ShellFly

I am 19 years old and unemployed. I have between 24 - 32 cans of larger a week. I tend to drink only 3-4 days a week and average between 8-12 cans per day. Although I rarely get drunk, just buzzed as I drink from early in the day (1-4pm) to late. I tend to mostly drink alone.

My drinking is mainly due to bordem due to my unemployment, which has been the last 1 1/2 - 2 years.

I wish I didn't drink and tell myself that I will give up every week (after its all gone, lol) but I feel if I really NEEDED to quit I would. I just drink to pass the time.

I've had a few people telling me that I need to cut down and I have a problem. My feeling is I obviously should cut down, but that my only problem is too much time, not drinking specifically.

Any opinions welcome and wanted...

EDIT: I don't really crave drink, I get my drink on Thursday usually, and drink till Saturday or Sunday. I'm then fine Monday - Wednesday, but start feeling like it Thursday again, which is just because routine I guess. I did recently have to attend a course for two weeks and in that time had no problems only drinking Friday and Saturday...

CarolD

Welcome to SR!


I wonder if the fact you are not working has anything
to do with drinking?

Alcohol can make you not care what is going on in reality.
It numbs you into inaction.

Just thinking out loud...

Take a look around...see if you find answers.
For understand the disease of alcoholism...

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html



Blessings..

michski

You may well be drinking out of complete boredom!! Get yourself something to do.. maybe volunteer work or SOMETHING that takes you out of your house and out of your head.

If your drinking is bothering your good friends and you don't give a chit about what they think, well then you might have a problem.

ShellFly

Thank you for the welcome.

I would tell you myself that I don't care what they say, but prehaps the fact I am even posting here says otherwise...

CarolD

I think it is wise to find information
and then take an honest look at your situation.

Very

FriendofBill

Hi Shell-

Glad you are here. Just wanted to share that I am not alcoholic and wanted to give you a viewpoint from a non problem drinker.

Non-alcoholics usually dont drink from boredom, rarely drink alone and almost never questions whether they have a dirnking problem, not visit alcohol recovery related websites.

What Im trying to say is non-alcoholics consider alcohol a non issue. If you are concerned about it being an issue with you, or whether you are alcoholic, the best idea may be to make a decision to not drink for 30 days.

If you find yourself coming up with reasons or excuses on why you should break that 30 day commitment, then you probably are showing signs of alcohol dependency.

Again, non alcoholics have no problem quitting for that period of time. I do wish you much love and luck and hope you will keep posting here!

Irish Virus

ShellFly:

In my opinion, you're heading for disaster if you continue boozing it up
at one o'clock in the afternoon during the week. It's just a matter of time
before alcohol kicks your a$$ at that pace.

I know all about being unemployed and drinking at home out of boredom. It's a one way trip to hell. Go to the library, look on the computer for a job, take
a class: do anything but booze it up during the day.

Only you can decide if you are an alcoholic or not. But drink enough of
the stuff and it's just a matter of time before life becomes unbearable.

The bottom line in my opinion is that if you can't stop on your own, you have
a problem and need some help.

Take care.

Doug

Pretty much sums it up. You're the only one who can answer, and you may already know.

I know folks who have similar drinking "schedules" who aren't, and I know some who are, (by their own admission).

I questioned whether I was, when I was twenty, and then I spent 15 more years testing it just to be sure, and did in fact prove to myself I was.

Somebody suggested stopping for a period and see how you do. Give that a shot and see what happens. Going for a week, or two, or four without drinking is no big deal right?

Keep posting, and let us know how your doing.

ShellFly

Thanks for all the replies I am getting here... Its obviously a real friendly server and I can see why people would choose this one over others.

I have read over the posts and to be honest I feel like maybe my problem is worse than I thought it was before, which is probably a good thing.

I am from the UK and have not currently stoped drinking. I know this will probably be frowned upon by others, but I have told myself I will stop drinking as a new years resolution. So I can easily put a date to my quiting drinking, although lets be realistic, its probably just to give myself more drinking time rather that quiting immediatly.

I told my friend this today and the answer I got was "oh, I figured you'd just be drinking forever", which obviously we had a laugh at, but just puts into focus what people think of me... Evens if its not a serious comment, its in their mind somewhere.

I am currently still job searching. I have been told that I will be sent on a 13 week course on 21st December. Which of course is a pain in the ass, lol, but secretly I think I am looking forward to it, and hopefully being able to stick it out and be completly sorber thoughout.

P.S. I have been drinking everyday this week, its kinda knocking about in my mind that the only reason for this may have been because I am posting about it here. Obviously if this is the case it works more toward me having a problem than it would anything else.

CarolD

Good to see you again!


I suggest you move up your quitting date
so you can be sharp for the training course.


I know what you mean about others ideas of us..
I received a bottle of Vodka for Christmas
once...out of 60 people
I was the only one who got booze!..

I'mready99

Good evening ShellFly...

Like other's here have said...If you start thinking you have a problem with alcohol, you probably do...

Alcoholism is a progressive disease. It might not get ya today...but it is gonna get ya...

Your smart if you nip it in the bud early, so your not on this forum in 20 years telling some of the stories you hear here today...

Best of luck to you. I hope you make the wise choice...

One day at a time.

Steve

JaySee

Hi ShellFly

Some good suggestions here already. Try the drinking break and see what happens. I'm in the UK too and stopping drinking has changed my life. At the end of my drinking I had trouble getting a job and here's a thought for you ...

change this around a bit to .....

"My unemployment is mainly due to bordem due to my drinking, which has been the last 1 1/2 - 2 years."

Just a thought, because my drinking mind always told me everything was boring, unless I had a drink in my hand.

Let us know how you get on. Keep posting here though in the meantime.

much love
JC

collinsmi

Why not try rationing yourself to drink one beer a day for a month and see how that works? I drank for a long time with a lot of people. When I was 19 I knew a lot of people who drank that much. Most of them weren't alcoholics. I don't think alcoholism is something you drink yourself into. It's not about amount consumed, but loss of control.

Kellye C

They say in the Big Book of AA that there is a line into alcoholism that we cross without even knowing it (paraphrasing here). I am 41 years old. I found myself staring at that line at age 19, questioning my drinking and the frequency of it. I was not getting drunk but I was drinking on a regular basis living with a cousin 10 years older than me. We both loved dancing and spent a lot of time in various bars and clubs. She was a cheapskate (LOL) and didn't want to pay the price for the drinks so she would buy a bottle and take a few slugs before we went in and I did too. Because alcoholism runs in our family I became uncomfortable with how often I was drinking even though I was having no consequences and didn't need to drink. I scaled WAY back and had no problem whatsoever doing so. I had not crossed that line yet.

On my 22nd bday I got truly drunk for the first time in my life and experienced my first black out and came to covered in puke. I have never been so sick in my life and I totally stopped for a very long time. Then until the age of 35 I would drink very infrequently and the second I started to get a buzz I would remember that bday and stop immediately. Once again I had not yet crossed that line.

At the age of 35 I found myself married to a verbally abusive practicing alcoholic. I tried everything I could to try and make him stop. Nothing worked. I adopted an if you can beat em join em mentality and started drinking with him. My tolerance quickly increased and I could soon drink him under the table. I drank like this for 3.5 years and crossed that line into alcoholism without even realising it until it was too late. I became so physically dependent on alcohol that I had to sneak drinks during the day to stop the shakes. I was horrified at the state I found myself in and tried everything I could think of to get it back under control. Nothing worked. I was addicted. I was in hell and I couldn't find my way out.

You don't have to go down this road. If you are questioning your drinking it is time to do something about it. You may find that you can still quit easily. You may not have crossed that line YET but if you continue as you are you may find that line too late. I wish you the best. Educate yourself. Do some honest soul searching and take some online assessments. Answer them HONESTLY and see what you come up with. Try the abstinence thing and see how you do with that. You will have to find your own truth as we all have but you are young and have a whole life ahead of you. There is no better time than the present to stop.

miss communicat

Hi Shellfly,

WelcomE!

I'm sorry to be arriving late to your thread but I am glad to see you seeking answers to your questions about drinking.

I agree with all of the suggestions, especially the ones about quitting for a short time, such as 30 - 90 days, and using that experience to learn more about your drinking issues. Usually we find that it either IS an issue, or its NOT, when we decide to string 30 or more consecutive sober days together.

One thing I also wanted to add to what CarolD says; don't wait til New Year's. Stop now. Get some time in strengthening your resolve before the holidays.

Alcoholism is a serious and fatal disease, and if you determine that you do have the brain chemistry and the genes for this disease, you may want to address it right away so that you can begin to get better sooner rather than later.

Keep posting and keep tryinG Good luck~

Music

Get a job. The length of time you've been out of work is too long for anyone. Who's supporting you? Get out on your own and you won't have time to do much drinking.

maitri

Shell, I've heard a similar story a thousand times, FROM MYSELF!

I didn't have a problem when I first started drinking (lie). I just drank on Saturdays for a long long time, then the weekends became weeks and by the time I quit drinking, I was downing a quart of cheap vodka every day and blood was coming from both ends.

Like someone else here said, if you think you might have a problem, you've got a problem. Listen to yourself and all the kind people who you know aren't sugar-coating it. Listen to posters like Kellye D., because if you are an alcoholic, rationing or testing your ability to quit for a month or so WILL NOT WORK.

Love ya, mean it.

CarolD

maitri....Welcome to SR!


It's great to s see a new member sharing!

leviathon

Best analogy I can give is one I heard at an AA meeting... So, this guy lives in this block, a house burns down, the arson investigators come out to investigate, he doesn't see any issue... he goes to AA and asks his sponsor, how do I know I am an alcoholic? His sponsor replies, well a house burned down on your block right? You didn't go up to the investigators and ask "how do I know I am not an arsonist did you?".

If it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, it probably is a drunk... I mean a duck... only you know if you have a problem, the fact that you are asking likely tells you all you need to know... .

Peace, Levi

earlybird

Did it ever occur to you that the reason why you have been unemployed for over one and a half years is because you drink from 1pm til you go to bed? Unemployment checks arent supposed to support a drinking problem. In my opinion, you arent drinking from boredom. Thats a nice justification, but, not true. Right now, you are looking for any justifiable reason other than being an alcoholic, to hang your hat on. That way,...you can keep drinking guilt-free. Normal drinkers dont drink alone or 3 or 4 days a week. I noticed in your original post that you wrote "I only drink 3 or 4 days out of the week" Only??? Thats red-flag city drinking to me. Social drinkers dont drink even every week,...let alone four days a week. There is nothing normal or social about drinking four days a week,...alone,...in the middle of the day,....while being unemployed for over a year and a half.