1newcreation

I drank ALL the time so this is the right place!

shirlygirly

You sound exactly like I did before I stopped drinking. Your friends won't care one way or another whether you're drinking or not. Alcoholics tend to have an over-inflated ego where they think that everyone is constantly paying attention to them and what they do. Assuming you're going to ruin your friends' trip is a perfect example of this.

With that said, it sounds like you're using your trip as an excuse to drink in a couple of weeks. There will always be things to use as an excuse to drink. Always. And there's never a "best" time to stop drinking. Don't put it off until after the trip, or after a wedding, or after a holiday. Something else will always pop up as a "reason" to drink. The best time to stop is now... Always.

If you're on this site and sometimes you can't stop when you want to, you're absolutely an alcoholic. You don't have to drink every day or drink into a complete blackout every time you drink to be one. It's that obsession with drinking and the idea that one day you'll be able to drink like normal drinkers that makes you an alcoholic.

Hope that helps.

Knat84

In my personal experience, my friends claimed that they were cool with me not drinking, however, when I hung out with them once when they were drinking (and I was not) they said "Relax. Just have one drink. It'll calm you down. You need to learn moderation." I just about FLIPPED. I said very loudly "I'M AN ALCOHOLIC. OKAY??? I'M AN ALCOHOLIC. Do you guys not get that??? Do you know what that means??" lol - Anywho, I guess what I am getting at is, although your friends are good people and they might accept your not drinking, you might get EXTREMELY frustrated in a situation in where THEY are drinking, and you are not. Like, when I was hanging out with my friends, I felt like I was losing my mind. I almost felt like I had been drinking because I felt lightheaded and started to get tunnel vision. (anxiety) - I knew that it was too early for me to be hanging out with them. (In fact, I had to stop hanging out with them based solely on the fact that they were extreme enablers.)

I agree with the others. Don't go on the trip. I know, I know...it sucks, but, if this is something you really really want to succeed in (not drinking), then you will know that you are making the right decision by not going (right now). France will always be there, Cheery. It sounds to me that you need to mentally recover and get the addict under control. (You might not want to consider yourself an addict, however, when you find yourself in a place to where you can't stop, even if it's just four nights out of the week, you are in fact a certain type of addict.)

I am so happy that you understand that you have a problem!

You are on the right path!

-Nat