around 37-40% which many are) is 1 unit.  So strictly speaking you shouldn't have more than three of those shots in one day.  Are you drinking more than this?  Does you weekly amount exceed 14 units?  If either are correct you could well be damaging your liver.  And that's without even getting to the Klonopins.  They're addictive and lead to dependence very easily.  It's dangerous to prescribe them for 4 weeks or more.  You develop a tolerance each time you take them by minimising the receptors that bind with it which means that you end up needing more to get a buzz and then if you don't get them you can go into withdrawal which can be bad enough to cause seizures.  Long term use can also lead to depression, or worsening depression if already present.

You should talk to you mum and/or seek professional help.  It's dangerous to take illegal substances or alcohol to ease dysphoria.  For one, alcohol is one of the worst things you could take because alcohol is actually a depressant!  And like I said, long term use of Klonopins can lead to depression itself, without the added issue of your dysphoria.  What you're going through is definitely not uncommon but you've made the first step by addressing it. Even just in questioning whether it's an addiction is your brain admitting there's a problem; if you didn't have a problem, you wouldn't need to ask if you had an addiction.

Please seek some professional help, and best of luck!

just a slight common misconception in there.  A depressant is not the opposite of an antidepressant as the name may suggest.  It really refers to a nervous system depressant, or the opposite of a stimulant which increases nervous system functioning (i.e. Speed, Caffeine).  It doesn't make you emotionally depressed chemically, if it did, people would likely never have started drinking alcohol at all.  Another common one that proves this point is morphine, nobody gets more depressed on morphine, if you've ever taken it you know this, yet it is probably one of the strongest legal (when prescribed) depressants.  Just a bit of drug education for all y'all who didn't know. 

[Mr.X]

It is very hard to answer this question because the word 'addiction' is hard to define, and varies from person to person. Also an alcohol addiction is not defined in units. For a huge 150kg guy, 14 units may mean nothing while for a tiny 50kg guy, 14 units are overkill. It means nothing.

But look at the definition of addiction:

"the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. "

So the only person who can answer this question is Mosnar. Is drinking alcohol a habit for you? Do you tend to use it everytime you are feeling down? Do you feel physical effects when you do not drink for a long while? Can you easily control the urge?
I believe one can consider an addiction when it really becomes a habit, and alters your surroundings as in, it influences you as a person, how you act and what you do on a daily/weekly basis. If it does not control any of this and only happens randomly, then it can be seen as a very unhealthy hobby, I'd say.

[Jack_M]

Yes but it still leads to depression.  Morphine leads to a depressive/down phase in most individuals too.  Elation is the immediate side effect but as the elation wears off, that leads to a depressive state.  People coming down off alcohol or morphine often get emotional and upset.  The body reacts immediately to the effects that alcohol tries to induce.  People get more active, energetic and expressive in an attempt to keep the body at natural levels it's used to and some.  As the person tires, the depressive portion of the drug takes over and it leads to everything slowing down, so they go from a hyper state to slowed depressive state, all energy being drained and generally feeling drained.  This is where the depressive state can take hold.  We all know the people who get emotional when they drink, that's the alcohol.  It worsens depression because people rely on the hit their body gets to counter the effects of the alcohol and when the slow part happens, the depression sneaks in but with the individual having less control over it than if they weren't drunk. Basically as the blood alcohol content rises it causes elation, but as it falls it finally acts as the sedative depressant and causes fatigue, lethargy and, yup, depression. 

It's not the hit that's the worrying part, it's the come down.

[Danielle Emmalee]

Yes but it still leads to depression.  Morphine leads to a depressive/down phase in most individuals too.  Elation is the immediate side effect but as the elation wears off, that leads to a depressive state.  People coming down off alcohol or morphine often get emotional and upset.  The body reacts immediately to the effects that alcohol tries to induce.  People get more active, energetic and expressive in an attempt to keep the body at natural levels it's used to and some.  As the person tires, the depressive portion of the drug takes over and it leads to everything slowing down, so they go from a hyper state to slowed depressive state, all energy being drained and generally feeling drained.  This is where the depressive state can take hold.  We all know the people who get emotional when they drink, that's the alcohol.  It worsens depression because people rely on the hit their body gets to counter the effects of the alcohol and when the slow part happens, the depression sneaks in but with the individual having less control over it than if they weren't drunk. Basically as the blood alcohol content rises it causes elation, but as it falls it finally acts as the sedative depressant and causes fatigue, lethargy and, yup, depression. 

It's not the hit that's the worrying part, it's the come down.

Any addictive substance causes depression when its effects wear off.  Doesn't make them all depressants.  That was the point I was making.  Depressant does not equal depressed, withdrawal and returning to the real world = depressed.  You were using the classification of the drug as an depressant to make it seem like clearly its called a depressant so it will make you depressed.  That is the incorrect notion that I was pointing out.

[Jack_M]

But clinically speaking depressants do lead to depressive states. Different people handle it differently but one manifestation is depression, that's why they're really bad for anyone with a reason to be depressed (e.g. dysphoria) because it heightens the likelihood of being depressed during that depressive state. That's why I stated it as being one of the worst to take for someone using it to try and counter dysphoria. I'm not talking about the come down off addiction, this is the normal BAC come down that always happens after drinking.

[Devlyn]

Mosnar, I'm an alcoholic. I haven't drank since 1986, but I'm still an alcoholic, I still have an addiction.

I quit when I realized I was drinking because I had to, not because I wanted to. Addiction is giving up control of yourself to a substance or activity, you don't want that. Take your life back. Hugs, Devlyn






Jack & Alice, I can split the topic so you may continue to discuss classification and effects of drugs, or we can stay on topic and offer advice to the OP.

[LordKAT]

Addiction is the craving or need, not whether or not you use. You could use everyday and not be addicted.

[DriftingCrow]

Mosnar, you should try to see if there's some sort of addiction center near where you live. It might be helpful to explain your feelings and see where things go from there. If you're under 21 and already believe that you may have a drinking problem, it's only going to become worse once you do turn 21 and have easy access to the liquor store. There's addiction centers that cater to young people, you might feel more comfortable at a place like that than an AA or NA meeting. Look around, what's the worst that can happen?

And, if you feel this is stemming from dysphoria, you should look for a gender therapist, if you haven't already. The best way to deal with a problem is to go right to the source.

[FTMDiaries]

Firstly, I must congratulate you on realising that you should even ask this question. The first (and most difficult) step with any addiction is realising that you may have a problem.

Addiction is the craving or need, not whether or not you use. You could use everyday and not be addicted.

^ This. The craving is the addiction... or a sign that it's on its way. As is the fact that you feel you need alcohol or drugs to be normal or happy.

I am not a doctor, but I think it's possible that you are experiencing 'binge drinking', which is often a precursor to full-blown alcohol or drug dependency. 'Binge drinking' means going for reasonable periods of time without drinking, and then drinking heavily in one big session, followed by another period without drinking. The same can happen with some drugs. And yes, it is a type of addictive behaviour.

I urge you to address this before it spirals out of control. Binge drinking is actually more dangerous than full-blown alcoholism so please see your doctor or a local alcohol support group. And as LearnedHand said, please try to work on the cause of your unhappiness, rather than the symptom. Alcohol doesn't make the dysphoria go away; it just gives you yet another problem to tackle.

[Ltl89]

If you crave a drug, you are an addict.  Believe me, I say this with no judgement.  I have my own demons in this area and continue to battle them every single day.  I may not have indulged in a while and may not have ever taken anything seen as hardcore, but I will always be an addict.  It's important to understand this because it makes recovery much more challenging if you don't.

Please remember, prescription drugs are not harmless.  They sometimes are the most dangerous and addicting drugs which I learned the hard way.