Omg I'm here?!?!?
 

I'm so new here, not even at the stage to admit the situation I'm in :(

Does this place really help?

welcome,emma!! although I had been sober for a few years when I got here, I see this site has helped many get sober. the community here has helped others stop drinking and to learn a new way of thinking and acting to stay stopped.

Welcome Emma. If you seek sobriety, you have definitely found the right place. SR "works" if you are ready and willing. How can we help?

It certainly helped me Emma :)

I know it's a huge step and a little scary..but there's a lot of really nice helpful and understanding people here - I think you'll come to like it as much as I do :)

D

Like tomsteve, I was sober a while before coming here. But for me, its a nice non judgemental place where people listen and understand one another. its where you can laugh at some of the things you've done, somethings that you thought ONLY you did, yet you find many share similar stories. Welcome.

Well I'm not even sure if my situation is a situation but can't stop drinking every night...been a few years now. Not excessive until I drop down but enough to give me a buzz. I hold down a successful fulltime job but love booze way too much!!! Is it really that bad?? I also get wasted every Saturday which wipes out an entire day most weekends :(

I think you answered your own question really Emma :)

I had a million rationalisations for the way I drank and the amount I drank.....but I hated what drinking made of me...I used to dream of not drinking - while being terrified of that idea.

we all understand the contradictions :)

D

I'm not sure what's next (apart from the obvious)...is AA the starting point??

Emma,

You sound like me and I was in denial for too long drinking everyday, I got away with it for long enough but the bad things start to happen and they add up.

You need to ask yourself why?? I know I did for a long time and it took a long time to realise in my case at least I needed the grog to escape what I thought was the tedium of life and a good degree of self loathing. Which during periods of sobriety I have had has lifted.

It is hard but self admission is first step.


Stick around read stories, listen to som online AA shares to see if you can relate it may help you answer the question.

Great job in recognizing it early. It is progressive. Tackle it now.

Other than asking a medical professional if your drinking is harmful, the fact you sought this place out means you are in need of help to stop drinking. You will find a lot of support here.

As your tolerance for alcohol increases, so will your intake. Don't wait until you start having health and legal problems. Some people use AA, some don't. It's about whatever works for you. It's a fun bunch here, and everybody "gets it" and no one passes judgement. Read a bunch, post a bunch, and chat a bunch. Best wishes.

So true, if you need to drink I believe long term there is only one place it will take you :thanks

You're in the right place, Emma. Welcome. I, too, have a successful job and my relatuionships are intact. I am an alcoholic despite that I never blacked out or hit "bottom". I realized That it had gone too far when one of my daughters posted on Facebook, " you know you're visiting Mom when you're drinking wine out of juice glasses!"

Alcoholic drinking is best described as having "little or no control over the amount you drink each time you drink"

Doesn't mean alcoholics drink everyday, it just means when they do, they end up blind drunk each time. Another characteristic of alcoholic drinkers is they end up blind drunk when they honestly just set out to drink a six pack, just wanted to get a buzz on, but ended up blind drunk and waking up next morning having had a black out to find they drank 18 beers.
Alcoholics will often drink at a pace that is twice that of other drinkers. They don't necessarily drink more than a heavy drinker, but they will drink the same amount in half the time.

That was me. Sometimes I set out to get blind, but mostly I didn't, my body craves more and more booze
I would often get bank statements to trace where I had been and how much money I would have blown.

Problem drinking.... They drink excessive amounts when problems build up and get on top of them but otherwise they drink reasonable amounts when life's good.

Habitual drinker..... established pattern of drinking, often daily but always a pretty regular amount. If they say they will drink 6 -8 beers or a litre of wine, they do. Very in frequently they might drink a little more heavily, but most of the time it's the same amount at a set time of the day.

Heavy drinker, often drinks daily or most days of the week. Drinks to get drunk, but still is capable of saying enough when they really need to. Often mistaken for alcoholic but the difference is they set out to get good and drunk yet still not likely to drink till they pass out. Memory might be a little foggy of events the next day, but they generally won't lose hours or half of the night like an alcoholic.

It can if you want it to. Like everything else, you'll get out of it what you want/need if you're open to it.
I found this site back in May when I was waiting to check into detox - was surfing the net trying to ease the anxiety that was overtaking me and I came across it. Joined that day but didn't come back actively until I was done in detox. I've been sober 109 days and this site (for me) has been nothing short of a blessing. I don't go to meetings (for now anyways)...between this site and my own counselling (1x a week)..I have been doing really well. Some days I post more than others, other days I lurk and read a lot.

stick around. there's some great advice/help/support on this board.
we're all in the same boat :)

Depends on which of the above roughly identifies you as to what kind of action you should take to quit or moderate your drinking.

Any of problem or habitual . Find other ways to unwind, seek outside help for sure, but what you'll probably find is that you'll quit or moderate with relative ease, life will improve, you'll feel better and in a month or two, you'll wonder why you ever used to think booze was so great.

Heavy drinker, as above but it will take a bigger effort, more outside help and may take 6 months to a year to really get comfortable with not drinking but eventually you'll pull through and be very happy you did.

I won't bother describing the process for a full blown alcoholic. But ask if you'd really like to know.

Whatever happens know your doing the right by being here and being able to talk about it

For me its is a really good informative forum with ppl that actually care

SR helps with so many issues

Oh my goodness...the support so far?! I'm amazed! I quit smoking 3 years ago so I know I can do this. As someone said in this thread read...comment...learn...I'm going to get involved in all of your stories. I don't feel so isolated simply by creating this account tonight...thank you!! You are all fabulous xx

Just wanted to pop in to say hello and welcome, Emma!

It can be done and SR has been a tremendous help to me. I am one year sober and SR has been my biggest support in my recovery. I was not a falling down drunk. I didn't drink every night and I didn't always drink too much. Friends and family were surprised when I told them I was no longer drinking. But I knew the effect it had on me and I got so tired of it. The obsessing, the shame, the trying to moderate. Blergh. Life is easier without it.