Hello.
Hi. I'm 31. I have a wonderful wife, an 8 month-old adorable son, a great career, awesome family... and a horrible drinking problem.
It started in high school. Then college. What a mess. A young, budding alcoholic's dream come true. I knew by then that I was "different" than most of my friends, even if we all got smashed all the time. I truly craved it. I gravitated to other like-minded people, and we fueled our bodies with the good stuff.
I met my wife after college, and we partied together through our twenties. I somehow went to law school, graduated and landed a good job.
I have limped by without too many consequences from my drinking. The last few years I do most of my drinking on the weekends, and dry out during the week. I'm a beer guy these days. I can down 12 buds on a sunday afternoon, no problem.
I have a lot of guilt, anxiety, shame... It's been quite a few years that I've known I have a problem, and I've refused to do anything about it. I've gone 1-2 months without drinking, but that's the most.
I'm worried about my health and long-term consequences. I love my wife and son so incredibly much; I cannot believe I would do anything that might jeopardize my time with them.
I've read that you need to hit a bottom before you'll be ready to quit. Is that true? I don't want to hit a bottom. There's too many good things in life that I'm missing out on, so that I can sit home and get drunk.
I'm also considering some private therapy/counseling. I've read enough about AA to say no thanks. No offense to anyone who's into AA, I know it's an awesome program for some. So, could private therapy help? I've never done anything like that, so have no idea what to expect.
Well, I registered here, so I'll be checking in and reading up. Thanks to anyone who actually made it through my long, rambling post.