BackToSquareOne

Just curious but has anyone else on here ever reached the point where alcohol quit working for you? What I mean by that is that all the good effects, the warm glow, relaxed feelings and other positive effects just no longer happened.

I drank for over 3 decades, it always took more and more to have the same effects, I never experienced the reverse tolerance some speak of. When I finally threw in the towel for good, 6 or 7 years ago, alcohol only seemed to make me depressed, absolutely no positive effects at all. Has anyone else ever reached that point?

Mrrryah1

Yup. That's the friggin WORST point.

The warm buzz that I used to chase never even showed up.

I'd stumble around and vomit etc. (ie. I would get drunk) but there were no euphoric feelings accompanying it.

But I still couldn't put the booze down, because the withdrawals were so uncomfortable I needed to stay drunk to avoid them.

Terrible state to be in.

herradura

Yeah, I had the reverse tolerance problem, but did not know that was what it was called. It absolutely stopped working for me. Used to be fun, happy, outgoing, liked the buzz, free thinking etc. then I just got drunk, the brain stopped working very well, but no happiness or joy. Just drunk. Never drank for the taste, always for the drunk. Never for the buss either, it was Todo y nada. All or nothing. If I only had access to 5 or 6 drinks, then I would honestly not drink, because I could not achieve the desired result.

Yep, Stopped working for me.

BackToSquareOne

That's a good description, I could no longer recapture the euphoric feelings either. Vodka made me drunk and even more bummed out and depressed. You don't hear many people talk about that stage tho.

zjw

I was ok once i drank. it wasnt always a party by any means. Drinking for me in the end was basicly a requirement each day to maintain my sanity. I didnt like that i was chained to the bottle but had no other alternatives or idea how to break free.

Euphoric maybe not but it was rather relieving at the end of the day to get drunk and get calm.

wheresthefun

Well... YEAH!!! If it still worked, I'd still be doing it!!!!

NYCDoglvr

Oh yes, it's always that way for alcoholics. In the beginning my spirits were up, I felt happy and peaceful. But it turns on you ...... you become a depressed, isolating person and continue drinking anyway. That's why it's called "the disease of insanity"

Coldfusion

In the end, alcohol still made me high.

I think many alcoholics see benefits to drinking, and that is why deciding to quit is often a challenge.

Nonsensical

Yes. Toward the end I couldn't drink enough to get my brain happy before my body passed out. At that point I was just drinking to decrease the misery.

MattyBoy

I think the last time I got high from alcohol as in the warm, fuzzy feeling you describe, was about two years ago on Christmas Day. The subsequent occasions I relapsed, I didn't get that high back, I just drank myself sick. I now know that when I crave a drink, I'm actually craving that warm,fuzzy feeling I got when I first started drinking and alcohol simply won't be able to deliver that feeling anymore.

More reason not to pick up again - it stopped working.

zjw

I hate to agree with that statement it feels wrong. But yeah if it was so great i'd still be doing it night after night.

Ionray

Ditto here. By the end, I was no longer drinking to feel good, only to avoid feeling bad. I only had two states to choose from... (1) withdrawal and feeling horrible or (2) drinking just to feel normal.

Judas

Yeah, totally. Drinking lost it's effect for me long before I eventually quit drinking. There were times when I'd be ten beer deep and ask myself why on earth I was drinking. It wasn't fun. I was always trying to chance that initial high, I suppose. Except before long, the highs weren't highs, but the lows were lower than they've ever been.

GracieLou

Same here. At the end I would get drunk, I drank to much to not be physically drunk but I never felt drunk. I had been chasing the drunk for many years and I could not catch it anymore.

That high I got years ago was gone. After drinking for 25 years, I was drinking because I had to.

The only thing I looked forward to was the first drink after work or the first one in the morning on the weekend.

That first drink after work would chase away the anxiety I had all day long and the weekend one chased away the physical pain, that hair of the dog that I had every single Saturday and Sunday morning.

After those first drinks, it was downhill.

It was really maintenance at the end. I drank because I had to. Getting that drink at the end of the day was my goal. It was all I thought about all day. The weekend morning was to chase away the loneliness and emptiness I felt for two days.

It was like I needed to work to see the world even though I did not want to participate in it. The weekend drinks were to soothe me because I hid from the world. Does not make a lot of sense, I know. I had so much fear.

ScottFromWI

Absolutely. At the end I drank simply to keep my heart rate down and not go into withdrawals. As I drank more I simply felt tired and disconnected.

tincup

Exactly where I ended up. It just left me depressed and that is all. Nothing else, no benefit whatsoever. It stopped working.

biminiblue

These are really powerful thoughts here.

I lost the ability to have that euphoria for more than an hour each time, if even that showed up - but the craziness and obsessive desire kept me drinking - thinking I could keep it going. Then I'd pass out after twelve drinks and feel like death for 15 hours. All for that one hour. What insanity. What misery.

That chase, though. That's the thing. That's what almost killed me.

Mirage74

Wow, I'm surprised at these answers, and it's something I've wondered about. Alcohol still worked for me (had the desired effect), the warm, relaxed buzz, etc. Its the consequences and the dreadful next mornings that I can't deal with.

I'll admit, if I got to the point where it no longer "worked", it'd be easier to put down.

Dee74

Yeah I reached that point...and kept drinking cos I had no idea what else to do....

D

Hawks

I got so emotionally screwed up with anger, resentment and self pity that even the mighty power of king alcohol couldn't fully buzz me anymore... It did keep me from killing myself for two years. Sober I was THAT miserable.