Did you live the party lifestyle when you drank? Share your drinking progression.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 688
Originally Posted by LBrain 
I drank alone, yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh all by myself...
I had a few friends that we drank mucho when we got together over the years, I rarely went to bars, my job was such that I worked and came home - and drank for the past 24 years,
very few people knew how much I drank, and people were in disbelief when I told them...
I had a few friends that we drank mucho when we got together over the years, I rarely went to bars, my job was such that I worked and came home - and drank for the past 24 years,
very few people knew how much I drank, and people were in disbelief when I told them...
13 days sober -- the longest I've been sober since the teenage years.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Lawrence,ks
Posts: 37
Originally Posted by NikTes
This me me to a T... except I work from home, which made morning drinking all the easier. Ugh.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Canada
Posts: 608
When I first started, I was drinking for parties and social gatherings.. I would drink often but I would often be out and about in situations like that. It progressed throughout the years.. going from having fun to a point where I had to drink to have fun... these past few years, there have been a few times I've been drinking in social situations but I would rather just drink alone, at home, watching sports or You Tube videos or something like that. It totally was not fun anymore.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: South
Posts: 226
What a great question - never thought about it. Alcohol was just part of my routine, but a responsible routine ironically.
1. Every night 2-3 glasses of wine with dinner. Wife had one, and my glasses were consumed from 5PM till bed time. If I'm honest, they were big pours, but the point: daily from 5 till it put me to bed - 1 bottle between my wife and I
2. Every Friday and Saturday, had a very social life in our community, and hosted many families every weekend. We rotated homes, but would drink 4-6 scotches and water minimum every Friday and again every Saturday.
3. Always a happy buzz, never had any problem or conflict. Hell our circle of friends drank much more
4. After thanksgiving night 2011, one bottle and a half down of scotch between me and very close friend, woke up in terror in the middle of the night and realized my life revolved around drinking. It was embedded in my life - even more scary than blackout drinking, it was there just like I planned food or showering or going to work.
5. That same night I downloaded the big book, and haven't had a drink since. Never did the AA thing, but the literature and the concept made complete sense to me. I got it so to speak. I climbed the top of the hill the next day, proclaimed to the world that I was an alcoholic, and never looked back.
Perhaps my biggest fright came from its unnoticed seeping into my life. I always drank top shelf scotch, top quality wine, and the finest tequila - literally 100% of the time the best stuff. Then it hit me, the only thing separating me from a whinno was ego and economic wherewithal. My alcohol was no better, and my intent was identical - the buzz. Falling from my on internal grace was the best thing that ever happened to me - I'm just a schmuck like everybody else.
1. Every night 2-3 glasses of wine with dinner. Wife had one, and my glasses were consumed from 5PM till bed time. If I'm honest, they were big pours, but the point: daily from 5 till it put me to bed - 1 bottle between my wife and I
2. Every Friday and Saturday, had a very social life in our community, and hosted many families every weekend. We rotated homes, but would drink 4-6 scotches and water minimum every Friday and again every Saturday.
3. Always a happy buzz, never had any problem or conflict. Hell our circle of friends drank much more
4. After thanksgiving night 2011, one bottle and a half down of scotch between me and very close friend, woke up in terror in the middle of the night and realized my life revolved around drinking. It was embedded in my life - even more scary than blackout drinking, it was there just like I planned food or showering or going to work.
5. That same night I downloaded the big book, and haven't had a drink since. Never did the AA thing, but the literature and the concept made complete sense to me. I got it so to speak. I climbed the top of the hill the next day, proclaimed to the world that I was an alcoholic, and never looked back.
Perhaps my biggest fright came from its unnoticed seeping into my life. I always drank top shelf scotch, top quality wine, and the finest tequila - literally 100% of the time the best stuff. Then it hit me, the only thing separating me from a whinno was ego and economic wherewithal. My alcohol was no better, and my intent was identical - the buzz. Falling from my on internal grace was the best thing that ever happened to me - I'm just a schmuck like everybody else.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: West Tn
Posts: 3,043
I dabbled (rather heavily, actually) in alcohol and drugs in high school.
When I got to college 400 miles from my parents' home, I started drinking heavily every night.
I did the same in law school and grad school.
So, after 8 years of going to school and drinking heavily every night, I tried to start practicing law.
That went badly for the next 5 years, and I saw that my alcoholism was going to cost me my career, which is pretty much all I had in life.
So I asked for help (going to treatment), got it and have stayed sober through God and AA.
I was 31 years old then, and I am almost 58 now.
My story is very much like the OP's story.
I did most of my drinking in taverns and bars (I would usually have a few in a decent bar and then adjourn to the tavern for the next 5 or 6 hours, then go home and pass out for about that long, then drive to work drunk from the preceding night's drinking).
I did this routing 7 days a week.
It didn't start out this bad, but this is where it got to and it's where I left off.
I would tell myself that I was partying, but I knew that I was a complete, and chronic, alcoholic.
I used to wonder that if I wasn't an alcoholic, I would hate to see what someone had to do to qualify.
I thought about alcohol constantly (the obsession).
What a pathetic lifestyle.
I drank pathologically.
This is why I still possess a healthy fear of alcohol.
When I got to college 400 miles from my parents' home, I started drinking heavily every night.
I did the same in law school and grad school.
So, after 8 years of going to school and drinking heavily every night, I tried to start practicing law.
That went badly for the next 5 years, and I saw that my alcoholism was going to cost me my career, which is pretty much all I had in life.
So I asked for help (going to treatment), got it and have stayed sober through God and AA.
I was 31 years old then, and I am almost 58 now.
My story is very much like the OP's story.
I did most of my drinking in taverns and bars (I would usually have a few in a decent bar and then adjourn to the tavern for the next 5 or 6 hours, then go home and pass out for about that long, then drive to work drunk from the preceding night's drinking).
I did this routing 7 days a week.
It didn't start out this bad, but this is where it got to and it's where I left off.
I would tell myself that I was partying, but I knew that I was a complete, and chronic, alcoholic.
I used to wonder that if I wasn't an alcoholic, I would hate to see what someone had to do to qualify.
I thought about alcohol constantly (the obsession).
What a pathetic lifestyle.
I drank pathologically.
This is why I still possess a healthy fear of alcohol.
11.30.14
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: California
Posts: 401
Yeah, in my younger years I partied like there was no tomorrow. Alcohol, mescaline, coke, pills - just but anything I could swallow, put up my nose and inject.
As an "older" drinker, I showed great restraint with drinking socially. In fact, I was obsessed with keeping my image dainty and squeaky clean. I was only a wine drinker, after all. After I got sober, family members and friends were in shock that I had a drinking problem. That's because I did it in private. In my car and in my bedroom, every day for 7 years.
As an "older" drinker, I showed great restraint with drinking socially. In fact, I was obsessed with keeping my image dainty and squeaky clean. I was only a wine drinker, after all. After I got sober, family members and friends were in shock that I had a drinking problem. That's because I did it in private. In my car and in my bedroom, every day for 7 years.
saoutchik
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Posts: 16,205
Did Party and sometimes binge drink (heavily). Then I got married and had kids which seemed to be enough to suppress my drinking for a long time.
Got divorced in 2008 and by 2010 both kids grown up and I'm living alone. So no restrictions I drink half a bottle of whiskey a night and can function (just). By last year even that wasn't enough and I'd uped my intake to half a litre weekdays and more at weekends
I'm 54 so really hvn't got any more "day 1's" to waste
Got divorced in 2008 and by 2010 both kids grown up and I'm living alone. So no restrictions I drink half a bottle of whiskey a night and can function (just). By last year even that wasn't enough and I'd uped my intake to half a litre weekdays and more at weekends
I'm 54 so really hvn't got any more "day 1's" to waste
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: California
Posts: 2,693
Originally Posted by Nonsensical
Happy when drinking>>>Couldn't be happy unless I was drinking>>>Sad when I wasn't drinking>>>Miserable all the damn time.
It was all a huge, fake facade. I guess that's why they call it....addiction!
No logic. No thinking my way around it. Alcohol had to go.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North of England
Posts: 1,442
I think problematic drinking makes us some of the loneliest people on the planet. I drank socially as a young man, but in the end I didn't really care where I drank. It isolated me in any case and for many (many) years I drank myself quietly and alone, to sleep every night only to spend the next day full of anxiety and agitation, fear and the need to act normal despite feeling like hell most of the time. A truly awful and lonely life, despite having family, colleagues and a few friends (none of who knew the extent of my problem) around. Some party.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 1,450
Alcohol has always been around me. Barely a day goes by where someone isn't offering me a drink. Boss buys me a couple beers at lunch tells me go work from home this afternoon. Oh but I have a dinner event, better keep sipping vodka until then. Have to keep the buzz going. Nobody bats an eyelash if you've been drinking in my work circles. Just part of the job.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: New York
Posts: 984
I've started a thread about a similar topic, but here it goes. I have dividided my stages of drinking:
High school years:
1. Drank in someone's basement with friends, usually smoking pot as well and getting good and messed up, but never blacking out. This was a two or three times a month thing from late sophomore year until high school was over. Typically this was hard liquor as beer was harder to hide from parents as it took up a lot more space.
2. Drank at home (solely vodka) after my parents went to bed starting some point junior year. I don't really know why I did this, but the frequency escalated. It likely had to do with me questioning my sexual orientation, getting over social anxiety and dealing with the stress of getting in to college. I'd listen to music, watch DVDs and work on building my models, Legos, puzzles, erector sets, model rockets, etc. I'd do this while very drunk. Never drank to a blackout and never was late for school, though there was ONE occasion where a classmate said I smelled like vodka in the morning, but other than that, nobody suspected anything. I was extremely clever in how I hid the vodka bottles from my parents and how I disposed of them.
College years:
1. Anytime I got the chance to party, play beer pong, flip cup, etc, I was there. Beer, liquor, boxed wine, I was there. I blacked out more and more frequently and was often an angry drunk. Woke up often with cuts and bruises with no clue how they happened. I missed class a lot and went from a straight A student in high school to mostly Bs and C's. I did manage to graduate in 4 years, but it was rough.
2. My senior year, I'd usually down a bottle of wine two or three nights a week by myself, while living off campus. I'd spent the entire summer before senior year sober, but isolated myself socially. When I got back to campus, I still isolated quite a bit and would drink on my own quite often, sort of like high school. I did still party a lot senior year, but I was no longer an angry drunk, which I guess was nominal improvement.
My 20s
1. I go out to parties with my friends and would drinks few swigs of vodka before meeting up with them, so that it wouldn't be as obvious that I'd had a lot more to drink. Blackout and regrets hugely common and very ashamed of it. Still a happy drunk, so most of my friends don't seem to realize the problem. This has gone on for far too long. The first hour or two while Im just buzzed are great, but then things get fuzzy or blackout and I feel horrible about it. If I manage to leave before blacking out, I almost always will stop off at a bar by myself for some vodka shots, or if I have vodka at home, drink until I passout there.
2. I go out with coworkers/clients who are my peers and similarly in their 20s or early 30s. I'll usually get hammered and similar to with my group of friends, I'll get blackout a lot.
3. I'll go out with coworkers and my superiors at work. While I have made an arse of myself at some of these events, I usually keep it more in control, then let lose with vodka when I get home.
4. To avoid the stress of blacking out and having people see it, i've increasingly been drinking while home alone. I'll sit in my chair and surf the web and watch TV, often passing out and forgetting what I even watched. I do this out of boredom and to just get rid of anxiety.
So yeah, my college years were the worst I think. But the pattern in my 20s is wildly unhealthy. I've not had anything truly horrible happen YET. I'm now on my 26th day of sobriety and know that I need to make this last and start a new chapter of my life in my 30s that doesn't have all these regrets. I have a high paying job that I really like and am doing well in my advanced degree program (nearly straight As). My sexual orientation is still an issue, but I'm fairly comfortable saying that I'm just bisexual. I want to find a life partner in my 30s and I realize that will be much easier if I'm not a drunken mess while out at the bars. I want to start a family and probably move to the suburbs so I can have a yard and a car. I want to KEEP my job and if my pattern of drinking sticks, I can't see that lasting forever. Functioning at 100% will make career progression a heck of a lot easier.
Thanks to all that have read this far!
I know this
High school years:
1. Drank in someone's basement with friends, usually smoking pot as well and getting good and messed up, but never blacking out. This was a two or three times a month thing from late sophomore year until high school was over. Typically this was hard liquor as beer was harder to hide from parents as it took up a lot more space.
2. Drank at home (solely vodka) after my parents went to bed starting some point junior year. I don't really know why I did this, but the frequency escalated. It likely had to do with me questioning my sexual orientation, getting over social anxiety and dealing with the stress of getting in to college. I'd listen to music, watch DVDs and work on building my models, Legos, puzzles, erector sets, model rockets, etc. I'd do this while very drunk. Never drank to a blackout and never was late for school, though there was ONE occasion where a classmate said I smelled like vodka in the morning, but other than that, nobody suspected anything. I was extremely clever in how I hid the vodka bottles from my parents and how I disposed of them.
College years:
1. Anytime I got the chance to party, play beer pong, flip cup, etc, I was there. Beer, liquor, boxed wine, I was there. I blacked out more and more frequently and was often an angry drunk. Woke up often with cuts and bruises with no clue how they happened. I missed class a lot and went from a straight A student in high school to mostly Bs and C's. I did manage to graduate in 4 years, but it was rough.
2. My senior year, I'd usually down a bottle of wine two or three nights a week by myself, while living off campus. I'd spent the entire summer before senior year sober, but isolated myself socially. When I got back to campus, I still isolated quite a bit and would drink on my own quite often, sort of like high school. I did still party a lot senior year, but I was no longer an angry drunk, which I guess was nominal improvement.
My 20s
1. I go out to parties with my friends and would drinks few swigs of vodka before meeting up with them, so that it wouldn't be as obvious that I'd had a lot more to drink. Blackout and regrets hugely common and very ashamed of it. Still a happy drunk, so most of my friends don't seem to realize the problem. This has gone on for far too long. The first hour or two while Im just buzzed are great, but then things get fuzzy or blackout and I feel horrible about it. If I manage to leave before blacking out, I almost always will stop off at a bar by myself for some vodka shots, or if I have vodka at home, drink until I passout there.
2. I go out with coworkers/clients who are my peers and similarly in their 20s or early 30s. I'll usually get hammered and similar to with my group of friends, I'll get blackout a lot.
3. I'll go out with coworkers and my superiors at work. While I have made an arse of myself at some of these events, I usually keep it more in control, then let lose with vodka when I get home.
4. To avoid the stress of blacking out and having people see it, i've increasingly been drinking while home alone. I'll sit in my chair and surf the web and watch TV, often passing out and forgetting what I even watched. I do this out of boredom and to just get rid of anxiety.
So yeah, my college years were the worst I think. But the pattern in my 20s is wildly unhealthy. I've not had anything truly horrible happen YET. I'm now on my 26th day of sobriety and know that I need to make this last and start a new chapter of my life in my 30s that doesn't have all these regrets. I have a high paying job that I really like and am doing well in my advanced degree program (nearly straight As). My sexual orientation is still an issue, but I'm fairly comfortable saying that I'm just bisexual. I want to find a life partner in my 30s and I realize that will be much easier if I'm not a drunken mess while out at the bars. I want to start a family and probably move to the suburbs so I can have a yard and a car. I want to KEEP my job and if my pattern of drinking sticks, I can't see that lasting forever. Functioning at 100% will make career progression a heck of a lot easier.
Thanks to all that have read this far!
I know this
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
I lived "the party life" in many ways for a long long time.... drank at bars, parties, threw parties, went to clubs, drank with my wife, partied with friends, drank with work colleagues, drank with army buddies, drank all over the world, drank and smoked, drank and drugged, drank for fun, drank for sorrow.... drank because it was light, dark, sunny, cloudy or a day ending in 'day'.
But eventually it wasn't about partying. It wasn't even about choice.... it was drinking on auto-pilot and drinking as a response to life. It was drinking in secret and drinking alone. It was drinking before drinking to hide my drinking and drinking after drinking to soothe the horrific physical and mental misery from drinking.
Damn... good thread.
I'm so glad not to be drinking.
#soberliferocks
But eventually it wasn't about partying. It wasn't even about choice.... it was drinking on auto-pilot and drinking as a response to life. It was drinking in secret and drinking alone. It was drinking before drinking to hide my drinking and drinking after drinking to soothe the horrific physical and mental misery from drinking.
Damn... good thread.
I'm so glad not to be drinking.
#soberliferocks
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
