Dean's drinking

[valoryhope]

I see a lot of comments on LJs (both communities and individuals) about Dean's alcoholism. Is he really an alcoholic, even a "functioning" alcoholic? Granted that he's often seen to drink, especially hard liquor, just how much alcohol does he actually consume? I'm really hoping that someone out there has documented each time Dean was seen to take a

Comments

[purple_carpets]

Hm...I started a rewatch over the summer and took notes on their drinking but I only got halfway through S4 and then started taking notes for S7 (plus rewatches of random episodes I enjoyed

[valoryhope]

This is very helpful!

If you have more notes on their drinking, and have a chance to access them, I'd love to see them. (Incidentally, this goes for any taste or habit that the boys have, especially Dean. The clothing post is a perfect example. At the moment, though, I happen to be obsessed with the drinking. *g*)

Thanks!

[purple_carpets]

okay, got my notes. One thing I noticed is that in S1 we see Sam drink at least twice as much as Dean. It takes five episodes before we see Dean drinking at all and even then it's only a beer while Sam has two plus a shot. Which makes sense, I guess, what with the dead girlfriend and everything.

I'm sort of busy with exams right now, but I'll try and finish the rewatch soon and come up with some sort of meaningful meta on it. Complete with graphs and everything because graphs are awesome ;)

[tracys_dream]

Sorry I don't have any facts for you but I just wanted to say that although we see Dean drinking a lot I don't consider him to be an alcoholic.

[valoryhope]

I don't either! Which is what got me started on this, since most of fandom seems convinced that he's an alcoholic. I'm glad to hear you say this, since I was getting worried that Dean was going to be kidnapped by well-meaning fangirls and dragged off to an intervention!

[tracys_dream]

Lol!

[tabaqui]

I think the only time we've actually seen Dean be 'drunk' is in 'Tall Tales', and then that's through Sam's eyes, rather than Dean's. Otherwise, I can't remember a single incident of him being so drunk that he does what Sam did, which was slur a bit and stagger around.

He is hung over once - can't think of the ep, but it's early, season one or two. He's sleeping in the car and Sam hits the horn and wakes him up and he's all 'arrgh' and sunglasses. Other than that, he either has a cast-iron head or he simply isn't drinking that much.

*or he'd maintaining a constant level so the hangover never really comes*

[valoryhope]

Other than that, he either has a cast-iron head or he simply isn't drinking that much.

Good point! People extrapolate too much from a scene or two. But it's helpful to know just how frequently these scenes do occur.

Thanks!

[chasingtides]

We don't really see him regularly drunk - I think we've only seen Dean drunk once or twice in all the episodes we have. Having a beer once a day (or sipping from a flask) isn't enough to get a man of his size drunk and wouldn't constitute a full on alcohol addiction, imo.

[valoryhope]

Good point! I'm glad you used the word *addiction*, since that's a specific problem with specific symptoms, which I haven't seen in Dean.

Thanks!

[breathesunshine]

Having lived with two alcoholics I have to point out that yes Dean is one. Just because he doesn't stubble around and slurring speech doesn't mean he isn't one.

Alcoholics are really good at drinking just enough to self medicate and still function. I think that before anyone questions if Dean is one or not that some research is done on what an alcoholic actually is and their base habits.

I've gone to a lot of classes to understand why they drink and how they go about it. I never questioned Dean, Sam, or Bobby being one. They have a lot of the classic signs.

[valoryhope]

Some very good points here. "Alcoholic" is a word that's thrown around too casually. I think I definitely have some research ahead of me to understand definitions and symptoms, when it comes to things like alcohol, drinking, addiction. (In particular, I'm confused by the concept of a "functional alcoholic", which I hear a lot. I mean, if you can function...it doesn't sound too bad! But what do I know?)

Thank you!

P.S. Apologies for taking so long to reply! Unfortunately, I've been in and out of the hospital lately. Nothing to do with alcohol! Except that I'm not supposed to drink much for a few months, while I'm taking medication for blood clots. *sigh* Life is complicated!

[ext_3946869]

I believe the reason a fuctioning alcoholic is still ab alcoholic is because they may not always be drunk but they're still dependant. They need the alcohol, they cling to it.