What was your drinking habit?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 66
What was your drinking habit?
Just over 3 months AF, in last 2 years I have had 4 periods AF but after 6 weeks started again.
In last 3 months I have attended AA and heard many accounts of people's drinking. All of them tell stories of 24/7 drinking with alcohol taking over their lives.
My habit wasn't like that I drank most days but while I drank more than health guidelines I didn't get drunk all the time. Through the week I was moderate due to the fact that I had to work the next day, but come Friday and Saturday I would drink and get drunk. Sunday was hair of the dog and in afternoon and I would stop early evening.
My drinking was by no means healthy and I did have a compulsion to drink too much. However, I could control it and stopping has not been difficult and appreciate not having hangovers.
This kind of leaves me wondering whether I am an alcoholic yet. I have slowed up on AA meetings as I don't feel the need to go to maintain sobriety.
There is no way I want to go back to drinking the way I did and I am enjoying the benefits of being AF.
Interested to hear others experience who are AF but weren't full blown alcoholics.
In last 3 months I have attended AA and heard many accounts of people's drinking. All of them tell stories of 24/7 drinking with alcohol taking over their lives.
My habit wasn't like that I drank most days but while I drank more than health guidelines I didn't get drunk all the time. Through the week I was moderate due to the fact that I had to work the next day, but come Friday and Saturday I would drink and get drunk. Sunday was hair of the dog and in afternoon and I would stop early evening.
My drinking was by no means healthy and I did have a compulsion to drink too much. However, I could control it and stopping has not been difficult and appreciate not having hangovers.
This kind of leaves me wondering whether I am an alcoholic yet. I have slowed up on AA meetings as I don't feel the need to go to maintain sobriety.
There is no way I want to go back to drinking the way I did and I am enjoying the benefits of being AF.
Interested to hear others experience who are AF but weren't full blown alcoholics.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 17
Keeping busy helped..
Similarly I most often would fit drinking in around my life, not drinking when I worked early and really drinking hard during spare time. Basically I did what I had to do and then my down time was alcohol. I even studied for years successfully, always putting time aside to complete assignments and meet deadlines. I don't therefore think I have ever disliked spending time on my own or disliked my own company, I used to sit for hours calmly and happily painting. It is just that I have had a really disfunctional way of rewarding myself... At times locked in to consuming increasing amounts of alcohol when free... Binging etc.. I have been sober for 6 days enjoying myself, putting in the work and wondering why I have treated myself so poorly... I have also been keeping busy beginning a language course and responding therefore to my needs to live in different ways... God knows how much I would have drunk over those 6 days, but, it scares me....
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,555
I don't think volume comparisons are often much good - I drank more than some, and not as much as others.
I know guys who drank less than me who are now dead from their drinking, and guys who still drink more than I did but will never identify as alcoholic.
Behaviours the thing.
If you hide your drinking, if you miss responsibilities, if you can't stop drinking once you start, if your drinking leads you into dangerous or embarrassing situations, there's a good chance you're an alcoholic., even if you only drink a handful of times a week, a month, even a year.
I've seen it all here.
If your drinking is causing you problems, places like AA and right here at SR are good places to be.
D
I know guys who drank less than me who are now dead from their drinking, and guys who still drink more than I did but will never identify as alcoholic.
Behaviours the thing.
If you hide your drinking, if you miss responsibilities, if you can't stop drinking once you start, if your drinking leads you into dangerous or embarrassing situations, there's a good chance you're an alcoholic., even if you only drink a handful of times a week, a month, even a year.
I've seen it all here.
If your drinking is causing you problems, places like AA and right here at SR are good places to be.
D
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 66
Dee74 it is not a volume comparison. It is the fact that I had control over it. For me it was psychological and the false belief that I needed it to relax. In hindsight I can't actually see what was so good about getting drunk and especially not the hangovers. I gave up cigarettes and marijuana a few years ago and wonder what I saw in it. A few weeks back out of the blue I had offer of a joint which I took, just made me feel weird and I was waiting for it to wear off.
Redmayne
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Manchester, England, UK.
Posts: 1,543
I don't have a habit ...
Personally speaking, I have neither a drinking habit nor and addiction to alcohol that, thankfully exists no more and hasn't done so since Feb.,2008.
That said I do suffer from alcoholism which is a two fold illness consisting of a physical allergy and a mental obsession and is the only illness that'l kill you whilst telling you,you haven't got it! The only respite from which is abstinence...
So as Dee 47 so rightly said the question of habit or the quantity of drink taken doesn't really come into it. what, certainly for me and many others comes into it is the question, can you stop drinking when you want to ?
If alcohol is costing you more than money you might just have a problem, that makes it much more serious than a habit....
That said I do suffer from alcoholism which is a two fold illness consisting of a physical allergy and a mental obsession and is the only illness that'l kill you whilst telling you,you haven't got it! The only respite from which is abstinence...
So as Dee 47 so rightly said the question of habit or the quantity of drink taken doesn't really come into it. what, certainly for me and many others comes into it is the question, can you stop drinking when you want to ?
If alcohol is costing you more than money you might just have a problem, that makes it much more serious than a habit....
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 66
I never lost ability to stop drinking at 1 drink or go AF for prolonged periods. I think it is a habit rather than an addiction for me. One of my biggest motivators not drinking is the feeling of physical well being and no hangovers. Many issues I need to look into in respect to my outlook on life. I am starting wake up to the idea that happiness is actually choice and drinking to relieve worries and anxiety hasn't help them.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SE Arizona
Posts: 1,099
I always felt that it was a habit rather than an addiction too. But, over time, the habit morphed into dependence and then into addiction. If one drinks regularly, for whatever reason, one develops tolerance to ethanol. With tolerance one needs more booze to accomplish the same thing. This leads to a positive feedback loop of ever increasing doses and ever decreasing results. My drinking increased until, in a moment of clarity, I realized it could kill me. So I decided to "break the habit". The physical and emotional effects of quitting quickly convinced me that it had become, in fact, an addiction.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Cincy,OH.
Posts: 32
I think its both, a habit and alcoholism. I would sneak and hide wine and sip during the day. I'm not ready to quit drinking yet, just be mod. I enjoy wine with my meals. But hunny saids and I have a hard time agreeing with staying dry m-th. then mod on the weekends.
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 2,654
Originally Posted by Cascabel 
I always felt that it was a habit rather than an addiction too. But, over time, the habit morphed into dependence and then into addiction. If one drinks regularly, for whatever reason, one develops tolerance to ethanol. With tolerance one needs more booze to accomplish the same thing. This leads to a positive feedback loop of ever increasing doses and ever decreasing results. My drinking increased until, in a moment of clarity, I realized it could kill me. So I decided to "break the habit". The physical and emotional effects of quitting quickly convinced me that it had become, in fact, an addiction.
The good news I discovered, is that same feed back loop principle kicked in to support my decision to stop drinking. Neuroplasicity is marvellous, but it's dark side was addiction, thankfully, it's now working in reverse and supporting my choice.
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: West Tn
Posts: 3,043
The fact that you go to such efforts to quit, only to start (and then quit) again, makes it appear as if you cannot control your drinking.
People who do not have drinking problems don't go through these types of gymnastics to avoid alcohol.
They simply don't drink.
My wife would never, ever drink in front of me, but one or twice a year (or over a 2-year period), she will have a beer of glass of wine (usually "half" of either beverages).
She never thinks about it in between.
Alcohol has cost her no consequences in her entire life.
If her primary care doctor told her today she could never drink as a result of some unrelated condition, she could effortlessly cease doing so ever again.
It tends to be people like you typically find on SR who outline strategies and efforts to control drinking or quit drinking, along with the inexorable failures which follow every attempt (like the ones you have outlined).
Then the consequences become more costly and the periods of no alcohol become shorter.
And then everything seems to pile up on us, with alcohol being the apparent cause of our dire circumstances.
We're certainly glad you're here and we wish you well.
I hope you are able to decide from the evidence you outlined that you may need permanently quit drinking.
People who do not have drinking problems don't go through these types of gymnastics to avoid alcohol.
They simply don't drink.
My wife would never, ever drink in front of me, but one or twice a year (or over a 2-year period), she will have a beer of glass of wine (usually "half" of either beverages).
She never thinks about it in between.
Alcohol has cost her no consequences in her entire life.
If her primary care doctor told her today she could never drink as a result of some unrelated condition, she could effortlessly cease doing so ever again.
It tends to be people like you typically find on SR who outline strategies and efforts to control drinking or quit drinking, along with the inexorable failures which follow every attempt (like the ones you have outlined).
Then the consequences become more costly and the periods of no alcohol become shorter.
And then everything seems to pile up on us, with alcohol being the apparent cause of our dire circumstances.
We're certainly glad you're here and we wish you well.
I hope you are able to decide from the evidence you outlined that you may need permanently quit drinking.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Cincy,OH.
Posts: 32
My hunny said he couldn,t live this way. He can't trust me cause I drink at home during the day, I sneaked wine in the house and sipped. I felt so bad cause I lied to him, and betrayed him. I told him I'm trying to help myself, but I can't make any promises. Alcohol has a lot of power!!! I'm AF today.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 23
This is something I think about a lot. Which is why I'm back on the wagon after over a year off. I always think that because I don't drink in the morning (typically) and can go weeks without drinking that I don't have a problem.
That is the alcoholic voice talking.
The fact is, alcohol and drugs have jeopardized my life (and the lives of others) in so many ways. I've lost jobs due to alcohol, shirked responsibilities, exposed my children to crazy and reckless behavior, made a fool of myself, driven drunk, raged, acted irresponsibly, become suicidal etc etc etc etc. All due to alcohol. This is not the case for normal drinkers.
It's not a competition. If you have a problem with alcohol or drugs, you know it, and it's up to you to stop.
That is the alcoholic voice talking.
The fact is, alcohol and drugs have jeopardized my life (and the lives of others) in so many ways. I've lost jobs due to alcohol, shirked responsibilities, exposed my children to crazy and reckless behavior, made a fool of myself, driven drunk, raged, acted irresponsibly, become suicidal etc etc etc etc. All due to alcohol. This is not the case for normal drinkers.
It's not a competition. If you have a problem with alcohol or drugs, you know it, and it's up to you to stop.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 100
Bars and drinking became too much of a hobby for me.
Since age 21 I've spent a ridiculous amount of time in bars drinking. I'd drink 3-5 nights a week with maybe 10 drinks a night on average. It was affecting my life. Looking worse, missing interviews, getting fired from jobs because of my stupidity and leading me to doing drugs as well... When I was drunk I could never say no to weed or other things.
This summer I was really starting to get alarmed with how much I was going out partying and being "social." I had the shakes and one morning I woke up after a blackout night and my heart was fluttering. That was a huge wake up call.
I was never an all-day, all-night drinker but when I drank it was always to get drunk. Rarely blackout but always to get drunk.
I question if I can moderate but I'm starting to realize there's no point. With weed, which was my major addiction I was an all-night, all-day smoker and it basically destroyed my soul.
I'm approaching 25 and tired of being a failure and living this way. Alcohol leading to weed and vice versa.
Just **** it. Day 17 today. I'm tired of not living at my best and being so weak and a slave to the bottle and the joint. Tired of wasting my life away like this.
Since age 21 I've spent a ridiculous amount of time in bars drinking. I'd drink 3-5 nights a week with maybe 10 drinks a night on average. It was affecting my life. Looking worse, missing interviews, getting fired from jobs because of my stupidity and leading me to doing drugs as well... When I was drunk I could never say no to weed or other things.
This summer I was really starting to get alarmed with how much I was going out partying and being "social." I had the shakes and one morning I woke up after a blackout night and my heart was fluttering. That was a huge wake up call.
I was never an all-day, all-night drinker but when I drank it was always to get drunk. Rarely blackout but always to get drunk.
I question if I can moderate but I'm starting to realize there's no point. With weed, which was my major addiction I was an all-night, all-day smoker and it basically destroyed my soul.
I'm approaching 25 and tired of being a failure and living this way. Alcohol leading to weed and vice versa.
Just **** it. Day 17 today. I'm tired of not living at my best and being so weak and a slave to the bottle and the joint. Tired of wasting my life away like this.
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