Alchemist1978

I have a serious problem. I cannot stop drinking. My binges are getting worst and worst. Before it was the weekends but now they last week. Can some one please help me find relief.

Alchemist1978

You all may question me but I have gone 1 month sober. I need to give sobriety a better shot.

-Mo

Tamerua

Welcome MS! You are in the right place. I was a weekend binge drinker that started to bleed into the week (you know, the weekend starts Thursday ...)

The first thing to do is change that. You have to not buy or have the booze in the house and do something else instead. Anything. Read, movie, exercise, sleep, cook a huge meal (saw you like cooking...'hit a foodie blog and cook something new and complicated). The point is to first stop the habit of drinking. That is how it worked for me anyway.

Stick around and post and read.

Fly N Buy

Glad you here posting, Good for you!
Keep coming back!!

IOAA2

Hi.
Some like myself deep inside want to drink more than we want to get sober. Yes we tell ourselves this has to stop yet the actions we take are too weak or lack the desperation I finally saw on the path I had taken. Somehow I had a moment of clarity in my chaotic alcoholic thinking.

I went to many meetings and was able to get honest with myself about MY drinking and stopped comparing with others. With that I ACCEPTED that I could no longer drink in safety.
Alcohol consumption had brought me to the stage of shaking and throwing up blood which I, having brilliant alcoholic thinking processing, blamed on smoking too much.
Sobering up takes time and becoming healthy in mind and emotions takes more time. I/we didn’t generally get there overnight and recovery is more than just stopping drinking.

I had AA black belt pros who I came to love for their knowledge, patience and life giving support. The fact is I’m still learning many years later and continue to attend meetings and practice the steps.

BE WELL

BernieE

If nothing changes, nothing changes. What can you do differently to get back on the bus? Is treatment possible, either inpatient or outpatient? Are you going to meetings? We are all here for you, you can do this.

Alchemist1978

Thank you all I am an a former Marine who did 2 combat tours in IRAQ. I don't get it why after so long I keep setting my self off. I start feeling great and then BOOM, the stupid stuff hits the roof.

biminiblue

If you have military benefits, why not look into an addiction program, detox/rehab?

The only way to quit is to stop pouring the stuff in your mouth, right? It's pretty simple.

Alchemist1978

Thanks. I wish it was so easy. I am just hard headed and stubborn.

IOAA2

Boy can I identify with that!
When I became sick and tired of being sick and tired I opened my eyes to the advantages AA offered and plunged in sobriety their way.
Absolutely the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and others close to me.

Sobriety became my #1 goal even to this day many years later.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

BE WELL

Anna

Yes, it takes acceptance that we can no longer drink alcohol, ever. For many of us, that acceptance is hard coming, but it's necessary.

You don't have to feel this way. Get rid of the alcohol you have, make a plan for sobriety and keep reading and posting.

Alchemist1978

Yes Madam. I have too. Can't do this any more.

MIRecovery

Actually it is that easy the hard part is taking the first step

ArtFriend

Thank you for your service!

Perhaps you might be encountering some PTSD symptoms? They appear seemingly without warning. 2 tours of war is very stressful no matter how long ago.

SoberLeigh

I thank you for your service, too, ms.

Will the VA provide you with any assistance?

trachemys

Ok, hard headed and stubborn. How about you get hard headed and stubborn with this:

Sir! I don't drink, Sir!

Nonsensical

Yes you can, you just haven't YET.

I suspect what you really mean is that you can't stop feeling like you want (or need) a drink. Most of us know what that is like - it is the heart of addiction.

You CAN actually make that feeling go away. You have to starve it out. It's difficult because it takes months, but it works.

I tried everything else I could think of to make that feeling go away. I reasoned with it, I bargained with it, I tried to educate it, I threatened it, I begged it. Nothing ever worked for me except starving it. I highly recommend it.

Best of Luck on Your Journey.

439trish

"Don't give up hope MS. And definitely don't forget that ultimately it is you and the power already there inside you that will get you sober. Sure some of us need rehab. Some of us use AA. Some pray and some do all of the above. But the common factor is that we are all the same people sober that we were as a drunk, we just accept it now and know how to live without drinking. You, today, right this minute have what it takes to get sober...you just have to let it blossom. Don't ever forget that...you can do it not matter what anyone else says or does"

this was a post I copied and saved when I first saw it----I believe it is true for you--.

Don't ever give up!!

strategery

ms-thank you for your service.

Your drinking is going to get worse if you don't stop. One of the things that is great about this board is you can see what people have gone through without having to go through the same thing. Much of it is quite scary and has been highly inspirational for my sobriety journey.

When I first came to this board, I wasn't entirely sure if I was ready to be done with my relationship with alcohol. However, as I have gotten more sober days, I realized what alcohol has been doing to me, how it made me feel awful about myself and I don't want that any more.

One of the things that really made me think about things was if I could give up alcohol for a month. While I am getting close to that mark, I have no desire to go back. Why not try to be sober for a month again. If you find you are having significant issues getting sober on your own, I would highly recommend getting treatment. Also, if you start feeling withdrawal symptoms when quitting, please see the doctor immediately.

Alwyshope12

I agree, in my case it took months, not weeks, of staying sober to see the progress . But once I got through that period, it was like nighy and day.

So how do you do it. Simply, by using everything in your arsenal to keep you from taking that first sip. So you can post here, Goto ann AA meeting, try an Alanon meeting, check out rational recover and other programs, read about your disease, distract yourself by reading about alcohol.

Essentially alcohol is out enemy, and it will kill us from the inside out, first destroying our relationships and friendships, the removing oit families from is, and finanlly removing sanity from our lives.

But you can bear this! So many people have recovered from even worse positions