lori0304

I began drinking 2.5 year ago right before I went to college. However, over the past year I would say my drinking has escalated and I am debating quitting. I know I'm not an alcoholic. I only drink 2-5 times per month, however when I do I would say I have anywhere from 8-10+ shots, in maybe 2 hours tops. My tolerance has definitely increased.

I have driven drunk, went to the hospital once, and strained numerous friendships from my actions while drinking. Sometimes when I drink I'm happy/upbeat, but there seem to be more times where I am defensive,mean, sad, etc...

Once I have a drink I cannot stop, I've been to counseling tried the numerous methods to count your drinks, and It never seems to work. I told my friends I thought about quitting, but they didn't seem to think that's reasonable in the college atmosphere. These same friends no longer want to drink with me at the same time.

I really don't know what to do... Maybe I'm just overexxagerating, but I'm really starting to feel guilty about my drinking, and embarrassed by my actions when i'm intoxicated.

Thanks for reading this. I really appreciate it/ any suggestions

LastDrinkToday

If you can't control your drinking and its affecting your relationships with friends as you stated I think it is best to quit.

And if you are only drinking 2-5 times per month I can't imagine there will be terrible withdrawal symptoms. If it gets worse and you start drinking more regularly quitting can be very, very difficult.

pkrma

You say once you start drinking you can't stop- I will suggest to you that that will never change. People who can moderate their drinking behavior don't have to try very hard to do so. It sounds like its a major challenge to moderate your drinking behavior, I really think you are fighting a losing battle.

The only way to solve your problem is to permanently quit drinking alcohol. You are young so it's going to be tough to really commit to sobriety, but from the sounds of it I predict you're gonna need to get sober at some point anyways. Trust me, if you keep drinking, the self destructive behavior is only going to get worse.

paul99

With all due respect, you may say you're not an alcoholic, and that could be very true, but because alcoholism is a progressive disease, you are dancing on the on ramp to that highway, so to speak. Normal drinkers don't go to counseling to control their drinking. Normal drinkers don't feel guilty about their drinking. Normal drinkers don't lose friends because of alcohol.

It's not the amount of times you drink. It's what it does to you when you do drink. Many of us started out binge drinking like that. I did. It took a bit of time, but before I knew it, I was drinking daily and then it got worse from there. You have a wonderful opportunity to stop the bleeding before it really affects the other parts of your life.

You can try stopping for a while and see how that works for you. If you're not an alcoholic, it will be relatively easy.

doggonecarl

Welcome to SR.

If you have to control it, it's already out of control.

sokil

As others have said, alcoholism is a progressive condition. Many of us here at SR started out binge drinking only periodically in college like you and then by our mid-twenties were drinking everyday and becoming full blown addicts. It is not a road you want to head down. It is not only a waste of time and money but is extremely dangerous for your own health and others if you continue to be a problem drinker. The hardest part is accepting that alcohol is simply not an option for you. Alcohol, at the end of the day, is nothing more than a toxin that ******* your brain and CNS and there is no shame in choosing not to participate in poisoning yourself. After you accept that it gets much easier to live your life alcohol free.

Woodswalker

I dont think Im an alcoholic, either. Personally I hate that word. But I do have a problem with alcohol. Its not possible for me to drink moderately. One sip of wine and i want the whole bottle. One beer and I want 6. I dont stop til Im good and drunk. Im 46 years old. Been sober for 36 days. I feel good knowing that I will never have to worry about getting a DUI or doing or saying something stupid because Im drunk. I will never again be the drunk mom, the drunk aunt at the party.

lori0304

Thank you all for the advice.. I think this is something I realized, but hearing it from other people makes me really want to fix this before the problem escalades.

Woodswalker,

Out of curiousity, Did you just quit by yourself, or have you attended any meetings such as AA? I looked into it but I guess I feel like my drinking isn't bad enough to attend the meetings...

marker853

"Once I have a drink I cannot stop" It can be difficult to control drinking if you feel you cannot stop once you start drinking. It might be time to stop completely.

Tamerua

I wasn't a daily drinker... I was a weekend warrior! Well, that's what I called it when I was doing it. Alcoholic is just a word. But it has emotion attached to it. Weekend warrior sounds more fun. Lol

Point is, I quit 4 months ago, haven't had a hangover since, haven't had that feeling of shame/guilt/ anxiety about what I had done or said the night before. Wish I had quit after college....

Welcome!

fruitymarzipan

Hi there, I started drinking in college. I think most peoples first exposure to continuous drinking sessions is college. The person above who says about alcohol being a progessive disease and you dancing on the ramp is so right. For me, i noticed early on that where other college friends would know when they had enough or switch it up and have a soft drink one round; I, like you, once i started i couldnt stop, it affected my relationships, and made me feel anxious and I worried about it. But I didnt see these as warnings. This escalated after college. All of a sudden I had a professional well paid job and oodles more money to spend on booze and socializing. You tell youself, its normal to open a bottle of wine when you get in from a hard days work, you start going to lunch engagements, business lunches with colleagues, dinners with friends or again colleagues at night. Out Friday & Saturday, suddenly your drinking everynight. Its a slippery slope. I didnt realise I had a drinking problem till my late 20's. I am now 36 and detoxing from painkiller addiction, if you told me 10 years ago id be addicted to painkillers i would have laughed in your face!! Im a professional woman with a very professional husband, 2 kids, nice home, 10 years ago I thought the people who were alcoholics & drug addicts were the guys lying on park benches!! How wrong was I! You recognise there is a problem and can nipit in the bud now, dont let it progress and take over your life. xx

choublak

It doesn't matter what you call yourself. What matters is that it's a problem.