ceneri

I'm new to these boards. The posts I've read so far are so impressive, emotional, and thought provoking. I'm not really sure why I'm here, I can't say I believe I'm an alcoholic. I can say I know I abuse and overuse alcohol. This has been a repeated pattern over my lifetime. I never actually chose to quit or become sober, but there have been times when I didn't drink much for years, if at all. There have also been times when I fell into patterns of drinking too much, like now. I don't drink alone, I don't drink much socially when out, but, at home, with my husband it has become a nightly event. It's what we do. If I do abstain or limit, it's because I feel so sick from a previous binge. That's my biggest concern, I guess. These past couple years I've been drinking more & more of the hard stuff (cocktails & martinis), then wine with and after dinner. If the wine runs out, back to the hard stuff, straight on the rocks.
So, here I am, not ready to commit to a completely sober life, yet, aware it is hurting me. I just don't know, maybe I am in denial.

Bikeguy

If your are questioning a if it's a problem or not why not give it up for 30 days and see how it goes? I find usually if a person is wondering if it's a problem it probably already is. Welcome to Sober Recovery, I'm glad your here.

Mariano

Ceneris, I think that many times the term "acoholic" is not understood properly. There are many types of alcoholics and many levels of alcoholism. If alcohol is causing you problems and you are not able to quit, the chances are that you are alcoholic.

Here is a test used at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, MD, in deciding whether or not a patient is an alcoholic:

Twenty Questions of AA That helped decide I was alcoholic Help for Alcoholics alcoholism addiction treatment and recovery

Welcome to SR.

Anna

If you are not sure if you are an alcoholic, then stop drinking for a fixed period of time, say for one month.

If you're not an alcoholic, this should be no problem at all. If you are, then you will have your answer.

doggonecarl

I guess it is human nature you want to know where we stand relative to everyone else...where we fit on the "alcoholic scale" so to speak. I was at the lower end for years and years. Denial was in place even then then. I always thought I was vigilant over my excesses, and when I went overboard, I always excused it. Eventually the slider on the scale moved up. Quickly. After all, alcoholism is progressive.

Are you waiting until you're well into the danger zone before you quit? Maybe if you wait too long, you won't have a recovery left in you. Just cautioning you.

Good luck.

Abbzi

I struggled with this.. I couldnt admit my life was unmanageable ..ie that to me meant Id failed... so to my thinking I wasnt alcoholic... i must just be a problem drinker...

however the more I went with this theory the faster & harder I went down till I had nothing left... drinking I think Im managing when its blatantly obvious to myself [my thinking and thoughts] and to everyone else Im not managing...

Only you can make the call on this one but it means being honest to yourself..

camedown

Are you happy with the way you are now? I always felt the truthful answer to that will give you a lot of guidance. Best of luck.

CarolD

welcome...

As I grew older....I was 52 when I quit drinking....I had all sorts of medical issues pop up. I'm sure glad I could deal with them sober....
Not one of them had a thing to do with alcohol....just old age creeping in.

GettingStronger2

I could have written that post about 3 years ago. 2 years ago it had gotten much worse, and over a year ago I quit. Sure am glad I did. I have never tried to stop before, and I used to have periods when I drank less. After it became nightly at home with my husband, all went downhill fairly fast.

Do what is best for you, but consider this, is drinking doing anything positive for you?

ceneri

I've been contemplating 'a break' from alcohol for months, don't know what's holding me back. Concern has been nagging, prompting me to seek out info for a reason. Honesty forces me to acknowledge way too much time is spent drunk or hungover. What a waste! I've been home alone for a few days, not drinking, lots of time spent here& thinking. Just after 3 days I feel better, less bloated, clear eyes. Vanity may just get me sober yet. I'm turning 50 this year& realizing I can't, nor want to keep this up.
Thank you for all the responses! Your thoughts& insights are invaluable.

artsoul

Welcome to the forum!

I got really tired of the hangovers, too. Over time they got worse and I found that I was still feeling bad into the afternoon. Occasionally it would take a couple days before I felt better again. Still, I felt like wine was my "reward" for getting through the day.

I didn't want to give up drinking either (I just wanted the pain to go away!). But when I realized I would never be content having just a drink or two, I knew I had a choice: continue on and get worse, or stop completely.

It's scary, I know..... but you're here and you want to make changes and that's a great start.

Mariano

Is perhaps addiction what is holding you back?

Zebra1275

As you get older alcohol takes a bigger toll on your health and the recovery time gets longer. Why not quit as a 50th birthday present to yourself?

ceneri

Really, really tired of the hangovers!

ceneri

I realize i'm finally going to find out. Ps: your english is very good.

ceneri

Exactly what I was thinking. 30 days sober will be a great gift to achieve. My bday is next month...perfect timing.