LionOfJudah

If it is possible to control yourself by not drinking at all, is it also possible to control the amount of alcohol you consume weekly?

trachemys

All depends on the person. For some, once alcohol hits the receptors there is only the craving for more.

TheNatural

This is an odd thread to be making on your first day sober.

SoberLeigh

My only viable choice is NO alcohol; I cannot moderate.

Dee74

You're confusing abstinence for control.

They're not the same.

Not swimming in the ocean doesn't give me control over sharks

When I stopped drinking I excised alcohol from my life for a variety of very good reasons.
If I reintroduce alcohol into my life those very good reasons will still be there.

Not drinking doesn't reset you to normal, or give you invulnerability over drinking's effects should you start up again.

I, and I suspect a lot of others here, can attest to that personally.

D

LionOfJudah

It was just a passing question... odd to have on my 1st day sober, indeed!

advbike

Not if you're an alcoholic, and you want a real life that's not focused on an obsession to control your drinking. Because as long as you're drinking anything, you will crave more. So it becomes a massive effort to try and moderate, to stop after a few, to keep track of it. Always worried about crossing the line. Knowing you're doing damage, mentally and physically. It takes on a life of it's own, and all the other personal growth stops.

Trust me, it's easier to just quit and move on.. ask me how I know all this.

TheNatural

I would be two days removed from shaking, sweating, vomiting uncontrollably, and bad-ridden for days on end and would convince myself that if I only bought a pint, and set up a timer for my shots, that I could drink like a normal person! I was too far gone at the time to see how crazy those measures were, and even if they worked for a short time, it was just a countdown to a full-blown binge.

thomas11

Sure its possible, its just NOT probable. Just like the quote above, I've read stories on this site where people went to great lengths to control their drinking. In the end it always ended badly. The ones that can successfully do it are probably not members of this website.

JaylaaKent

The great obsession of every alcoholic. Abstinence is the only thing that works for me. If I did control it - it would only be a question of time before I let it go back to where I was. So I don't bother. One is too many and a thousand is not enough.

biminiblue

So many crazy moderation thoughts, huh?

I would have my first drink - 3oz. I would lay out 3 wooden matchsticks on the kitchen counter where I fixed my drinks. The idea was to put down a new matchstick for each shot glass of *whatever liquor*. That really worked! Oh, except I would forget to put down a new match after about 6 ounces. Then I would just pour right into the glass without the shot-measure.

Great idea! Not.

Moderation is one of those things that s o u n d s reasonable and just isn't even slightly possible once I've had a couple.

Total abstinence is so much easier than any day of drinking ever.

Crossfitdad

I'm on this website. I believe I have moderated my drinking according to the medical standards. I'm down to 1-2 beers a night. Nothing compared to what I was at. I've been doing this for a few months. Like ive said before, I'm probably addicted to beer, but I cut it way down. I've recognized my problem and Im not going back to where I was. It was a miserable situation. I think honesty on here is very important...so I have no problem saying that I drank too much one night about 3 months ago with friends. I just got caught up in the revelry over about 6 hours.

felodese

Ive had a couple of forced abstinences from being sectioned. I actually really like the sobriety without the pressure of temptation. however when discharge gets talked about i start to think maybe its been so long my brain has reset and will be able to drink normally. but nope. IMO you either always drank alcoholically from the first drink or once you 'break' that thing in your brain or cross that line you cant step back across no matter how much you try to control or think enough time has passed.

Hevyn

LionOfJudah - I tried for many years to go back to social drinking. Somewhere along the way I crossed the line & became dependent on it. Once it was in my system there was no control, no matter how determined I was to just have 'a few'. All the promises I made to myself were broken - no amount of willpower could save me. Alcoholics can't drink socially.

(Felodese, I said almost the same thing as you. )

neferkamichael

LionOfJudah, I believe the majority of people who drink control how much they drink in a week. I'm one of those people who lost control and now after some suffering over it, gladly abstain from alcohol altogether, rootin for ya.

biminiblue

tomsteve

People that aren't alcoholics can.
And I don't think they ask something like this.

Don't let alcoholism convince ya that you can do what ya ask about,lion. Ya wouldn't be here if you could control the amount ya drank.

Dave36

If you have to ask the answer is probably no.

FeenixxRising

I think in terms of probability rather than possibility. Many things are possible, but I ask myself what is the probability I could return to normal drinking? The answer, just about zero.

LionOfJudah

I think it takes an unwarranted amount of energy to CONTROL it... if you are an alcoholic.