Black out drunk. Anyone wish to share their stories?
Matt M
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 490
Originally Posted by Dee74 
Everybody pretty much knows my stance on war stories. Without that redeeming recovery bit at the end it's just romancing 'the good old days' IMO.
There's venting and there's revelling tho....there can also be a self-flagellating masochistic element I've seen sometimes that can't be healthy.
I think there's also the danger of doing what I did - listen to others stories and think...hey I'm not that bad....I can push this boat out a little more....
but, hey - I accept blackout stories will always be a part of the community here, whether I or anyone else likes it or not, and my comments are not meant to reflect on posters in this particular thread.
I just hope the sharing for is good reasons, y'know?
D
There's venting and there's revelling tho....there can also be a self-flagellating masochistic element I've seen sometimes that can't be healthy.
I think there's also the danger of doing what I did - listen to others stories and think...hey I'm not that bad....I can push this boat out a little more....
but, hey - I accept blackout stories will always be a part of the community here, whether I or anyone else likes it or not, and my comments are not meant to reflect on posters in this particular thread.
I just hope the sharing for is good reasons, y'know?
D
I guess it just depends on the individual.
I always thought I would dread and be embarrassed about it and thought even on places like this and in meetings I would hold back.
But for me personally, just telling everything has made things slightly easier.
I mean my stories of seizures, injuries etc aren't things i'd open with on first meeting someone unless they were on a place like this.
I think the only thing i'm slightly concerned about is how people will react if they've never experienced addiction problems.
It'd probably be fine I know, but you never know for sure.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LA - Lower Alabama
Posts: 5,068
The reason I don't like "war story" threads is that I do not want someone in the 20s or 30s, who clearly has an alcohol problem, to read all my ugly, sad stories, decide that "I'm not that bad", then go out and drink for another 20 years.
For the same reasons, I do not like them in AA meetings either.
For the same reasons, I do not like them in AA meetings either.
Matt M
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 490
Originally Posted by Taking5
The reason I don't like "war story" threads is that I do not want someone in the 20s or 30s, who clearly has an alcohol problem, to read all my ugly, sad stories, decide that "I'm not that bad", then go out and drink for another 20 years.
For the same reasons, I do not like them in AA meetings either.
For the same reasons, I do not like them in AA meetings either.
I get what you mean but I'm the opposite in a way.
I hear people's stories sometimes and think "seriously, is that all you drank?!".
Recognizes the Beast
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: In the kitchen, cooking up a storm
Posts: 704
Recovery is a process and I think one of the first steps people take when they come here is being able to unload a lot of the guilt and shame they have been carrying for so long. This is a place where they are able to self-confess and unload their sins, if you will.
So I have nothing against these threads, while it may seem like war stories to some, I think be able to talk freely and openly about some of the horrible things you've done is a very important part of early recovery. It's a kind of catharsis.
I was no different, I remember doing the same thing when I first arrived here. That phase has long gone however, and now here, or in real life, I like to simply acknowledge that my life was unmanageable when I was drinking, without getting into specifics.
So I have nothing against these threads, while it may seem like war stories to some, I think be able to talk freely and openly about some of the horrible things you've done is a very important part of early recovery. It's a kind of catharsis.
I was no different, I remember doing the same thing when I first arrived here. That phase has long gone however, and now here, or in real life, I like to simply acknowledge that my life was unmanageable when I was drinking, without getting into specifics.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 478
They have always helped me-in my opinion-they either show what DID happen to me so I can relate (that I am not a freak and not alone) or what COULD happen to me so I stay stopped. I was about to say, if you don't like the question, don't post--until I read Dee's answer. That clarifies it! Anyway, I think the OP has the right intentions and can see the other side, too. When I first got sober, I couldn't put the drinking books down--but true, they all had the recovery part, too.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: liverpool, england
Posts: 1,708
i lost my kids to social services care because of my drinking should i not mention it as others haven't lost there kids YET ! or should i mention it as a warning that if they carry on drinking it can and mostly likely will happen to them
war stories are not war stories, there my own personal experience of what life was like for me drinking
i came to aa for help with my drinking problem and i only got that help once i heard other peoples experiences with drinking and what happened to them, i never would of come back had people not be so honest and there honesty means i can not live in the fantasy world i was living in trying to pretend my life was ok etc
i pass on my experience strength and hope to anyone in the meetings and when i am asked to do a main share you can hear a pin drop as my life story unfolds into the sucess story it leads onto and how grateful i am to those memebers in aa who were honest enough with me about themselves so i could learn how to get honest myself
when i remember all the times i would wake up in a wet bed stinking of pee, and trying to dry out the mattresses before anyone found out, as i would never want anyone in the world to know i did that as it would be so shameful for anyone to know
now i dont give a monkeys who knows i wet the bed
i got honest because of others who were honest i learnt it i wasnt given it
war stories are not war stories, there my own personal experience of what life was like for me drinking
i came to aa for help with my drinking problem and i only got that help once i heard other peoples experiences with drinking and what happened to them, i never would of come back had people not be so honest and there honesty means i can not live in the fantasy world i was living in trying to pretend my life was ok etc
i pass on my experience strength and hope to anyone in the meetings and when i am asked to do a main share you can hear a pin drop as my life story unfolds into the sucess story it leads onto and how grateful i am to those memebers in aa who were honest enough with me about themselves so i could learn how to get honest myself
when i remember all the times i would wake up in a wet bed stinking of pee, and trying to dry out the mattresses before anyone found out, as i would never want anyone in the world to know i did that as it would be so shameful for anyone to know
now i dont give a monkeys who knows i wet the bed
i got honest because of others who were honest i learnt it i wasnt given it
Cat Lady Extraordinaire
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: MN
Posts: 263
It does help me a little bit by talking about some of the bad stuff, makes me realize how stupid I was, how lucky I am and that I never wanna do that again. I almost lost my husband and kids from binge drinking. Never again.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 226
For me, hearing stories of stupid things done while drunk help me no more in my life than hearing stories of stupid things done while sober. Believe me, I've done both for sure.
It is my opinion that people who find there way here to SR already have a seeded belief that they may have an issue with alcohol and/or drugs.
Each to his own and people have the right to share their feelings here.
It is my opinion that people who find there way here to SR already have a seeded belief that they may have an issue with alcohol and/or drugs.
Each to his own and people have the right to share their feelings here.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Toronto
Posts: 3,195
My 'war stories' actually serve as the main deterrent for me drinking again. I am positive that out of everyone who has ever known me, if they were asked who was the biggest problem drinker they know, that I would be at the top of all their lists.
I don't know anyone else who has been arrested once, let alone 5 times. I don't know anyone who has been in the ER even once from drinking mishaps/injuries. I've been 4 times. I don't know anyone else who gets kicked out of places for being too drunk/causing trouble. I lost count the number times I've been removed, even forcibly, from bars/restaurants/nightclubs.
I am just bewildered why it took me so long to finally realize that these behaviours are not normal and that I have a serious problem.
I don't know anyone else who has been arrested once, let alone 5 times. I don't know anyone who has been in the ER even once from drinking mishaps/injuries. I've been 4 times. I don't know anyone else who gets kicked out of places for being too drunk/causing trouble. I lost count the number times I've been removed, even forcibly, from bars/restaurants/nightclubs.
I am just bewildered why it took me so long to finally realize that these behaviours are not normal and that I have a serious problem.
Guest
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,476
Age 15, came to in hospital and was handed a piece of paper that detailed what had happened.
No recollection of the party, ambulance ride or the treatment at the hospital.
I'd had my stomach pumped after consuming 12x750ml bottles of beer (9 litres) in under 4 hours.
Which I did to win a $50 bet.
That was a fun Monday at school. Getting a few blanks filled in by the other kids who had been there.
War story war story war story.
They don't help me recover, but I guess they serve a purpose in so much as I know I qualify for the beautiful term "alcoholic of the hopeless variety "
Took me another 20 years to figure out drinking like that wasn't a good idea.... DOH!!!!
No recollection of the party, ambulance ride or the treatment at the hospital.
I'd had my stomach pumped after consuming 12x750ml bottles of beer (9 litres) in under 4 hours.
Which I did to win a $50 bet.
That was a fun Monday at school. Getting a few blanks filled in by the other kids who had been there.
War story war story war story.
They don't help me recover, but I guess they serve a purpose in so much as I know I qualify for the beautiful term "alcoholic of the hopeless variety "
Took me another 20 years to figure out drinking like that wasn't a good idea.... DOH!!!!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: industrial northern england
Posts: 953
my recovery includes AA. part of my work involved reading the basic text of alcoholics anonymous which involved "feeling" how i relate to the sensation and reality of the powerlessness and unmanageability i experienced whilst using alcohol and other substances. the risky situations i would put myself in. on one occasion i woke up to be told i had crashed a party in a tattooist's parlour, gotten nasty and smashed up the place - windows and everything. this is NOT who i really am. i made the worst enemies in blackout. i even over-did it (over-dosed) once and found myself being roused by paramedics who found me cut to ribbons and dumped in an industrial trash can. happy days.
the good news is that i tend not to do these things in sobriety and need never live these shenanigans again - yay!
the good news is that i tend not to do these things in sobriety and need never live these shenanigans again - yay!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Pacific Coast
Posts: 785
Reading other people's war stories makes me feel very grateful to be sober.
I guess I'm one of those who got off extremely lucky. My drinking was mostly solitary, and I was good at hiding my condition.
I caused one car accident in which no one was hurt, but a police response was necessary because both cars had to be towed. No one discovered that I was drunk -- in part possibly because it was 9:00 a.m. and they weren't looking for it.
I shudder when I think of all the horrific things that might have happened if I hadn't stopped. Maybe one of my motivations to finally get serious about sobriety was the sense that my karmic good fortune had just about run out, and I was on the brink of causing the kind of disaster in which I wasn't the only one hurt.
I guess I'm one of those who got off extremely lucky. My drinking was mostly solitary, and I was good at hiding my condition.
I caused one car accident in which no one was hurt, but a police response was necessary because both cars had to be towed. No one discovered that I was drunk -- in part possibly because it was 9:00 a.m. and they weren't looking for it.
I shudder when I think of all the horrific things that might have happened if I hadn't stopped. Maybe one of my motivations to finally get serious about sobriety was the sense that my karmic good fortune had just about run out, and I was on the brink of causing the kind of disaster in which I wasn't the only one hurt.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 401
My blackouts happened in my first x5 years as an alcoholic. Then I became a more professional/high functioning alcoholic. Being a blackout alcoholic is terrifying because you end up trying to fill in a puzzle of what happened without knowing what the picture is supposed to look like. Being a professional/high functioning alcoholic is hell because you only exist just to find a way to keep drinking
Don't Blink
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 342
I was verbally and physically abusive to my husband, tried to overdose on pills, and peed myself too. Mostly people told me that I either was absurdly happy or extremely sad and cried all night. I'm glad that I don't have to do these things anymore.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 48
I like hearing these stories because they remind me that I'm not alone in behaving like a lunatic while drunk. I need to remind myself that I can't drink like other people, and it's nice to know I'm not alone. My worst was on a business trip in New Orleans. I charged $400 on my expense account at the hotel lobby bar...I have no idea on what. Then went into a "brown out." We had a corporate dinner/party in the hotel meeting center where I continued to drink more. I was fully blacked out and came to when I jumped a fence to get into the hotel's closed pool. I threw a bunch of the reclining chairs into the pool and ended up running away from security. I made it back to my room, woke up the next morning and drank more.
It was sheer nonsense and insanity. From that point on I started to become a monster when drinking. I'm sober today, and that's what matters. I don't know if I'll be tomorrow, but we only have 24 hours.
It was sheer nonsense and insanity. From that point on I started to become a monster when drinking. I'm sober today, and that's what matters. I don't know if I'll be tomorrow, but we only have 24 hours.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: New England, USA
Posts: 3,958
I was a black out drinker. I grew weary of having to retrace my steps when I woke up (came to) in the morning - or figure out where on earth I was! It was one of my biggest motivations to quit.
voices ca**y
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: St. Paul Minnesota
Posts: 4,359
I mostly drank at home so the worst that ever happened is I destroyed the kitchen late at night playing chef drunkbutt. Made a few FB I have no idea who they are. I remember my first one on July 2nd 2013. The last thing I remember was sitting by the bonfire and then all of a sudden it was morning and I was on the couch. I knew right there something had changed. I continued to drink for 10 more years. Is what I found really frightening is toward the end I would have no memory of things that had happened even while I was sober.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
