Dee74

Hey Jeff - I was in bed - 11.30 is like young man o clock

I know what it's like to want to give up the bad consequences of drinking but not give up the drinking itself, or the life you've built around it.

Trouble is you have to take one with the other, or none.

Drink and the bad things will get worse.
Stop drinking and things will get better - but you'll need to change your life.

If you want help detoxing the best thing to do is see your Dr, and take it from there.

If you want some Aussie links for things like AA, or non 12 step alternatives like SMART let me know

D

TameTheBeast

Also you can try AVRT

jplingo

I love this idea that nevertheless said above about drinking...

It really was prison. I certainly was not a free person

How very very true this is...

DaveT

If you really want to get Sober you will Many have done such a thing You really must be willing to go to any lengths to stop and stay stopped. Lip service achieves nothing. AA is not for people who need or want it , its for people who DO IT ! Many a drunk has died after swearing he wants to be sober with tears of desperation on his face, but he's not willing to take it to the next level, we must walk the walk that others have. Its like a cake recipe , follow the recipe and you get a great cake just as promised, follow the actions of sober people and guess what ?

NYCDoglvr

I think it says what you're doing doesn't work. I couldn't get sober on my own, it was only with the support of other recovering alcoholics that one day at a time I've been sober. If you really want to get sober I suggest AA.

JeffsEpiphany

By god i need help beyond belief. I figured id resurrect this thread. I just can't seem to quit no matter what i say. Ive tried so hard for the last 2 years and cant get anywhere. I never realised how much alcohol dominates your life untill now. my family and friends have no idea what im going through. everytime i think about alcohol it ends in a 12 pack of beer. What do i do. I feel like im at the end of my rope.

doggonecarl

So what have you done since the previous post on this thread? Did you try any of the advice you were give about seeking out and trying AA or AVRT?

You can keep seeking advice, but there isn't anything we can say that is going to get you sober. You have to do that. Take action.

Good luck.

JettBoy

Everyone else feel all the stuff your feeling about drinking? I'd stop listening to those people as well and do what it is you need to do for yourself,go to a meeting,raise your hand and ask for some phone numbers and a temporary sponsor.. Your not alone ive been trying to get clean since 85,I've finally come to a place in my life where I'm doing it,one day at a time..keep your head up and go forward,don't listen to those negative people who only want to keep you down in the hole they are coming from,best of luck to you on your journey...

Mirage74

If you're feeling that desperate, get some help. Go to the ER and detox. Tell them you want to get into treatment. They should have the resources to help get you where you need to go. I don't know what you're financial situation is, but there are many treatment centers that will work with you. You can't do it all by yourself. I know , I've tried for years too and you need support from others. GL

JeffsEpiphany

Id love to say that i have had a success story but its just been more of the same. Ignoring any call for help despite wanting it and just continuing to give in to booze. Its even worse now. Its gone from a weekly occurrence to 2-3 and even 4 times a week that i get hammered. But since before ive left my job and it makes it even more easy to get drunk.

Im so sick of waking up in the morning and not remembering the night before and either having to apologize to people or cutting them out because they dont want to have anything to do with me after a binge.

On the worst occasions like recently i had a bottle of red, and then ended up mixing it with so many different drinks and it didnt end well.

I have bad anxiety and it just makes it so hard for me to go to AA or rehab. I Just want people to talk to. Also would love the same from this forum.

I just am at the point of not caring anymore and giving up. Tried for too long and it never seems to get me anywhere except drinking again

biminiblue

There is no one who doesn't suffer from depression and anxiety like you are having once they let alcohol take over like you have.

No one walks into an AA meeting or doctor's office all excited and happy to be there when they are drinking. It is a life-threatening illness and the anxiety is part of the addiction.

Make the call to AA. Someone will talk to you on the phone, and someone will go with you to a meeting. You need help. You're not able to do this on your own.

I hope you live through this, sincerely. People will be there to help but you have to reach out to them. That's how it works.

Longpasttime

You have mentioned wanting people to talk to and wanting a sponsor. AA is free and there for you, today, and provides the opportunity for both of those. The path really doesn't matter, the commitment of mind, body and spirit to not drinking does. You can always change later if AA is not for you, but get in contact with them TODAY and make a commitment to sobriety TODAY. The beginning of this thread was from 2013, how much more time do you want to waste?

JeffreyAK

Is inpatient/residential rehab an option? It might really help you to get some sober time under your belt, even 30 days, so you can re-evaluate where you are, and see how much anxiety is due to the drinking. I can almost guarantee though, if you keep doing the same things, you'll keep getting the same results.

JeffsEpiphany

My anxiety is from birth. Alcohol just made it a temporary solution. It was always bad. It's just when I first got a taste of alcohol, it made it seem like the world made sense and everything was normal. It was the greatest feeling I ever felt. Then the years went on and it turned to dependence and the only way to do anything without wanting to isolate from the world

JeffreyAK

When did you start drinking, though? The reason I ask is, many people started drinking when they were teens, when anxiety flows through your veins anyways just from adolescence. Meanwhile alcohol causes anxiety except when you're actively drunk, especially when you're dependent, so they wind up thinking they have all these anxiety problems and use that as rationalization to keep drinking, but with some solid sober time they find they don't feel so anxious anymore. Give it a try, you might find that you're not so abnormal after all.

biminiblue

Yeah. I was anxious from birth too. It's part of the human condition. You're not that unique, honest.

Guess what? Drinking made it eleven thousand percent worse. Sure, it helps in the short-term - but the overall picture is grim. The only way I healed my anxiety was to put the bottle down and ask for help.

Turns out the bottle was the enemy and sobriety is the key to being anxiety free. I had to start somewhere, and taking anti-anxiety drugs along with drinking didn't even work any more. In my case I got a lot better with CONTINUOUS sobriety and I stopped taking anti-anxiety meds. Not a month of it or six weeks, but continuous sobriety for like 6-8 months. It takes that long to even have a baseline as to what the issues really are. Most of it was physical neurological damage from alcohol that went away in time.

A lot of it was learning to accept life on life's terms. That takes sobriety, too.

What you are doing is going to kill you, so a little short-term anxiety while you 're healing doesn't seem like such a bad trade-off, no?

Longpasttime

While i agree with those above that alcohol makes anxiety worse, I would encourage you to spend no more time today thinking about why you drink or started drinking. You came back here for a reason today, so please commit to sobriety and TAKE ACTION TOWARD THAT RIGHT NOW. You will have plenty of time to explore and work on why you started drinking or kept drinking when you have your head straight after some sober time (or you may choose not to). It is time for action, not thinking. Please take concrete action toward sobriety and then report back - we are with you!!!

doggonecarl

You disappeared for almost two and a half years. If you want to use SR to get sober, use SR. Daily. Read, post, join one of the newcomer's "classes" for daily accountability.

Alcoholic despair has you floundering around weakly like a man drowning in ice cold water, your strength failing. You want to be sober now, so grab a lifeline and get sober.

ScottFromWI

I am exactly the same as you in this respect, and a lot of people here are. It is VERY common for people with anxiety to seek alcohol and drugs to escape it. And as you have found, it might work for a short period of time, but eventually it makes things worse and bingo...you want to isolate. At the end of my drinking that's pretty much ALL i wanted to do...stay home and drink - all the time.

Quitting drinking is the first and ONLY way that you'll have a chance at getting better. There are many ways to deal with the anxiety that are healthy. Therapy is probably the best place to start after you've given up the alcohol. My anxiety was monumental right after I first quit, but that's just a by product of the years of drinking and trying to run away from it.

You CAN do this but you need to take the initiative. And be aware that things will be rocky at first, getting sober is not easy. Calling an AA hotline or an addiction counselor, or even your doctor would be a great way to get started.

Thumpalumpacus

No one can do anything for you if you don't want to do it for yourself.