TroubledJoe

You're doing the same thing over and over despite negative consequences.

You have a drinking problem. You're not alone. Stick around.

Tetra

The diet coke thing is pretty funny and it fits the point perfectly

seek

I'm not an alcoholic, and I can tell you that drinking 13-14 drinks is not "normal" or healthy - regardless of the culture (college binge drinking).

Mountainmanbob

question has liquor seized to be a luxury and became a necessity

if so one maybe alcoholic

Zebra1275

The 12 questions on the AA test on the first page of this thread are significant indicators of alcoholic drinking.

Anything over 4 is considered significant. You scored a 9.

What was your question again?

dotboston

Just know that all your thoughts are ones nearly all of us have had at some point.

Fortunately you are here and asking questions... It's the right place to be.

I can assure you it only gets worse. Much, much worse. You will get to a point where you truly can't take it any more, a state of desperation where your only two choices are to get help or drink yourself to death. Physical dependence on alcohol is utter hell. The mental and emotional impact is unbearable.

You can make a choice, a very hard one, to stop now. I know it's VERY easy to say that, and to heed that advice is so much harder.

Stick around, ask questions, and talk about how you feel. You'll likely make the right choice! You can do it.

Life without alcohol is not just "ok", it's fantastic!

shayda951

If you have to question whether or not you have a problem, then you do. And life WILL become unmanagable at some point if it doesn't stop. You already have physical symptoms. They will get worse. Take action now before it's too late.

My fiance was seemingly healthy 15 months ago. Then everything caught up to him hard and fast. Within 5 months of his physical decline, he spent 3 weeks in the hospital detoxing because it had become unmanagable physically and mentally. Got out of detox with a completely clean bill of health. He felt great. Went slowly back to drinking 2 weeks out. 9 months later, he's dead. It catches up to you. It sneaks up on you. And once you get so caught up in it, even with impending death, it's hard to quit.

Stop or learn to honestly control it now before it's too late. It's a very painful death. For the alcoholic and for those who loved him/her.

FeenixxRising

Welcome Tie. You don't have to use AA and the 12-Steps to get sober. So not seeing yourself in the Steps doesn't mean you're in denial. There are many sober members here who are not AA members. Other programs include:

SMART Recovery
SOS
LifeRing
Rational Recovery
Therapy/counseling
And some members just quit on their own

Of course, if you're curious about AA, you will find a lot of information about the program on this site, and many AA members eager to help. Whatever you do, I suggest at least spending some time here; I believe you will find a lot of information which can help you decide what you should do.

karate

Not being able to stop once started is an indicator of a problem .

Classic binge drinker .

A lot of us here ,just like that .

I would suspect ,many of us here could moderate drinking for a time .

But ,ill tell you the truth ,sooner rather than later we would all be very drunk . And wonder how that happened .

LBrain

I went back to look for it. Did you say you scheduled your hangovers? That is management right there! As I was reading through this something came to mind.
It is not exactly in the same context but it can be made to fit.
Hurry up and watch/listen before EMI finds it and removes it again.

Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime (1980/ 2013) (HD) - Video Dailymotion

Think of where you are now TTK, and think about where you will be in the future. If you don't stop now you can always hear these lyrics in your head. Your talking head - pun intended.

Welcome to the forum.

TieTheKnot

@Mountainmanbob, after reading my own posts I am starting to think I do, in fact have a problem. However, this is why I was thinking that maybe I didnt. I dont know if it is a necessity because I can go a whole week without it and only drink on the weekends. Maybe I can not drink on the weekends? Im not sure. I tell myself I wont, but I do. Maybe I didnt try hard enough? My life is still relatively normal.....on the weekdays. But I lost my social life because it because I have to plan going out on the weekend around my hang overs. I guess its a problem, but I have time to stop before my life is ruined. I dont know if I will do it though. I hope so.

Mountainmanbob

sounds like you drink like my sponsor drank
there are different types of alcoholics explained very well in the AA Big Book

MM

jdooner

Your rationalizing. You are always going to find someone worse or lower. Be grateful you might be able to get sober without progressing to daily and 24/7.

You are answering your own questions in your own posts. The fact you don't want to drink but find yourself with glass in hand is an obvious red flag, one all recovered/ing alcoholics can relate too.

Unfortunately this elevator only goes one way, up to you to decide what floor you want to get off.

TieTheKnot

I do want to stop. I guess we will see where this weekend takes me.

Mountainmanbob

I found a (possible explanation) for you TieTheKnot
MM


A "periodic" is an alcoholic who is able to put together some dry time -- sometimes for considerable periods -- in between bouts of uncontrolled drinking.

The challenge for a periodic alcoholic is that these "dry times" (understandably) confuse the issue as to whether or not they are powerless over alcohol.

I once heard someone at a meeting sum up his process in sorting this out this way:

"I didn't think I had a problem drinking -- until I finally realized that virtually every time I drank I had a problem."

As I'm fond of observing, Alcoholics Anonymous is not selling anything. As a whole we have no investment in convincing someone that they are alcoholic. Each person must make this diagnosis on their own -- if they don't there is actually very little -- nothing, really -- that the AA program can do to help them.

Thus, in the case of a periodic drinker, while individual AA members may offer their own experience (direct or observational) on the matter, if a person eventually decides that their extended dry periods prove that they are not, in fact, powerless over alcohol ... well then, "our hats are off to them."


That is one of AA's great strengths; its welcoming spirit coupled with a policy of attraction rather than promotion.

And if they're wrong, and they are in fact an alcoholic, well then, I guess if they survive their next drinking episode (and I mean that literally), they'll know where to come for help.


Mr. SponsorPants: Periodics - Part 1
mrsponsorpants.typepad.com/mr_sponsorpants/.../periodics-part-1.html

jdooner

Having the desire is the first step. Setting up a support program is the second and putting down the drink I consider the third. I wish you the best. With some time and clarity I think you will look back and wonder how the hell you ever lived the way you did. Addiction is abject slavery of the mind!

tim68

By all terms of the definition you are an alcoholic. Don't be ashamed of it. Fix it. You've discovered along the way that you cannot drink just one and put it away for weeks at a time like everyone else. We are all here because we can't either. Right now your on a path of illusion. It won't get better, but it will get worse. You can't moderate it. It's going to take more and more alcohol as time passes and as you age to get you to that "buzz" you need to achieve. I'm going to tell you why your going to want to stop now before its too late just from my experience:

That stomach issue will only get worse. I know the "burn" and I'm almost 100% recovered from it. The burn is a warning sign so take heed. If you keep dumping those large amounts of poison in there your going to end up with bleeding ulcers or even worse. Cancer.

If you continue to drink heavily your skin will look horrible. I kept making excuses that it was pet dander from my sweetie pie in my avatar. I was drinking over a half gallon of rum every five days over the last few months before I decided to quit. Basically thats enough to where the alcohol never leaves your system completely. So my skin on my face started taking on this beet red appearance, was dry, flaky and easily irritated. Now my skin is slowly but surely going back to normal. Again....a warning sign.

And weight. Yes like you I've gained. Yet another drawback. Another sign.

Please stop now. Your not going to be able to magically moderate. And that's ok. Your different. So what? But I will say if you don't take heed to these initial warning signs that someday it will be too late and your body won't heal on its own. I'm not trying to scare you. I'm giving you my experience and want to share my desire for getting better. I'm on day 5 and not slowing down. You can do this. It gets better with sobriety and people here on SR. Do not let alcohol destroy your body. We care about you. You need to care about you too.

Nonsensical

If those are problems caused by drinking, then you have your answer. What you call it is immaterial. What you DO about it will impact the rest of your life.

The days of the week don't dictate your behavior. You choose.

Best of Luck on Your Journey!

Boleo

Bottoms are usually an inside job:

Some people just have to wake up in the morning with fear, guilt or shame.

Other people have to wake up in the presence of Doctors, Cops or cellmates.

karate

I can show you at least 2 co workers ,that are weekend drinkers ,then ruin the entire weekend hungover .

These fellows go to jail ,get DWI"s ,break things in their houses .

Do they have a problem ,yes .

In many cases the binge drinker has a harder time than us former full timers .
Full time drinkers ,have developed the correct ways to get through life .

Full time ,daily drinkers are always buzzed ,and learn to cope with it .
The train wreck occurs slower , but rest assured it is in your face sooner or later .

Daily drinkers , some of them also binge drink too - I did .