Am I an alcoholic if I want to drink in the morning? (Who cares about if its 5 pm somewhere)

At this point Im starting to think it doesn’t matter what time I have a drink. I’m classified as a heavy drinker but I’m still responsible and I get my shit done but these days I feel like I need something to keep me going because when sober I feel too hopeless. Can people drink a lot and still be productive? I used to smoke cigarettes and weed a lot but that feels like nothing now. Harder drugs feel like the answer. I stopped taking opioids cuz I know that would mess me up in the long run but fuck what else can I take to help me get through whatever?