Completely new completamente
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 31
Completely new completamente
Hi, I'm new. I'm a woman. In my mid-20s.
I am high-functioning and have plenty of people who will tell me what I want to hear, e.g., "You're doing so well/blahblah" or "You're SUPPOSED to get trashed in your 20s."
I am an alcoholic. My parents are both alcoholics. I have drank myself to sleep for the last however many years.
For some reason, I never considered AA until I met another individual in the program. He took me to my first meeting, which I would not have had the gonads to attend alone the first time. I wasn't even sure it was a worthwile excursion, but I haven't had a drink since that day. It has only been a pithy two weeks, but that's the longest I've gone without drinking in four years.
I was an isolated drinker who drank alone. The concept of attending meetings and letting people in on a very vulnerable part of my life is still foreign and uncomfortable. I don't talk very much at meetings and I feel awkward socializing with anyone. However, AA has been very kind and repeatedly reached out to me, so thank you. I hope I can do that for someone else one day. (<-Kind of an overly ambitious statement at this point, but sincere. Here is an emoticon for the emoticon-thirsty:
)
I am high-functioning and have plenty of people who will tell me what I want to hear, e.g., "You're doing so well/blahblah" or "You're SUPPOSED to get trashed in your 20s."
I am an alcoholic. My parents are both alcoholics. I have drank myself to sleep for the last however many years.
For some reason, I never considered AA until I met another individual in the program. He took me to my first meeting, which I would not have had the gonads to attend alone the first time. I wasn't even sure it was a worthwile excursion, but I haven't had a drink since that day. It has only been a pithy two weeks, but that's the longest I've gone without drinking in four years.
I was an isolated drinker who drank alone. The concept of attending meetings and letting people in on a very vulnerable part of my life is still foreign and uncomfortable. I don't talk very much at meetings and I feel awkward socializing with anyone. However, AA has been very kind and repeatedly reached out to me, so thank you. I hope I can do that for someone else one day. (<-Kind of an overly ambitious statement at this point, but sincere. Here is an emoticon for the emoticon-thirsty:
)
2Cor5:17
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Between Doctor's opinion & pg 164
Posts: 4,187
Welcome T
Congrats on 2 wks & counting!! Must have heard something in the mtg that cot you're attn to be sober that long; but that's what aa does for me too. Finally feel @ home. I'm no longer fighting anyone, alc or just life in general. It's more peaceful & serene living this way. Everything is not up & up but would be whole lot worse if was still bending that elbow:guranteed
As for sharing, that will get there w/ time
Congrats on 2 wks & counting!! Must have heard something in the mtg that cot you're attn to be sober that long; but that's what aa does for me too. Finally feel @ home. I'm no longer fighting anyone, alc or just life in general. It's more peaceful & serene living this way. Everything is not up & up but would be whole lot worse if was still bending that elbow:guranteed
As for sharing, that will get there w/ time
Sober since 10th April 2012
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 6,047
Hi, welcome to SR. I was a lone drinker too and nobody thought I was an alcoholic, but I knew. You much have been at the tipping point when you went to the meeting.
I'm 2 years in, and I can't conceive of drinking again. Life's not all roses but I love that I'm not a helpless alcoholic ruining my health.
I'm 2 years in, and I can't conceive of drinking again. Life's not all roses but I love that I'm not a helpless alcoholic ruining my health.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: York
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by teetotalitarian 
I am high-functioning and have plenty of people who will tell me what I want to hear, e.g., "You're doing so well/blahblah" or "You're SUPPOSED to get trashed in your 20s."
The 'lone drinking' thing also resonates with me. After a gathering / meal etc where as everyone else went home to their normal lives.. I would continue into the wee hours.. alone. The next mornings ritual would be more drinking.. pain killers and the task of ridding my garage of empties..
I have found SR to be a wonderful community and am also in very early days of sobriety.. Strength and Power to you...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 31
Originally Posted by FeelingGreat
Hi, welcome to SR. I was a lone drinker too and nobody thought I was an alcoholic, but I knew. You much have been at the tipping point when you went to the meeting.
I'm 2 years in, and I can't conceive of drinking again. Life's not all roses but I love that I'm not a helpless alcoholic ruining my health.
I'm 2 years in, and I can't conceive of drinking again. Life's not all roses but I love that I'm not a helpless alcoholic ruining my health.
The strange thing is, I had no tipping point really. I got alcohol poisoning in January and told myself I wasn't going to drink again. Then, I did. Over and over. I guess it was the first time I became extremely frustrated with my lack of willpower/self-discipline because previously I could delude myself into believing I had some semblance of control over it.
The night I finally contacted people with the intention for getting medical/therapeutic/anything help, I had just had a bottle of champagne. For some reason, that comparatively minor drunk episode was what sent me over the edge into extreme dissatisfaction with my powerlessness.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 31
Originally Posted by Eibon
Very important observation you made there.. The peer pressure / expectations / blasé attitude of others is such an influential element of problem drinking. "Just have one.." "Just have a half." etc etc can so easily lead to that slippery road. Well done for joining and being so very honest at this early stage...
The 'lone drinking' thing also resonates with me. After a gathering / meal etc where as everyone else went home to their normal lives.. I would continue into the wee hours.. alone. The next mornings ritual would be more drinking.. pain killers and the task of ridding my garage of empties..
I have found SR to be a wonderful community and am also in very early days of sobriety.. Strength and Power to you...
The 'lone drinking' thing also resonates with me. After a gathering / meal etc where as everyone else went home to their normal lives.. I would continue into the wee hours.. alone. The next mornings ritual would be more drinking.. pain killers and the task of ridding my garage of empties..
I have found SR to be a wonderful community and am also in very early days of sobriety.. Strength and Power to you...
People who are more on the periphery of my life, the majority of them being heavy-drinkers themselves, have actually responded with hostility toward me with regard to going to AA. I had one friend tell me AA is a cult, "I think you're just replacing alcohol with their club, which is more dangerous," and religion is more dangerous than drinking. Incidentally, this person recently got a DUI and is at the bar daily, so I guess he is invested in believing such things.
I have had other people tell me I'm being overdramatic, but they don't know me or the extent of my problem because I have easily hidden it for years. My close friends have been supportive of me getting sober and knew I had a problem before I knew I did.
Anyways, at one fell swoop, I've realized there are a lot of cynical and sick people in my life. (And plenty of good people as well, who I have habitually ignored for a long time in favor of isolation and hurting myself. I don't want to do that anymore.)
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Santa Barbara, SoCal
Posts: 561
I relate to everything you said in this post.
I am also a mid twenties female and high functioning.
It's easy to get caught in the trap of "everyone else my age goes out and gets drunk".
It always amazes me how if people in their mid 30s, 40s, 50s, etc... go out and get completely wasted then they are alcoholics and have a problem. But if someone in their 20s go out and do the same thing, we are just enjoying our youth and we are SUPPOSED to get drunk. That's what people our age DO. This is true, its what they do, but it doesn't mean its right and it doesn't have to be us.
I am also a mid twenties female and high functioning.
It's easy to get caught in the trap of "everyone else my age goes out and gets drunk".
It always amazes me how if people in their mid 30s, 40s, 50s, etc... go out and get completely wasted then they are alcoholics and have a problem. But if someone in their 20s go out and do the same thing, we are just enjoying our youth and we are SUPPOSED to get drunk. That's what people our age DO. This is true, its what they do, but it doesn't mean its right and it doesn't have to be us.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 31
Originally Posted by 1newcreation
Must have heard something in the mtg that cot you're attn to be sober that long; but that's what aa does for me too.
In my self-absorption, I often forget that other people are equally as feeling and raw as myself. AA reminds me I have kindred spirits and my pain isn't just mine.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 31
Originally Posted by Jade1224
I relate to everything you said in this post.
I am also a mid twenties female and high functioning.
It's easy to get caught in the trap of "everyone else my age goes out and gets drunk".
It always amazes me how if people in their mid 30s, 40s, 50s, etc... go out and get completely wasted then they are alcoholics and have a problem. But if someone in their 20s go out and do the same thing, we are just enjoying our youth and we are SUPPOSED to get drunk. That's what people our age DO. This is true, its what they do, but it doesn't mean its right and it doesn't have to be us.
I am also a mid twenties female and high functioning.
It's easy to get caught in the trap of "everyone else my age goes out and gets drunk".
It always amazes me how if people in their mid 30s, 40s, 50s, etc... go out and get completely wasted then they are alcoholics and have a problem. But if someone in their 20s go out and do the same thing, we are just enjoying our youth and we are SUPPOSED to get drunk. That's what people our age DO. This is true, its what they do, but it doesn't mean its right and it doesn't have to be us.
Part of what motivated me to stop drinking is I have seen my own habits getting progressively worse, and I have seen my parents destroy their physical health through alcohol. My grandfather killed himself that way, as did his parents and so on for many generations. I want to salvage my kidneys, liver, and GU function while I still have the opportunity. I would also like to salvage my sanity, but I realize that's a more challenging and dynamic task.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Canada
Posts: 3,989
Hi, tt, welcome!
You have a great, mature attitude for one so young! I resonate with a lot of what you have said in your posts. How wonderful that you are coming to this realization at your age. It took me too long to grow up!
You have a great, mature attitude for one so young! I resonate with a lot of what you have said in your posts. How wonderful that you are coming to this realization at your age. It took me too long to grow up!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: York
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by teetotalitarian
People who are more on the periphery of my life, the majority of them being heavy-drinkers themselves, have actually responded with hostility toward me with regard to going to AA. I had one friend tell me AA is a cult, "I think you're just replacing alcohol with their club, which is more dangerous," and religion is more dangerous than drinking.
A Day at a Time
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Grand Rapids MI
Posts: 6,435
Alcoholism doesn't discriminate. Age race sex education intelligence sexual orientation make no difference. It will ruin your life just as surely at 20 as it will at 50. You are on of the few who knows they have a problem early so you don't have to suffer for 35 years.
I have been going to AA for a while. Not sure how it works but it is the only thing that has ever worked for this alcoholic.
I have been going to AA for a while. Not sure how it works but it is the only thing that has ever worked for this alcoholic.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: York
Posts: 24
Originally Posted by MIRecovery
Alcoholism doesn't discriminate. Age race sex education intelligence sexual orientation make no difference. It will ruin your life just as surely at 20 as it will at 50. You are on of the few who knows they have a problem early so you don't have to suffer for 35 years.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
