Klia

For those that are still drinking or those that are now sober, did/do you ever find times when you aren't even in the mood to drink, but do it anyway? That happens to me all the time. Sometimes my body just doesn't even want alcohol. I don't feel I need it or want it, but I'm so used to coming home from work and cracking open a beer it's just muscle memory or something.

SoberForMySon

All the time. Habit. Bad habit.

Sapling

My last two years I was a 24 hour drinker....Meaning...If I was awake....I was drinking. Completely out of control.

Vall

"muscle memory" :> Made me smile, I like it. I will remember that analagy.

I can't say I had a time for drinking apart from possibly being bored/scared/lonely. (ok so all the time then ;>)

ReadyAndAble

Yeah, for me that's how I knew I was in deep. Drinking was no longer fun; it just felt like a grim necessity.

The good news: That realization also made it easier for me to let go of the idea that I wanted to drink. I didn't—my addiction did.

stevie88

Yep...All the time...Even though it was boring and I didn't want it,I still drank it....

Lost3000

All the time, especially at the end. I've since learned that this was a physical reaction, and habit. I often wonder what would have happened if I continued that pattern. I'm reminded constantly in AA that it probably wouldn't have been good. You have to remember, this is a poison that is being ingested in our bodies. It affects the nervous system (brain) and everything else. So when you ingest an addictive poison on a daily basis in large amounts, going to get a drink when you don't feel like it isn't just a habit.

hypochondriac

Yep, all the time. I think in the last three years I felt like I was drinking under duress. When it becomes something you have to do rather than something you want to then it's definitely time to quit!

Kza

I do that too. Perhaps it's part sel destruction, part, once instant drinking I will get in the mood and part nothing else to do.

MrsKing

I seemed to always WANT to drink, but (luckily) my husband wouldn't let me, most of the time. When I drank though... I don't even know if I wanted to carry on... but I carried on until I could drink no more. Thank goodness that I wasn't able to drink every day.

awuh1

I drank because I was awake.

stairs

I drank to prevent withdrawal symptoms from starting.

NoFireWater

That was another thing that made me stop. I realized I was sitting in the bar drinking for no reason at all. I wasn't into socializing, was bored by the people that were there, was tired, had shows I wanted to see on TV, yet there I sat. That was needing to drink, not wanting to drink, and it was a huge wake up call that the addiction was proressing.

bumble

Often, there were reasons: I was feeling good or I was feeling not-good (sad, bored, lonely, insecure, etc), but sometimes, I think I was just on auto-pilot. And that "why?" moment was a pivotal.

FBL

For the last 10 years of a nearly 30 year drinking career, I got drunk every day, didn't matter whether I "felt like it" or not.

DisplacedGRITS

i often did that. what it took for me was breaking my old habits and recognizing my triggers. in the beginning i had to go to AA meetings daily to break my old habits and that helped a ton. recognizing that sitting in a specific spot on the couch with a Diet Sprite was a trigger so i switched spots and i don't drink Diet Sprite anymore. boredom is a trigger so i always have a book on hand. you gotta have a plan. tools in the toolbox. when those cravings hit you and that old mechanical habit starts to take over it's up to you to cut that out and find a new habit. reach into that toolbox, pull out a tool and use it. if you don't really want to drink but you're drinking, figure out what it is you really would rather be doing. that's what your mind and body are telling you. i want to be doing something. is it walking? reading? eating a snack? experiment and find out.

Dee74

It got so drinking was an accompaniment to *everything* for me, yeah.

I was an all day everyday drinker too by the end - I got to the point where there was no enjoyment, and reasons and excuses for drinking were no longer required.

D

773niki

Yep, I think that's a commonality here. Sometimes I think I"m the only one that did this kind of stuff. But, didn't even want to drink and did anyway until it became a necessity. Stupid.

Pondlady

I was concerned this past spring, when on several occasion, I'd come home after an evening meeting, tired and should have gone to bed.....but poured a glass of wine. I thought " What am I doing and why?". I put the goblet back in the fridge...but it REALLY got me thinking....and worried.

DarkDays

All the time , but did it anyway.