Ok, so...
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2
Ok, so...
When I was a kid, back in '80's, Mad Magazine was still a thing. My mom would go shopping for groceries, and drop me off in the magazine aisle. I know, not cool reading them, but meh.
So anyway, the one gag they did that I remember to this day was about quitting smoking. In one of the panels, you had the smoker, soused out of his mind, tipping a jug marked 'XXX'. Captioned, "The Korn Likker Method".
Hey, what do you mean, you know where this is going? Well, anyway, for everyone else, I grew up to be the guy in that panel. At 18, I started smoking because my friends were all smoking, because it was the early '90's and it was in again, and because F-you Dad!. Or something. Anyway, it was all over campus, in the clubs and bars - you get the drift.
Unlike most of my peers, I kept at it until 2006. Strangely, I never enjoyed, but I kept at it still. I never exceeded a pack a day, and by 2006 it was down to half of that. Finally, thought about why I was doing it. So, I quit. Cold turkey, no problems; or so I thought.
I grew up in a household where the drinking was pretty minimal. Dad would drink a Miller pony after cutting the grass, maybe a beer or two at adult social events ( I'm not sure, I was a kid ) but I never saw him the least intoxicated. Christmas eve, he would mix a Crown and 7up, just to toast Christmas and Santa. Being a father now, I'm sure he was just preparing for a long night of putting together toys. Anyway, a fifth of crown would last him years. Mom didn't drink at all.
Me, I drank a couple of times as a teenager with friends. At the time, I wasn't impressed. Later, after turning 21, I would drink occasionally, at times ti excess, but really not that often, maybe twice a month. After school, I really didn't drink much at all, just socially and not always then.
After I quit smoking, though, I started drinking more. Three beers on a Tuesday, the other three Wednesday, repeat for Friday and Saturday. Soon, I was at a six-pack a night, then I'd buy 12-packs, and drink 8 one night, 4 the next with a tall aI would pick up on the way home. Looking back, it is surprising how fast it creeps up on you.
A few years later, I'm up to 450-500ml of bourbon a night. I've tried to quit twice before, with a few week-long periods of abstinence along the way. It's only just now, this time, that I look back, and realize that I didn't quit smoking at all. Not really. I just substituted one habit for another that I liked a heck of a lot more than smoking.
You know, just like that guy in the cartoon strip.
How embarrassing.
Anyway, I'm on attempt three. Here's hoping it's the charm. This time, I actually want to, I need to because it is wrecking my health, and I'm trying to understand how I got here.
So anyway, the one gag they did that I remember to this day was about quitting smoking. In one of the panels, you had the smoker, soused out of his mind, tipping a jug marked 'XXX'. Captioned, "The Korn Likker Method".
Hey, what do you mean, you know where this is going? Well, anyway, for everyone else, I grew up to be the guy in that panel. At 18, I started smoking because my friends were all smoking, because it was the early '90's and it was in again, and because F-you Dad!. Or something. Anyway, it was all over campus, in the clubs and bars - you get the drift.
Unlike most of my peers, I kept at it until 2006. Strangely, I never enjoyed, but I kept at it still. I never exceeded a pack a day, and by 2006 it was down to half of that. Finally, thought about why I was doing it. So, I quit. Cold turkey, no problems; or so I thought.
I grew up in a household where the drinking was pretty minimal. Dad would drink a Miller pony after cutting the grass, maybe a beer or two at adult social events ( I'm not sure, I was a kid ) but I never saw him the least intoxicated. Christmas eve, he would mix a Crown and 7up, just to toast Christmas and Santa. Being a father now, I'm sure he was just preparing for a long night of putting together toys. Anyway, a fifth of crown would last him years. Mom didn't drink at all.
Me, I drank a couple of times as a teenager with friends. At the time, I wasn't impressed. Later, after turning 21, I would drink occasionally, at times ti excess, but really not that often, maybe twice a month. After school, I really didn't drink much at all, just socially and not always then.
After I quit smoking, though, I started drinking more. Three beers on a Tuesday, the other three Wednesday, repeat for Friday and Saturday. Soon, I was at a six-pack a night, then I'd buy 12-packs, and drink 8 one night, 4 the next with a tall aI would pick up on the way home. Looking back, it is surprising how fast it creeps up on you.
A few years later, I'm up to 450-500ml of bourbon a night. I've tried to quit twice before, with a few week-long periods of abstinence along the way. It's only just now, this time, that I look back, and realize that I didn't quit smoking at all. Not really. I just substituted one habit for another that I liked a heck of a lot more than smoking.
You know, just like that guy in the cartoon strip.
How embarrassing.
Anyway, I'm on attempt three. Here's hoping it's the charm. This time, I actually want to, I need to because it is wrecking my health, and I'm trying to understand how I got here.
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,519
Yes, it's surprising how fast it creeps up on you. I remember one beer making me dizzy. Decades later, at the end of my drinking career, I could down a 30-pack by myself. At that point it wasn't even fun or relaxing anymore - I was just numb and stupid. It's wonderful to be free of it.
Welcome to you, stillife. I think you'll enjoy being part of the family. We care about you & want to help.
Welcome to you, stillife. I think you'll enjoy being part of the family. We care about you & want to help.
You'll find lots of support here, along with some useful info. I'm glad you joined us. quat
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: terra (mostly)firma
Posts: 4,822
Welcome to the forum
The fact that we all needed to is unquestionable, it's no way to live and have a chance of sustaining a happy healthy life. The fact that you want to means you Can, you can do it as long you want to all the way down.
Wish you well and hope to see you around
The fact that we all needed to is unquestionable, it's no way to live and have a chance of sustaining a happy healthy life. The fact that you want to means you Can, you can do it as long you want to all the way down.
Wish you well and hope to see you around
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 97
Congrats stillife. I am happy for you. Every day when you get up, make a plan for the whole day. Very simple but fill all the minutes. Get up, eat, exercise, watch the news, go to work, drive home, quick snack or dinner, 90 minute walk, 2 hours with a book at a coffee shop, home, stretch, check ESPN, meditate, bed. Fill it up. You will quickly identify your hard time of day too, and just as soon as you do that and make an effort to identify a usual start time and end time (mine is about 4-6 p.m.), that hard time will start to shrink and you can be ready for the little bugger. Every day at first, take all of the pressure off of the future. Tell yourself "I can drink tomorrow if I choose to, but I am not going to drink today." The future opens up that way and it doesn't loom like the Mt. Everest of sober days stretching into the sky. Today is what we will deal with every day. Keep it very simple and very full and scheduled. Welcome to SR.
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