what is a "dry drunk" ??
It is however a very dangerous symption, IMO
The best outcome is that they just stay miserable for whatever period if time it endures.
The worst is they might have the will power to keep from drinking to get relief from the pain they are in, but instead reach for they only other way they can think of to end the pain,'
Blow their brains out.
A lot of us who have been around a few 24 hours may be able to call such individuals to mind
So It is wrong to call someone that, it is well to be able to recognize it and where it stems from and try to be of unjudgemental help
Closing your eyes and pretending it does not exist or that it will just go away helps no one.
I understood the meaning behind the words but until I started to be around a person that was no longer drinking but did not complete recovery I did not truly understand.
The person is resentful, angry, blaming, condescending and at times down right rude. Every single problem they have in life is someone else's fault. They hash and re-hash the past. They have outright told others that they are the reason they are messed up in the head. They try vitamins or a special diet to relieve physical symptoms like stress and high blood pressure. He still goes to bars and drinks Coke and proceeds to cut down all the stupid drunks that sit in the bar all day.
I could go on but I think you get the point. This is not a happy person. So he has all the exact same issues I had when I was drinking but he is not drinking. He is a dry drunk.
All that said, the worst part is that he now feels superior. He quit so now he is not only better then the person still drinking but he is better than me because he does not have to work any recovery program. He can just quit with no extra help or support. He is all that and a bag of chips!
I have weaned myself away from him because I can no longer take the bad mojo but if he calls I still answer the phone. I am there for him if he should happen to change his mind about continuing his journey. He has not surrendered, he is still fighting with it and the only thing I can do is let him continue.
I am sorry if the term offends and I really did not give it much thought until I was around someone like that but, I am sorry, it fits!
The person is resentful, angry, blaming, condescending and at times down right rude. Every single problem they have in life is someone else's fault. They hash and re-hash the past. They have outright told others that they are the reason they are messed up in the head. They try vitamins or a special diet to relieve physical symptoms like stress and high blood pressure. He still goes to bars and drinks Coke and proceeds to cut down all the stupid drunks that sit in the bar all day.
I could go on but I think you get the point. This is not a happy person. So he has all the exact same issues I had when I was drinking but he is not drinking. He is a dry drunk.
All that said, the worst part is that he now feels superior. He quit so now he is not only better then the person still drinking but he is better than me because he does not have to work any recovery program. He can just quit with no extra help or support. He is all that and a bag of chips!
I have weaned myself away from him because I can no longer take the bad mojo but if he calls I still answer the phone. I am there for him if he should happen to change his mind about continuing his journey. He has not surrendered, he is still fighting with it and the only thing I can do is let him continue.
I am sorry if the term offends and I really did not give it much thought until I was around someone like that but, I am sorry, it fits!
When a person uses it regarding themselves, I think it means they are doing pretty much the same sort of thinking and reacting they were doing when drinking, minus the booze.
When they use it to describe someone else, they are taking another person's inventory, or have convinced themselves they are psychic.
When they use it to describe someone else, they are taking another person's inventory, or have convinced themselves they are psychic.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: C.C. Ma.
Posts: 3,697
I've been a dry drunk........ no question in my mind that it exists, at least for me. I'll let someone else determine if it applies to them or not. Sometimes I make that my business - but it's not, and I usually pay a price for doing so.
For me, it's when I'm doing and acting just like I did in my addiction only now I'm doing it without drinking. That said, recovery for me is the absence of that behavior, not just the drinking.
For me, it's when I'm doing and acting just like I did in my addiction only now I'm doing it without drinking. That said, recovery for me is the absence of that behavior, not just the drinking.
"Dry drunk for an alcoholic is acting and reacting the same way as when we were drinking."
Unfortunately after all my years it hasn't been total sobriety in mind and spirit for me yet, practice, practice and more practice.
BE WELL
the best explanation for the term "dry drunk"
I still think that the term "dry drunk" just seems to cover too many things
it can mean something different to ten different people
I have seen it thrown around loosely so many times over the years
kind of a catch all term
like -- let your imagination do the walking
Mountainman
Of course, there have been many threads about "dry drunk" Here are are few of my earlier posts. It can be a touchy discussion, at times, but we're all on the same side no matter our differences.
You know, there is truth in that for some persons just a simple practice of abstinence would be considered insufficient for real recovery. I am counted as among those people, lol.
Dry drunkeness is no myth, has been my experience. I don't use my understanding of those "dry drunk" experiences except as a "quality check" tool in my own journey of ongoing sobriety. Scaring away others from living their own experiences of abstinence has zero interest for me. Absolutely I do appreciate that abstinence is enough in and of itself for many ex-alcoholics to experience and live real recovery. No problemo. Live and let live.
Dry drunkeness is no myth, has been my experience. I don't use my understanding of those "dry drunk" experiences except as a "quality check" tool in my own journey of ongoing sobriety. Scaring away others from living their own experiences of abstinence has zero interest for me. Absolutely I do appreciate that abstinence is enough in and of itself for many ex-alcoholics to experience and live real recovery. No problemo. Live and let live.
For me, any reference of being a dry drunk onto anyone else is always inappropriate, and misses the point. To speak of myself, a dry drunk experience has nothing to do with wanting alcohol the substance itself. Its much more indicative of the health of my quality of life standards then anything else.
There are of course many opinions on what is or is not a dry drunk, mine no less or more then any one else.
Still though, I have had times of dry drunkenness brought about by both and either good fortunate and bad fortunes of experiences while being sober. My being dry drunk brought me to my knees even though I didn't crave, obsessed, or drink alcohol. Experiences such as these are difficult to forget, lol.
I was brought to my knees by the weight of my burden of suffering for no good reason or cause other then I was/am an alcoholic as defined by AA alcoholism illness. For me, that illness is not cured, and although it is arrested, for me, there is still times of perfect storm experiences which metaphorically defeat me completely within, and I find myself otherwise lost without my knowledge of what a dry drunk experience is to me.
That probably didn't explain much, lol. It makes sense to me...
There are of course many opinions on what is or is not a dry drunk, mine no less or more then any one else.
Still though, I have had times of dry drunkenness brought about by both and either good fortunate and bad fortunes of experiences while being sober. My being dry drunk brought me to my knees even though I didn't crave, obsessed, or drink alcohol. Experiences such as these are difficult to forget, lol.
I was brought to my knees by the weight of my burden of suffering for no good reason or cause other then I was/am an alcoholic as defined by AA alcoholism illness. For me, that illness is not cured, and although it is arrested, for me, there is still times of perfect storm experiences which metaphorically defeat me completely within, and I find myself otherwise lost without my knowledge of what a dry drunk experience is to me.
That probably didn't explain much, lol. It makes sense to me...
Well, dry drunk is not a 'person' to be bullied around, or otherwise be coerced. Being dry drunk is a personal experience, and not a universal slander against whomever, and since i've had dry drunk experiences in my 30 yrs of sans alcohol, i guess I have an informed opinion on the matter.
To be sure, the term can, has, and will be again, unfortunately, used against certain persons as a derogatory, shameful, beat-down. Yeah, that's what it is when used against someone as a performance barometer.
You don't have to agree, of course, on my experiences.
Well, mal-contentedness had little if anything to do with my experiencing a dry drunk. It had more to do with my wanting to be sober, and all the great benefits with that life style, and yet not do the work required to achieve a honest level of sobriety to ensure my living the sober spiritual lifestyle.
In other words, I was too happily selfish, and comfortably self-centered, and stupidly ego-centric, to enthusiastically and honestly embrace a revolution of my psyche. At my dry drunk times, I simply wanted what I wanted without the changing required to have what I could only have by changing, yeah?
been there and done that
To be sure, the term can, has, and will be again, unfortunately, used against certain persons as a derogatory, shameful, beat-down. Yeah, that's what it is when used against someone as a performance barometer.
You don't have to agree, of course, on my experiences.
Well, mal-contentedness had little if anything to do with my experiencing a dry drunk. It had more to do with my wanting to be sober, and all the great benefits with that life style, and yet not do the work required to achieve a honest level of sobriety to ensure my living the sober spiritual lifestyle.
In other words, I was too happily selfish, and comfortably self-centered, and stupidly ego-centric, to enthusiastically and honestly embrace a revolution of my psyche. At my dry drunk times, I simply wanted what I wanted without the changing required to have what I could only have by changing, yeah?
been there and done that
Funny enough, I have no problemo with what is a dry drunk either. I've had many of them in my sobreity, and they are what they are for me, nothing more or less.
A dry drunk for me is unknowingly suffering from alcoholism without having alcohol to solve the suffering, you know? I suppose i could go into detail, but that definition suffices for this thread. Suffering, without awareness of the suffering, from alcoholism without the alcohol solution. Yeah.
My spiritual awareness/experience can be temporarily "made deaf and blind" and unresponsive to my real day to day life if I don't seek beyond myself for my way forward. If I satisfy myself with myself, I have nothing but myself, and I trip and fall into the ditch. But of course. I am not myself nearly enough to empower my own spiritual journey.
Having said that, falling into the ditch is not the end of the world, lol. Its for sure a wakeup call, yes, but its not something that can't be survived, not something that wrecks it for me, not something that can't be turned around for the better.
When I fall down go boom, I don't all of a sudden become "alcoholic" again. I don't re-aquire my old alcoholic mind, and stumble on from there. When I fall sober, I stay sober, but I suffer in a manner which only brings me to an even higher resolution than I had before I fell. In other words, even when challenged by a dry drunk, I can only become even more aware of my misfortune precisely because of my sobriety, and not because somehow i have "fallen back into my old ways"
What really is happening is I'm about to learn some real cool new ways to live better still, all I gotta do is realise at the time that my journey is a human journey and not a perfect journey. No matter my history of alcoholism, i would still not be perfect. I would still trip and fall, and so, my alcoholism can be discounted and kept in the past where it belongs when i trip and fall while living my sober life.
Yeah?
A dry drunk for me is unknowingly suffering from alcoholism without having alcohol to solve the suffering, you know? I suppose i could go into detail, but that definition suffices for this thread. Suffering, without awareness of the suffering, from alcoholism without the alcohol solution. Yeah.
My spiritual awareness/experience can be temporarily "made deaf and blind" and unresponsive to my real day to day life if I don't seek beyond myself for my way forward. If I satisfy myself with myself, I have nothing but myself, and I trip and fall into the ditch. But of course. I am not myself nearly enough to empower my own spiritual journey.
Having said that, falling into the ditch is not the end of the world, lol. Its for sure a wakeup call, yes, but its not something that can't be survived, not something that wrecks it for me, not something that can't be turned around for the better.
When I fall down go boom, I don't all of a sudden become "alcoholic" again. I don't re-aquire my old alcoholic mind, and stumble on from there. When I fall sober, I stay sober, but I suffer in a manner which only brings me to an even higher resolution than I had before I fell. In other words, even when challenged by a dry drunk, I can only become even more aware of my misfortune precisely because of my sobriety, and not because somehow i have "fallen back into my old ways"
What really is happening is I'm about to learn some real cool new ways to live better still, all I gotta do is realise at the time that my journey is a human journey and not a perfect journey. No matter my history of alcoholism, i would still not be perfect. I would still trip and fall, and so, my alcoholism can be discounted and kept in the past where it belongs when i trip and fall while living my sober life.
Yeah?
Yeah, both models share the similar "fill the void" view in practice as well as philosophic rhetoric. I appreciate the heat-seeking missile metaphor, lol.
My alcoholic darkness can not be filled. It is a gaping hole or emptiness or illness or whatever inside me. There is no filling or otherwise. It continues [my alcoholism] unchanged as it was no matter I drink or dont drink. It is unpowered just now though of course, otherwise I would be drunk.
My sober spiritual solution is I came to an understanding of a power greater than my alcoholic self ie my alcoholism. My HP is not God. I'm a Christian, but my Christianity has zero to do with my HP ie my sobriety. First I became sober. Then I became Christian, so my spiritual sobriety was already set in stone. Before that I was agnostic when I detoxed and before that I was raised as a garden variety so-called Christian as a youth -- Sunday school and the rest.
I tad bit confusing I have been told, but nonetheless it is my understanding and it works well in simplicity and effectiveness keeping me very sober for many years. My sobriety is empowered by the very same power which disempowers my alcoholism. Simple, eh?!!
My alcoholic darkness can not be filled. It is a gaping hole or emptiness or illness or whatever inside me. There is no filling or otherwise. It continues [my alcoholism] unchanged as it was no matter I drink or dont drink. It is unpowered just now though of course, otherwise I would be drunk.
My sober spiritual solution is I came to an understanding of a power greater than my alcoholic self ie my alcoholism. My HP is not God. I'm a Christian, but my Christianity has zero to do with my HP ie my sobriety. First I became sober. Then I became Christian, so my spiritual sobriety was already set in stone. Before that I was agnostic when I detoxed and before that I was raised as a garden variety so-called Christian as a youth -- Sunday school and the rest.
I tad bit confusing I have been told, but nonetheless it is my understanding and it works well in simplicity and effectiveness keeping me very sober for many years. My sobriety is empowered by the very same power which disempowers my alcoholism. Simple, eh?!!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: London Uk
Posts: 65
I too think it is an unpleasant term, but maybe that is because it sits uncomfortably too close to the truth.
I am usually sitting in denial, only nudging at the program when the pain gets too much, all my character defects are running rife, and I can't self medicate on booze to take all the hate away. I think dry drunk pretty much sums me up.
I am usually sitting in denial, only nudging at the program when the pain gets too much, all my character defects are running rife, and I can't self medicate on booze to take all the hate away. I think dry drunk pretty much sums me up.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 567
I went through a phase in this sober journey with "dry drunk analysis paralylisis" syndrome", ( my own terminology ), meaning I would judge others in the rooms of AA,my own family and the world.
With the exception of none other but who else ?
me.
Since realizing something, can't remember what it was exactly, I simply stopped using the "dry drunk" analysis of others in the world and just work my Step 10 and 11.
I was the "dry drunk ! and found some defects with my own Intolerance and Humility after a dummy spit and walk-out, or rather, stomp out during someone's share. I judged that person and thought stuff, trivial garbage.
Since then made an amend to the secretary of that group.
So that's my experience with the "dry drunk" thing. I do my own step 10 check to see if I'm right with HP and the world.
With the exception of none other but who else ?
me.
Since realizing something, can't remember what it was exactly, I simply stopped using the "dry drunk" analysis of others in the world and just work my Step 10 and 11.
I was the "dry drunk ! and found some defects with my own Intolerance and Humility after a dummy spit and walk-out, or rather, stomp out during someone's share. I judged that person and thought stuff, trivial garbage.
Since then made an amend to the secretary of that group.
So that's my experience with the "dry drunk" thing. I do my own step 10 check to see if I'm right with HP and the world.
are lead to believe that
but
what comes to my mind is
some people act off the wall either drinking or not drinking
some are just born to be mean either drinking or not drinking
so
if I act badly -- which happens at times
am I being a "dry drunk" for a moment
or
just acting as I would normally anyway
hard to make the point here
just think that the term is highly over rated
I prefer that Mountainman was acting like a jerk
rather that Mountainman was in "dry drunk" mode
seems to be more precise in the explanation
and
it's something that (all) may suffer from time to time
I like to call it the Sanctification Process
or
being rid of character defects (sometimes as the BB says - slowly)
MM
This does not even occur to the dry drunk anymore than it occurs to the person that is still drinking. They are still in the blame game mode. They still see life and the people in it as the root of their problems, not themselves. There is no step 4 or 5 being done. They have not cleared out the resentments and seen their part in them.
They have never been painstakingly honest.
So, no. Having a bad moment, IMO, is not a dry drunk moment because you identified it and I assume took the initiative to clear any wreckage it may have caused.
The dry drunk does not do this. There is no identification they have any other problem. The problem they had is booze and ONLY booze. Get rid of the booze and problem solved.
In the example I have been around, the dry drunk is worse than the drunk. In many cases the drunk just goes off and drinks. They are not associating with people that are sober. But now since they are "sober" they feel they are now part of the sober crowd. While we are happy, joyous and free they remain disgruntled and discontent. Now they don't fit in either world and that must be living hell. To come so far yet still not find the promises.
I feel for them but until they stop fighting with it, there is nothing I can do and I cannot let their bad attitude leak onto me. In time I will become one of the many they choose to throw blame at and I refuse to sit and let the **** hit me when I can choose to remove myself from the fest.
Do I feel for them?, Of course I do, that is why I still answer the phone. Can I help them?, not until they complete step one. They have, in my mind, never completed that step. The have never surrendered and until they do they will remain dry, yet a drunk.
term that should not be used as a catch-all
Dry Drunk
Most people who have experienced a dry drunk reach this point from not going to A.A meetings.
Go to meetings, (lots of meetings) Get a sponsor, and get involved in A.A
Sobriety will necessarily have its ups and downs, its good times and its bad times, if only because we live in a world which we are inseparably joined. One doesn't always sustain sobriety at the same level. There are fluctuations, shocks and setbacks which, when addressed within the context of the A.A. program, so not in themselves imperil the totality of one's sobriety.
The Dry Drunk Syndrome is a term that should not be used as a catch-all when one has a bad day or a bump in life throws us for a while. Those are ups and downs that everyone experiences and shouldn't be labeled to be anything more than what they truly are. The Dry Drunk is a condition far more serious than the highs and lows of our day-to-day existence.
The phrase "dry drunk" has two significant words for the alcoholic. "Dry" refers to the abstinence from drinking, whereas "drunk" signifies a deeply pathological condition resulting from the use of alcohol in the past. Taken together these words suggest intoxication without alcohol. Since intoxication comes from the Greek word for poison, "dry drunk" implies a state of mind and a mode of behavior that are poisonous to the alcoholic's well being.
Most people who have experienced a dry drunk reach this point from not going to A.A meetings.
Go to meetings, (lots of meetings) Get a sponsor, and get involved in A.A
Sobriety will necessarily have its ups and downs, its good times and its bad times, if only because we live in a world which we are inseparably joined. One doesn't always sustain sobriety at the same level. There are fluctuations, shocks and setbacks which, when addressed within the context of the A.A. program, so not in themselves imperil the totality of one's sobriety.
The Dry Drunk Syndrome is a term that should not be used as a catch-all when one has a bad day or a bump in life throws us for a while. Those are ups and downs that everyone experiences and shouldn't be labeled to be anything more than what they truly are. The Dry Drunk is a condition far more serious than the highs and lows of our day-to-day existence.
The phrase "dry drunk" has two significant words for the alcoholic. "Dry" refers to the abstinence from drinking, whereas "drunk" signifies a deeply pathological condition resulting from the use of alcohol in the past. Taken together these words suggest intoxication without alcohol. Since intoxication comes from the Greek word for poison, "dry drunk" implies a state of mind and a mode of behavior that are poisonous to the alcoholic's well being.
I understand the thinking and meaning behind "dry drunk", but I've never like the term. I find it trite and simplistic, and it's an oxymoron. One can't be "dry" and "drunk" at the same time. But one can be "dry" and full of negative emotions and exhibiting negative behavior. Those traits keep a recovering alcoholic and addict from fully enjoying a sober life. And not dealing with those issues could lead to relapse.
I understood the meaning behind the words but until I started to be around a person that was no longer drinking but did not complete recovery I did not truly understand.
The person is resentful, angry, blaming, condescending and at times down right rude. Every single problem they have in life is someone else's fault. They hash and re-hash the past. They have outright told others that they are the reason they are messed up in the head. They try vitamins or a special diet to relieve physical symptoms like stress and high blood pressure. He still goes to bars and drinks Coke and proceeds to cut down all the stupid drunks that sit in the bar all day.
I could go on but I think you get the point. This is not a happy person. So he has all the exact same issues I had when I was drinking but he is not drinking. He is a dry drunk.
All that said, the worst part is that he now feels superior. He quit so now he is not only better then the person still drinking but he is better than me because he does not have to work any recovery program. He can just quit with no extra help or support. He is all that and a bag of chips!
I have weaned myself away from him because I can no longer take the bad mojo but if he calls I still answer the phone. I am there for him if he should happen to change his mind about continuing his journey. He has not surrendered, he is still fighting with it and the only thing I can do is let him continue.
I am sorry if the term offends and I really did not give it much thought until I was around someone like that but, I am sorry, it fits!
The person is resentful, angry, blaming, condescending and at times down right rude. Every single problem they have in life is someone else's fault. They hash and re-hash the past. They have outright told others that they are the reason they are messed up in the head. They try vitamins or a special diet to relieve physical symptoms like stress and high blood pressure. He still goes to bars and drinks Coke and proceeds to cut down all the stupid drunks that sit in the bar all day.
I could go on but I think you get the point. This is not a happy person. So he has all the exact same issues I had when I was drinking but he is not drinking. He is a dry drunk.
All that said, the worst part is that he now feels superior. He quit so now he is not only better then the person still drinking but he is better than me because he does not have to work any recovery program. He can just quit with no extra help or support. He is all that and a bag of chips!
I have weaned myself away from him because I can no longer take the bad mojo but if he calls I still answer the phone. I am there for him if he should happen to change his mind about continuing his journey. He has not surrendered, he is still fighting with it and the only thing I can do is let him continue.
I am sorry if the term offends and I really did not give it much thought until I was around someone like that but, I am sorry, it fits!
Not even half of it,and I'm 50 yo. and have been in many a bar room.
This must be a unique individual.
Absent one or both I have never seen it change.
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 2,126
Although the term seem to have been 'mainstreamed' and gentrified, in the recovery community, in my experience, it's usually used by folks t refer to others who are not sober/recovering/recovered as they (the accuser) define sober/recovery. IRL, I've usually found these people to be ignorant, small-minded folks who put others down in order to raise themselves.
I don't like the term; I don't use the term; and I don't associate with folks who do. After all, AA defines sober as 'freedom from alcohol;' therefore if a person is abstinent, and feels he/she has freedom from alcohol, they he/she is sober and not a dry drunk.
People who quit drinking, and yet are still resentful, angry, blaming, condescending and at times down right rude; every single problem they have in life is someone else's fault; they hash and re-hash the past; they tell others that they are the reason they are messed up in the head; they cut down all the stupid drunks that sit in the bar all day; not a happy person.
I've known many folks like this (active A's, recovering/recovered A's), and I have found that it wasn't the alcohol (or lack thereof) that created these attitudes. These folks are not dry drunks; they are usually just jerks.
Of course, these are only my opinions based on my experiences. Sooooooo, that's my story 'n I'm stickin' to it.....
(o:
I don't like the term; I don't use the term; and I don't associate with folks who do. After all, AA defines sober as 'freedom from alcohol;' therefore if a person is abstinent, and feels he/she has freedom from alcohol, they he/she is sober and not a dry drunk.
People who quit drinking, and yet are still resentful, angry, blaming, condescending and at times down right rude; every single problem they have in life is someone else's fault; they hash and re-hash the past; they tell others that they are the reason they are messed up in the head; they cut down all the stupid drunks that sit in the bar all day; not a happy person.
I've known many folks like this (active A's, recovering/recovered A's), and I have found that it wasn't the alcohol (or lack thereof) that created these attitudes. These folks are not dry drunks; they are usually just jerks.
Of course, these are only my opinions based on my experiences. Sooooooo, that's my story 'n I'm stickin' to it.....
(o:
learned again over and over
Although the term seem to have been 'mainstreamed' and gentrified, in the recovery community, in my experience, it's usually used by folks t refer to others who are not sober/recovering/recovered as they (the accuser) define sober/recovery. IRL, I've usually found these people to be ignorant, small-minded folks who put others down in order to raise themselves.
and
I have noticed with myself
when I have one finger pointing out to someone else
I have three more pointing back at me
a lesson that needs to be learned again over and over
MM
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 35
Dry Drunk
A dry drunk is someone in the late stages of liver and multi-organ shut down. Ammonia collects in your brain and you appear dilussional. A dose of Lactolase will help clear your mind by attacking the ammonia, but your pretty much done and looking at blown varices where you blow out blood like vomit. Some people survive in this state as long as they stop drinking before they die. They are in care facilities lay labeled dry drunks.
That sounds more like Hepatic Encephalopathy.
Hepatic Encephalopathy·A Serious Complication of Alcoholic Liver Disease
Every year I seem to hear a new definition of 'dry drunk'.
Wet Brain is sometimes confused with 'dry drunk' in these forums too.
D
Hepatic Encephalopathy·A Serious Complication of Alcoholic Liver Disease
Every year I seem to hear a new definition of 'dry drunk'.
Wet Brain is sometimes confused with 'dry drunk' in these forums too.
D
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