Previously on this blog I’ve asked the question “Are you an Alcoholic or a Dipsomaniac?”. In that post I touched on what defined a dipsomaniac but today I thought it was worth expanding on some more, just to make sure I understand what I think I might be, which is:
a dipsomaniac.
But what is a dipsomaniac?
Is it someone who’s crazy about going for lots of quick, short swims?
Is it someone who enjoys rollercoasters but with an inordinate amount of their satisfaction coming from the “Weeeeee we’re going down now!!” part of the ride?
Or is a dipsomaniac someone who takes near erotic pleasure from checking the car engine oil?
“Hmmm. Might need half a litre? Better fill her up until she’s over the line. Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!”
Actually, no, no and….no. A dipsomaniac is none of those things. A dipsomaniac is someone who drinks alcohol. A lot. A lot of alcohol drinker is a dipsomaniac. You would say a dipsomaniac suffers from dipsomania which is defined thus in my dictionary:
dipsomania |ˌdipsəˈmānēə|
noun
alcoholism, specifically in a form characterized by intermittent bouts of craving for alcohol.
A dipsomaniac suffers from dipsomania which is a form of alcoholism. Therefore, going by this definition a dipsomaniac is a form of alcoholic.
That means, drum roll….
I am a form of alcoholic.
But don’t worry, unlike the full-blown Alcoholic the form of alcoholic I have taken is a socially acceptable form. I am the type of alcoholic who drinks every week (before my YOLS) but doesn’t think he has a habit; I am the type of alcoholic who drinks to heighten life’s highs and smooth over life’s rough and boring bits; I am the type of alcoholic nobody admits to being:
A part-time Alky.
But maybe that’s okay? Maybe a dipsomaniac can live a whole life just fine as only a bit of an alcoholic? And though I know many full-time alcoholics describe anyone who has any kind of urging to drink alcohol ever as an Alcoholic, I do not think of myself as a capital ‘A’ Alcoholic. I think of myself as a dipsomaniac, a capital ‘D’ Dipsomaniac.
Sure, by my own admission that is someone who suffers from ‘a form of alcoholism’ but I think there is an important—if slight—difference between the two; I do not consider myself an alcoholic because of my…
‘intermittent bouts of craving for alcohol’
When I was drinking alcohol I rarely drank before lunch time and I would occasionally have Monday or Tuesday (a couple of times both!) completely boozefree. Therefore, according to the definition, I am a dipsomaniac because I don’t (didn’t) drink all day every day but I do crave a drink intermittently.
Before my YOLS the ‘intermittent’ status of my cravings was what saved me from having to admit to myself I had any kind of problem with booze. My thinking was, and still sometimes is, “I’m not a proper, capital A alcoholic because I didn’t/don’t drink in bed; I wasn’t/am not an alcoholic because I have never wee’d in my pants (though drinking multiple pints of beer in London then catching the tube home led to many close calls); and I wasn’t an alcoholic because I had that belated weekend off, those two nights of the week I spent sober.
Two out of seven sober days? Hmmm, that means five out of seven nights drinking? Oh, wait—maybe I was a little more attached to drinking than I cared to admit.
Come to think of it I would occasionally even drink booze in bed too. I seem to remember finishing a stubbie in bed a couple of times—while winding down from a late gig, or after a party, or when the footy was finished and I was still going on a six-pack or…
Oh.
And pre-YOLS I also caught myself debating about whether to go to a party or function if there wasn’t going to be alcohol served. More than once I gave considered thought to how long it would be until I got home from said teetotaler occasions and would be able to open a bottle of wine.
But that’s normal isn’t it. Everyone loves a drink now and then. Don’t they? I mean, only intermittently.
My name is Ben and I’m a dipsomaniac.
Today is Day 229 of my Year Of Living Sober.
☆
Little Booze Joke
A dipsomaniac walks into a bar and the barman says “You again?”
What about you? Are you a bit of a dipsomaniac too? Or do you find labels too restrictive? Love to get your comment.
Dear Ben The Dipsomaniac…..
I Think you should start a group DA “Dipsomaniac Anonymous”
They Would Be Packed!!
I my self now have a New Name for me…. There are “Moderators Or Absentanor ”
I am a “Absentanor” yes i think i just made that word Up!!!
”
I am a All or Nothing Girl and i realize now that The “Moderators Try and change us “Absentanors” and say surely you can have just one and i now say…..
I wont Try and Change You To never let Alcohol to touch your lips …. “Blasphemy
Found This Little Ditty For The “Moderators”
Is “all things in moderation” your motto? Really? Razorblade to your wrist in moderation? Slam your penis in a car door in moderation? Salad fork plunged into your eye in moderation?
I have a dream.
I dream of a world where Alcoholic and Dipsomaniac get along; where ‘Abstainer’ and ‘Moderator’ understand their differences; where Drinker and Non-drinker respect the other’s right to swallow or not.
And in my dream I won’t be slamming my dick in any car door. Not even once.
There’s another definition: someone who is dippy!
Yes? No. Okay then!
I guess a dipsomaniac could also be prone to binge drinking, if those cravings are brought on suddenly and intensely.
Reflecting on my own drinking habits, I don’t think I am even a dipsomaniac. I haven’t had a drink for five weeks and I have no desire to do so. Having tonsillitis kinda kills that desire as well!
Again, I think I “fall” out of habit. Come Friday afternoon and everyone’s pumped up for the weekend. It’s a trigger and makes me think, “Yeah, Friday afternoon! Weekend is almost here! Time for ritualistic drinking!”
Because every other day of the week I don’t even think of alcohol.
Habits are a bitch as well. Same as when I was smoking. I used to do afternoon/evening shifts. So I’d have my first cigarette at 3pm, then 5pm, then 7pm, then 9pm when I finished the shift. And I didn’t smoke any other time, not even the weekend. When I went to uni, I had no money and therefore could not buy them anymore because of the flush amounts of money I was getting from Austudy. I remember the first two weeks or so, come 3pm each work day and I was feeling a bit lost, didn’t know what to do, felt something was amiss, etc.
Anyway, what was the point I was going to make??
I forget!
Five weeks! Without thinking about it? That’s more than I can go. I mean the ‘thinking about it’ part. Sorry to hear about the tonsillitis but as I read in my Twitter feed the other day “Problems are messages”, so according to that philosophy your throat was just sending you a message. In this case perhaps as simple a message as: make me a lemon and honey tea (or something else soothing)!
Thanks for sharing about your smoking too. I smoked for a while. Socially. Anti-socially. Bi-socially.
And I’m asthmatic, so how crazy is that?
Crazy. Like a bad habit, crazy.
Dippy you might say.
I, uh, remembered something. It hasn’t been five weeks, because somewhere during that time it was my b’day and I went out and I had a few drinks and I didn’t enjoy it. Shouldn’t have bothered while I was still feeling blargh.
Crazy diamond, that’s what you are.
Happy Birthday, Bron! (Though, I’m pretty sure I already wished you that somewhere in the social media maelstrom).
How authentic are you, hey? Not many people would bother to correct their own comment. It’s days like this I remember why blogging is so much fun.
You ‘meet’ the nicest people
Hi Ben
It’s good to read your blog.
I have some thoughts on the definition of ‘dipsomanic’….
I don’t really agree with labels etc, as each one of us is unique, but for me, there are several ‘distinct’ types of alcoholic:
1) Someone who is completely unable to control their drinking and (usually) suffers from both mental and physical withdrawal symptons if they do not drink. ie. they get up in the morning and have to drink at the earliest opportunity; they continue to drink until they go to bed again. If you like, this is what I would consider to be ‘chronic alcoholism’
2) Someone who is able to abstain from alcohol (with some effort), but once they have one drink, their resolve is loosened. It’s the old adage, “One drink is too many, 100 is not enough”. They are unable – or really struggle – to control how much they drink once they start; they ‘get a taste for it’. Personally, this is how I would define dipsomania.
3) Someone who does not drink all the time – and unlike number 2 – can, from time to time, enjoy a moderate alcohol intake. But when certain triggers are present – anxiety, work stresses, social events, relationship issues, even boredom etc – they have to have a drink to feel ok again. I believe that this is also some form of alcohol dependency, but that unlike number 1, the person can probably return to normal, moderate drinking over time – as long as the triggers are addressed and understood.
I am sure there are many other ‘types of alcoholic’ too, but these three always come to my mind, because I know I am somewhere between numbers 2 and 3, but am not number 1. I think this is true for a lot of people and hence why it is so difficult for many to acknowledge they have a problem with alcohol. So often, people assume that it is only those who fall under the number 1 category that have an issue with alcohol, but actually, if you regularly fall into the number 2 or 3 category then maybe you need to take a step back and have a think….
Just my thoughts….others may disagree…..but it is how I understand my position in relation to alcohol.
Greetings from London by the way!
Thanks for your comment (Archie?)
I think you’ve done a great job making those three distinctions between the categories of alcohol dependency. Going by those I may not be a dipsomaniac (with or without a capital ‘A’) after all. I too probably fall (or fell) most regularly between 2 and 3, maybe even favouring the three side. For me it was (pre-YOLS) how regularly I was drinking, as much as the quantity which became the issue I wanted to address. And though I never really felt like I HAD to drink to feel okay (whether at a work function or social event—or sitting on the couch in front of the telly) I did PREFER to drink.
This break from the booze has given me a very useful perspective on my habit, not to mention been fun to write about.
Hope you are enjoying a nice London summer. I enjoyed many years there celebrating the sunshine with a pint or two!
Hi my name is Ben and I’m a category 2 Dipsomaniac…well I was! 5 more days and I will have bedded 5#mols!
Hi Ben.
Thanks for dropping by.
Big congratulations on your coming 5 MOLS milestone!
I think these distinctions are really good. I was definitely a category 2 alcy/dipsomaniac during four years of living in London. I could go days, sometimes a week or two without a drink (to take antibiotics or whatever) but it took a lot of willpower and I didn’t enjoy it. During the week I could have a couple of beers or glasses of wine but I pretty much got smashed every weekend. So even though I was never a number 1 drunk, I definitely had a problem.
I eventually came back to Sydney and went to rehab to get off booze (and other stuff) because I didn’t have the willpower to do it on my own. I never had any physical withdrawal symptoms. I hate using the A word because even though the doctors at rehab would say I was an alcoholic, I still just think of myself as an ex really, really big drinker with a problem (a dipsomaniac?). I went to AA meetings in the early days of my sobriety but I didn’t feel I belonged there or needed the support from it so I’ve never been back.
Before I moved to London I only drank on the weekends. So basically I blame English drinking culture for my insufficient self control when it comes to booze! (Not really, but sometimes.)
Great blog! Great conversation. One that needs to be had.
Thanks very much for your comment Vanessa. Living in London actually started me off on the regular nights OFF the piss too. I used to work as a music promoter and though beer was often part of my payment I decided I needed all my wits about me when dealing with heaps of musicians, punters and tech guys too (well, I mostly did the sound mixing, but sometimes I delegated others!) so I made sure not to have any booze when I was working at the pub. It sounds funny making a big deal about not drinking at work (something most people never do) but anyone who’s worked in hospitality will know the temptation is always there. And for me, that was when I finally learned that just because something is free it doesn’t come without a cost.
Woah, all philosophical all of a sudden. Innit.
And yeah, I agree, let’s keep this conversation going…
Interesting distinctions. Probably a lot of people fall into number 3 and then a trigger can shoot them up the ladder, or they are blissed out by meditating and fall into 4, or whatever would fall below 3:)
Never heard of the word dipsomaniac before I read this blog. I’m on Day 57 of 30 of no wine. Actually I’m going for 60 now:) Taking time off any type of habit allows you to see how deeply ingrained that habit truly is/was, or isn’t as the case may be. One of my primary reasons for taking a vino break has to do with calories. You start adding up the calories per glass, per week, and it’s like, wow, is that really worth it, is that in alignment with my fitness goals? I’m pleased to say I have lost some weight and that its made me more conscious of how drinking a glass of wine should really be that the majority of the time. A glass:)
Nice one, Deanne. Looks like you’re gonna get 60 no worries.
Like you, I appreciate the benefits of not having so many ‘empty calories’ (as my old Phys Ed teacher called all processed food & bev with no nutritional value). However, my choc-marshmallow biscuit intake has recently gotten out of control and as of today I am re-focussed on not replacing the missing sugar (from zero vino intake) with sweet snacks.
Replacement Sugar Delivery seems to be an ongoing battle for me on this YOLS and has been a good eye-opener as to the other ‘hits’ booze was giving me back before I started my year off.
Happy Day 58 (if you read this in time—in retrospect if you don’t!) wine-free
Well…..we learn something new everyday. Thanks for the new word.
You’re welcome, Lorre. I need to learn and use new words in order to express myself fully.
Also, I think I am a sciolist.
If I used that right?
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This blog was written on June 26th, 2012. It was Ben’s 229th day of Living Sober, and my 3rd.
Nice.
It is now my 233rd day, and I feel great!