I think it does matter how frequently or infrequently you drink!You can drink frequently because you are fully addicted to it or you can drink infrequently ''too much even'' because you like it.There is a difference for sure!You make it look like you should not even have any because it means it is a problem!

In the Newcomers forum I think most of us are learning to live our lives without alcohol in a world that is full of people who can drink without altering the course of their life. I come here because it is a place I can connect with others who are also relearning how to make the changes work. I know how to do the drinking/comparison thing….I got that down good. Now I am trying to figure out how to do the sobriety thing.

So I would posit that most of us do think about drinking, often, but I am here for the solution and support.

I am still a newbie, but that voluminous space that alcohol occupied in my mind is shrinking. As I go on I realize that while alcohol is a tangible material liquid in a glass, it was so much bigger than that substance itself. Picking up a glass and holding it to my mouth was the result of a host of other things that brought me to that gesture. The gesture of drinking and swallowing was basically a physical response like my knee jerking out when the doctor hits it with a hammer. I am finding that getting rid of the hammer means my knee doesn't have a reason to kick.

For the record, I don't think speaking in terms of maximums is useful. Potentially, my maximum would be the amount that killed me, either directly or through alcohol related misadventure. I don't want to reach that point and find out.

Yes James,that is exactly what I asked about maximum!Rather,I asked maximum for each individual and I do not understand what is wrong with it!Otherwise,I do not want people to get me wrong!

I don't think anyone is trying to beat you down, but people are hearing the AV negotiating. "Maybe I didn't have a problem because so and so drank a lot more than me." I think this is why people are sensitive to this discussion. On the other hand you want to share details of your problem. I understand both sides of the coin. Thanks.

Thanks again for your honesty KateL, I'm 48 hrs free now. Working towards one month.

Hi Cengiz, most people who are on here probably 'like' drinking, but doing something because you like it isn't always the best reason to do it. I like drinking, and sometimes I even like drinking too much. The problem is, that when I do it, there are consequences. There is fallout and bad feeling that affects people around me. I don't know if I'm 'addicted' to alcohol physically, and it doesn't matter - I keep doing the same thing over and over with the same (often, not always) negative results, so I need to stop but can't. It's not because I'm physically dependent on booze. Alcohol is a psychological issue for a lot of people, not a physical one.

In short, I should not have any because it's a problem.

If I drank once a week, and felt that it caused problems in my life, then it means that it is a problem. If I feel that alcohol is causing me problems, regardless of how often I drink, then it is so. There's no chart that shows that if you drink under a certain amount of drinks per week then you're fine. It's relative, and specific to the person.

I think the problem people are having with the line of conversation is the danger of the thread turning into the glorification of heavy drinking, the 'swapping of war stories' between drinkers. That and/or the possible lessening effect it has on people's own worries about drinking - ie; 'oh, well I don't drink that much, that must mean I'm OK to carry on drinking. I don't think that is what you're saying, but I think that's why this thread is making people a little edgy.

James,

All depends on the person and how much drinking they do!I do not mean to say''go for it and enjoy it'' if you can't do it!All I am saying is if you can manage to drink less occasionally,why not?İf you can't,then no problem!You should stop and never touch it again.I've never said go ahead and drink too much!May be this was not the place to open such a thread!

Sorry,then I ask the moderator to close this thread!

If someone can manage to drink less and it doesn't cause problems, then they don't really need to be on this forum anyway :). I understand that you're not advocating drinking to people with problems, but people with problems make up about 99.99999% of this forum's users.

Cengiz, I believe this forum is for people who are struggling and trying to get alcohol out of their lives. Sorry, but I don't think most people on here are still drinking and trying to moderate their alcohol consumption. Best of luck to you.

As you are still drinking and are not looking to quit I'm also not sure why you would come to a sober/quitting drinking site.

Also not sure how you can know so much about quitting when you are a drinker. This is the newcomers forum and most people have quit or are looking to quit. Of course if you're worried about your drinking but maybe unsure about your intake and looking to quit you're in the right place :)

Now, I think you are on to something......that this is not the place to open such a thread!

This is the place for people to come who find drinking/addiction has become a problem in their life.........this is the place where people come to share experience, strength and hope....with others who are trying hard to live their lives clean and sober.

This is NOT the place to satisfy your curiosity about how much alcohol someone here consumes on a daily basis......or debate the issue of moderation vs abstinence.

I do not blame those who find your thread troubling. It seems to me that there are better....... more appropriate forums to ask your question.

If your intention is only to satisfy your curiosity than I suggest you find another forum in which to ask your question.

I think we need to get Dee cloned, so that the 'spare' one can be here when the real one is kipping :)

''Also not sure how you can know so much about quitting when you are a drinker''

The answer is because I quit too many times!For quitting I wish you the best of luck and if you just can not have little,then do not drink anymore as this was my intention to say all along this thread!

The moderator agrees.

D