How can I learn to help myself?
 

I'm 22 years old, and have been heavily drinking since the age of 16. I wouldn't say that my drinking ascended to the level of alcoholism until the age of 19 or 20. I would describe my habits as recurring episodes. I frequently tell myself that I will not drink, yet I keep crawling back into the bottle. I have overcome ecstasy and cocaine addiction, however alcohol has become a much harder habit to kick due to it's ready availability and degree of social acceptance. While I consider myself to be an intelligent person, I am a college drop out. In school I managed to maintain a respectable GPA, but I was frequently hungover or drunk and did not attend my classes on a regular basis. About a year ago, I totaled my car while intoxicated and was arrested for several misdemeanors. Through a plea bargain I got all my charges but the DUI dropped. I attempted suicide a few months ago by drinking a liter of vodka and taking a bottle of valium. Violent vomiting and nausea ensued for about 24 hours. I have been working 70 hours a week between two jobs since leaving college. I make a respectable income($45,000 annually) however I want to go back and finish school. In my free time all that I'm compelled to do is get wasted. Does anyone have any advice for me as to how to cut down on drinking?

Dear Pins,

Welcome to SR. You have landed at the right place. There is already good news for you. a. ) You have at least sensed or acknowledged that you have a problem. b. ) You have made an attempt to reach out for help. This means, you have already started your journey to recovery. Yes, it may be long,tough and painful journey but the results will be really rewarding.

Pins, remember that you are really at young age and you have a full life ahead of you. If you start drinking at earlier age and continue for may years, it will be really tough to quit at later stage.

You will get lots of support at this website and I can vouch for it through my own experience. Keep visiting this website as it is a wonderful tool.

Regarding you question on how to go about it, first of all you must consult your doctor and open up everything . Make a plan though a in-patient rehab and safe detox or as per your doctor's advise.The best approach is to eliminate the root cause of depression which is both, the symptom as well as the probable root cause of alcoholism
.
There are many support groups and alternate recovery methods. You can also read " The big Book " from AA and understand why do we have no control on our carving for alcohol once we have our 1st drink.

All the best.

Hi Pins

Welcome :)
I know you'll find lot of help and support here.

I don't know any way to cut down on drinking tho.
I tried that, in every permutation, for 20 years.

Every year my life got a little worse through my drinking, and I got a little more stubborn (and desperate) about finding a way to keep alcohol in my life

I see you've totalled your car, been arrested, attempted suicide....and yet you, like me, still want to get wasted.

It took me a long trip down but the only thing that worked for me was cutting out drinking completely.

Are you open to that idea?
D

I believe most of us have found it is easier to quit drinking, than to cut down drinking. You mess with the bull, you get the horns.

Also, you need a recovery plan, and most importantly act on that plan.
It takes action and a lot of effort, (wishful) thinking about it won't get the job done.

Books tell us that there are isolated instances of people who were drinking alcoholically and managed to return to controlled drinking. But I've NEVER actually met such a person, and NOBODY has claimed to BE such a person, on this forum or any other I visit. So their success rate must be very, very, low.

The great majority of people who recover from alcohol abuse do so through quitting completely, usually with the help of others as in AA or counseling.

how about listing the pros and cons?
What benefits are you getting from alcohol?
how is it damageing your life and goals?

welcome to sR....:wavey:

I envy you for being so young and coming to this realization that there is a problem. I really wish i had. I totaled a car, lost friends, got arrested, lost jobs, lost tons of respect, damaged my health, the list goes on and on. However i continued to drink. With the help of this forum and AA I know now that I NEVER have to go back to that way of living. i am a text book alcoholic. One part me + one part alcohol = distruction and hurt. I tried to "cut back" I made rules for myself. Nothing worked except complete abstinence from booze. You can do it!

Well, if you're truly an alcoholic, cutting down will be impossible. You may just still be a hard drinker. But if you've totaled your car, and flunked out of college, you're probably an alcoholic. But really, only you can say for certain if you're an alcoholic. It's got to be a conclusion you have to come to.

Here's a good way to determine if you're an alcoholic or not: Go to a bar, and try some controlled drinking. Set a limit for yourself (say six drinks) and stop abruptly. If you can, try it again, and again, and again. If you can control your drinking, you're not an alcoholic in my eyes.

Take my dad for instance: He's a daily drinker.Yet I've never seen him fall-down drunk, throwing up or anything like that. While me on the other hand: I'll have six drinks and not be able to get out of bed the next day.

I guess what matters most is how alcohol affects you.

Sweetheart, I like you was first addicted to drugs. After being off them for quite a while took my first drink. Within 6 months I was a raging alcoholic. Could not understand how I was able to get in that condition in such a short time. What I learned was whenever you go to another addictive substance after already being an addict,whatever your worse day was with the previous drugs that's where your body takes up with the new one. It was awful. Like I said I never ever drank before, I didn't like alcohol. Was just offered a drink at a family function. That's all my system needed for me to spiral into another addiction. You are so young. Your whole life is waiting for you. Where this could lead is not to a good place.For me the addiction and rehab from alcohol was so much worse. Please seek the help you need now. You have to much to lose. Keep posting. God Bless

I'm another one who struggled to "moderate" my drinking for four and a half years.

Trust me, it's a battle that can't be won and it is SO much easier for me to simply NOT DRINK, under any and all circumstances.

It takes some getting used to, and support such as AA is extremely helpful, but very much worth it.