Something other than AA

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11-23-2012, 05:51 PM

# 21 (permalink)

Delilah1

Member

Join Date: Mar 2012

Location: California

Posts: 13,044

First, congratulations on ten months sober, and second welcome to SR!

I agree with many of the above posts that what you may be missing is balance. I have been working with a therapist and she helps, I also have gotten back into a regular exercise routine, and have been reading lots and spending a lot of quality time with my kids (mine are 9,8, and 5)

I was drinking around them as well, I would usually have a glass of wine with dinner and then once they were in bed the rest of the bottle or more. My drinking usually started with stress/worry about: kp work, finances, juggling kids, work and life...

I have 43 days sober today, and I am feeling really good about that. It hasn't been easy but finding as many supports as possible has been key to me (doctor, therapist, trusted friends and family, exercise....)

Looking forward to seeing you around. I would definitely talk to your doctor about the depression, for me it is anxiety and the medication along with exercise and remembering to slow down and breathe helps!!!

11-23-2012, 06:50 PM

# 22 (permalink)

least

bona fido dog-lover

Join Date: Mar 2008

Location: SF Bay area, CA

Posts: 99,785

Welcome to SR!

I had depression long before I started drinking - it was one of the reasons I started drinking. But the meds they gave me didn't help if I was drinking. If you're sober there's a chance that kind of treatment might help. See your doctor for a professional opinion.

11-23-2012, 09:09 PM

# 23 (permalink)

redzing

Member

Thread Starter

Join Date: Nov 2012

Location: Midwest

Posts: 12

Thanks to everyone for their kind and supportive words. I really appreciate this forum . . . esp. since it is so non-judgmental about methods of finding sobriety. I believe I've probably been experiencing low grade and sometimes severe depression for some time now. I've actually experienced varying degrees of melancholy since I was a child, but it is starting to get very counter-productive.
I am actively seeking help for my depression, which is, I believe, the source of a great deal of my pain.

11-23-2012, 09:23 PM

# 24 (permalink)

redzing

Member

Thread Starter

Join Date: Nov 2012

Location: Midwest

Posts: 12

Quote:

Originally Posted by awuh1

“Alcoholic” commonly refers to someone who cannot control their drinking once they start. Can you have two drinks and stop, no problem.... consistently? If you can say yes then alcoholic might not be the correct term to use. Somehow you decided to stop drinking, so perhaps it would be accurate to say you at least have a “drinking problem”?

Clinical depression is sometimes the cause of excess drinking but the drinking may have developed into a problem all its own. If there is depression as a root cause then proper treatment will almost certainly make sobriety a lot more pleasant.

This is great advice--as mentioned in the above post, I think that depression is certainly at least ONE of the root causes. And to give some perspective on how I drank--at least before I finally quit for good--an spring and summertime habitual tendency to fill a travel mug with a 40 oz. of Steel Reserve (or more), maybe mixed with some wine, after work esp. but then on weekend mornings/afternoons while tending children. I also began to mix Steel with kava extract and sure, why not some more wine in there. It didn't feel normal, but took a lot of troubles away at least for awhile.