How do you know?
Press Start To Continue
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
I'd been a heavy drinker for a long time, but didn't really think I had a big problem. Last month I decided to give the Atkins diet a try and was taken aback by how severe the "Atkins Flu" was that I experienced in the first few days. Other people online reported some of the stuff I went through, but nothing like the severity I experienced. Then, on Thanksgiving Day this year I promised myself I wouldn't drink anything until December 1st (a whole 6 days!) and promptly experienced a second bout of Atkins Flu .... only I wasn't on the diet anymore.
There's no booze allowed on Atkins.
I was in withdrawal.
Tomorrow is December 1, and on second thought I'm not going to have that drink after all. Been reading everything I've been able to get my hands on about withdrawal and addiction and I'm recognizing myself all throughout. It's time to stop this for good.
There's no booze allowed on Atkins.
I was in withdrawal.
Tomorrow is December 1, and on second thought I'm not going to have that drink after all. Been reading everything I've been able to get my hands on about withdrawal and addiction and I'm recognizing myself all throughout. It's time to stop this for good.
- Motivated -
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Framingham, MA
Posts: 309
Originally Posted by Linz 
I woke up angry as heck this morning because of a hangover - or - becauase I drank last night. I lied to myself and said that it would help me write this argument paper that's due on Friday in my English class. Yeah right, I didn't write a single thing. My brain is foggy, I almost didn't get out of bed to come to class, I have a test today in my legal studies class, and I'm running out of money because I spend it all on booze.
My stomach is killing me, my eyes are tired. This is seriously sick.
My stomach is killing me, my eyes are tired. This is seriously sick.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,784
I knew I was in deep doo doo when I was always waking up sicker than hell and hating myself and wishing I were dead.
It was at that point that I knew I had to stop. Two years later and I only wish I'd done it sooner.
It was at that point that I knew I had to stop. Two years later and I only wish I'd done it sooner. 
Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,193
I think everyone's point of acknowleding/addressing it is different, and some people never do. All I know is what happened to me. Here are the things that convinced me I was an alcoholic:
- I always wanted to keep drinking when I went out. I would either hang out with people who liked to drink as much as I did, or, I would feel mad and frustrated when the people I was with stopped drinking, and I would go home and drink more on my own. Something similar is that I would "pre-game" by myself or with other heavy drinking friends before I went out, so I wouldn't have to worry about ordering more drinks if other people weren't, and so that I felt the comfort of alcohol sooner.
- I started to plan things around alcohol, and I felt unhappy/restless when I couldn't drink. I would happily go anywhere I was invited where I knew there would be alcohol, and I avoided or was unhappy at places where there wasn't alcohol. I began to turn events into reasons to drink, and I was the person who would bring the alcohol or mention going out afterwards for a drink, etc. When there was something going on that didn't involve drinking, I thought it was boring and dumb and wondered what was wrong with the people there, why weren't they drinking?!
- I became more and more unhappy. I would be hungover and regretful of the night before; my life felt empty and like it was going nowhere, and I would have suicidal thoughts. I was so empty that booze couldn't fill me up. Nothing was good enough. Yet I kept drinking anyway.
I will say that I have had bad drunken times that I can pinpoint as "bottoms"-- ruining my sister-in-law's bachelorette party, saying or doing stupid things, doing things I wouldn't have done sober that I regretted a lot the next day, having some very close calls with DWIs, or being in the car when friends had close calls or did get DWIs-- but none of those were bottoms that made me stop for good. And if I compare my "bottoms" to others, which I find myself doing because of my alcoholic mind, I find that I have not had such bad things happen to me due to drinking (but I quickly remind myself that I would if I kept it up!!). For me my "bottom" was realizing that I was not living the kind of life I wanted to be living, and that alcohol was hindering me more than it was helping me. I felt empty, lonely, discontent, depressed... I felt I was living a double life and had built up a persona that didn't even feel like the real me; I didn't know who the real me was. Once I started wondering if I had a problem with alcohol, I couldn't "unthink" that-- I started to have almost out-of-body experiences where I looked down on my drunk, obnoxious, silly, poor-me self and felt bad for myself, I knew I deserved better. I knew there was a better life for me and I could no longer make excuses for not finding it. I could no longer just drink my problems away, because I had realized that drinking was a huge, if not my main, problem.
I hope this helps. For me it was very helpful to write a list of reasons I was stopping, which I refer to when I start to think "I'm not that bad off," or, "there were good things about drinking..." It definitely keeps me in check. Good luck.
- I always wanted to keep drinking when I went out. I would either hang out with people who liked to drink as much as I did, or, I would feel mad and frustrated when the people I was with stopped drinking, and I would go home and drink more on my own. Something similar is that I would "pre-game" by myself or with other heavy drinking friends before I went out, so I wouldn't have to worry about ordering more drinks if other people weren't, and so that I felt the comfort of alcohol sooner.
- I started to plan things around alcohol, and I felt unhappy/restless when I couldn't drink. I would happily go anywhere I was invited where I knew there would be alcohol, and I avoided or was unhappy at places where there wasn't alcohol. I began to turn events into reasons to drink, and I was the person who would bring the alcohol or mention going out afterwards for a drink, etc. When there was something going on that didn't involve drinking, I thought it was boring and dumb and wondered what was wrong with the people there, why weren't they drinking?!
- I became more and more unhappy. I would be hungover and regretful of the night before; my life felt empty and like it was going nowhere, and I would have suicidal thoughts. I was so empty that booze couldn't fill me up. Nothing was good enough. Yet I kept drinking anyway.
I will say that I have had bad drunken times that I can pinpoint as "bottoms"-- ruining my sister-in-law's bachelorette party, saying or doing stupid things, doing things I wouldn't have done sober that I regretted a lot the next day, having some very close calls with DWIs, or being in the car when friends had close calls or did get DWIs-- but none of those were bottoms that made me stop for good. And if I compare my "bottoms" to others, which I find myself doing because of my alcoholic mind, I find that I have not had such bad things happen to me due to drinking (but I quickly remind myself that I would if I kept it up!!). For me my "bottom" was realizing that I was not living the kind of life I wanted to be living, and that alcohol was hindering me more than it was helping me. I felt empty, lonely, discontent, depressed... I felt I was living a double life and had built up a persona that didn't even feel like the real me; I didn't know who the real me was. Once I started wondering if I had a problem with alcohol, I couldn't "unthink" that-- I started to have almost out-of-body experiences where I looked down on my drunk, obnoxious, silly, poor-me self and felt bad for myself, I knew I deserved better. I knew there was a better life for me and I could no longer make excuses for not finding it. I could no longer just drink my problems away, because I had realized that drinking was a huge, if not my main, problem.
I hope this helps. For me it was very helpful to write a list of reasons I was stopping, which I refer to when I start to think "I'm not that bad off," or, "there were good things about drinking..." It definitely keeps me in check. Good luck.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
