desertdonna

No, I could never go back to social drinking. I never drank socially in the first place. Would have much rather been home by myself seeking oblivion. And I have no intention of socially drinking with myself again. A pretty paltry social scene if you ask me.

soupdragon1973

I tried it once or twice and it doesnt work for me,it just leads down a slippery slope back to where I was before.Only abstinece can work for me.It makes me abit sad passing by bars and seeing people enjoying themselves but I guess I have to realise that having a good time and being relaxed isnt excluded by not drinking alcohol.Many people can have a good time without it and enjoy life.I will get more out of life now by being sober.

soupdragon1973

Just further to add,I never drank socially,I avoided bars and pubs for the most part and drank at home alone.I guess what I am saying is that is saddens me to see people mostly drinking in moderation(some not all) and enjoying themselves and knowing I can never,ever be like them.There is one bar I pass in a morning here on my way home from work at 7.30am and its door are open and with several patrons already inside.....that scene makes me feel happy to be sober now,its a depressing sight to see that in a morning!

sunshinebaby

Because I drank to get drunk, I can't just have one glass of wine and then leave it. I would love to be able to have a glass with dinner, but then I would want another and another, then the next night and blah blah blah. To be perfectly honest, I would rather have a coke zero!!!!! now.

sailorjohn

Would depend on whether or not you're one of the lucky 10% that are alcoholic. If you are truly an alcoholic, the answer is no. If you are merely a person that drinks heavily, thinking of younger people for the most part, you can learn how to drink socially. With the caveat, you are not an alcoholic. Many alcoholics-myself included-have conned themselves into periods of controlled drinking, in the end the disease progresses and our drinking spirals out of control.

JigOvLife

Thoroughly second that Sailorjohn, took me years to discover it though.

fu7pink

So how do you determine if you are a heavy drinker or an alcoholic?

nolonger

I never did determine. I just determined that I couldn't take any more of what drinking was doing to me and those around me. You can call that what you like.

And I have no interest any more in finding out whether somehow, maybe, by some freakish change or some huge power of will, I might, somehow, some way, be able to drink without nearly always ending up blind comatose lunatic drunk.

I just don't care enough for beer or wine or spirits, or for bars or drinking, to want to risk that. It ain't worth it. My life as it is now is worth more.

zendust

Would you be having as much trouble deciding to give something up or to control your intake of if the substance in question was string beans?

I had eighteen years without alcohol. The last eight was not lived in recovery, but engaging with other self-destructive behaviors. When I finally did add the alcohol, there was quite a devastating explosion, rendering my life in shambles.

Once the plum wine hit my lips, my mind started to race. "Am I and alcoholic?" "Couldn't be...after all these years?" (this one is my favorite my little mind came up with) "They say that every cell in your body is replaced every seven years...geez...I've had almost three total replacements...it must have worked itself out of my system!"

After picking up, I gave birth to a horrible bottom nine months later. Luckily, I was able to crawl my way back to recovery. I'm now back seven years and have no doubt that I am a pickle.

Rusty Zipper

fu7 if you think you can control the choice in the drink, i would say yes..

haven't met a alk'y yet that could control that choice, sooner or later...

that self knowlagde bit gets us everytime!

rust

Bamboozle

Thank you, thank you, and if I forgot to mention it, thank you. Perfect. What a wonderful way of thinking.


I'm curious...why would anyone want to find out if he/she is an "alcohol" or just a "heavy drinker"? In my book (yes, I authored it myself but it's all in my head ) it's the same thing. Only you can decide if you have a problem. If you do decide you have a problem, does it really matter what capacity it's in? It's still a problem, right? I'm not trying to be a pain...I guess what I'm saying is...if you are only a "heavy drinker" now and if you experiment enough, you could become an "alcoholic". I may very well have risked my physical health trying to answer that same question by living in denial. If you are seriously looking for moderation management, there are sites you can try out. Best of luck to you.

barb dwyer

That's easy. One word.

No.