Hello everyone,glad to be here
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: manchester, England
Posts: 6
Hello everyone,glad to be here
I just wanted to say hello. Not sure if I should be here to be honest. I drink but only really at weekends, I can stay away from it through the week but at weekends its a compulsion. I am into bodybuilding and I usually train five times a week but at weekend I seem to press the self destruct button and once I give in to temptation and open that first beer I know my weekend will be spent drunk and hungover.
I have a wife who I love and three great children aged 21, 18 ,16, they are great kids and I love them dearly, I have been in the same job for nineteen years,I have good friends and a nice standard of living. My life is good but could be better if I could just get over the compulsion to drink. I have terrible hangovers and they can last for several days, I am left feeling depressed but even that is not enough to stop me from doing it over and over. I drank last night and feel rough today,we are visiting family later and i will be expected to drink again, I really dont want to but I know I will give in to it again and end up drunk and then hungover tomorrow.
I would love to receive some feed back from you all.
Thanks and good luck to you all
I have a wife who I love and three great children aged 21, 18 ,16, they are great kids and I love them dearly, I have been in the same job for nineteen years,I have good friends and a nice standard of living. My life is good but could be better if I could just get over the compulsion to drink. I have terrible hangovers and they can last for several days, I am left feeling depressed but even that is not enough to stop me from doing it over and over. I drank last night and feel rough today,we are visiting family later and i will be expected to drink again, I really dont want to but I know I will give in to it again and end up drunk and then hungover tomorrow.
I would love to receive some feed back from you all.
Thanks and good luck to you all
same planet...different world
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Butte, America
Posts: 10,946
hi Neil -
welcome to SR!
there's a wealth of just that here !
Please feel free to wander around - read all you want - maybe go over to the alcoholism forums, and read the stickies at the top of the forums the 'under the influence' stickies - and the 'what to expect' stickies - what we did - how we did it - all that.
Hang around, and keep posting! Others will be along soon to welcome you too!
welcome to SR!
there's a wealth of just that here !
Please feel free to wander around - read all you want - maybe go over to the alcoholism forums, and read the stickies at the top of the forums the 'under the influence' stickies - and the 'what to expect' stickies - what we did - how we did it - all that.
Hang around, and keep posting! Others will be along soon to welcome you too!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: California
Posts: 14
welcome!! i've only been on for a few days and it's really helping. gives me somewhere to go and vent where i can be anonymous. there's always someone on, round the clock. people will be here for you. hang in there. :ghug
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,776
Welcome to SoberRecovery! You've come to the right place for support and encouragement. Keep coming back.
Only you can decide to stop drinking and when to stop. I stopped nine days ago cause the pleasure of getting drunk was outweighed by the consequences - hangovers, withdrawal, drinking up too much money, losing my good relationship with my kids. I could make a long list of my reasons for quitting. All I know for sure is that I don't want to drink again - too many negatives in drinking. I'm not sure where I'll go from here, but I know where I WON'T go.
Come here as often as you need for advice, shared experiences, and support. THis is a safe place to be. :ghug3
Only you can decide to stop drinking and when to stop. I stopped nine days ago cause the pleasure of getting drunk was outweighed by the consequences - hangovers, withdrawal, drinking up too much money, losing my good relationship with my kids. I could make a long list of my reasons for quitting. All I know for sure is that I don't want to drink again - too many negatives in drinking. I'm not sure where I'll go from here, but I know where I WON'T go.
Come here as often as you need for advice, shared experiences, and support. THis is a safe place to be. :ghug3
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: manchester, England
Posts: 6
Thanks for asking Grace. I have to be honest and admit that I let myself down yesterday. I did drink yesterday, mostly to relieve that the hangover I was suffering from,today however I have been hungover again but have been determined to put up with it and get through it without another drink. Its 5.35pm here in the UK and I have not touched a drink all day. I have been tempted a couple of times but have managed to avoid the temptation. Just been shopping with my wife, she bought a bottle of wine and it did cross my mind for a moment to put beer into our trolley, however I didn't give into it and bought myself some fresh orange juice instead lol.
My drinking habit is pretty complex and hard to explain.I don't do anything in life by halves,in some respects this is a good thing but obviously it is also the case when it comes to my alcohol consumption. I can avoid it totally at times but once I drop my guard and take that one drink I know that I am in that cycle of drunk-hungover-drunk-hungover! I am not an aggressive drunk or a slobbering mess when under the influence, I am sociable and usually become the life and soul of the party, but because of this people often encourage me to drink more. I am determined to turn my back on it once and for all and with people like your good selves out there giving encouragement and support I think I have the best chance I have ever had:ghug
My drinking habit is pretty complex and hard to explain.I don't do anything in life by halves,in some respects this is a good thing but obviously it is also the case when it comes to my alcohol consumption. I can avoid it totally at times but once I drop my guard and take that one drink I know that I am in that cycle of drunk-hungover-drunk-hungover! I am not an aggressive drunk or a slobbering mess when under the influence, I am sociable and usually become the life and soul of the party, but because of this people often encourage me to drink more. I am determined to turn my back on it once and for all and with people like your good selves out there giving encouragement and support I think I have the best chance I have ever had:ghug
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: England
Posts: 1,733
Welcome Neil, i can relate to much of what you say. For the last few years i was drinking every day but prior to that i had a spell of a few years where i was facing burnout. I used to go to the gym five or six days a week and go running, then come the evening i would get hammered. The cycle would continue, so how did i make things easier? I gradually dropped all the exercise, and just became a fulltime drunk.
I don't think there is a definition of an alcoholic, but many drink the way you do, whatever you decide best wishes to you in the course that you take.
I don't think there is a definition of an alcoholic, but many drink the way you do, whatever you decide best wishes to you in the course that you take.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: 49 degrees north
Posts: 1,036
Welcome, Neil
You have found a great place to share, learn, and grow.
A couple of things struck me in your original post.
Weekends only. Beware of "minimizing." It was my downfall. My drinking was nowhere near in quantity to the "typical" person in AA. Took me a relapse to figure out that amount and frequency are of little importance. It's how it affects our lives that matters.
I also had issues with the "powerless" thing. I felt strongly that I could choose to drink or not. But recently I realized that I was powerless WHEN I drank. Only beer, but never just one. It was a huge step forward for me when I accepted that alcohol controlled me-I did not control it.
The expectation to drink resides in your head. Your bodybuilding regimen can work to your advantage. Simply tell folks that you feel that alcohol is impeding your progress and you've decided to remove it. "The courage to change the things we can..." One of those things we CAN change is how we react to the behavior of others.
Peace
warrens
You have found a great place to share, learn, and grow.
A couple of things struck me in your original post.
Weekends only. Beware of "minimizing." It was my downfall. My drinking was nowhere near in quantity to the "typical" person in AA. Took me a relapse to figure out that amount and frequency are of little importance. It's how it affects our lives that matters.
I also had issues with the "powerless" thing. I felt strongly that I could choose to drink or not. But recently I realized that I was powerless WHEN I drank. Only beer, but never just one. It was a huge step forward for me when I accepted that alcohol controlled me-I did not control it.
The expectation to drink resides in your head. Your bodybuilding regimen can work to your advantage. Simply tell folks that you feel that alcohol is impeding your progress and you've decided to remove it. "The courage to change the things we can..." One of those things we CAN change is how we react to the behavior of others.
Peace
warrens
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: manchester, England
Posts: 6
Thanks to you all for the kind and wise words. Reading through the other posts over the last few days I have realized that one of the biggest obstacles I need to over come are the trigger situations. I think that maybe with a little thought and forward planning I can probably avoid most situations that trigger my drinking routine.
As i mentioned in an earlier post, I only drink at weekends but this has not always been the case. I am now 43 and through my late 20's and much of my early 30's i would drink most nights of the week. I used every excuse in the book to justify my 'boozing' to my family, I am sure you all know the type of thing. Eventually my drinking led to more and more bouts of depression eventually leading to me seeking professional help at the insistence of my wife. I was prescribed anti depressant and given a short course of therapy. I then stayed clean and sober for 18 months before eventually being tempted into "just having the one". I now drink nothing like the quantities I used to consume, but I now know that any alcohol is to much as far as I am concerned, yet I continue to do it. My life is a far happier place when alcohol plays no part in it and it is this knowledge which brought me here several days ago.
I have tried the "social drink" and for me there will never be such a thing,I want to turn my back on alcohol once and for all, and stop allowing it to control even the slightest aspect of my life.
This time I am determined to do that!
As i mentioned in an earlier post, I only drink at weekends but this has not always been the case. I am now 43 and through my late 20's and much of my early 30's i would drink most nights of the week. I used every excuse in the book to justify my 'boozing' to my family, I am sure you all know the type of thing. Eventually my drinking led to more and more bouts of depression eventually leading to me seeking professional help at the insistence of my wife. I was prescribed anti depressant and given a short course of therapy. I then stayed clean and sober for 18 months before eventually being tempted into "just having the one". I now drink nothing like the quantities I used to consume, but I now know that any alcohol is to much as far as I am concerned, yet I continue to do it. My life is a far happier place when alcohol plays no part in it and it is this knowledge which brought me here several days ago.
I have tried the "social drink" and for me there will never be such a thing,I want to turn my back on alcohol once and for all, and stop allowing it to control even the slightest aspect of my life.
This time I am determined to do that!
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
