I sank to a new low last night. .
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SoCal
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by Hevyn 
Wolfbane - Most of us have had similar situations. That's why I had to give up the idea that there could ever be 'just a few'. I've polished off a 30 pack of beer in a day. I'm only a 5'2" woman. I was angry when I had to admit I could never trust myself to allow it in my system - but it was actually a relief. The only way to stay safe was to stop all together - forever. You can do it. Wolf.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 8,704
Wolfbane, I was a weekend warrior myself. Convinced I could binge on the weekend and be ok, and nothing made me happier than 3 days of rain (no work), I could really give her then. Things steadily got worse until I finally surrendered. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I wish you the best.
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,805
Once I realized and accepted I would always, always want more than one or two, that there was little to no possibility I'd ever be able to moderate ever, the decision to quit was pretty crystal clear. Hope fully it is for you, too. I was a binger, also. Could go several days with none ( not without some effort on my part) but when I got started, it was next to impossible to stop at a couple. It is just easier to not drink at all.
Guest
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Northwest
Posts: 4,215
You want to be "like everybody else"?
Well, 45% of adults don't drink at all. Of the remaining 55%, maybe it feels like all the people we know can have a couple of drinks in a social evening and never think twice...but what we see may not be the reality. Maybe they're pounding three before they leave the house, six when the get back home, and having a drink at breakfast just to feel okay. It's called high-functioning for a reason...I suspect most of the drinkers here at SR would say that very few had any idea of our real consumption.
And the truth is that while we've all been extensively programmed to believe that drinking is elegant, fun, and socially required, in reality it's ingesting the expensive and toxic byproduct of something that rotted under controlled conditions. (Yummy.) It's also a Group 1 carcinogen, like formaldehyde and asbestos. It's implicated in over 60 serious diseases and conditions, including such funfests as heart failure, impotence, hypertension, diabetes, gallstones and pancreatitis.
Still feel bad that you can't be one of those drinkers?
(Hopping off soapbox.)
Well, 45% of adults don't drink at all. Of the remaining 55%, maybe it feels like all the people we know can have a couple of drinks in a social evening and never think twice...but what we see may not be the reality. Maybe they're pounding three before they leave the house, six when the get back home, and having a drink at breakfast just to feel okay. It's called high-functioning for a reason...I suspect most of the drinkers here at SR would say that very few had any idea of our real consumption.
And the truth is that while we've all been extensively programmed to believe that drinking is elegant, fun, and socially required, in reality it's ingesting the expensive and toxic byproduct of something that rotted under controlled conditions. (Yummy.) It's also a Group 1 carcinogen, like formaldehyde and asbestos. It's implicated in over 60 serious diseases and conditions, including such funfests as heart failure, impotence, hypertension, diabetes, gallstones and pancreatitis.
Still feel bad that you can't be one of those drinkers?
(Hopping off soapbox.)
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SoCal
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by August252015
Have you thought about AA? Free and no waiting to see a counselor.
There are also meetings day and night and on Fri and Sat so alcoholics always have a weekend alternative to drinking plans.
There are also meetings day and night and on Fri and Sat so alcoholics always have a weekend alternative to drinking plans.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: California
Posts: 13,031
Lots of great advice above. Getting rid of the alcohol was smart. Do you have plans for the rest of your week off? I habe almost 11 months sober, after numberous day ones, and for me planning out my free time (aka the time I would have been drinking) was very important in the beginning.
What worked for you during the month you were sober?
What worked for you during the month you were sober?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SoCal
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by Delilah1
Lots of great advice above. Getting rid of the alcohol was smart. Do you have plans for the rest of your week off? I habe almost 11 months sober, after numberous day ones, and for me planning out my free time (aka the time I would have been drinking) was very important in the beginning.
What worked for you during the month you were sober?
What worked for you during the month you were sober?
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
Originally Posted by Wolfbane
Actually I have thought about AA. I am looking at meetings online. I am a little intimidated though. Not sure why.
Change only came when I decided to make a change. AVRT and SR have kept me sober for over four years. Maybe AVRT would be right for you, maybe some other approach would suit you. But no matter what you need a structured plan.
Glad to see you here again, 'Bane.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: California
Posts: 2,693
I've been there man. I shocked myself with how much quantity I could drink one one night and the sickness the next day. It wasn't even that I could drink that much, it was the astonishment of why my body wanted and needed that much alcohol. I craved the 14th beer as much as the first.
I had no "off switch." Both you and I reached the end of the road. One drink was too many and a thousand was never enough.
I had no "off switch." Both you and I reached the end of the road. One drink was too many and a thousand was never enough.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: California
Posts: 2,693
Originally Posted by MLD51
Once I realized and accepted I would always, always want more than one or two, that there was little to no possibility I'd ever be able to moderate ever, the decision to quit was pretty crystal clear.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: SoCal
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by Hevyn
Thinking of you Wolfbane - how's it going today?
Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: North East
Posts: 621
Originally Posted by Mattq2
you have to want sobriety more then anything else in the world. You need to know that a single drink will put you quickly back to where you started and it will always be that way. I drank beer everyday for decades at a pace I'm not proud of. Sort of wonder why I'm not dead yet. I'm sober now and cherish every single minute of it. If I can do it I know you can. Make a plan and let it all start with day one. You can do it
Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: North East
Posts: 621
Originally Posted by Wolfbane
Still dealing with some residual depression/anxiety after Sunday night. I am going to go pick up some Chinese take out and relax. Get my bearings again and steer clear of the booze.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 11,411
Originally Posted by Wolfbane
Thank you so much. The guilt is almost as bad as the physical harm I did to my body. I have broken down a couple times today. I just want to be like everybody else and it tears me apart inside to know that I am not.
It gets better and better as time passes--I also went to the gym, hiked, and filled my time with healthy activity when I used to drink.
The shame and fear went away and have not come back.
There really is a much better life with drinking behind you for good
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
