Day 3....am I really an alcoholic?
 

So im into day 3 sober. No withdrawal symptoms. I feel good however I miss that evening relaxing drink to unwind? My mind is telling me i deserve a few glasses of winw tonight. Let me ask you.....if you were strong enough to give up drinking, you sure of could of been strong enough to moderate your drinking?

Are you saying, that you just woke up bored one morning and found this forum.....or...was there a REASON you came here? :) Not criticizing you x

Nope. I drink everyday, for at least 10 years. Though i thought alcoholics had to have withdrawal symptoms?

I gave up drinking once quite a while ago and had no withdrawal symptoms. I did it because my then (alcoholic) husband thought I was an alcoholic and I proved to him I could not drink if I wanted to.
I didn't want to not drink after a while and started the evening cocktail routine again. Two years later I was in the hospital for the withdrawals.
I would have saved myself a lot of pain and money if I had stayed stopped then.
I only truly stopped when I truly wanted to stop.
:)

Hello there,
I AM an alcoholic. Unlike others, I didn't drink every day and could go months without BUT when I did drink I wouldn't stop until I was passed out or blacked out. I don't think it's the amount or frequency of the drink that determines if we have a problem.....it is the result of that drinking. I have never had a physical craving or withdrawals. I have been drink free since Aug 21, 2007.

The key word here is why.

Know your "why."

As in, why did you stop drinking? This is crucial, because if your "why" isn't stronger than the urge to drink, which will come and go like the wind, you're going to have some real problems.

As for moderation, my personal experience has been that it is akin to climbing in bed with the Devil and telling him we're not going to phuck. I never kept beer in my house because when I drank, I drank to get drunk. When I smoked weed, I smoked weed to get high. When my last girlfriend tried to moderate our sex life, I kicked her to the curb faster than the road runner can say "beep beep."

Thus, moderation of any kind has never made much sense to me. I want what i want when i want it, or I'd rather have nothing at all. This is especially true for me if I cannot control it.

Hope this helps :)

Day 3...would not exactly say you are recovered yet. But day three is exactly when I would expect someone's alcoholic voice to start pitching moderation.

Stay strong. If you could control your drinking, you would already be doing it.

I wonder if its my alcoholic voice talking. I came here because last sunday I drank and drove after 3 bottles of wine wasted. I have 2 young children and embarresed of what I did. Dont ask what I do for a living, that make it worse. Btw I have lost multiple sick days due to wine.

I really want a drink tonight just one. Oh please just one.

Hi thewill,

Your AV (addictive voice) is singing to you. We all have it and we've all heard it. It says "hey you, this really isn't a problem, look at you! You went two whole days without alcohol and you didn't feel any pain, you DESERVE a drink".

It's important at this point for you to go back and read the initial post that brought you here. I often use my prior posts to help redirect me when I need it.

You can do this, you know that you need to, that voice of reason as to why you CAN drink will go away.

If you drank and drove after three bottles of wine then clearly you are not a responsible drinker....and a moderate drinker is a responsible one...food for thought :)

So, that happened Sunday and today you think you are strong enough to moderate your drinking...darn right that is alcoholic thinking.

Have you given thought to a recovery program?

It sounds like you are looking for an excuse to drink, and you are trying to validate it here. Yes, that is your alcoholism talking to you. I have done that well over100 times, telling myself it's ok to just have a few, only I never stop at a few. My voice is actually working on me right now, even though I've repeated that cycle over and over. I've realized quitting isn't easy, I am going to still want to drink. I just have to remember what happens when I do.

I have no alcohol in my house. What if I buy just 1 small bottle of wine. I cant drink more then I have?

You can always get more.

As for the withdrawal there is something called the kindling effect. This is my fourth time attempting sobriety. The first time no symptoms at all, the second time some discomfort, the third time awful and the fourth time I literally thought I was going to die. I thank God I did not have a seizure as I was home alone. Each time it gets worse so keep that in mind when you have just that one, small bottle of wine :-)

NO!

Find something to distract you...stay logged on to SR. Pray. Do anything but give into the obsession.

Quitting means just that...you have quit.

I hope you heed the advice on this thread. Day 3 is not recovered, it is just getting started.

I never had withdrawal symptoms, but I still identify as an alcoholic.
Please don't drink and drive. You know what could happen.

I wasn't strong giving up drugs and alcohol...I was at my very lowest and beaten down....my attempts at moderation only contributed that.

At my very weakest point was I able to give up the addiction.

The tries at moderation mostly occurred when I considered myself as a problem drinker....many decades ago.

Even the thought of moderating my drinking when I was a chronic alcoholic was foolish...and just not real.

Hi. All I can do is repeat over and over: Our FIRST NEED is to get HONEST WITH OURSELVES. All buts mean squirming around the truth. Driving after drinking is suicidal. This shows me there might be mental/emotional damage incurred over your drinking period.

"I have no alcohol in my house. What if I buy just 1 small bottle of wine. I cant drink more then I have."

Most people without a problem don't need to think this way. It took me awhile to believe denial is not a river in Egypt. This is where self honesty comes into play.

GOOD LUCK AND BE WELL

It is your AV talking and you need to shut the beast up. You certainly are not recovered after 3 days. Heck, I have more than 3 days and my AV still sings to me and I didn't drink everyday. I WAS a weekend binge drinker. It is how you choose to deal with your AV that matters. If you choose to pick up that drink just remember the consequences that come with that first drink. I know there is no way I can moderate at all. I have tried on may occasions only to fall flat on my face. Once, I pick up that first drink the rest is history.

I just hope you do some soul searching and figure out if you really want to be alcohol free or not. I would say if you don't do it for yourself at least do it for your kids.

Wishing you the best.