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Old 09-29-2012, 05:19 AM
  # 17 (permalink)  
HopingForZen
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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I also reccomend the books Under The Influence and Beyond The Influence. I read those (and Drinking: A Love Story) to try to answer that very question. Yes, I knew that alcohol had negative effects on my life. I knew that for years I had thought about quitting and engaged in all sorts of behaviors to try to control my drinking. But I also knew that I did not have DTs, did not drink in the morning, did not have any DUIs, there were lots of people worse than me, etc.

What I now believe us that I am an alcoholic (even though I still have a hard time saying that) who just realized that at an earlier stage than some other people do. Thank god I did so I am lucky enough not to have "bottomed out" and really hurt myself and others much worse in the process. That doesn't mean I'm not an alcoholic--it just means I'm a lucky SOB.

I don't think I'll ever tell anyone outside of this message board that I think I'm an alcoholic, though. (1) Because I did not hit rock bottom, people won't believe it and are likely to react defensively like your friend did. And (2) they don't need to know. I live in the South and when you say "I don't drink" most people don't bat an eyelash (they just assume you are Baptist or Church of Christ). For people who've known me for awhile and know I used to drink, I thought of saying, "it's this new Buddhist thing I've been reading about--being more in the moment. I'm just trying it out.". I think most people would TOTALLY believe that I've just been reading about something they would consider "crazy" and/or trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle and leave it at that without having to discuss it further.

And hey, it's not really their business. Why should other people care if I drink or not anyway?
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