hope22

Well theres a saying I've heard at meetings: you cant turn a pickle back into a cucumber.

I know for me, there is no "normal" drinking. Have one or two? why even bother?

parkec100

Normal drinking is no problem for me...1 - 6 pack is, well was my normal. :-)

artsoul

For me, it's not a matter of whether I CAN drink normally, because I know I'm capable of having a drink or two and walking away. I've done it before (mostly in situations that called for it).

The real problem is could I ever drink again with a social drinker's ATTITUDE, that is, to find that I would be completely satisfied with that one drink and not want another, or not even care if I finished the first one? I don't think it's possible. I think I would always find myself having to manage or control it, which means that sooner or later, there would come that day when I wanted to make an exception to the rule.

I went back to drinking after 4 years of sobriety, just to have a glass of wine here and there. It may start off fine, but it never ends that way.....

sugarbear1

Drinking one would set me off on another long-term run of drinking as much as I could....

I'm not taking that chance. It took me 25 years to feel this fantastic without having to drink alcohol. I am not about to go back there!

FreeFall

I can't moderate either. Definitely in the camp of no off switch and if I'm only having one or two why bother? I think I always felt that if I couldn't even moderate, how could I possibly stop entirely? It made no sense to me. I have now learned that stopping entirely is about a thousand percent easier than trying to stop after "just a couple". You may find the same thing.

I agree re the social stuff, you're adjusting to a whole new lifestyle. Or, you're doing your same lifestyle and not fitting in like you used to or having the same kind of fun. I still go to the bar I work and hang out at, but I'm so easily bored without drinking they are very short visits. We just have to work on finding other things we truly enjoy to fill the void.

Sobersunshine

We I have quit in the past (1 to 4 weeks max), I thought I could go back to normal drinking.... The longest I ever lasted as a normal drinker was maybe three days... Now I know there is no normal drinking for me, there is no first drink for me. And I also realize I don't want to be a normal drinker, I want to be an alcoholic drinker without any bad consequences. Why would I want justw one or two? Becaue I love the taste so much? (no.) because others are doing it? (poor reason.) because I don't want to admit I'm an alcoholic? (maybe?). No one needs to drink normally or otherwise. Not worth the risk for me. I am at peace with the decision never to drink aain, one day at a time.

ACT10Npack

Your on the wrong forum to ask that question.

Dee74

..or exactly the right place?

D

Inca

My relapses have all started out the same way. Well I'll just have one. Ok, now that one night went well, let's try two glasses. No matter how you look at it, it's still managing and controlling until I don't even bother trying to manage and control and just go back to bottles a day. It might seem like "normal" the first couple times you try it until one day you realize months later, "hey, what the heck happened!" "I'm back to the insanity again". It's a tricky, baffling phenomenon.....so the answer is no, deep down I don't think I can ever drink normally again although my addictive voice tells me I can.

duane1

I drank to get drunk even from the beginning. I couldn't possibly moderate. Never heard of an alcoholic that could.

MythOfSisyphus

Maybe some people do, but I never will. If I start again I will die. It took a long time to admit it but I never wanted to have "just a few". I always wanted to get drunk. I can't imagine that will change in the future. Sure, it's fun to imagine but it's like imaging winning the lottery or finding a lamp with a genie in it- just a fantasy.

IMOHO the hope of drinking normally someday is just kicking the can down the road. No one that effin' loves being drunk as much as I am will ever be able to dial it down to social drinking.

Jeni26

Drinking 'normally' was something I could never master.
As I didn't learn how to do it in the first place., it isn't something I can return to.

I just don't want it in my life ever again, and I'm happy with that.

instant

Alcohol is poisonous and addictive. I have thankfully got to the stage where I no longer want to be a 'normal drinker'. I always drank for the buzz anyway, I still would if I drank again. Unfortunately that is not normal. Also my stop switch has been damaged beyond repair. Despite this life is wonderful.

DisplacedGRITS

I'm too concerned about the kindling effect, to be honest.

Also, i'm tired of dealing with fighting alcohol and playing the alcohol game. How many beers is ok? How many mixed drinks? How many shots? What combinations? How many nights a week? How many weeks a month? What is "normal?" Is my "normal" different from a real normies "normal" since i was once classified as an "alcoholic?" If i break my rules am i an "alcoholic " again and have to go back on the wagon? For how long? UGH! Give me a hangover even thinking about it. Probably doesn't matter. I'm sure i'd end up down the rabbit hole again before i could even be at a point to where those questions could come into play. No, i'll keep my life simple and simple is sober.

MesoFreak

Birdie03,

I tried to quit a lil' over a month go after I had a crazy binge near death experience. Then I decided to try to moderate. Everything was fine until the next drunken episode that happened 8 days ago: I still have staple holding a wound together on my head! I don't know what happened, I assumed I fell, but I don't really know if I got into it with someone. Point is, I don't think I can moderate, and I could have died... Still with these staples in my head I am thinking that I could moderate! lol, the alcoholic mind is persistent, and very stupid it seems (in my case). All the best to you, because I know its hard a$$ hell for me to think I can never drink again.

Natom

I have seen people who considered themselves alcoholics get a bit of sober time behind them and then try to resume normal drinking. I've never actually seen anyone pull it off. Just recently a friend of mine who had multiple addictions tried to drink several cans of lager. He ended up smashing up a house and then being remanded in prison. Although I have read a recovery story of someone who got clean and then occasionally has a drink on special occasions.

The question is were they really an alcoholic or an addict? Without being them I wouldn't actually guess but I would hazard a guess at saying no probably not. I for one would not even dream about trying to drink normally. I know what I am and I have accepted that. Just keep in the day and do it one day at a time. Projecting about the future is not healthy for people with our condition. Take it easy and keep it simple.

YVRguy

Hey birdie

Well I am not sure if you are an alcoholic or not , only you can decide. I'd say the BB has some good clues. Can you stop drinking for a year? Have you tested controlled drinking in the past and found it impossible to stop ?

Like a lot of others I tried anything and everything , ughh what a lot of work for , in the end , a nil result.

I'd say anyone who is alcoholic will never return to a social drinker but that's my opinion and experience.

Geralt

No, our body changes from the alcohol. The effects of tolerance and kindling don't go away, I wrote a post about it here.

hypochondriac

I don't really get what normal drinking is supposed to be...? Is that when you have one or two drinks then stop?

I am prone to minimising my drinking problem, I never drank in the morning, rarely got out of control drunk, but I never, ever had a few drinks then stopped, ever. All those times I probably seemed like a normal drinker having a few pints after work then going home...just to carry on drinking. Even if I had a drink in the afternoon I would have to carry on drinking. It all started out as social drinking but it didn't end that way.

I am sure now though that if I drank again I would be absolutely petrified and could probably do that one or 2 drinks thing (crazy thinking seeing as I never actually did it before!). But it would be so easy to just to say 'f**k it' and drink properly. I remember reading the HAMS website and feeling really sorry for people who were forcibly controlling their drinking. It sounded really difficult, and quite frankly boring. I really couldn't see the point of having just a couple of drinks. And really it seemed like far too much effort to try and keep alcohol in their lives. A bit sad really. Sobriety = freedom. I wouldn't want to trade that for a few beers.

Grace2

I don't know what normal is! I don't have a stop button where wine is concerned, just a self destruct button.
Gx