i think i'm an alcoholic
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 4
i think i'm an alcoholic
Hi,
I'm 22 years old, and I think I have a drinking problem. I have strong cravings every couple of days or once a week to binge drink. I can drink up to a 12 pack and a fifth of liquor during these times. I have developed "the shakes", and I'm finding that my mind doesn't work right anymore..for example on days when i'm not drinking - or drinking, I stumble over my words and am very forgetful. I often feel very fatigued and weak.
My coworkers are also alcoholics, and I need my job - I work in an industry of alcoholics. It is hard to keep sobriety. When I'm drunk I tell myself that I do not want to drink anymore, but usually often forget my goals and why I came to this point 2-3 days after I've stopped drinking.
Anyways, what stage alcoholic am I? Will the mental effects of alcohol go away and when will my hands stop shaking?
Thanks for reading and for whatever insightful advice you have to offer..
I'm 22 years old, and I think I have a drinking problem. I have strong cravings every couple of days or once a week to binge drink. I can drink up to a 12 pack and a fifth of liquor during these times. I have developed "the shakes", and I'm finding that my mind doesn't work right anymore..for example on days when i'm not drinking - or drinking, I stumble over my words and am very forgetful. I often feel very fatigued and weak.
My coworkers are also alcoholics, and I need my job - I work in an industry of alcoholics. It is hard to keep sobriety. When I'm drunk I tell myself that I do not want to drink anymore, but usually often forget my goals and why I came to this point 2-3 days after I've stopped drinking.
Anyways, what stage alcoholic am I? Will the mental effects of alcohol go away and when will my hands stop shaking?
Thanks for reading and for whatever insightful advice you have to offer..
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,373
Hi darkvoid and welcome 
I have no idea what 'stage' you are, but binging woolyheadedness shakes fatigue and weakness are not traits of the beginner.
The good news is the sooner you quit, the better the chance your mind and body will make a complete recovery.
I was a musician and I drank a lot,. It was expected.
I left the music industry for a while - chiefly because I had become such a drunk I could not get a job any more.
Now, some years later, I'm back into music - and I don't drink or drug at all.
Maybe you'll need to move into another area too, I don't know?
But change is possible - if you really want change and you're prepared to back that desire for change up with action, you'll make it.
D
I have no idea what 'stage' you are, but binging woolyheadedness shakes fatigue and weakness are not traits of the beginner.
The good news is the sooner you quit, the better the chance your mind and body will make a complete recovery.
I was a musician and I drank a lot,. It was expected.
I left the music industry for a while - chiefly because I had become such a drunk I could not get a job any more.
Now, some years later, I'm back into music - and I don't drink or drug at all.
Maybe you'll need to move into another area too, I don't know?
But change is possible - if you really want change and you're prepared to back that desire for change up with action, you'll make it.
D
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: C.C. Ma.
Posts: 3,697
Hi and welcome.
There are many types of alcoholics and when we become one there is no going back to not being one, period. If we stop drinking alcohol dependence is arrested but will emerge anytime in the future if we resume drinking and much worse.
If after having a couple of drinks there is a compulsion for more, that’s a strong signal that there is a problem. Getting drunk and blacking out are also negative sighns.
Only the person involved can get themselves sober. The tried and true method is to NOT have the first drink even if our A$$ falls off!
BE WELL
There are many types of alcoholics and when we become one there is no going back to not being one, period. If we stop drinking alcohol dependence is arrested but will emerge anytime in the future if we resume drinking and much worse.
If after having a couple of drinks there is a compulsion for more, that’s a strong signal that there is a problem. Getting drunk and blacking out are also negative sighns.
Only the person involved can get themselves sober. The tried and true method is to NOT have the first drink even if our A$$ falls off!
BE WELL
Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,649
Alcoholic behavior respects no age. I recommend seeing a Dr. to help you withdraw safely. You can do this before it gets worse, and yes, it does get worse. We are all here for you. If you want to quit you are in the right place. I am loving being alcohol free. Life is better when you are well. Good luck.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,471
I am glad that you have decided to stop drinking.
I know that I could not be around people who were drinking alcohol for many months when I stopped drinking. Do you mean that your coworkers are drinking on the job or that the drinking is done after work?
I know that I could not be around people who were drinking alcohol for many months when I stopped drinking. Do you mean that your coworkers are drinking on the job or that the drinking is done after work?
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: KC MO
Posts: 980
We are all on a journey called life. Once we get hooked on booze,there is no turning back down that path. But there are forks in the road ahead. All of us alcoholics see a fork at some point in the road. With one path sobriety,and the other being hooked. You have identified this fork early in your journey. I hope you don't do like I did and wait till your old to take the sober path. I spent a big part of my life hooked,with booze driving my journey.
Yes,a job is very important. But you are really just starting out. You are gonna have to work another 30 or 40 years. I'm not saying to up and quit your job. But take a few steps back,and look at it from the outside,and think about where you want to go on your journey. Figure out just where it is you want to go,and then ask yourself if you really want to carry a monkey on your back, pay his way,and spend a big part of your time doing the things the monkey wants to do on the way to your destination.
I know what I would do if I were 22 again,and yes I still remember how tempting "party life" is at 22. What I didn't see coming was all the things I would screw up in the coming 30 years,but I didn't care. because another 12 pack would "fix it for now".
I wish you the best.
Fred
Yes,a job is very important. But you are really just starting out. You are gonna have to work another 30 or 40 years. I'm not saying to up and quit your job. But take a few steps back,and look at it from the outside,and think about where you want to go on your journey. Figure out just where it is you want to go,and then ask yourself if you really want to carry a monkey on your back, pay his way,and spend a big part of your time doing the things the monkey wants to do on the way to your destination.
I know what I would do if I were 22 again,and yes I still remember how tempting "party life" is at 22. What I didn't see coming was all the things I would screw up in the coming 30 years,but I didn't care. because another 12 pack would "fix it for now".
I wish you the best.
Fred
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,183
The physical withdrawal symptoms will fade within 4-5 days, but the urges to dive back into it and binge will stay strong for much longer. Going to support group meetings will help you feel stronger at resisting the urges, and if you look you'll find lots of tips for ways to get past them, many of which involve distraction and keeping busy. But hopefully you'll discover over time that sobriety rules, and staying that way will become easy. Can you make a promise to yourself and decide to quit totally, zero drinking, for say 30 days? That might give you a taste of how much better sobriety is, and give you a better sense of how deep a hole you've dug - if you absolutely cannot follow through, then you might need to take more drastic action.
Can you make a promise to yourself and decide to quit totally, zero drinking, for say 30 days? That might give you a taste of how much better sobriety is, and give you a better sense of how deep a hole you've dug - if you absolutely cannot follow through, then you might need to take more drastic action.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 4
thanks for the encouraging posts everyone. I'm going to try to kick this habit once and for good. Although an ice cold beer will be my number one choice of beverage, I have to find an alternative, as I don't think I can just have "one". I'm also tired of spending hundreds of dollars every week on alcohol.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,855
Welcome to SR, darkvoid, and congratulations on your decision to stop drinking.
Sobriety takes time, effort, and often big lifestyle changes but sobriety is worth every second spent, every ounce of effort expended, and every change made.
Really glad you found SR. We are here for you 24/7/365.
Sobriety takes time, effort, and often big lifestyle changes but sobriety is worth every second spent, every ounce of effort expended, and every change made.
Really glad you found SR. We are here for you 24/7/365.
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