CAPTAINZING2000

I never ever had a drinking problem.

Ask me about my stopping problem

Shoshie8

No, ChilledIce I can't. Tried the wash-rinse-repeat of abstain-moderate-escalate until the penny dropped. I have no control over my relationship with alcohol. It's not circular either, it's a downward spiral. My moment of realisation was when I figured out I was in post-binge withdrawal rather than simply hungover over the Christmas holidays. I only want to go there once, that's why I'm here.

MarathonMan

Attempting to moderate was ruining my life....i was constantly stressed and trying to rationalise just how many is normal on a Tuesday night......or why I had to have those six cans before I met my friend for a few drinks. However many I drank my head still told me I could moderate as I didnt drink spirits or have a beer with breakfast ....was work good or bad...had to work out if I was commiserating or celebrating.....i feel like i've managed to wriggle my neck out of the noose.

As for if others can moderate...maybe who knows. I think alcoholism is a mental disease as much as physical, once you realise you have a yearning or a craving you cant reset your brain....i would think that most who found this site are probably to far gone in their personal sickness to go back but who knows.

Mits78

Good one!

Shoshie8

This made me lol..

afloatsober

For an alcoholic of my kind it would be kinder to just shoot myself,,,,,,,

seeks

Valid question. One I think a lot of people on SR have asked themselves. I know I have and tried. For me the answer is no. I do know when I start asking those questions is when I'm most vulnerable to a bender. My AV voice is tricky.

Coldfusion

I guess the only times I really tried "moderation" was when there was hard liquor around. I usually drank beer or wine, and would drink it until it was gone. Well, it was not always possible to drink a whole bottle of liquor, but I did try a few times.

Strangely, I would be more likely to drink in the morning (that hallmark sign of an alcoholic) if there was hard liquor in the house. I would add a splash to my coffee in the morning, then either be yawning all day or just go right on to get drunk.

It was too much work trying to moderate, so I just bought beer or wine and drank it all at once.

GreenEggsAndHam

When I was younger, though my idea of "moderation" was seriously skewed. For me it just meant skipping a day or two if I was dieting or something, but I'd still drink an obscene amount on my drinking days.

I can't moderate even a little bit anymore. Crossed that line a couple of years ago.

StraightAhead

Chilldice, once I realized how worthless alcohol is, how insidious a villain it is, then I quit and I will never look back. I am finished with alcohol. For me there is literally nothing positive about it. I don't want to moderate because I have no interest in drinking at all. I realized that while I was drinking I was on a path that was going to end up ruining my health and my life, and thank God I had the strength to leave it behind. Once you have that perspective on alcohol (which I believe is the absolutely correct one for me and probably for most people) then you don't even want to think about moderating. Could I moderate my arsenic consumption? Well, maybe I could but why would I want to? I have no interest in taking either arsenic or alcohol. They are both poisons, and I don't choose to put poison in my body, at least not voluntarily.

Taking5

As I am fond of saying when this question comes up, if we as a group could moderate, we'd have a moderation forum, full of moderation success stories.

mecanix

I tried to moderate for several years . It wasn't much fun because i really wanted to get steamingly drunk and quite often ended up getting that way despite my best efforts .

In the end i was sick of being sick and tired , the pain of going on drinking was worse than the pain of stopping so i stopped .

I always thought i'd tried 20 years getting drunk so maybe i'd give 20 years of staying sober a try then draw conclusions ..

Bestwishes, m

CAPTAINZING2000

I've came in contact with poison ivy on a few occasions I always had the same results.
Funny how it takes so many of us to expect different results when we drink.

Such is life

Nonsensical

I have a bunch of friends who are moderate drinkers. I keep telling them, "Hey - hang out with me on the Sober Recovery Forums. Loads of cool people there!"

They never come here, though. I don't know why. A bunch of stuck up snobs or something.

cusper

I tried moderation... many times but it would all start with just having one... then I would say... ah just another.... and then another... and I would wake up in my bed fully clothed the next day wondering how I got there. Also if I decided to have just one if we were out to dinner with friends I would always be shocked at how I knew I was always calculating maybe having another... since I finished my drink way before everyone and there was still a whole evening left to be with these people. It was too much work and thinking and restraint. Then it got to the point where I would just alway feel deprived if I was moderating. Now that it isn't an option to touch the stuff it is easier. So no moderation never worked for me.

Jus

I think if we could, none of us would be here.

Just a thought

2bhappier

I've tried with no success.

FacingFuture

Not me, I tried numerous times over the last 10 years and failed every time. My drinking got progressively worse to the point where I was drinking >15 drinks a night and finally had enough. I had to quit for real. On day 15 and doing everything in my power to stay sober!

Trigeek

^This x whatever we're up to now.

I'm here after a 4 month long failed moderation experiment. I set up a bunch of "rules" with my wife (only on the weekends, only x # of drinks, only beer at social outings). Worked okay for a few, maybe 3 weeks, but it just started me back down the same slippery slope and I ended up back in the nearly full time job of sneaking, hiding, lying, planning how to get more etc...

I now know that if I drink at all, I might be okay moderately for a few weeks, but its just a matter of time before sliding back down that slope.

Solar

I think Raider has hit upon a good point.

For some, it is possible to go back to drinking moderately. But from what I've seen and experienced with people who have had problems drinking alcohol, even if you do go back to drinking moderately, your relationship with alcohol isn't the same as it would be for someone who has never had a problem with it.

Some people can pour a single glass of wine, put the bottle back in the fridge, and drink their glass with the same abandon that they might drink a glass of milk. For people who have had a problem with alcohol, even if they can successfully drink moderately (and that's a big if for some), after that single glass of wine they'll be wanting another, and then another after that. Even if they can successfully limit themselves to one glass per day, they'll find it hard to stop thinking about having the next. It will be difficult to simply enjoy the single glass of wine. Possible, yes - enjoyable, probably not.

Note that I'm not an expert, nor am I speaking for everybody here - I can only speak from what I've seen and experienced. To me, it's just not enjoyable to be a "moderate drinker"... not because I don't enjoy a glass of wine, but because I don't enjoy having to worry about moderating my drinking, what drinking is doing to my body, or wondering if I'm in the beginning stages of that downward spiral. To me, it's less stressful to simply abstain.