goose333

I want to relate a story from my childhood. I think it may be indicative of the type of person I am and possibly contributes to my problem.

I was about 12 years old and on Sunday afternoons my parents would sometimes go to our Aunt & Uncle's house for a visit. They would sit around and have a couple of drinks and talk about adult stuff. I sat there bored, drinking my coke.
I would always drink it quickly. Once I started, I couldn't stop. One Sunday, there was some other family there and they had a little kid who was younger than me. They gave him a coke too.
I noticed that he was drinking it very slowly. That was how the adults drank their drinks and I wanted to be adult so I vowed to myself to drink my drink slower than the other kid. It was killing me. He was maddeningly slow at drinking it and it was driving me crazy. Eventually I couldn't stand it and I sucked the whole thing down quickly.
This is exactly how I consumed booze. Gone very fast. Give me a bag of chips and I'll eat the whole thing regardless of size. Cookies, watch out. Entire sleeves of cookies are guaranteed to disappear. Not just one or two.
I really think that this behavior played a big part in my drinking. Drinking fast, not wanting to stop, and continuing until it's all gone (or the safety mechanism kick in... passing out)
Have any of you noticed this type of behavior with the consumption of nonalcoholic food & drink?

Regards
Goose

ForMeForThem

Yes, I can relate to that. I never really thought about it before, but I did (still do) that too. And then would sit and wish I had more of whatever it was. I'm trying to cut back on caffeine and I notice I'll have 2 cups before my husband has even finished one. The pot of coffee will be gone, but I still want more. Very similar to alcohol. Interesting.

I'm going to try to be aware of drinking my coffee slowly...cookies and candy, now thats a different story - baby steps

chicory

Is it a comfort thing? I know that eating foods in large amounts, bingeing, is sometimes attributed to being emotionally needy, trying to fill a need.

Climber122

Same thing for me - as a kid I would steal candy, try to get as much cake and cookies and I could at birthday parties, etc. etc.

Sugar ticks off similar pleasure response in the brain to alcohol. Addictive personalities often have sugar/eating issues that go along with our addictions because we have conditioned ourselves to cope with fear, stress and anxiety by seeking a pleasure response. Once we get booze we find it does the job brilliantly. If it didn't wreck our lives it might not be a bad thing, but alas, it does. In recovery we need to learn to change how we cope with life - we go to the source of what has caused us to learn why we rely on substances to get through life. Looking back at my childhood the signs were all there - thanks for the reminder

Nightswimming

Same for me Goose.....alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, cigarettes, caffeine, sugar, exercise and reading books even. Always more, more, more and consumed fast. Working on being a bit more mindful when drinking coffee, eating dinner etc but it is tough. Sometimes I can't believe how slowly my better half eats his dinner lol....

cusper

I am the same! Now that I am sober I am still constantly drinking soda water, water, herbal tea. (i had to cut everything else out since I realized the compulsion) but I constantly drink something (no I don't have diabetes...people point out that if you are always thirsty) But it's not, it's just how I've always been. If I see that my glass is half empty I always line up a few more cans of soda. It's gotten to the point where my husband bought me a soda stream because of all the recycling the cans were producing. I have also noticed how slow people drink... but I am the same with everything. Walking, eating, showering. Thank you for the thread. I had noticed it in myself and am baffled when people are able to just sit and relax with the same plate of food and beverage for longer than 30 minutes!

goose333

Ha! I wish I could be that way about exercise. Then I could eat that entire bag of chips without guilt.

I wonder how I would be with booze if I didn't have this type of behavior. I suspect that it would not be a problem. I'll bet some day they'll find this switch in our brains that they laser away and poof, we're cured. No more alcoholics, no more addicts, no more overweight people.

Cusper,
Do you like that soda stream? Do you use it and not by the cans? Is it a pain to use?

Goose

cusper

Goose, yes I love it! But the Co2 cartridge only lasts me a week. I don't put any flavouring in it so I can't speak as to what the cola or anything else taste like. But I love carbonated water. It's pretty fun to make your own soda. Sounds stupid but I love it.