Quitting vs. Improving
 

How likely is it to be able to learn to drink less vs. getting yourself to quit drinking completely?

try and see what happens. I can't do that. I choose sobriety today.

That is the magic question that is often asked here.

My opinion: Drink Less <10% success rate. Stop Drinking >50% success rate.

Stick around, read others stories, look for the similarities but above all else... BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!

Every attempt I made at moderation was an abysmal failure, KChance.

I think most of us here have tried to drink less, and failed at that.
Have you never tried to drink less before KChance?

D

Not really, I have just been increasing the amount I drink over the past months and especially past year to the point that I know now I drink too much.

well, everyone tries it - few succeed - especially people who join a recovery website.

For whatever it's worth, my advice is to skip the trying it stage and accept that abstinence is the way forward.

D

I pondered the other day if i could maybe moderate now. its been 3+ years since i last drank. I dont care for hangovers headaches or even the taste much. SO i thought I wonder if i could moderate now. Surely the first day of feeling a bit run down would be enoughf or met o go easier the next night or not drink at all etc.. right?


I dont want to risk finding out if thats true or not. and really I've gone this long without it and i'm doing just fine so no sense it testing the waters anyhow.

the odd thing is in the past few weeks. I've had a few times where i woke up in the middle of the night feeling as if i drank too much go figure. and I thought ugg yeah now i remember what that felt like too and I dont want to go back to that ever. Maybe I was just dreaming about hangovers I dunno.

Personally, I really don't think that will work in the long term. I mean why would anybody even be in here if they could simply reduce their intake to that of a 'normal' person?

I think a fair amount of people ((us types)) might be able to go out have just have a couple here and there, but I think it's really just testing fate. Plus spending the night fighting the urge to have another would only kill any possibilities for a nice time out anyhow.

That's just me though, so who knows? I'm a believer in that you're either a drinker or not- No compromises.


Lusher

I always saw alcoholism as an addiction to changing the way I felt with a substance. Over time it took more amd more to change the way I felt in a big enough way. I figured that if a small dose of the feel good feelings was good a bigger dose would be even better.

Moderation would have been going in the wrong direction for what I was using the substance to achieve. The couple of drings that moderation would allow would only make me want more. There was a strong component of the all or nothing at all, more is better type of thinking that drove the addiction.

Moderation is not for me..
I rarely think about having just one.
I always think about getting hammered.
Even if I just bring enough money to the bar to afford only a couple, I just end up hammered and in debt to the other bar flies.
Maybe I'm lucky in that I know that just having one is torture for me.

Personally, I think almost everyone has to at least TRY moderation. I don't know of anyone who has quit without making an effort at it. That's pretty much what clues you in that you have to quit--either you can't do it, or you can but you're miserable when you do.

In my case it was mostly the latter. I could "control" it for discrete periods of time, but not long-term, and I was pretty miserable when I tried. It came down to "drink the way you want to and risk your health, safety, and sanity," "drink moderately and feel like you are ready to climb the walls," or "give it up and stop hurting your head over it."

Option 3 was the only viable option left for me and, indeed, I no longer hurt my head (or anything else) over it.

I'd sure like to have been able to drink less, but that would have meant not achieving the high/buzz I was after.
If I can't drink six or eight beers or maybe a pint of whiskey in a evening five times a week then there's no point in drinking.
Who the hell drinks one and stops anyway?

See how I think?.....that's why it's easier for me to just stay away from it, less complicated.

I am an alcoholic, so moderation did not work for me. But I am not you. On this site I have read many posts leading me to believe that many many people stop or moderate purely as a matter of personal choice, on their own power with little or no help.

It depends what the problem is. Our leading specialist in this field States that 20% of our population has a diagnosable alcohol use disorder at any given time. The problem has a very long tail. Most of those cases sort themselves out with little or no help. They stop or moderate. That's what his research tells him. His experience tells him that there is a small group of serious cases who do not respond to the usual methods. He stated that AA is an excellent organisation for these people.

My experience tells me much the same. I had a bunch of high spirited friends at school who drank heavily at times. Nearly all of them had grown out of it by their late teens. They stopped or moderated, other things in life captured their interest. I didn't grow out of it.

The answer to your question is going to depend upon the nature of your problem. Moderation was the first thing I tried. And I failed. All my friends of that time succeeded. So as a group of problem drinkers, the greatest majority turned out to be able to moderate easily, and were therefore not alcoholic. I could not, but in trying and failing I got a good idea of the true nature of my condition.

Ah, moderation - the alcoholic's dream! One was never enough for me. The only thing I enjoyed about the first drink was the security in knowing the 2nd drink was right around the corner. For most of us, this is an endless cycle. In my case, I chose to stop playing that game altogether and move on to other things. Works for me.

I know I used to drink in moderation. I can remember when I only had a few drinks in a week. I just wish I could get back to that. I keep telling myself that when other things in life improve I will be able to get back to that. It just seems that things in life keep taking turns for the worse instead, so I keep waiting for that time when I wont feel the need to numb the bad feelings.

depends on who you are.
if you're an alcoholic, damn unlikely.
personally, i couldn't. ultimately, i didn't want to, either. one or two drinks...nothing appealing about that; nothing to want there.

go and find out how it is with you.

I think most of us have had that desire

But I believe with alcoholism, we cross an invisible line sometime, somewhere...we change...and we can't get back.

Like they say, you can't change a pickle back into a cucumber...

D

All I have is my experience: I tried, and failed, many times before I was really convinced.

The fact that you're posting here probably means you are at some stage in that cycle.

Like others have said, though, who knows.

Try not drinking one single drop of alcohol for 90 days. Not one drop. If your life doesn't vastly improve in that 90 days, go back to drinking.

Give it a try.