How much is too much?

From my experience and things I have learned in recovery, it is not about how much you drink. It is about what drinking does to you. When you drink, do you find your life getting harder to understand? Do you cause people to eventually back away from you and not want to be around you as much? Do you find yourself drinking when you do not want to drink? When you drink, do you find that you drink more than you planned to drink? Can you stop every time after one or two drinks, or do you find that you get drunk on a fairly regular basis? Does it affect work, family, going places with friends and family, cost money you cant really afford to spend? These are a few sign posts to check yourself. You are the only one that truly knows if you are alcoholic or not...because you are the only one that truly knows if you have lost the ability to stop on your own.. Can you stop and stay stopped? That was the one that was my downfall. I would stop for a week or so and I would convince myself that if I were alcoholic, I would not have been able to do that...and celebrate with a 12 pk. Medical reports and doctors say that two drinks daily is unhealthy for women. That can cause medical issues after a time...and they are right...but that is not the criteria for being an alcoholic. An alcoholic is a person that has lost the ability to control and enjoy their drinking. I was told that if I had to question myself as to whether I was alcoholic or not, maybe I needed to really look at the issue. My drinking was making me uncomfortable. I found that a lot of women are alcoholic without having to lose a lot of stuff...I was not that type, but I do know that we all found that place inside of us that let us know we were missing out on the mainstream of our lives because we were drinking it away. That was a high price for a few drinks....and, without help, I could not stop doing that. Check your experience. Look at yourself and your actions and see how important alcohol is to you...and you will find your own answer.