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In the UK people tend not to use the term alcoholic in a formal setting. They'll talk about dependant drinking or problem drinking or binge drinking. A person
by DanBC 6y ago
In the UK people tend not to use the term alcoholic in a formal setting. They'll talk about dependant drinking or problem drinking or binge drinking.
A person can regularly binge drink, but not be dependant on alcohol.
- nate_meurer 6y agoIf by "not be dependant" you mean "I can quit any time", I think only an unreformed alcoholic would strongly agree. Even if you could arrange a definition of dependence such that it doesn't apply to a regular problem drinker, then I think the term loses it's utility. The physiology and psychology of dependence is an interesting topic, but the disease of substance abuse IS the problematic behavior. EDIT: I had to clean this up a bunch, apologies for the butchered first attempt.