wellington

Hey guys,

I'm a 30 year-old male who's been drinking since college, but it never really caused me any serious problems. I moved to a South American country to be a professor in early 2009, and that's when the real crap started. By the time I came home to visit my fam and friends in the USA in early 2011, I was pretty much wasted all the time. Plus, there was an intense meanness that came out of me when I was drinking, and I had never had that problem before. Finally, I started going to AA while in the States, then I moved back to South America and learned somewhat to drink responsibly again, but about a month ago the ol' demon in the bottle came out and I found myself lying on the street at 4 am during the week completely wasted. So, I went back to the states for therapy and this week I returned to South America. I got back Monday night and within a few hours I was hitting the whiskey again. I drank Monday through last night until I looked in the mirror and said, "I can't go down this path again." So, tonight is yet another attempt of mine at staying clean. It's hard here, because this country in which I live is famous for its partying and drinking lifestyle. Casual drinking is just a part of life. In fact, today I saw some old dude just sipping on a cold one around 11 am. It's 11 pm right now and I know that all of my friends are out at a rock show downtown, but I know that if I go I'll crave "just one" and by the end of the night I'll be telling some strange woman that I'm in love with her or picking a fight with a friend. I can't keep doing this crap. Also, I take medication for bipolar disorder and anxiety, so mixing all of those chemicals with booze scares me. I'm here to hear advice, words of comfort and others who've had to give up the bottle. Thanks for letting me join the community.