That sounds like it has more to do with the group of people, to be honest.
In that example, if you weren't drinking, would things still go wrong with that other group?
Cos I think it depends. If problems are arising as a direct result of someone's drinking, then maybe they have a drinking problem. And if someone can't stop drinking even if they want to, then it's a problem. Those are the two main criteria, in my mind.
But in that example, I can't say either way. I'd want to know more about the person's habits, like do they drink alone? How often/how much do they drink? That kind of thing.
For me, it was a problem because drinking was coming at the expense of everything else (relationships, jobs, family, money etc). For me, a LOT of things were obviously impacted. But if only *some* aspects of life were affected, it would be harder to draw the line.
I would be asking questions like, how often do you do things you regret because of alcohol? Would you be able to stop? Are you able to socialise and function without alcohol?
Is there anything else that makes you suspect that person might have a drinking problem? (Not sure if that was just a hypothetical)
And also, people are complicated. Like, usually people already have problems, so they drink because of that, then drinking can become a problem. So sometimes, it's not just that there's a 'drinking problem', it's more like the drinking is a symptom, it's just self-medication to mask other problems.
So..eh, I dunno. Not a very definitive answer, I'm sorry.
Is there a difference between a drinking problem and being an alcoholic?
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That sounds like it has more to do with the group of people, to be honest.
In that example, if you weren't drinking, would things still go wrong with that other group?
Cos I think it depends. If problems are arising as a direct result of someone's drinking, then maybe they have a drinking problem. And if someone can't stop drinking even if they want to, then it's a problem. Those are the two main criteria, in my mind.
But in that example, I can't say either way. I'd want to know more about the person's habits, like do they drink alone? How often/how much do they drink? That kind of thing.
For me, it was a problem because drinking was coming at the expense of everything else (relationships, jobs, family, money etc). For me, a LOT of things were obviously impacted. But if only *some* aspects of life were affected, it would be harder to draw the line.
I would be asking questions like, how often do you do things you regret because of alcohol? Would you be able to stop? Are you able to socialise and function without alcohol?
Is there anything else that makes you suspect that person might have a drinking problem? (Not sure if that was just a hypothetical)
And also, people are complicated. Like, usually people already have problems, so they drink because of that, then drinking can become a problem. So sometimes, it's not just that there's a 'drinking problem', it's more like the drinking is a symptom, it's just self-medication to mask other problems.
So..eh, I dunno. Not a very definitive answer, I'm sorry.