Really want to stop
 

Hows it going guys. Just found this forum and thought it would be a great place to start. Names Jay , im 24 years old and have been drinking since i was 16. When i turned 21 i started to drink almost every single day. Ive tried to quit over what feels like a 1000 times and ill quit for 2 or 3 days and when i start feeling better i go for the bottle again.. then i binge for 3 weeks and try to get sober again and it repeats. this last year i lost my best friend of 18 years from a tragic accident... now when im sober all i can think about is that and i cant stand it. Its getting worse and im starting to feel my body getting sick from all the abuse i give it. I want to quit for good.. not take a break , not only drink on the weekends but forever. It has destroyed friendships ive had , i almost lost my fiance, ive gotten kicked out my house a few times. I just want to be done with it, but i feel like my addiction is too strong at this point... and not only that but drinking is ALL around me at all times. When you go to resteraunts , hangout with friends , go to a football games , commercials .. tv shows. There is drinking everywhere and im constantly reminded..

Hi Jay, welcome to the forum. Have you considered going into a rehab?

At least look into AA meetings around you. You'll get lot's of support here on the forum. People are always willing to help out. Stick around.

Sorry to hear about your friend. Maybe it is a wake up call?

Welcome Jay, similar story here. I was a binge drinker that tried thousands of times to quit on my own and NEVER could! I finally humbled myself and wen't to an AA meeting and haven't looked back! This is a disease and you need to treat it like that and get some help...you can quit! Google local AA meetings and get to one!

Pulling for you : )

Welcome!

This is why early recovery involves a lot of changes, and it's not easy. I needed to find people and activities that supported my recovery. I'm glad you know that it's time for you to stop drinking.

Thanks guys and i have considered going to AA but always felt weird about it. I have an anxiety disorder among a lot of other things and tend to keep problems to myself until they are out of control... but i think i hit a wall here. I want to stop before i loose everything which i know i will at this rate. Thanks for the support i appreciate it

Welcome to the forums, man. This is an awesome place, you'll find a lot of people (myself included) are right there with you. Sorry to hear about your friend.. but as you know already, drinking wont' make it better. All drinking does is causes you to put your head in the sand and ignore issues you will have to deal with eventually.. while at the same time, eating away at your soul and making you less ABLE to deal with these issues when you do eventually deal with them. It's kinda like pausing a movie, but when you unpause the movie, the quality gets worse.

Good luck pal!

Welcome and good luck Jay! Lots of support here at SR. I'm glad you are realizing you have a problem and trying to fix it early on in your life. I realized the same thing when i was 24, however, i continued drinking more and more until i finally HAD to stop 16 years later. After several relapses i'm finally at 23 days today.

This is a progressive disease but you can overcome it!

Best of luck and stay strong.

Welcome to the Forum Jay!! :wave:

You'll find loads of support here on SR, it's great to have you onboard!! :)

Welcome, Jay. Good to have you with us.

Goodness, I hear that! I'm 26, I've been drinking for over 13 years and I've risked my relationship big time. My boy is tee-total and I have consistently listened to my friends who were all, "Aw, have a drink!" but that's not okay. I'm very slowly re-learning life so I guess we're on the same page. Message me if you'd like to chat!

Welcome Jay! SR is a wonderful place, and there are many, and you will find tons of support here. I would also like to second that AA is a great place to start even if you are just thinking about quitting. Like you, I have some anxiety issues, and I really resisted going to a meeting. I was very anxious, but in the end I steeled my nerves and went. And everyone was so welcoming and friendly. I am in the early stages of recovery (23 days) and being around other sober people who support me is so crucial to my success. AA really gives me that. And it isn't all sitting around crying about how our lives suck so much. I found a meeting/group that does all kinds of fun things together after the meeting, like bowling and movies and having barbecues (we even floated the Boise River!). Really glad to have you here, and remember, you can do this. Stay strong friend, and know that someone is always here on SR if you feel like venting, have questions, or just need to talk.

Hello Jay. Welcome to SR. I had the same problem and had to go to rehab to seperate me and alcohol for long enough for my brain to heal a bit and get some education and a reality check of what I was doing to myself. I did an intensive outpatient but if you're really having a problem you might want to do inpatient. I'm not sure if you've gone through it already but alcohol withdrawals can be nasty and this is the one type of withdrawal that you can actually die from. It's dangerous to detox on your own so just be careful.

Most of us suffer from some type of anxiety disorder. I know my anxiety gets better the longer I'm sober. Alcohol is a depressant and it depresses your nervous system so when you stop drinking it spikes for me it feels like the world is ending or there's impending doom. I couldn't even be in a car because I was so jumpy but it's gotten much better.

I wish you the best of luck. Read some of the threads on here that talk about alcohol withdrawal and maybe pick up some literature about the disease. I also go to AA which helps. Remember everyone is there for the same thing.

Early recovery is hard and there's a lot of changes but you can do it.

Best of luck!!

Hey! It's funny you mention football, I was JUST thinking about being excited that the season is around the corner, then thought, "hu, wonder what it will be like without beer?"... Maybe I'll do way better in my fantasy league! Lol.You can do this. I went to my first meeting one week ago, tonight will be my second & I'm kind of excited. I couldn't say one word last week because I didn't want to cry, so I'm looking forward to sharing a bit. It feels good to be clean & clear. Trust me, all the drinkers around you will be jealous of you. A few months clean & you will look 5 yrs younger!

thank you all for being so supportive :) i really need to just readjust how i do things.. literally everything i do involves drinking .. whether it be play guitar, hang out with friends , go out to eat, watch a game, even activities like bowling or golfing .. its constantly around me and its all anyone wants to do... its like being on a diet and working at a chocolate factory.. since im in early recovery , i still have crazy cravings , its hard to fight them off but i know i will regret it and never stop if i keep giving in

Jay, that was exactly me. I got a big boy golf bag because I could stash more beer in it.
And everything had a place to carry beer. Now I carry vitamin water and filtered water.
It takes time to get over it. I struggled the first few months because I never did anything without a beer. I would drink four or five before a basketball game. And the old softball days - one an inning it seemed. Now, no problem. Hang in there and stick with it. It's worth it.

Welcome to the family Jay. :) I'm glad you joined us. I hope the awesome support here can help you stop drinking for good. :)

Welcome aboard.

I was just like you at 24, many problems already from alcohol but everyone I knew still partied and alcohol was involved in all my social events. At that age, I thought by my late 20s/30, I would grow out of it and just be normal. Fast forward to age 33, and I was still living the same exact life with alcohol, except the binges were worse, and most of the friends had moved on. If you can stop this at 24, you will save yourself a ton of misery. Most of us can attest to that. It's not impossible to stop drinking, even at your age, but it may require some big changes in your social life and social groups. Keep posting!