UntrustingFaith

Hey, I'm Annie. 16 years old, been drinking since 14. Tried to stop several times, would go a few months without it, then fell back into drinking every week. I can see now that I have an issue with it and aim to fix it.

I'm making a plan to stop (Not spending the night at the places I usually drink, curfews, stuff like that). I'm having a problem deciding on one thing though - can I ever drink? Wheat I want to say is that I can only drink once every six months. Or maybe not at all again until I'm 18? (I'll be 17 in February, so that'd atleast be one year). Or wait until I'm 21? Or just decide now to never ever drink? I see that it is fun and whatnot, and don't want to be that person who seems too stuck up to ever drink.



I'm not sure if I'm just setting myself up to fail by saying I can drink twice or year. Anyhow, I'd love some feedback. (:

cfm

Well first and foremost what are the laws for underage consumption in your state?? You really shouldn't be drinking at all until your old enough. That being said, no one will say you should never drink again. I have a suggestion, why don't you try not drinking for 1 full year??...If you can do that there is a very good possibility that you can live the life of a regular temperate / good judgement drinker. However I would also suggest you take a look at your family history, because the disease of alcoholism has a tendency to run in families.
To decide now whether you can EVER drink again may be a little premature........Good Luck

Thepatman

Welcome to SR! If only I had been smart like you at your age! Would have saved 20 years.
Only thing I can tell you, make new friends that play sports or do outdoor stuff. Your current friends if they drink might be me in 20 years. YOU don't have to.

Take care

Mulch

Hey there. First off, a big big big pat on your back for thinking so maturely about your behaviour. I so wish I did the same at 16.

I don't know if anyone can answer to whether you can ever drink .. I think maybe that would depend on you and how things go from here. I'm not sure how you feel about talking with family, but if that's not appropriate for your situation, have you considered maybe having a private chat with your family doctor? And talk to yourself - what do you want for your future? Don't let alcohol ruin your dreams.

For me, I began drinking under-age, like you, and I loved it way too much. It was too easy. I was hooked from day one .. and it slowly grew into an ugly life-threatening monster.

Congratulations for planning to get a handle on this. It is wonderful to see. Best wishes to you!

paul99

Almost every alcoholic I know started drinking underage. Not all, of course, some were late bloomers. (just to state outright here, drinking underage does NOT make you an alcoholic. Hell, most non-alcoholics I know drank underage!)

But you are wise to check what's going with you and your drinking. Many people dismiss young drinkers as just going through a phase, or that they haven't put in the time to be a "serious" or "real' alcoholic. But it does happen - or else we wouldn't have so many young people's meetings going on. But regardless, you have decided that your drinking is causing issues and you want to shut it down. You may or may not need a program of recovery, but as stated, try talking to your family doctor or a councellor and see what they say. But in the end it's your decision. Believe me, you're not missing out on drinking. Life is much better without that poison in your body.

Good luck!

PaperDolls

I don't have time to respond like I want to but I just wanted to say that I can relate.

When I was your age (I'm old now ) I knew my drinking was a problem, at the very least....I went to my first AA meeting at the age of 16. It took me a long time to finally get it .... and my life was a wreck by the time I did.

There's probably more to say but ...... message me any time you'd like to talk or have questions.