The Consequence of Drinking
It doesn't have to be that way.
I firmly believe that a 'bottom' is simply the moment when we decide we can't live our lives that certain way anymore. There doesn't need to be a catastrophe to accompany that decision.
Your threads today have all been on this theme more or less.
Are you thinking of drinking until something sufficiently 'bad' happens?
D
I firmly believe that a 'bottom' is simply the moment when we decide we can't live our lives that certain way anymore. There doesn't need to be a catastrophe to accompany that decision.
Your threads today have all been on this theme more or less.
Are you thinking of drinking until something sufficiently 'bad' happens?
D
Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 122
I don't believe in the bottom theory. There is always a deeper bottom to dig until you are in your grave.
Met people who did just that.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Christchurch
Posts: 451
When I quit I still had a good job and a marriage ( hanging on by a thread tho), never had a DUI or been arrested but I was so depressed I couldn't carry on with what I was doing ( drinking at least a bottle of wine a night). I was in a bad way but it could have been a lot worse.
close, many bad things already happened to me, although i consider the dwi #4 a life saver, so i'm not so sure i agree. My therapist says, "everything is just the way it should be" I feel so at home with my problems, it gives me a sense of accomplishment to deal with them and be stronger for it.
three of my teeth kicked out and in ER , didn't stop drinking .
blood pressure 190/120 sent home from work to Dr , didn't stop drinking .
Woke up one morning and thought if your not going to get sober now then when , after 10 years of madness . That was over 3 1/2 years ago , i'm doing all right ,
bestwishes, m
blood pressure 190/120 sent home from work to Dr , didn't stop drinking .
Woke up one morning and thought if your not going to get sober now then when , after 10 years of madness . That was over 3 1/2 years ago , i'm doing all right ,
bestwishes, m
I was responsible for the death of another human.
And drank for 14 more years.
Many stopped before anything bad happened,too.
Seems to be common with ya that when ya put out a lot of threads at one time your drinking. I hope that's not true, but seems to be your MO.
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Better when never is never
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Wisconsin near Twin Cities
Posts: 1,745
For me, the worst possible outcome would have been to continue living as an active alcoholic. Except for the misery, I was pretty numb to anything bad that happened to me.
No, nothing bad happened to me, but my life is much better since I quit drinking. Mostly, it is an attitude thing. I am also less inclined to get depressed or irritable about things.
I also feel more at peace about deciding not to try to test my moderation skills again.
I also feel more at peace about deciding not to try to test my moderation skills again.
My story of drinking reflects what Pipping and Endgame have offered you...I am currently midst 'stopping drinking' and although not perfectly managing it...i mostly am. But importantly just feel it in my body and heart that I am serious about stopping and staying stopped. But...nothing 'bad' has happened (in the way the world would rate 'bad')... I have a good career, lovely home, alcohol hasn't even (so far) affected how I look (weirdly)...but what endgame says about something bad is always happening is so true. It can be subtle and progressive. In my case it's affects have rippled right under my skin...and I find myself isolated, I feel depressed, and 'haunted'. I have felt like I am kind of imprisoned in my own pretty looking bubble (talking about my life/home etc - not me).. . Who would want this at this stage of my life? I am 56.
Soooo, find a way to just stop Soberintexas. Just stop and recover your life back?
Soooo, find a way to just stop Soberintexas. Just stop and recover your life back?
Active drinkers, though, are likely to drink well past bad, through terrible, beyond horrible. If bad consequences alone halted drinking, there'd be less alcoholics. The reality is, alcoholism doesn't care about consequences.
Haven't you figured that out?
Something bad did happen to me.
I had become an alcoholic.
So I changed that. Many of us are here on SR to keep it that way and support others, demonstrating that life without alcohol is entirely possible. And good.
I had become an alcoholic.
So I changed that. Many of us are here on SR to keep it that way and support others, demonstrating that life without alcohol is entirely possible. And good.
"Something bad" will certainly happen. But don't forget that depression, anxiety, slowly worsening health....these are all conditions that gradually get worse and worse. It's like those people who live in houses packed with their own trash - "something bad" didn't happen to them, it just kind of gradually accumulated. Quitting alcohol three years ago was the best thing I could have done for myself, and I hope others do the same.
I drank even though bad things had already happened. My husband continues to drink even though bad things keep happening. Bad things don't stop people from drinking. They keep going until the next bad thing happens and the last time doesn't look so bad.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,109
I didn't stop drinking because something bad happened to me. I have quite a charmed life for the most part. I was just tired of the self imposed misery that drinking was giving me. I was worried about my health. I wanted to be a better example to my children. I was hating feeling sick all the time or trying to recollect what had happened the night before. Looking at my bank statements and seeing Beer Store, LCBO, Beer Store, Wine Rack over and over....... I had just had enough.
I don't think it HAS to be a catastrophic event to get a person to quit.
I don't think it HAS to be a catastrophic event to get a person to quit.
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 453
Nope, not for me.
Nothing overtly bad ever happened to me, or at least I refused to believe it had anything to do with my drinking.
There were plenty of times when I said, "If this doesn't keep me sober, nothing will," but then I drank again.
Expecting "bad things" to keep me sober was like expecting a fire to keep me from getting burned.
I got sober because I gave up trying to fight that I was an alcoholic, accept it, and then do whatever people told me. I stopped arguing fine points, stopped making excuses, stopped lying to myself, and put sobriety as the most important thing in my life.
Bad things have happened since I got sober, but they haven't made me drink. It was an internal job all the time, but I couldn't see that until I'd gotten some sober time in.
Please stop fighting this madness. It's not fate or consequences that keep us sober.
You are the one who keeps you sober, along with whatever help you need along the way.
Wishing you well.
Nothing overtly bad ever happened to me, or at least I refused to believe it had anything to do with my drinking.
There were plenty of times when I said, "If this doesn't keep me sober, nothing will," but then I drank again.
Expecting "bad things" to keep me sober was like expecting a fire to keep me from getting burned.
I got sober because I gave up trying to fight that I was an alcoholic, accept it, and then do whatever people told me. I stopped arguing fine points, stopped making excuses, stopped lying to myself, and put sobriety as the most important thing in my life.
Bad things have happened since I got sober, but they haven't made me drink. It was an internal job all the time, but I couldn't see that until I'd gotten some sober time in.
Please stop fighting this madness. It's not fate or consequences that keep us sober.
You are the one who keeps you sober, along with whatever help you need along the way.
Wishing you well.
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