Originally Posted by
oinobares 
What I once enjoyed optionally and voluntarily I began to chase obsessively, and every day there was a little burning ember in my brain pan that would not go away. Heading out to the park with the kids? Well, give me a second sweetie while I check something in the basement and shotgun a few beers or chug from the bottle to tamp down that ember a bit so I can "enjoy" our outing. Oh, and would you mind driving?
Whoa. The last 3 months I was, for the most part, keeping my drinking hidden, from my wife in particular, but most everyone. It was suppose to be just a few beers after work and that was it. Just to "put out the tiny fires in my head" as I called it.