barb dwyer

five maybe - at a relative's wedding - got the 'wrong' punch.

second time - same scenario - sister's wedding - ten yrs old.
my cousin thought it'd be funny. I just danced a lot. got sleepy.

first time on purpose - maybe ... fourteen?

never ... liked it much.

started drinking like the alcoholic I was born to be - 43.

I got drunk numerous times in between .. jsut never ... habitually.
Was an 'appointment' or 'ritual' drinker.
birthday.
kentucky derby day.
exhibitor's party at Nationals
new years (sometimes)
funerals
when I was told I'd be a gmother. at 35.

like that.

Cindi R

Don't really remember...mom always used to have these christmas parties and she made "Grasshoppers"...they were a minty ice cream drink in a punch bowl, with creme de mint and creme de cocoa. Boy they were good....
don't really remember getting drunk then but she let us try them when we were kids and my dad always had beer. I suppose he'd have let me had a drink of it any time I asked for one. There was one time we went to MN or Wisconsin that they had no "legal age"...and I drank...with my parents at maybe 12.
First time I got wasted drunk, was with daddy's girlfriend, I was 14...she was 18.
Smoked pot at 14.
I'm 45.
I found white cross at about the same time. Was introduced to crank(meth) in '83. It soon became the love of my life, I was "Wonder Woman"...10 foot tall and bullet proof.
Now dope-free since 8/01.

Rob B

I was thirteen when I first got drunk, however, I could have used a drink several years earlier. I have often reflected on my childhood, and have undergone extensive psycho analysis to look at it.Wonderful parents, a caring environment, a child of priveledge. However, As far back as I can remember I had that feeling of uselessness, depression, a prey to misery, living in a world I did not fit in. Wordy definition for untreated alcoholism and also support for my belief that alcoholism is not causal. This is a malady I suffered from long before I took my first drink. A malady that many suffer from long after they have had their last drink.

Alcohol has never been my problem, it has been my solution to the spiritual malady-it gets me right, the problem is the craving that occurs when I drink, I tend to over do it, the problem is the mental blank spot that tells me this time will be different.
our literature makes it clear, "When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically". In my observation contemporary AA often puts the cart before the horse.

md20

My frst drink was 14- i shared a bottle of cider with my brother - it was his first drink too, he was 13. I am now 20 and he is 19 - both of us alcoholic (although my brother hasnt accpeted this yet, i have) I remember my first drunk clearly - it was fine - went to sleep a little drunk and when i got up the next morning i felt fine- and knew i'd do it again- and as soon as too.

I dont know if i was alcoholic the 1st time i drank- i mean my first experience was ok- but after that i remeber always wanting to drink. I remeber passing out and throwing up and blacking out from 14 too. My first blackout was at 14 and i went missing for around 4 hours at night in my pj top and knickers. SCARY. Like Rob what i do know is my spiritual malady was always there. I was a happyish child - but always had that feeling of impending doom at the pit of my stomach, i felt different and inferior. I came from a very loving family and nothing disturbing happened to me to explain such feelings for as long as i can remeber. I know also that when i drank these feelings would go. I also know that now i dont drink i have nothing to escape this malady- so thats why i go to A..A , have a sponsor and will start the 12 step program soon. This way the spiritual malady wil be relieved.

miss communicat

very interesting thread.

my first blackout drunk was 14, where i skiied off of a glacier, almost to my death.

therein began a pattern: I would drink alcohol and then i'd lose all connection to the sensibilities that life requires in order to stay alive.
the stories are numerous, the truth is unchanging throughout: drinking is simply acting on a death wish, for me.

shugabooga

12

vodka & sprite

kelsh

I was twenty and had been married about six months. I came home from work and my husband had cooked a pork roast dinner and drinks. I drank two tall drinks...had to crawl to bed and had the worst hangover. Had no idea of the signs of alcoholism but came from a family of alcoholics so knew I had the Gene.

kelsh

Zencat

It was about this time of year, I was 14 and had too much beer. Full blown addict at 17.