New and confused
 

I'm new here. I'm not sure I belong here, but I'm at my end. I really don't drink alot but it seems the drinking I do is enough to cause me major physical problems. I drink about 1/2 bottle of red wine a night or 3-4 beers. I'm a very small female, 43. Even though that's not much I know that it's causing me major health issues, but I can't stop for more than a couple of weeks. It's such a big part of my life, as soon as I stop I feel like I've lost a friend, nothing is fun, I don't want to do anything. I've only shared my feelings with my husband and my mom neither of whom are much help, my husband is just as band and my mom doesn't get it. 2 weeks ago I told her I had to quit drinking it was causing me all kinds of problems and she said "well wine really affects me try beer or kahlua" what kind of advice is that???? Drinking is a big part of my family's social life, they are all Italian wine drinkers. Anyway, I've probably "quit" 50 times in my life and everytime I go through the same withdarawls...bad dreams, lack of sleep, high bp, anxiety and sadness. I just don't know if it's worth it.

Alcoholism doesn't have as much to do with how much you drink or even how often you drink. It has to do with how alcohol affects you when you do drink. It sounds like it's causing some problems for you, so you might want to visit with your doctor and explain what's going on. They can help you get through the worst of the withdrawals, but then you will need to figure out how to stay stopped. A program like AA can be a huge help, but there are other programs like SMART and AVRT that can be helpful, too.

Welcome to SR. If you decide that recovery from alcohol is for you, you will find a lot of support here.

Welcome home! We understand.

Thank you. My biggest problem is definately going to be family events and going out. I base where I eat on how good the wine is. I look forward to the excessive wine drinking at Christmas and birthdays, it's accepted in my family as a sort of an Italian culture thing. When I do say I'm guitting the first thing that comes to mind before I even finish the thought is "well I can still drink on holidays and when I go out" (which doesn't work for me) And when do manage to quit for a week or 2 if I do have a drink just at dinner one night my withdrawls will start all over. My body hates alcohol my mind loves it.

once you get safely past the physical w/d you'll start feeling better, more normal. i gave it up for good over two years ago and don't miss it one bit - and i was an all day, every day wino. it took a while to adjust toliving sober but now you couldn't pay me enough to drink.:) i like my sober life.:)

Least - when I grow up I want to be just like you:-) What an inspiring post - thank you!!

T