Tazman53

Sonny I am an alcoholic and I quit many times over the years, the way I quit was I simply did not drink! I did all the same things, I did not change a single thing about me except I did not drink. What this resulted in was basically what you are experienceing, the longer I went with out a drink the more anxious I got and the more irratable, I began to get upset with every one around me, myself and the world, I always went right back to drinking because I had not changed me.

I did the above hundreds of times and always wound up drinking again and always more then I was drinking before. I found that my solution and most peoples solution is/was change!!!!!

I had to change me, drinking was but a symptom of my alcoholism. When I quit I learned that in order to stay quit and be happy I had to change those things about me that led to me obsessing for a drink.

One of the biggest changes I made was to not go to bars! The only reason a bar is in business is to make money off of people that drink! In the rooms they say and it holds very true, if you go to a barbershop often enough you will eventually get a hair cut!

Think about it, you are a person with a severe eating problem, are you going to hang out at a doughnut shop and drink coffee and stare at the doughnuts?

There are drinking buddies and there are friends! Huge difference!!! If some one says "Hey I am going to a bar tonight do you want to come?" and you tell them "No thanks, I really don't like going to bars any more since I quit drinking."

Here is what a real friend will say:

"Well do you want to do something else together then?"

Here is what a drinking buddy will say:

"Well I will see you later then."

One of the best things I found out when I quit was who my real freinds were. Drinking buddies are a dime a dozen, go to any bar and you can find one.

I have found that since I have changed me I am free from the obsession to drink, I am no longer anxious or irratable when I see someone else have a drink, I could care less! Do I go to bars? Nope, I have no reason to go to a bar! I go out and do things with my real friends who unlike me could care less if they drink or not and we have a great time.

How did I change myself to the point I could care less if I ever had another drink? The steps of AA, there are other programs as well as AA that lead to the change so vital for an alcoholic to recover, you see all programs know that there is only one way for an alcoholic to not drink and be happy and that is through change.