alcohol, anxiety, cutting down & quitting

[checkmate1]

Hi,
I used to drink heavily for about 9 years. Mainly heavy beer pretty much everyday and I'd drink more on the weekend. On an average week I'd drink about 60 standard drinks. Some weeks more some weeks less.

After getting some results from a liver function test I decided that it was time to decrease my drinking or stop. I decided to take between 2-4 days off drinking a week and switch to light beers.

For the last year and a half I have stayed on the light beers and cut my drinking down to between 15 to 28 standard drinks a week. I still take a minimum of 2 days off a week.

I occasionally binge maybe up to 15 standard drinks in a day a couple of times a month. In those weeks I drink maybe 30-35 standards a week. Most days I'm pretty good drinking 4 standards a day for a few days and a couple of days around 8 to 10 and 2 days off and that's my week. I know this because each day I record how much I drink so I know when I need to cut back.

If I've been drinking to much in a certain week I take more days off the booze and that's the way it is and has been the last year and a half.

I've thought about quitting many times I've tried AA which I didn't like and councilers that didn't help either. I drink by myself regularly and need to drink socially because of my social anxiety. I pretty much like to drink because it helps me feel confident to fit in and feel comfortable around my peers otherwise I'm shy and get embarassed easily and start avoiding social situations all together if i don't drink. And I drink by myself because I like to relax on my own and listen to music.

I also quit smoking ciggarettes about the same time as I was decreasing my drinking and have not smoked for 16 months. I also smoked marijuarna off and on and haven't smoked it for around 3 years and never want to go near the stuff again. So my only thing I have left is drinking light beers. I enjoy it and cutting down to the low alcohol beer has benefited me in many ways compared to the heavy stuff.

I'm not sure if I should quit all together or just keep going the way I'm going. I think that I still drink to much and that I could be damaging myself and I think about this alot. Should I consider going to a rehab and going through some sort of program would that be beneficial and dry out completely and see how I feel after that. I've checked out some rehabs and think that might be the go but still I'm just not sure what I'm going to do. When I have days off the alcohol I don't get any unpleasant feelings or DT's.

[Bamboozle]

Only you can decide if you have a problem...


Welcome to SR! Keep reading! There are a lot of true life stories that may help to answer some of your questions. In the Alcoholism forum, there are stickies at the top-- that would be a good place to start. You can find answers as to what you can expect when you withdraw. Be careful! Detoxing without medical supervision can be dangerous for some.

[rurdy2rk]

Welcome to SR. As Bamboozle said, only you can make the decision if you have a problem. Speeking from my personal experience, there came a time when all of a sudden I lost control of how much I drank. The main thing that concerns me is that you are counting every drink you take, so in my opinion you are already beleiving you have a problem. Please do not take this as an attach - just the way I interpreted your post. If you don not mind me asking, why did you not like AA or your counselors?

Tom

[felly79]

Hi and welcome to SR. Rehab couldnt hurt if it sounds to you like it would help you, I would say go for it.

[51anna]

Hi and Welcome,

I needed to find other ways to relax by myself, than drinking, and other ways to feel comfortable in social situations. For me, I stopped going out so much, and I no longer went out to functions that I 'should' attend. That helped me a lot. For myself alone, I have found that meditating, listening to music, getting caught up in a good book, really help me to relax.

If you decide to stop drinking, it's a good idea to talk to your dr first. It sounds to me like you're spending a lot of time and energy thinking about your drinking. That's what I did when I tried to control my drinking - I obsessed about it and it was actually a relief to just stop.

[mle-sober]

Checkmate,

It sounds to me like you've got a bit of a battle going on in your head. Like one voice in your head is saying: I only drink this amount, I cut back, I can control it, AA and therapy are not for me, I need alcohol for my anxiety, I need alcohol for my relaxation at home and listening to music....

But the other voice is whispering steadily: You are drinking too much, your liver is suffering, you should stop altogther.

I know that battle. I was deeply engaged in it for 9 months before I sought help.

And here's the thing - the people on this site? We are alcoholics. We are trying our best to recover. And you came here to ask your question. To me, that indicates you want help quitting. Maybe I'm wrong. I've been wrong before. But if I'm not, do what Bamboozle recommended above and read, read, read here. It will help you clarify things. The clarity comes from you. It can't come from inside anyone else. It has to come from inside you.

Hey, good luck. Stick around.

- MLE

[CarolD]

.....Welcome to our recovery community

Something to think about....

According to the Center for Disease Control

Moderate drinking is no more than
2 drinks a day for men..1 for women

They consider a drink to be
12 oz. of beer..5 oz. of wine...1 1/2 oz liquor.

Your body and mind processes all 3 toxins equally
so drinking only wine or only liquor or only beer
or mixing them is of no importance.
They all do the same damage.