Hevyn

You said you thought everyone's feelings here should be respected even if we don't agree with their views. Where was your respect for other's feelings when you were openly contemptuous of AA and discussions about God/religion?

I must have missed the post that stated you couldn't be happy if you were still drinking. I don't see how you can find fault with people wanting to share the happiness & peace they've found by becoming sober. It's an important thing for new people who are desperate for reassurance to read.

jaitch

I dont mean diagnostically, you may get better advice there about quitting for health reasons.

littlefish

Daphne wrote: Oh, well, I see. I was mistaken that it was related to alcohol.
And, if you have gone weeks with only seven units, well, that does not sound alcoholic to me. I simply could not have done that when I reached the chronic stage.

You report being happy and still managing your life and finding joy in life. That doesn't sound like an alcoholic either. I don't think any of us felt that way when we finally couldn't go on anymore. You claim that you haven't lost things along the way, either.

That gets a little blurry, because that can sound like lots of alcoholics. Alcoholics don't have to lose everything. In fact, the poor bowery bum is only a tiny fraction of the alcoholic population. A good majority hold on to their homes, their cars, their jobs, their families: they are just perfectly miserable doing so.

Maybe Daphne, you have wandered into this forum looking for help without being an alcoholic? Lots of people wander into the rooms of AA doing that. I almost spilled my coffee when a guy wandered into an AA room one day and said he became an alcoholic at 18, quit at 19 and has been in AA for the last 30 years. I felt like telling him to stop wasting our time and get another F-ing hobby. But I didn't, and I don't feel that way about you.

You might be among a group of people who for medical reasons, and the combination of drugs they take for other diseases are told to stop drinking, and not because they are alcoholic.
The only problem you might have with SR, and I am NOT trying to chase you away here, is that for most if not all of us here, we are addicted and the daily struggle to keep away from alcohol is not simply a matter of switching to soda water and saying "ooohm". The atmosphere here is not like a recipe or exercise forum where we exchange "tips".

We suffer from intense mental obsession. In my case, when I quit, I probably craved a drink every 15 minutes. That is how much space it took up in my brain. And we suffer unbearable physical cravings. We suffer withdrawal, we suffer relapses from hell and we end up in the ER. And sometimes, we die from our alcohol and drug addictions. We need a little more than "tips".

For so many of us, the struggle to stay away from that first drink occurs on a minute by minute basis. I wonder how much advice we can really give you if you don't experience these kinds of things and can quit without any effort?

AustinJim

AA or no AA, alcoholic or not an alcoholic, maybe your time would be better spent doing things to help you not drink than bickering with people on internet forums. Hell, my time would probably be too.

Regardless of what recovery program you pursue or advocate, I think it's agreed upon that willpower alone is insufficient, so you might want to actually DO something. Unless willpower is enough, in which case I don't know why you're here.

Digression: I find some irony in the fact that so many of us 12 steppers on these forums endlessly argue with people who don't want to hear what we have to say, likely just to stroke our own egos and demonstrate how right we are. Or are we "carrying the message"? Well, probably more of the former for me, but I enjoy it anyway and I pay for my internet so I will use it how I want to. Truth be told, I would serve my spiritual development far more when I work with a sponsee, go to a meeting, or go do service work. But this is fun too.

serenityqueen

Daphne, I was the one who was talking about how wonderful I thought my life was when I was drinking and using. I was simply sharing my experiences, not telling you that you aren't happy.

I'm also confused as to why you are here. It seems that almost everything that has been suggested to you, you shake your head, say that doesn't apply to you so you don't need to consider it.

You said that some weeks you are drinking a bottle of wine every night. You don't consider this a problem? You don't think this could in any way be contributing to your liver enzymes being out of whack? Social drinkers who want to "enchance their lifestyle," don't drink a bottle of wine every night.

I want to tell you a little bit about a woman named Linda. She drank for about 2 years. Her labs started coming back showing abnormal levels about a week before Christmas in 1990. Her doctors told her to stop drinking. She kept putting off her quit date as well. The day she was due to go into treatment was the day we buried her. Linda was my little sister. Alcohol enhanced her life too.

If the time comes that you admit that maybe, just maybe, your alcohol consumption is not normal and you are willing to listen to the suggestions of others, then I will respond. Until then, God Bless and Good Luck.

daphne

hi there
clearly I am not wanted here get the message
i HAVE listened and acted upon advice ( see other thread with 200 plus posts)
it got me to the doc and remaking theGP appt
I have admitted so much on this forum, including my problems with stopping drink, and now feel rather foolish for doing so hey ho you live and learn
I thought I had respected others FEELINGS I just did not agree withe their views, two very different views
I simply will not accpt that I have been bickering and am insulted by that . I gave consideration and time to the points made, read up on stuff and try to analyse myself
Actually quite upset now so am going to end it there
Thanks again for everyones wishes I will quit on my own , hell I have spent most of my life doing it all for myself why should this be any different
regards
best wishes
d

Emily2002

Why not start a new thread for people who need to stop drinking due to medical reasons? That way you can get advice that's more directly related to your particular situation. It might give you some ideas and help others, as well.