KeepFighting

Hey guys and gals.

I come here because I think my drinking is becoming a problem. I am only 20, I have been drinking heavily for a good few years. I don't think I'm an alcoholic though?

When I drink, I drink alot. Usually during the weekends. Actually pretty much every weekend. Some weeks I will drink every day. Other weeks I will just do a few days then wait for the weekend. So it's not like I have to drink. Is this just binge drinking?

I drink alot more than any of my friends. I have tried to stop for abit before. The odd weekend and a few weeks here and there. I find it hard though as it's also the social side to. When all your friends are going out you want to join them. I always say just for 1 or 2. It never ends that way though! Always just 1 more!

It's now starting to cause me money issues and depression. I have thought of suicide a few times and was pretty close once. I don't know if this is directly cause of the alcohol. Though I'm sure it isn't helping!

I posted here because it is just nice to write things down. Hopefully you will be able to give me some advice

Thanks!

PaperDolls

You might check this out from AA. It asks 12 questions to help you determine if you have a problem.
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-3_isaaforyou.pdf

Only you can determine if you are an alcoholic. I suggest this though -- your problem is bad enough that your here asking about it. You also mentioned that you make a decision not to drink but never follow through. That is often a sign.

Good luck to you.

eJoshua

Sounds like good enough reason to quit drinking.

What you have described isn't just binge drinking, it is binge drinking. That doesn't mean it's any less of a problem.

I think your main focus now in life should be on your mental health. If you have felt suicidal recently that is a good sign that it's time to quit messing around and quit drinking and go see a psychiatrist and a counselor to treat your depression.

Best wishes.

HuskyPup

Hey there...I was pretty depressed as a teen, even suicidal, and I never drank a drop. But I was going through a lot at the time, and even if I was moody later in life, it was never so bad as when I was about 16.

Fast forward to close to age 40...I didn't start drinking until my late 20s; it had not presented a problem until my early 30s. But in recent times, it had in face become a huge factor in feelings of depression/suicide...some days, I would just want to lay down on the high speed rail tracks, as I saw no future for myself in any kind of creative field that would make me happy, just a life of dreary jobs and low pay, getting by, and struggling, followed by old age, senility and death. Screw that, I thought, I'll just fast-forward to the death-part. I felt worse than I had as a teen...this time, I was making plans, even, doing research on the most effective methods.

Well, then I stopped drinking about 75 days back, and even if I am not little Mr. sunshine, I do feel a lot better, and more ambitious. Many days are still a struggle...but I feel much, much less depressed. I say stop drinking for 30 or 60 days, and just see how you feel...me, I had a lot more energy, maybe I was a bit more hyper, but that sinking feeling was not there so much.

Hope this helps,

H. Pup

CarolD

When my drinking turned me into a sodden depressed woman....
after 3 suicide attempts and 3 short stays in a mental hospital for depression......

My doctor diagnosed me with situational depression directly caused by alcohol.
He said to abstain and connect to the local AA groups.

I did both...and it's been working well for me for years...

Welcome to our recovery community...

tryingtolive

I believe my depression and anxiety was because of my drinking when I was in college and then some years after college.

TheEnd

If you made it here, it must be pretty bad. Nobody comes here by accident.