DaveyT

They look like addicts because they are addicted to alcohol. It's a multi-system drug, it does a shocking level of damage when you abuse it. I've been reading everything I can lately to fully understand what I've ben doing to myself and that is helping to keep me sober.

I also found an interesting film, 28 Days starring Sandra Bullock. She's in recovery and despite being a movie I took a few things from it that seem important to me. But hey it might not be a movie for everyone.

As for dealing with your feelings, hate to tell you but unless you do that you'll probably relapse rather a lot. People become dependent on alcohol for a lot of different reasons but I would say the majority use to cover emotions they don't want to sort out. Some enjoy drinking and then the dependence sneaks up on them and others drink because of physical pain.

Whatever the reason you need to address it because the root cause will cause you to drink again.

Dee74

Hi plantme

There's many different approaches and methods of recovery around - here's some links to some of the main players - including, but not limited to AA:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

Like Davey said, I recommend you visit the Secular Connections forum if you think you may benefit from a non 12 step approach.

Welcome to SR

D

Hevyn

Pleased to meet you, plantme. I know you'll find all sorts of help and hope here. This is a wonderful place where you never have to feel alone. We're glad to have you part of us.

ReadyAndAble

Hi again, plantme.

Yep, as Dee and others said, there are many ways to beat addiction. As for the question of when, well, you've already said you would like to quit now. I wanted to quit for a long time.... but I also didn't want to quit, you know? It wasn't until that first desire outweighed the second that I really made the leap.

This much is sure: I've heard countless people say their only regret about quitting is that they wish they'd done it sooner—and I have yet to hear a single person say they wish they'd continued drinking even a little while longer.

It seems like a sacrifice to quit, doesn't it? Like you'd be leaving your comfort zone, and moving into a colder, harsher world, where you're left to deal with reality head-on. I was so afraid of life without alcohol. How would I relax? How would I have fun? How would I deal with the sheer boredom without alcohol?

But see, it only looked that way to me because I was still in the bubble of addiction. It's the illusion conjured by my addiction to keep me trapped. Once I made the leap, and put some time between me and my last drink, those fears began to disappear. I was worried about relaxing—yet alcohol was behind half my worries, and magnified the other half. Fun? Drinking had stopped being "fun" a long, long time ago. Whatever thrill remained in taking that first sip was far outweighed by the pile of regret I awoke to the next morning. And boredom is the biggest crock of all. Is there anything more tedious than the endless loop of addiction? Tonight I'm performing at an open mic night for a ukulele club I recently joined—I never did anything that silly, fun, or exciting when I was drinking. And even when I'm just sitting around, reading or watching netflix, I don't think of it as boring. Now that I'm not obsessing over my next drink, that stuff is relaxing, not boring.

So when should you stop? Well, when do you want to start feeling better about yourself and the world around you? Quitting isn't the sacrifice. Drinking is the sacrifice.

You can do this, plantme, and I hope you do it soon. Glad you found SR; it was a huge help to me, and I'm sure it will be to you, too.