silly

I say it's okay, sure. The part that would drive me to insanity is the "WANT more" part. I'd probably be the biggest you-know-what once I drank my two.

soberlicious

and I gave you mine.
An awful lot of time, energy, and planning surrounding alcohol. The fact that your grip is so tight on the middle ground tells me there probably is none for you.
always

zimmy

I think the "wanting more" is going to be there whether I drink 2 or none. Isn't that why people who've been sober for decades continue going to AA meetings?

MIRecovery

Here is what AA has to say

Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going to believe they are in that class. By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right- about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people!

Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums - we could increase the list ad infinitum.

We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try itmore than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition.

Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while there is yet time.

freshstart57

Zimmy, I am with you on all counts here, but I can't agree with your plan to manage consumption. Sobriety is not an itch, it is a relief, it is freedom from all the crap I did when I was drinking. The depression and anxiety I battled are just a faint whisper in comparison to the constant cacophony I experienced when I was drinking. The shame and guilt that goes along with the addict's life are gone now too.

I feel you take responsibility for your drinking, so you can take responsibility for your sobriety too. You can get sober if you choose. Keep posting here, OK?

Veggiejojo

Zimmy,

There's a programme called moderation management but I think you are still expected to abstain for 30 days at the start so if you can't do that you may want to think about whether it is easier to quit.

I don't really go in for labels, I don't know whether I was an alcohlic but I was drinking too much, too often and when I tried to cut back I found it hard. Quitting altogether has been so much easier once I got past the first 10 days for so (28 days today!)

I do disagree with your comment about alcohol having benefits - I think that's a big con. All of the reasons I used to give myself to justify my drinking have been shot down and since quitting drinking I have lost weight, my skin is better, I am sleeping better, I am also much calmer which I wasn't expecting - I am so glad I went for sobriety.

There's a great mix of people on here doing AA, AVRT, SMART and others. If AA isn't your thing, there are other options.

Whatever you decide, I wish you well, keep us posted,

x

MIRecovery

Yes that is one of the reasons I go to AA meetings but there is a huge difference between obsession and compulsion and passing thoughts of alcohol. There are many days where thoughts of drinking do no even enter my mind and when they do they leave as quickly as they arrive. Today active thoughts about drinking take up .000001% of my waking hours. When I as drinking I had 3 states. 1. Drunk or Drinking 2. Recovering from Drinking 3. Thinking about when I could drink next.

I go to AA to keep it at .000001%

silly

I can't speak to why people go to AA meetings. I use Rational Recovery and AVRT. I did start out using AA though.

My answer is "no", it's not always going to be there. That's the point of sobriety and why people work programs and seek counseling or other help. Losing the obsession. That's the point.

zimmy

Thanks for your thoughts. I do notice that I sleep better when not drinking as well.

SoberForMySon

Only you can answe that. But we can help you recover.

MIRecovery

There are many paths and many stages of Alcoholism. I was late stage. I was a full blown alcoholic and had been for 20 years and the 20 years before that I abused ever substance I could while mixing in alcohol. I have tried multiple recovery methods and AA is the only thing that worked for me but that is not implying that there are not other ways. There just was no other way for me.

tomsteve

welp, i went to AA because i was at the point of desperation. i am an alcoholic as the big book describes, so the suggestions it gives have worked great to help me recover from alcoholism. i am not cured of alcoholism, just recovered from the hopeless state of mind that made me drink. i still have a thinkin problem.
i continue to go to meetings to help other alcoholics that wnant help recover. i also go because i know what happens to people who have been sober for decades and stop going.

i hope that you havent crossed the line and can control your drinking. i hope you are able to have 2 or 3 drinks and walk away without any thought of the next drink. please know, thought, that if it doent work out, there is help in many different forms.

soberlicious

The AVRT threads are good.

Dee74

Welcome Zimmy

Most of us here have drunk ourselves to a standstill - I myself drank about 10 years past any discernible benefits.

My relationship with alcohol didn't stand still - it progressed.

I was very different creature after 20 years drinking than the bright eyed and bushy tailed youngster I was when I started.

There's some fantastic advice and collected wisdom here but...if you're convinced there still are benefits for you, that's likely to trump any arguments anyone can give you here.

So...if you want to cut back - do it Zimmy...start today.

I could never, but if you can - awesome - more power to you.

If you can't, SR is always here
D

TheRestorative

I'm sober 5 days! It's been really eye-opening this time around. I've tried too many times before, more than I can count on my fingers. I guess that's why I know how my mind works when it comes to my drinking habits. Are you doing okay? The weekends can be tough for typical party-goers. Hang in there. I've left this site and have come back after weeks of absence, just to pick up where I left off. At day #1. But it's okay, starting over. It means we're intentional about recovery.

BarrysMama

this is supposed to be a place to encourage others in a KIND way.. regardless o what you may feel they are doing wrong. Zimmy, I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide is best for you