alcoholic or....?

hi, im me...im 24. just recently moved to hawaii, I've been saving up for years, am a licensed massage therapist and an artist. something I've realized growing up, i might be who your thinking i am... big personality, super emotional, passionate for the environment and ocean, blah blah... anyways, moved here with my boyfriend of 5 years and left my mom dad and 19 yr old sister back in california where they were all living together. so bottom line....i was adopted, my birth mom is an alcoholic, i don't know how much genes have to do with things, heres a little backstory:

I'm super emotional, I've always been "mature" adults tell me. i was in therapy from 12-19 years old.. a few times in my twenties maybe too. my mom who i actually grew up with, my REAL mom, not my birth mom, says i feel things on a 10 when they're really a 5. she has ALWAYS advocated for me, i never had to even do P.E. class because shed make up some excuse. she is wonderful, so loving and caring, she really only cares about MY feelings, no matter how irrational, she will advocate for them and support me UNLESS she actually has an opinion on it, if she has her own view on it she won't see yours at all. so the 5-10 scale thing she says i only feel 10s and up on, well, i always said thats people pretending they don't feel it that way, or acting like its a 5 when its a 10. you know, not being totally honest. well i get now that yeah, I'm a little intense, but not totally to HER extent, she is after all, in a lot of "physical pain" so taking ATIVAN (highly addictive) xanax, hydrocodone, and even liquid morphine with a mouth syringe... but that started when i was around 14, or at least thats when i noticed it, MAYBE 13, its all fuzzy for me because i started taking it too.. anyways, i went away when i was 13, got diagnosed bi polar after being "examined" in a center in texas, bipolar is like....NEVER diagnosed in a child that young, only adults really, and i really am just not bi polar..i eventually got it taken off my records, because it simply isn't true. which says a lot to me about the system and how treatment centers are controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. i don't take much of a stance on that, my life really isn't involved with any of that anymore.

i focus on nature, my studies, and relationships, my beloved family and the world around me and whatever i can do to better it and help it. Yes i am a passionate person, yes i feel other people and it gets to me, it depresses me sometimes if I'm not holding myself together, but the upside to that is why i make a great therapist and that is why i am able to create art. this is why i can understand people so well and love them better.

my question is...what is alcoholism really..and this is a dumb question because I've been through the twelve steps with NA, narcotics anonymous...i don't use anymore, but i do enjoy drinking. i actually love it, if i can, and i mean if i have money for some nice wine or a bottle be and whoever I'm with would enjoy together, id do it daily. i don't use anymore, i have even taken some of my old vices "medically" and worked through it without totally relapsing. my mom still offers me whatever i need based on whatever i tell her in our phone calls and visits. is it normal for your mom to hand you a baggy of pills secretly over dinner? she really honestly has good intentions. she completely denied my NA step program. i did it all on my own. so now that i drink, honestly...mostly every day, now that i live in a different state, my mom can't give me medicine...i smoke weed regularly and legally for anxiety and depression, not stopping that anytime soon... but now in hawaii my car won't be here for a few weeks and i got a job already at a great place, i do barista and convenient store type stuff along with massage where i can legitimately, so I'm working, my partner isn't yet, he used to make ALOT on mainland 45 an hour, theres none of his work around here. anyways I'm still cooking, cleaning our little jungle studio every day. we have no car and i noticed him getting lazy and smoking a lot. i mean i drink. he drinks beers, i drink my liquor or wine. when i drink wine its the whole bottle... tonight i drank a 12.6 or 275 ml of rum, over the course of the entire night but my bf said "oh i didn't drink any of that!" and it was like ugh.. cuz that always happens. he drinks BEERS. he is a lightweight too, so he doesn't need much. I'm just worried why do i need so much to get on a good one? do i have an issue? i definitely drink when I'm stressed or have bad days or even good days haha, but i just find myself drinking along a lot, at least in my relationship..at what point is it medicinal and at what point is it an issue? i don't lose it if i don't drink, if i don't have it i can still go and have a great time. but i still think about it. not sure where I'm totally at with this, just shared a lot of my story, looking to see what comes back from perspectives who don't know me so well.

I'm not here to judge, but that's drinkin an aweful lot. My suggestion, lay off the sauce for a while see how it goes. And asking if it's normal for your mom to give u a baggy of pills to self medicate? I'm gonna have to say no.

Sounds very much like your mother would have a place in NA. I can understand your concerns about the drinking and the environment you are in. Mon the one hand it sounds like a very nice life. On the other, could be very enabling for both you and your BF to become enmeshed In Addiction. Generally, as you would know from NA, people seek help when their lives become unmanageable because of their drinking or drug use.

My experience with all drugs is that they are for dealing with stress.

My experience as a 19 year old was that drinking alcohol to cope with feeling nervous made things easier, and I didn't feel that bad afterwards.

In my 30s, I would say alcohol causes me to become quite unstable and feel terrible for a couple of days afterward. But the habit is there.

The reason is the same: it seems to help with stress. Except it doesn't.

The challenge has been to find other ways to deal with the stress. And not just even major stressful stuff. Just that feeling at the end of the day that 'I deserve a break' has become closely associated with alcohol.

Getting on the 18hr flight to Hawaii in 2 days oh the joy. I've dealt with alcoholic's my whole life. Even though sometimes it creeps up on you. If you are questioning it or if someone else is you probably have a problem. The other thing if you ever come to that conclusion is do you even want to stop? Any action has to be made for yourself. Good luck

Since you're prone to being addicted to things, then I think it's wise to start questioning your daily use of alcohol. Start by educating yourself about the effects of alcohol on your body by reading articles or library books. Think about how others in your circle will be affected on how it affects them. I know I've read of grown children who would speak of parents who weren't "present" with them, even when in the same room. It does alter who you are with others, whether you think so or not.

Alcoholism runs on one side of my family. I now have a brother, a cousin and a cousin's daughter who have all been sober for many years. They constantly speak of how much more wonderful their lives are now that alcohol is no longer a part of their lives. You might think you're enjoying life now with daily drinks, but it's a nasty magic trick. You need it like you need a hole in your head. Think about what type of partner you have and if you're enabling each other. Time to take control of your life before it puts you in a chokehold. Good luck.

Sorry to say but the trajectory you and your bf are on with weed and drinking and marginal employment won't end well. What's the point of living in paradise when you both create a personal hell?