We should have known we were in trouble when ...
 

- we began expanding our drinking spots/liquor stores to avoid too frequent visits to any one place

- we began monitoring our drinking in public and compensating in private

- we began making excuses to get out of going out in order to stay home and drink

- we became increasingly defensive to claims that we were losing control

- our bosses suddenly became unfair in their treatment of us

- our significant others/spouses were not understanding/supportive as they were before

- our kids were becoming too demanding

- the barkeeps understood us better than our friends

- others?

I should have known I was in trouble when my hangovers lasted longer then a day......

I should have known I was in trouble when I would avoid activities where drinking wasn't involved.........

I should have known I was in trouble when I'd start looking at the clock around 4 pm and planning what I would drink that night instead of what I would eat.

I should have known I was in trouble when I'd rather be alone with a drink then be out with a friend not drinking.

We kept what we liked to drink...Where only we could find it.

- Searching for volume discount purchases at liquor store ie Captain Morgan by the case to save.

- Above said liquor store has a frequent purchaser card that occupied a prominent spot in my wallet.

- Blackouts became more and more frequent with seemingly lower and lower amounts of alcohol.

- When your day begins to revolve around planning for how you will be drinking later afternoon and evening not spending time with loved ones.

Time for me to clean up my mess.

We drank during work hours
We got multiple DUIs

I should have know i was in trouble when:
- i didn't listen at all when my ex threatened to leave because of drinking, then eventually did..
= when i first googled Alcoholism, found this site years ago, yet kept on drinking.
= when i started hiding stashes of mickeys throughout the house, thinking i was so clever..
= when i first noticed the shakes, and justified them, then took a morning drink to calm the nerves.
= when I started hitting different liquor stores, because God forbid, the clerks think I was alcoholic...

the first time I prayed to the porcelin god....(got ill from my hangover and bargained with God-"God, help me, I'll never drink that much again!")

Known....
 

Hiding it - "Just running out to the store" grab beer but bring my own bag so if I was seen walking into the house nobody would assume it was beer. Then go drink it alone until blacked out.

When I threw away bottles of wine into the garbage because I was "done" drinking, then went through the garbage the next day to dig them out.

Has anyone else done that??? Who does that?? An addict.

All the above and when I chose to sleep on a grate in the street instead of going home to a beautiful home with a loving woman.

Oh lord, this could get interesting. I'm afraid to share my "should have known" stories, lol. Or, I should say, "I knew" stories.

Many of these plus
- waking up sore and bruised from falling, stumbling, or who knows and not remembering what happened.

Many of these plus
- waking up sore and bruised from falling, stumbling, or who knows and not remembering what happened.

Skipping meals or purposely eating the bare minimum so you can begin drinking

Waking up in the middle of the night, seeing there is still booze left and drinking it

Going home after a date or night without any drinking and getting plastered by yourself

Saying you are going to sleep but really staying up all night drinking

Hiding empties in the trunk of your car or hiding them in general around the house

- i woke up in jail not knowing the extent of the charges

- i swore not to drink after jail and made only 30 days

- i got increasingly angrier and violent when drunk

- i woke up in bed not remembering how i got home only to find out I drove

I can relate to most of these, just substituting pills...however instead of throwing away bottles of wine to retrieve I would flush the pills and then be SUPER DUPER bummed out cuz they were long gone. One time my husband threw my pills away in our corn field and i went back a few days later looking for them but they had melted away in the rain. UGH! so glad those days are gone.

Drunken phone calls

Buying wine by the case....telling the clerk, I was having a Party!

Trying to control my drinking....marking the bottle.

Lying... no I'm not drinking!

Sneaking...putting Vodka in a water bottle.

Switching from Vodka to wine so I would drink less.

Spending most days in drunken blackouts.

Drinking as soon as I woke up.

Hands shaking so bad, not able to sign credit card receipt.

I remember signing something at my old workplace (or at least tried to). Co-worker saw my hand shaking all over the place and looked up at me with those eye's...like "you aren't OK". But of course you just brush it off and forget it even happened.

Another was being hungover and putting on a smile trying to deal with clients, it was so hard to even formulate proper sentences and I would routinely screw up words and say the wrong things as my brain was just a cloudy, foggy, mess.

1. The first thing I needed to do when I woke up in the morning was to have a shot or two of whiskey just to stop the shakes.

2. The second thing I needed to do when I woke up in the morning was to check my Facebook and emails to see what madness ensued while I was blacked out the night before.

3. The third thing I needed to do was find out what I did to my family the night before so that I could apologize and promise to do "better."

4. Wash, rinse, and repeat.