When enough?
 

What convinced you that it is enough? You might realise you are consuming too much, but we all know its not possible to quit before you are really committed. When does 'normal' consumption become abuse/addiction?

I witnessed a horrible car crash caused by a drunk driver, I was one of the first at the scene. My hands were shaking when I drove off after my help was no longer needed. Luckily as far as I know nobody died.

I think that's something we each need to decide on our own. I think we know when we need to stop, even though we may not be ready to stop.

I'm glad that no one died in the traffic accident you witnessed. It must have been scary.

I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I got to a point I was negative self-talking, hating myself, running myself down because of my drinking. I was miserable so I realized I could not continue drinking.

ended up in hospital from withdrawals.
had a subsequent breakdown the weeks after.

**** ever going through that again

Yea the nervous breakdowns are a bother.

When does 'normal' consumption become abuse/addiction?

Well, I've done a lot of research on this, and by research I mean drinking, and only you can decide what that point is.

An alcoholics body has an allergy to alcohol, meaning we react different than normies to alcohol, it sets off an obsession of the mind and we can't stop drinking. A normal response to getting buzzed or drunk is to stop, an alcoholics is to consume more. If you can drink one or two and stop, that's normal If you can't stop that's addiction. I can't stop, to have just one seems foreign to me, why in the world would you do that? Why even bother? That's not normal thinking.

If drinking is causing problems, best to quit drinking, no matter how much or how often you drink. :)

This was me.

But I was sick and tired of being sick and tired for many, many, many years before I quit. I drank everyday for 27 years and I feared quitting - I didn't know how to cope without alcohol.

I finally reached a point last October that the booze was not working for me anymore - I had to quit or just stay drunk 24/7 until I lost everything including my mind.

Luckily I chose to quit drinking.

I just realized after many failed attempts to stop, I couldn't. I just woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and realized, ****, I have a real problem. Many years preceded this of telling myself I should stop, or maybe I have a problem, etc.

But it's the best decision I ever made in my life. Not easy though

This is often repeated, but it is simply not true. It is just the addiction talking, kicking the can down the road. If it can't prevent you from quitting, it will try to delay quitting for as long as possible.

"Don't quit drinking, not just yet, maybe if things get really bad" it whispers, "and you're not as bad as that drunk driver," it adds, right?

If you can't picture life without alcohol, then you are dependent on it, which is not necessarily bad per se, if it does not negatively interfere with life.

If you drink against your own better judgement, however, at times when you know, or suspect, that you should not be drinking, then you are probably addicted. The same is true if you keep drinking in spite of negative consequences, or if you keep looking for ways to keep drinking without getting into more trouble.

Dependence may cause big problems eventually, but addiction certainly will cause big problems. It is just a matter of when, not if.

This seemingly simple question is quite difficult to answer.
I've attempted suicide four times as a direct result of the turmoil I was in over the misery of continued failure to drink responsibly.
Quit,
Feel better,
AV says 'it's not all that bad,
Drink.
Repeat.
I think everybody's rock bottom is their own. Whatever point is reached before the recovery to continued sobriety. Or, ultimately, death.
My rock bottom happened some time between Christmas day and new year's, when I finally made my Big Plan. (See my signature).
Total and unquestioning acceptance that as an alcoholic, I can NEVER, EVER drink again.

Many people think of hitting bottom as an event...

it can be a simple decision 'I do not want to live this way anymore'

D

What convinced me was that I kept having the same thoughts periodically ... "I think I'm probably drinking too much, I might be addicted, someday I might have to quit". But "someday" never seemed to arrive ... I didn't feel like quittting.

Then I somehow realized that "someday" was never going to just arrive ... nothing changes in addiction, it just goes on. I was going to have to just decide that it was time. I committed myself to change despite the fact that I didn't "feel committed".

Another way of thinking of it was that I was of two minds ... part of me wanted to quit, and part of me wanted to drink. I decided to side with the part that wanted to quit, rather than waiting for both parts to agree ... because they never would.

I fell down a flight of stairs on Christmas Eve. I wasn't even drunk (just 5 or six drinks in me), just so hung over I could barely stand. Broke my leg in many places. Afterwards because I couldn't walk I was unable to get my fix. Went into withdrawal.

I had meant for many years to stop. That did it for me.

Wow...Wow....I just keep reading this post and the others in this thread over and over again and it's so profound...this merry go round of drinking...then doing reckless things then waking up being hungover...then feeling shame and remorse and telling myself my spouse my kids ....never again....then maybe a couple of days go by and doing it all over again....even I get sick of hearing myself say sorry!!!!

In line with what Dee is saying -there were "bottom" like factors that got my attention. But, I definitely had more drinking and further loss left in me if I chose that route. What happened for me though felt like me telling myself "Wow. This really is just Ridiculous!" -then I stopped lying to myself. -then I got straight.

Damn!! You ALWAYS bring it! Great post!! :You_Rock_

I spent three years alternating between periods of sobriety, followed by failed attempts at moderation. I finally got sick of waking up foggy, and spending my evenings starting out moderating, and then saying screw it. My body was both physically and emotionally exhausted.

I decided December 31, 2015 as I was drinking that I was done. I woke up the next day with a hangover, and determination, and haven't had a sip of alcohol since. Life still throws curve balls, but they are so much easier to deal with sober.

You can do this, and you do not need to wait for a proverbial rock bottom. Tell yourself this is enough, and take alcohol off the table.

I started feeling so physically bad that I kinda slipped into it, I think. Early 2016. I didn't even start out to get sober; I just felt so bad that I didn't even want to go buy beer. Imagine that!

Also I'd had some bad liver test numbers that scared me, and my big old fat stomach at the time I thought was ascites.

It is worth remembering that hitting a 'rock bottom' is no guarantee that you have finally seen the light and are ready to quit. Many (many) people die from this.