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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 2
New to this
I'm a binge drinker...since the very first time I drank alcohol, it was a love/hate relationship. I can go a couple days without drinking but once I take that first sip, its over. Lately it's been getting worse. I used to only drink one day on the weekend (go hard weekend warrior) a few years ago but this week, I drank every other day. 6 bottles of wine... I'm posting this now while hungover, sitting next to my sleeping husband, who I'm pretty sure thinks I'm a selfish, pathetic POS.
I'm also a mom to two amazing little people, whom I love so much. So why can't I get it together?
I dumped all the booze down the drain this morning. I'm sick of drinking but I'm so scared I can't be sober for a week nevermind for life.
Where do I begin?
I'm also a mom to two amazing little people, whom I love so much. So why can't I get it together?
I dumped all the booze down the drain this morning. I'm sick of drinking but I'm so scared I can't be sober for a week nevermind for life.
Where do I begin?
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Upper Midwest
Posts: 1,730
Welcome to SR, j8315. You will find a lot of support and helpful advice from the good people here. I know I have.
Your drinking pattern suggests that you have the same problem as most of us. Simply put, our "on/off switch" is broken. Most "normal" drinkers have 1 or 2 drinks, then stop. But we aren't like normal drinkers. If we were, we wouldn't be here. Instead of stopping at 1 or 2 drinks, we continue drinking until we are drunk, and until other bad things happen.
And the stark reality is that a broken "on/off" switch doesn't get fixed over time. It just doesn't.
So, that's our problem. Fortunately, the solution is simple. It isn't easy. But it is simple. If our on/off switch is broken, the only (and I mean ONLY) solution is to not flip the switch in the first place. If we take that first drink, we are sunk. So the solution is not to drink. At all. If we take that first drink, it is a virtually certainty that we will have 5 or 10 or 20 more.
Since the solution is to not take that first drink, your task is to figure out how to formulate and follow a plan for implementing that solution. There is no single plan that all of us follow. Each of us has selected tools that work best for our individual situation.
Read through the posts, enter the chat room if you want some instant feedback or support, and post yourself if/when you feel up to it.
Know this though. There is hope. You don't ever have to feel this way again.
Good luck. And welcome.
Your drinking pattern suggests that you have the same problem as most of us. Simply put, our "on/off switch" is broken. Most "normal" drinkers have 1 or 2 drinks, then stop. But we aren't like normal drinkers. If we were, we wouldn't be here. Instead of stopping at 1 or 2 drinks, we continue drinking until we are drunk, and until other bad things happen.
And the stark reality is that a broken "on/off" switch doesn't get fixed over time. It just doesn't.
So, that's our problem. Fortunately, the solution is simple. It isn't easy. But it is simple. If our on/off switch is broken, the only (and I mean ONLY) solution is to not flip the switch in the first place. If we take that first drink, we are sunk. So the solution is not to drink. At all. If we take that first drink, it is a virtually certainty that we will have 5 or 10 or 20 more.
Since the solution is to not take that first drink, your task is to figure out how to formulate and follow a plan for implementing that solution. There is no single plan that all of us follow. Each of us has selected tools that work best for our individual situation.
Read through the posts, enter the chat room if you want some instant feedback or support, and post yourself if/when you feel up to it.
Know this though. There is hope. You don't ever have to feel this way again.
Good luck. And welcome.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Where do you begin? You already have and you didn't realize it! Welcome to SR, and you've already taken the first step by acknowledging your problem and seeking help for it.
Not drinking "ever again" certainly seems daunting, but don't even worry about that now. Just worry about not drinking TODAY. You'll find lots of informative, support and understanding here on SR to help you quit and stay quit...stick around!
Not drinking "ever again" certainly seems daunting, but don't even worry about that now. Just worry about not drinking TODAY. You'll find lots of informative, support and understanding here on SR to help you quit and stay quit...stick around!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 2
Thank you for the kind words.
The switch is definitely broken.
My husband drinks once a week, if that and he can totally have 2 or 3 and be done. I wish I could do that but the reality is, even 10 years ago when we'd go bar hopping on weekends, I was always sneaking extra shots or drinks when I thought no one was looking just to have that extra bit of fun that booze supposedly let me have. stupid I know.
Drinking makes me a crappy person to be around. Before, during and after. Period. I can't have it in my life any more, but that truth scares me to death.
I have been lurking on SR for quite some time and I like what I see.
Support, people who are similar to me and stories that inspire me to know that life is better without the poison.
I will keep reading and start joining in more.
Sorry for the rambling post, my brain is just racing with random thoughts.
The switch is definitely broken.
My husband drinks once a week, if that and he can totally have 2 or 3 and be done. I wish I could do that but the reality is, even 10 years ago when we'd go bar hopping on weekends, I was always sneaking extra shots or drinks when I thought no one was looking just to have that extra bit of fun that booze supposedly let me have. stupid I know.
Drinking makes me a crappy person to be around. Before, during and after. Period. I can't have it in my life any more, but that truth scares me to death.
I have been lurking on SR for quite some time and I like what I see.
Support, people who are similar to me and stories that inspire me to know that life is better without the poison.
I will keep reading and start joining in more.
Sorry for the rambling post, my brain is just racing with random thoughts.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 8,704
Originally Posted by ScottFromWI 
Where do you begin? You already have and you didn't realize it! Welcome to SR, and you've already taken the first step by acknowledging your problem and seeking help for it.
Not drinking "ever again" certainly seems daunting, but don't even worry about that now. Just worry about not drinking TODAY. You'll find lots of informative, support and understanding here on SR to help you quit and stay quit...stick around!
Not drinking "ever again" certainly seems daunting, but don't even worry about that now. Just worry about not drinking TODAY. You'll find lots of informative, support and understanding here on SR to help you quit and stay quit...stick around!
Sober since 10th April 2012
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 6,047
j8, if you can get through the first difficult time when your AV (Alcoholic Voice) keeps suggesting you're ok to drink again, you'll never regret becoming a sober person. It will take such a weight of guilt and worry off your shoulders, and all that energy you're wasting trying to control your drinking can be put into building a happy family life.
The trick is to find strategies to deal with cravings - and they will come. Make sure you've got a fridge full of nice soft drinks, don't allow yourself to get hungry, do lots of prep for the stressful times of your day. You might cook some meals in advance, or keep the housework under control, whatever makes life easier when you're tired. Distract yourself, have fun or go for walks with the kids, spend time with your husband.
Just sitting around wishing you could drink is called 'white knuckling' and it doesn't have much of a future. Keep firmly in mind why you want to do this, and what sort of person you'd like to be. All the best.
The trick is to find strategies to deal with cravings - and they will come. Make sure you've got a fridge full of nice soft drinks, don't allow yourself to get hungry, do lots of prep for the stressful times of your day. You might cook some meals in advance, or keep the housework under control, whatever makes life easier when you're tired. Distract yourself, have fun or go for walks with the kids, spend time with your husband.
Just sitting around wishing you could drink is called 'white knuckling' and it doesn't have much of a future. Keep firmly in mind why you want to do this, and what sort of person you'd like to be. All the best.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
Welcome to SR, j8315! I'm glad you decided to join and post. I was once in the same situation; I went from binge drinking to daily drinking, then daily binge drinking. It was so bad that I feared I'd need to try some kind of drug therapy to stop. Everyone is different but AVRT worked for me. I have been sober now for three years, and life is much better.
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