emptyglass68

I am 44 years old and have drank since the age of 16. I drink every evening when the clock strikes 6!!! Never spirits always Beer or Wine, usually a 4 pack or a bottle or 2 of wine. I am constantly telling myself to give up for health and finance reasons but i cant kick the habit.

Any advice?????

9yearsgone

I found this site, like you, and started reading threads. It became obvious that I was not as deep as some people, but I was deeper than others (in my drinking).

I read good stories, and stories about negative experiences. My mind was racing and I compared myself to others, saw where I might go, and what could be if I dropped my drinking.


Are you an alcoholic? Read and make that determination yourself like I did.

mecanix

Sounds to me like you have a problem if you end up drinking when you don't want to .
I certainly recoment to all my friends and family to try 90 days sober to see how alcohol influences their lives and how they feel without it .

I started by reading , some of the big book of AA , some of allan carr's book , the forums here and other sites .

In the end i just had to do it ..

Bestwishes, M

snowvelvet

Hi Emptyglasses, I cannot say if you have a problem - that sounds harsh, but the one thing I have learnt to get to the stage I am at, (Only just starting recovery, only 3 days in!) is that I had to realise that I had a problem.

I tried to cut down, I tried to stop drinking and I couldn't. I used to rush through the day in order to get home to have my fix, my release.

Realising I had lost control and could not control my drinking (and it's been a bloody long process of deluding myself I could!) made me realise that I was an alcoholic.

All the best, SV x

flutter

Well that right there is telling.. A lot of times when people post this question (and don't include feeling unable to quit), I recommend staying sober for a few months to see if you find an answer, but it looks like you already know that you're addicted, whether it's physical, mental or otherwise.

I rationalized my drinking by comparing myself to others who seemed worse off than me and still 'functioned' in my opinion.. heck I was 'functional' too, until the end, but though on the outside I was seemingly living my life and accomplishing my work goals, marriage goals, etc.. I was NOT functioning well on the inside, I was struggling more than anyone really knew. I really wish that I had taken action on my drinking when I first realized it was a problem.

Welcome!

mytime66

Imo If a person has to question it it is a problem. I suggest the 90 days sober as suggested above. Good luck and stay around here an read. Good luck.

hypochondriac

Welcome to SR emptyglass

I drank just like you, but I was convinced I was an alcoholic before I got here because I had tried to give up without any luck for 3 years before that. I don't think it matters what you call it though, if you are struggling to give up on your own then get some help. This place saved my life, and there is AA, addiction counselling (no problem getting that in the UK) and other groups like SMART recovery, books like Rational Recovery: The new cure for substance addiction by Jack Trimpey and Allen Carr's and Jason Vale's books. Have a look around and see what will be the thing that helps you x

Anna

If you can't kick the habit, then you you are an alcoholic. It makes no difference whether you drinking alcohol, wine or beer, it's all the same to the body and causes the same problems. Take a look around and you will see that many of us have succeeded in stopping drinking and living healthy lives.

gaffo

I have a similar drinking history--started mid teens then every day into my mid forties. I always knew that I was an alcoholic and always had that nagging feeling that I was going to have to quit, especially after I successfully beat a huge cigarette habit when I was 29. I dreaded quitting and I didn't trust AA types and that whole recovery ball of wax and it was easy to drink too much all the time in my life.

For no particular reason I stopped drinking for good on the day before Halloween 2011. I was 46. I'm not going to lie, it was really really tough in the beginning and I leaned on SR hard. I also have friends in AA and other kinds of recovery that have helped along the way. 90 days was a big land mark but I started to feel better all the time after six months. I used to quit for thirty days at a time and it was torture.

After more than a year I can say for sure that I saved a bunch of money that came in very handy. I wince when I think about that amount times twenty something. I've also experienced personal growth and gained a lot of joy in ways that I couldn't anticipate. I set my arrested development free. There simply isn't a downside to quitting drinking! Go for it!

Bruno1979

I asked myself that question many times,

The bottom line is that if you didn't have some form of problem with alcohol then you wouldn't have posted that question on here. Its as simply as that.

As said above, there is no downside in quitting alcohol at all.

Good luck,

Bruno.

2granddaughters

Welcome !!

I was 45 when I came to Alcoholics Anonymous and it's worked for me (because I've worked for it) since 1989. Might be the ticket for you as well.

All the best.

Bob R

emptyglass68

thanks for the advice guys, i am going to go for 90 days without a drink and see how i feel at the end! Even though the X Mas party season is over, the future social side of sitting with a juice while everyone is boozing scares me, however at this time i am sure i want to quit, last drink was 19th Jan 2013.

Any suggestions for alternative drinks to beat that 6pm crave????

2granddaughters

AA coffee will help keep you sober

All the best.

Bob R

hypochondriac

I was a beer hound and I hate to say it but I still drink carbonated drinks as a replacement for that. Pints of the stuff. Just sparkling water most of the time (not a fruit juice kinda person) or lime and soda, or elderflower cordial and soda. I used to have no idea before I quit of what I could drink instead of beer. Seems ridiculous now and really I was only drinking the other stuff to get drunk. There's no end of stuff you can drink sober x