AwkwardKitty

When I see stories of people in their 50s or 60s who are stopping now, my AV says I can keep going for a bit and quit later on when it gets 'really bad' or before I get 'too old' (I'm 34).
And when I see friends drinking or smoking who are older than me, and who seem okay on the outside I think well they're fine so I probably have a few drinking or smoking years in me yet.
I know its nonsense and I am talking back to that pesky AV with logic but wondered if any of you relate to this, and if this attitude kept you drinking longer than you should have / wanted to.

Ps day 11, going strong xx

Dee74

I think anyone who's quit will tell you they wish they'd quit earlier.

Ignore that AV - it's just endless static.

D

Mummyto2

Wish I quit earlier, or even better never started, but I do get where your coming from, I used to think that plenty of time etc, then family members were dying all around me from it, so after that I thought no as one was 26 next 28 next 30 and then 41 all in the space of 12 months, no one in their 60s they didn't get that privellage, good luck

CreativeThinker

Trust me, if I had found recovery at your age, my life would be quite different today. There are many consequences that go along with waiting to change ones life. As Mummy stated, some don't make it into their 50's and 60's.

LadyBlue0527

I absolutely did that AwkwardKitty. My trouble with alcohol started in my late 20s early 30s. But........... I also knew people who quit in their 50s so I too figured I had plenty of time.

The best I can tell you is this. If I could go back to that point, knowing what I know now, it would have given me the necessary strength that I needed to quit. I'm not even talking about the disastrous events that unfolded.

I'm referring to the awakening of how many years I wasted allowing a liquid to cause me to believe that life would be so empty without it. When...on the contrary, it was that liquid that kept me from living life the way it's meant to be lived. It kept me from experiencing happiness the way it's meant to be felt. Not some watered down version (pun intended) of what I thought feeling happy meant.

I can't change what I've lost nor will I dwell on it because that's just another way the AV tries to rope you back in. What I can do is revel in what I've now found and live every moment to the fullest instead of living the lie. Life is like a penny, it's all in who you decide to let spend it. As long as you drink it's the AV who has the reigns.

Congratulations on 11 days!

bigsombrero

Sure, we've all done that. I'm pretty sure "those that didn't make it" probably thought just like that, too. So I figure I'd rather be on the safe side. There are lots of gambles and risks you can take in life...learn to hang glide, surf, ski, go back to university and study architecture, etc.

Gambling on drinking again is like getting in a car with no brakes. You might be able to manipulate the road for a while, but at some point going downhill and crashing is inevitable.

thomas11

Not only do I wish I'd have quit earlier, I wish I never got started.

Forward12

Check out the stories of those that are dead before your age, you could be next. Not to be morbid, but those are AV talking points.

Hevyn

What would happen if you waited until 54 to quit? During those 20 years you would be risking the possibility of a serious accident/early death, negative impact on your health, alienation of family, friends, co-workers - the list goes on. I waited until much too late to finally stop - and the path of destruction I left behind me was devastating. I know you're not seriously considering it, AK and I'm glad.

3BlindMice

I used that logic too, for five years or so kept saying, yeah I'll quit when I'm a little older. I'm young and my body will bounce back.

I'm just now on day 10 and I never understood one day at time until now.

axeman5971

I am 32 and feel like I waited too long! First night of evening rehab just ended a bit ago.

tealily

You are smart to recognize it as nonsense, as you say, for all the reasons others have given above. Also consider that not every 50-something or above who is quitting has necessarily been drinking for all those decades. For me it got out of control fast, starting in my 40s. I didn't have a problem in my 20s or 30s.

I just know that drinking to damage is not good for anyone, no matter their age, and why would anyone want to purposefully waste years of life? Obviously the sooner you get on a healthy track the better, and how lucky you'll be that it'll be behind you, instead of ahead of you.

JoeCree

Same as tealily for me. I didnt have a problem until it hit me fast in my late 30s mainly because i had a career change where i had a home office.. My 20s i hardly drank.
When i see fellow posters in their 50s 60s, i learn from them as to why i am quitting now. Seeing as i never hit any so-called rock bottom, i knew it was just a matter of time by educating myself in here. It took a while for me to admit im an alcoholic, and most if not all of my friends and family still dont think i am - but they dont know whats in my mind. Thats why your choice to quit and stay quit is all about you and nobody else.
If youre here.... you know... the answer is obvious. Congrats on being proactive and knowing there is somwthing very wrong. Bwing young will help make this process easier.

incognition

Wow, I felt like that for the longest time. Thinking "I've got several years before I HAVE to quit, you don't have real damage happen until your 40s at the earliest". So wrong that was. I'm not even 30 yet and I've already suffered some form of brain damage, some of which may be irreversible. My liver seems to be healthy, but I can no longer speak "naturally", if that makes any sense. You know you've screwed up when you envy the ability of ordinary people to form speech without having to think about it. The act of talking itself requires concentrated effort from me now, and I've had to edit this post three times because I keep noticing words missing.

I don't even wanna think about what may have happened if I had kept going...

Andagain

Oh sure I used to do this, I also looked for stories about alcoholics who drank more than me to prove to myself I wasn't really that bad.

That's your av voice, always remember, it's trying to kill you.

Sure, some quit in their 60s, some die before then. Its not worth the risk.

Jezzi

I definitely know what you mean. I'm 31 and have thought about that. Like you said though, it's just the AV talking.

Jezzi

Yes! My cousin said to me today, "you're not an actual alcoholic though, just went a little overboard" as if i'm making a mountain out of a mole hill. It's like they want me to drink again someday or something, as if it's good for me? I don't know, it's strange.

AwkwardKitty

So helpful to read your replies, it helps strengthen my resolve. These thoughts are what has taken me back in the past. You are all so right, I only have one chance at life and more importantly at my little boys childhood (he is 1 and a half and i was teetotal for the first 6 months of his life, its only in the past 6 months I have been drinking heavily again). I grew up surrounded by addiction and dysfunctionality and that isnt happening here, no way.

AwkwardKitty

Yeah I get this, it upsets me that people are trivialising something clearly so important to me. I have also found some people do that to (I think) justify their own problem drinking, as in if they admit O have a problem then they do too.

Mummyto2

Good for you Awkwardkitty