Draciack

I know when I first quit that going a week without alcohol seemed impossible, much less a month, much less a year. Eventually sobriety became the norm and I stopped thinking about time so much (probably somewhere around 3 months) and just started to enjoy each and every day.

Believe me - it's amazing not to have to drink. I sometimes forget what that was like.

Look, no sugarcoating. Sobriety isn't easy. It takes work and there are lots of issues underneath alcohol abuse. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. No more drunk dials, hangovers, night sweats, blackouts... There's a serenity to it, the absence of chaos. And I get the chance to deal with problems, instead of just drinking them away or covering them up with more whiskey. It's an opportunity.

Sugah

Not everyone. Perhaps everyone you know, but not everyone. You can make new, sober friends in AA.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

least

WEll, you could wait until you're 'ready' to quit, but by then it may be too late. You may have lost everything you value, including your health, and may have consequences beyond what you can deal with. I'd say stop now while you're still young and haven't had any huge loss or disaster due to drinking. Why wait until it's too late? It will only get worse if you continue to drink.

Hollyanne

Cheeky,
Alcohol CAUSES anxiety.
Drugs CAUSE anxiety.
I do not think your doc would prescribe xanax without telling you to stop the other stuff. Are you honest with doc? I am on meds and they worked when I QUIT drinking!
My doc was aware of the drink and my attempt to kick it. Now sober 5 months and do not need to drink.
Give it a go. Please. And, how about studying your head off and getting a fantastic degree!
Hugs

ANEWAUGUST

Cheeky,

If you aren't ready, you aren't ready.

Nothing anyone of us can say or do will change that.

Defending the combination of alcohol and prescription drug use is this disease in its full blown state.

If and when you are ready, we are all here for you.

Pete55

It's like this,
Firstly, wish when I was 21, I had this opportunity. The problem for me was, that I thought one day I will "learn to drink".
I even started to read all the fine print on the labels, because every one seemed to know everything about wines and cheese etc.
How do they know all this stuff, they made it talking point and put the cork back on?
*how*?!

Well, 30 years later I learnt how. I learnt that I will never know, and was never able to know. I am alcoholic, a condition of the body that reacts differently to others when alcohol is consumed.
But was not aware of it!

Ok,
So lets assume you discovered that your body is similar to many other alcoholics with this condition. It's confirmed, signed, sealed, rubber stamped, signed by a JP, a priest has blessed it, the Queen has endorsed it, God has sent angels and it's all very true now, your are convinced, you are alcoholic due to a condition of the body and there is no known "cure", yet.

Firstly, it's nothing to get hung up about, it's no big deal.

You now no longer have to prove to yourself and others that you can drink like they do, cos if you are like some of us there is nothing to prove.


OK, so you put the drink down, you really mean it, what's next?

Well,
instead of now trying to learn how to drink like they do, learn how to live a sober life! It's that simple. Not easy at first.
So,
you get to keep grog money instead of handing it over the the bar tender.

Slowly, you will have lots and lots of money money money, you might just find other places to go to where drink is not a issue, or if it is, you can say, "no, not today, maybe tomorrow".
Tomorrow comes, same line, "no, not today, maybe tomorrow"...and so on.

artsoul

So many good response here........

If you're like me, I thought I couldn't do it. I figured everyone who was sober must have some kind of strength I didn't possess. Maybe I was impaired in the emotional department.

OR, maybe I could do what every other alcohol couldn't - find a way to drink in moderation.

The point is: I found a million reasons to believe I was better off or worse off, that the hope and tragedy of others here didn't apply to me. I was dead wrong.

If you can read and believe what others are saying here, it can give you the information/support you need to make a change. Allow yourself to begin to hope just a little, and open the door to the possibility that sobriety just might be as great as they say......:ghug3

Eddiebuckle

Cheeky,

All of your posts would describe me before I quit drinking. How on earth can a person not drink? My entire life revolved around drinking, it wasn't what I did, it was who I was. So for me the prospect of giving up alcohol, was something like giving up my soul. I didn't see the point in trying, though it was something that lurked in my mind for years as my drinking progressed. I finally came to a point where the risks I saw in quitting didn't seem all that different than the misery of my life drinking. It was scary as **** to admit myself into detox (drank all the way there, to be honest) but I can tell you that the change in my life since I quit has been amazing.

If you haven't looked at it yet, google "youtube rain in my heart" - its a documentary on alcoholics in the NHS.

You do have a choice. Not an easy one, but the choice is yours.

CheekyAngel

I will be thinging LONG and HARD about this. It is something i feel i have to do for myself and for my quality of life. As yous' can understand it is not an easy decision to make. Im sorry if this sounds stupid, but if i was in a worser place then where i am now with drink, i think the decision might be made easier. But in the back of my head i have always believed that prevention is better than cure, so why is it so difficult for me to apply this to my own life? I dont know, but what i do know is i have had one too many bad frightening experiences to make me have even reached this point of consideration and im wondering how many more will it take me...

I am going away in the morning (actully up in 3hours time, i really should try get some sleep!), and i will be returning home with this still in consideration. I think the point i am at now, this decision will forever be in my head, but thats no use...it needs action...and i can understand this but it just seems so difficult

hollyanne, well, he knows i like to drink, alot... He doesnt know about drugs. I dont know why but i have never told him about it...it has never came up. I will tell my psychairtrist tho, when i go to my first appointment it the end of the month.

anewaugust, i take your point on board and understand what you mean, but if you dont have social anxiety and a phobia, then you dont understnd how hard it is even to leave the comfort of my home (even my room, in case of an unexpected visitor). Im not defending my xanax taking i am taking it legitmitely (spelling?). I would never ever take a xanax inside my home. Not even to go to the shop etc., but i do when i have to go volunteering and counselling (both once a week). These two things is usually what my weeks consist of (without mentioning the weekends), its just there were extra things this week. Oh and if you are thinking, well how is she going away, its becoz the i will be medicating with drink, and this too i know is a problem...

I dunno...

polaris

I havent had such an extreme outburst like that, but I OFTEN wonder about this question myself.

The LOGICAL thing for us would be to quit consuming poison that has caused us issues.

ANEWAUGUST

Cheeky...

I do know what it is like to suffer from anxiety.

I know what it is to mix alcohol with prescription medications, although the warnings said not to.

What I have learned is that underneath it all, we all suffer from the same problem, a problem with alcohol.

I could justify it as long as I didn't want to face the problem, and find a solution..

I truly wish you the best. I do know that living a sober life is a wonderful gift.

NYCDoglvr

This is why I stopped drinking: I generally drank most of a magnum of wine for over a decade and plenty of bad things happened (lost jobs & relationships, always felt terrible). It was right before Christmas, I was home alone on a Saturday night, and decided to trim a beautiful tree my brother had put up. Even though I'd given up red wine (tannic acid makes me drunk), I had two terrific bottles of Bordeaux and said, hey it's red and festive, and said I"d have one drink...

I woke up in a hospital ER strapped to a gurney. I was black and blue on one side of face. During a blackout I decided to commit suicide and took a lot of meds. My best friend, who knew I was there, came down because he was concerned. Called 911. To this day I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea to kill myself, nothing much was wrong and I felt fine before I drank.

That was why I came in.

CheekyAngel

Okay i went on my weeked holiday. I had another blackout. The first night i had tickets to a event. Cant remember getting off the bus to being in the paramedics room, screaming and being violent towards to people who were trying to help me. Twisted both my ancles...well, need i say no more but my drunken behaviour was awful.

I waited months for this event and i nearly didnt get in. And when i got in, after a while i got dragged into a paramedics room and wasnt being let out. I had to escape fom the room. I never found my mates as there were 75,000 people there. Still had a good time anyway but i wished that i could remember the start of the event (it was 13hours) and have spent the rest with my mates.

I am going to discuss my drinking with my addiction counsellor on Thursday. I didnt even drink that much spirits on the bus, just a few sups of different peoples drinks here and there (on top of my beers). I just dont understand how it has come to this stage for me? where it can take me so little consumption of spirits to blackout.

ANEWAUGUST

Cheeky..

Did you consume anything other then alcohol? When I was on prescription meds for anxiety and drank, the results were far worse then when I just drank.

I know you say you are on the fence about quitting. However the way your body is reacting and processing alcohol, I would say you are jepordizing your health and your life.

I hope you find the answers you are seeking before something tragic happens.

CheekyAngel

No, nothing before i blackout out. I hadnt even taken a xanax earlier on that day. The only thing i did was smoke a joint earlier in the day, but nothing stronger. Yes i had taken something afterwards the blackout stage, but nothing at all before. It was purely alcohol...

ANEWAUGUST

It could be the way your body is metabolizing the alcohol. But, if there was any meds still in your system, even if you hadn't taken any that day, it takes days for some meds to get out of your system.

Whatever the case...it is just not good to be blacking out. The only way to prevent the blackout is not to drink.

LaFemme

That doesn't sound like fun in any way shape or form.

I sincerely hope you do more than just talk with your counselor.

Hugs.

Pete55

Yep,