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age
30-35,
anonymous
writes: I've never really drank alcohol before, but for some reason now I want to try it. In the past, I've only had a few sips. I never want to become an alcoholic, so I'm put off drinking it incase I like it a bit too much! Am I being stupid? How to you get to the point of being in constant need of drink?
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male
reader, Abacadaba  +, writes (18 March 2008):
 Alcohol is one of those things thats great at the time, but come morning, or when youve got your head in the toilet being sick, you say youll never do it again.
I seriously doubt youd get addicted, just dont over do it, especially considering you havent really drank before, go at your own pace, see how you feel after 1...2...3 etc.
Self control is the key, only drink 1 night a week or even 1 night a month if your worried about becoming an alcoholic.
Also, keep in mind, being drunk can make some people very hard to be with, as in they are loud, annoying, aggressive, depressing (depressing meaning they get emotional etc)
I used to drink quite alot, about £80 a week on drink, but after looking at myself and what i was like on that amount of drink, its surprising if i have 1 beer a month now.
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male
reader, anonymous, writes (18 March 2008): if you've lived a healthy vegetarian lifestyle your whole life, then trying some greasy fatty foods one day doesn't automatically give you an overeating problem.
But greasy fatty foods have a few chemical properties that tend to make your body crave more of them. The more of them you eat, the more these cravings can "kick in" and make you want still more of them. It can snowball on you.
ALcohol is like a lot of drugs. It's not necessarily a terrible thing when taken in moderation. But some people (and there is definitely an inherited disposition for this in some families) cannot handle using alcohol in moderate amounts and they get out of control with it. The process snowballs until they're wrecking their lives over the stuff and they can't go more than a few hours without it. The alcohol/drug has made them addicted and they need professional help.
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reader, anonymous, writes (18 March 2008): Just because you drink alcohol doesn't mean you will turn out to be an alcoholic. There are downsides to drinking though. For one its illegal for you age, for two even if you were old enough to purchase alcohol its ridiculously priced. Also if you've never been much of a drinker you don't know what your alcohol tolerance is, so after two or three drinks you may end up drunker than hell and getting drunk isn't fun. You get sick, you do things that get you into trouble since your sense of judgement is impaired. All kinds of bad things can come from alcohol. My father has been an alcoholic for 30 plus years and I've seen what it can do to people and I choose not to touch it. I've been drunk one time and that was more than enough for me.
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reader, anonymous, writes (18 March 2008): believe me its better to drink now while everyone else is than doing it after everyone else.you'll probably only get addicted if you start needing it to have fun/be happyi'm speakin from experience here, don't become reliant on alcohol or drugs or whatever to have fun, cos thats no fun at all. yes drink, yes get drunk with friends, just dont be the asshole who throws up and collapses, learn your limits. i've never been the person that throws up or anything because i'm yet to reach my limit, i had 20 shots of whisky and didnt even have a hangover.just keep to the boundaries between having fun and being a drunken mess and you won't get addicted. =]
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male
reader, agtorange  +, writes (17 March 2008):
 I've been drinking a few times a week since I was 14, I'm 17 now, never got addicted.
It is very fun though, so if you do it after a while your weekends might start to feel incomplete without it. But personally I don't get cravings for it, I never got addicted to smoking or anything else either though so maybe I'm just an oddball.
It depends how you handle yourself really, I can drink 12 beers and act perfectly sober, other people might get sloshed off of 3 or 4 beers, it really depends. You won't know your limitations until you've drank a few times.
So I'd suggest taking it very slowly your first couple times if you do decide to start. Doing it in moderation is the best way to do it, if you drink responsibly the odds of becoming an alcoholic are pretty slim.
Also, if you do go out drinking, might be a good idea to drink with girls, if some drunk guy sees a girl he finds attractive stumbling around he might get some wrong ideas.
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 March 2008): I drank something when I was your age (or around your age), (like twice), and I didn't become an alcoholic, and my dad was one. I do love alcohol though, but the thing is I'm not willing to waste my money on it. Plus I am on a dry campus. I have school and other things to worry about. My dad was a person who drank beer in moderation, until he got beat up in an alley and got an aneurism, and from then on, he drank more than he should've, and he ended up in a nursing home in his forties, because he ruined his health so badly with the alcohol. Anyways, somehow I think that I personally have a genetic predisposition to possibly becoming an alcoholic. When I think about alcohol I get this feeling in my brain, like, "Yeah, I want some now." Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.
Either way...look up your family history. Was anyone in your family ever an alcoholic?
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female
reader, happytochat  +, writes (17 March 2008):
In response to what spanna said, "the world would be in serious trouble if that is what happened", well actually a very large majority of society does have a drinking problem they just dont realise it.
Anyway back to your question, statistically speaking, if you start drinking as young as you are you have a high chance of developing a drinking problem when you are an adult.
However, starting to drink doesnt mean you will turn into an alcoholic, yet this is always the chance. There are things you can do to lower your chance of becoming one. For example, start off by thinking about why you actually want to drink. Do you want to drink to have fun? Do you want to drink to forget your problems? To relax? To make you less shy in social situations? Do you want to drink to fit in?
If you are going to use alcohol as a way to make you forget your problems or as a social croch (in other words, use it to make you less shy) you have a high chance of becoming dependent on alcohol. So I suggest you dont drink for these reasons because what will happen is if you drink to make you feel at ease and less shy in social situations you will find it hard to do it without alcohol and it could become a bad bad habit/addiction.
Same goes for drinking your problems away.
Also take a look at your values, and beleifs and the way you see alcohol. Depending on the way you think and your attitude will affect if you become an alcoholic. So make sure you have a healthy mind set.
I think that if you are going to start drinking young you should do your research on the effects and what could happen and so on, so you can make a educated decision. I mean did you know that. Some quotes from this website I found that you may be interested in:
"Mounting research suggests that alcohol causes more damage to the developing brains of teenagers than was previously thought, injuring them significantly more than it does adult brains."- if you drink when you are to young it can cause damage to your braind because your brain isnt fully developed yet, thats part of the reason why the legal age of drinking is 21 in the US because thats when your brain is fully developed)
"The new findings may help explain why people who begin drinking at an early age face enormous risks of becoming alcoholics. According to the results of a national survey of 43,093 adults, published yesterday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 47 percent of those who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 14 become alcohol dependent at some time in their lives, compared with 9 percent of those who wait at least until age 21."
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/health/04teen.html)
However I think that website is more so refering to teenage binge drinkers (binge being defined as someone who drinks more then 4 drinks in one session). So I guess (and im no expert) that if you drink only a bit here and there, you may not have to much of a bad effect from drinking.
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female
reader, Pinky XxX +, writes (17 March 2008):
 I've been drinking for a few years now but when i wanted to try it i was nervous of liking it too much but there is no need to worry you will like it, well depending on what you drink, and you'll be fine and will not become an alcoholic unless you drink very night, not advised!
Hope that helps Pinky XxX
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female
reader, stivi 123 +, writes (17 March 2008):
There is nothing wrong with wanting to try it as it is normal for teens to want to try it, maybe to impress their freinds, or maybe just to feel more grown up. It is more than likely that you will not become and alcholic if no body else in your family has been. Just have a go and see what you think you will not become one from your first drink.
Good luck. Stivi 123
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 March 2008): There's a certain amount of research that shows that alcoholism is in part passed on in the genes, so if either of your parents were alcoholic, there's a better than evens chance that you could be too, given the right circumstances.
But fear not! No-one becomes an alcoholic if they drink in moderation, and no more than the current guidelines for daily or weekly intake of alcohol. There's a difference between getting pissed out of your brain every night and having a social drink once in a while. Some research says that a glass of red wine every evening can be good for you. There's probably something in that - look how long the Italians live for!
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 March 2008): well im 18 and i can drink like 4 beers and not be buzzed everyone is different im from a long line of drinkers and it was never that big a deal for me even tho i dont drink regulary and havent had one in ages to me it's something i could take or leave but truthfully not everyone is like that it's been shown that if there is a history of alchoholism in your family there is a greater risk that you will become an alchoholic.back to your question "will i become an alchoholic?"maybe yes maybe no everyone is different you are a bit young tho if i were you i would wait till your at least 18
-michael
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male
reader, anonymous, writes (17 March 2008): A drunken girl is very unattractive. try drinking in moderation if you drink at all. Also alchol carries a lot of calories so be careful of weight gain. Some people become dependant on alchol because its the only time they can express themselves. Be careful if this sounds like you.
Good luck
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female
reader, Skeez +, writes (17 March 2008):
 Well I have only drank a few times and got drunk those times as well. i must say but there's a small chance you will be become an alcoholic. If you drink but have a stable life as well, there's slim chances you will get to that point. Drinking is not for everyone, so who knows, you might be one of those people.
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