Sweettha

I'm curious if some people feel this way?

Dee74

Hi sweetha

do you mean in the sense of still drinking but not alcoholically anymore; or not drinking at all?

I haven't taken a drink since 2007 but I believe if I did, I'd be as alcoholic now as I was back then, if not worse...

D

ChloeRose63

I feel as if my past drinking was a total waste of time because I was avoiding the main issue of my unhappiness. Learning to work thru my problems came with maturity. I would say that I have outgrown the idea that escaping with alcohol is the way to deal with life.

PeacefulWater12

I didnt "out grow" it, I stopped and work daily on my program to stay stopped and lead a happy, productive life.

To me, the phrase "out grow" sounds like av chatter. Meaning "oh goodie, i can drink again in the future, once i have sorted out those pesky problems, i will be able to drink like a normal person"!

Once our bodies pass the line with alcohol, there is no reset button.

August252015

My simple answer is no.

My more complete answer is a little more complicated. For me, I'm a recovered and recovering alcoholic; I am no longer an active alcoholic drinker. IME there's a huge difference there and focusing on the whys and wherefores and "labels" isn't relevant. I'm just a person trying to live her best life, who knows 100000% that I can not- will not- ever drink again, or I will die.

I don't know anyone who maintains permanent sobriety for the rest of their lives who doesn't keep that alcoholic self, the active one, somewhere in their mind as a reminder to never go there again.

zjw

I dont think i out grew it per say. I know if i drank there'd be problems.

But usually what keeps me from drinking now is playing the tape. It can really tick me off too cause someitmes i wanna drink but then i think about the outcome and the next day and how i'll suffer in many other ways then i get ticked off and think well i just cant do that.

Maybe i didnt out grow it but maybe I'm growing up? I say this loosly becuase I know how easy it would be to fall back into it and I dont want to get over confident about it either.

totfit

There is one train of thought that finds through observations that some Alcoholics recover primarily through a maturing out process. Not that alcohol affects them less, but that the desire to continue abates with age. This could be a combination of changes in the body as we age AND of course the experiences we have had along the way. I remember that there was a time in my life I just did not think I was going to "get it" many years ago, despite putting or thinking I was putting my all into stopping. Today, many years later, I find Alcohol for the most part easily avoided and any thought laughed off as ridiculous. So..................I don't know.

tomsteve

once i became a pickle i couldnt go back to being a cucumber.

ScottFromWI

I firmly believe that there is something different about me that does not allow me to drink alcohol without adverse consequences. It might be genetic, maybe psychological, maybe physical, or maybe a combination of all of those things. Some call that addiction, some call it alcoholism, some call it a disease, and some call it a drinking problem.

Regardless of what you call it, i firmly believe that you have to accept that it can never be changed. You can certainly live your life without alcohol in a very productive and satisfying way, but you can never change yourself back to a person that can drink "normally". At least that's my opinion.

fini

Sweettha,
curious what you mean by "outgrow"?
that the alcoholism was just somehow naturally left behind? and what , in that case, do you mean by "alcoholism?
and then i wonder also if you're asking because of whatever spot you're in and you're maybe hoping that "outgrowing" will be something that will happen to you?

ru12

Well I outgrew the need to intoxicate myself as I aged, so perhaps.

I’m not recovering from alcoholism, I am just one of millions of people who don’t drink alcohol. And that is good enough for me.

JeffreyAK

I absolutely did outgrow it, by quitting and maintaining total abstinence. I don't call myself an alcoholic, though for sure I'm a former alcoholic, and I consider myself recovered and as normal or abnormal as any other human who doesn't drink alcohol. But I'm not sure if that's what you meant by your question.

Ihadmyfill

I was praying hard I would "out grow" my alcoholism. But that never happened. My alcoholism grew as I grew, it got worse as I got older. Finally I had to do something about it. In my opinion, alcoholism has no predetermined expiration date.......it really wish it did.

Cascabel

I’m 80 and don’t think that I have yet outgrown my addictive side. I’m pretty sure that if I were to start drinking again I would go right back up the ladder. I’m happy where I am and plan to finish however much time I have left free of alcohol.

daveglass1

Yes - I have.

daveglass1

Oops - I shouldve explained.
Im bigger now - that addiction doesnt fit anymore.
Regards
Dave 🤠

SoberCAH

Not a prayer of me outgrowing my alcoholism.

I haven't had any in a good while now, but I work on staying sober every day.

I don't get to take a day off.

I have worked the AA program now for almost half of my life.

It has worked for me, so I sure don't plan to quit something which has completely changed my life for the better.

Pulaski

Sweettha, if you are asking whether anybody on here, either by making a conscious effort or because it just happened, has gone from being an alchoholic to a 'normal' drinker I think you'll get a resounding 'no'. It hasn't happened to me and I'm not going to risk the consequences testing it. I don't think there are any 'normal' drinkers on SR anyway so it's probably the wrong place to ask.

Gonnachange

My sister did. She was an AA attendee for almost 30 years and never touched a drop of alcohol during that period. Now, during social situations, she'll allow herself a glass of wine if she feels like it. No more and often less.

SnazzyDresser

So this is a philosophical thread I take it. I define the problem I had as alcohol. I don't drink alcohol anymore, so that's plenty for me. If someone wants to have an opinion about where that puts me on some "growth" scale, that's fine. What matters is me not drinking.