Filling the mental void
Hello one and all, this is my first post after lurking for quite some time and getting great advice and help.
My story is I began drinking when I turned 21, and had never touched the stuff prior to that. It all just kind of spiraled downhill, to the point where I was almost killing off a 12 pack every night. Needless to say, this had a very adverse affect on my college career and my personal relationships began to suffer greatly. I had to take time off from school, lost a couple of girlfriends who really cared about me, and my health wasn't really all that great.
Fast forward to today, where at the age of 25 I have finally decided I've put myself through enough. I want to gain control over the bottle, as I now fully admit it has control over me at this point. I've returned to school and my last semester (first one back) I got good grades. However, I found myself struggling at times trying to cope with life without a beer.
Activities that I used to associate with drinking (playing video games, watching my favorite TV shows, going out to a sports bar to catch the game) just seem so... empty now. I've actually found myself battling the urge to go to the store and buy a 6 pack before I watch the week's episode of 24, or while I am about to fire up my favorite XBox game.
My question to all of you is how is it that you dealt with doing activities that you tended to associate with drinking and not have the urge to drink again? I do not want my college career to be affected any more, and I want to take back my life. If any of you could offer some coping mechanisms, that would be great.