Just turned 21
 

Just turned 21 the other day and I’ve already bought an 8 pack of Budweiser, 2 24 packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a bottle of vodka. As we all know when you’re 21 alcohol is as easily attainable as a pack of gum, which can be very dangerous for those who have a strong desire for it (me). Not to mention all the access now to bars and clubs which only promote drinking even more obviously. I wanted to post this because I wanted to see how much everyone else was drinking and how alcohol affected them at age 21 and if it was a bigger problem to them back then or more so later in life. I feel like I should give up alcohol for good and just stick to weed before alcohol becomes too addictive, like I know it can be with the withdrawals and dependency and all that. Or I could be overthinking and could be normal for someone my age to want to drink a lot. Any insight and feedback is appreciated <3

I am not drinking at all.
Alcohol made me drunk when I was 21. That's why I drank it.
It was a smaller problem when I was 21. I was foolish enough to keep drinking it until it was a big problem.

Best of Luck on Your Journey. :ring

Hi Cole

I think you'll find most of us will say we wish we never started drinking and that we wish we'd stopped at your age,

I wished I'd stopped at your age with weed too, for that matter.

It might seem inconceivable to you now, but life without addiction is pretty awesome :)

I got clean and sober at 40 - no regrets ten years on :)

I hope you decide to give it a go.

D

I'd say you are already on your way to full-blown alcohol abuse
based on this and your other thread.

It isn't a great life, believe me.

Please reconsider the binge drinking.
It does seem like your made of teflon at 21,
but you miss so much life, growth, and experience
drowning yourself in booze.

I sure did.
I thought it was fun, and at times it was,
but mostly I was avoiding feeling tough feelings,
and not dealing with life on its own terms.

I was just like you when I was 21, Cole. I liked to drink. A lot. All of my friends liked to drink. I played in a band so I was in bars and clubs every weekend where other people drank just like I did. Fast forward to age 46. My history now includes multiple cracked up cars, a DUI, multiple wrecked relationships, a divorce, a stint in rehab (which may have very well saved my life), fatty liver disease, type II diabetes and some other things which I just can't mention here. And like you, in my 20's I thought I was indestructible. But once you cross the line from alcohol abuse to full blown alcoholism, there is NO going back. It is something you will fight and fight hard for the rest of your life. It's a miserable existence being a slave to alcohol. Or any addiction, really, but alcohol and drugs inflict a special kind of misery. And it is slavery. It will take everything you have away from you little by little, until your life is just you and a bottle. I don't say these things to make you feel bad or scare, but you should be warned. It's a very slippery slope, and nobody sees it coming until it's too late.

I drank before and after 21. I totaled my truck and about killed myself at 17. I wish I could go back and smack that kid knowing what I know now. My life is not ruined but it could have been so much more in the 20 years I chose to "party" as opposed to living life awake.

Take it from me. Stop now. It will only cost you time, money, grief, and pieces of yourself.

No, it’s not normal, period. You’re 21 and you are alreay a binger of epic proportions - but what gives me hope is that you are posting on here. Something deep inside you is desperate and is reaching out for help, please listen to this inner voice.

I don't know if anyone gets to the end of their life and says "I wish I had gotten drunk more."

Boot hill is full of people who died early as a result of alcohol. Some of who died as a result of someone else drinking alcohol.

Alcohol is a crutch. I am glad I learned to walk without it, for my sake and for the sake of others.

Alcohol "merely" held me back a little bit when I was your age. It held me back more in my 30s and nearly destroyed my life in my 40s. I still managed a life that just about anyone would consider "successful," but there is no question that I would have done more and better things had alcohol not been in my life. I don't spend much time looking back, but if I could do it over again, I definitely would have quit at your age. Why would anyone follow a path that prohibits them from reaching their greatest potential? Presumably, we only get one shot at this whole "life" thing, so why would we knowingly hold ourselves back? It just isn't logical, but that's the nature of the disease. I'm now 46 and nothing is holding me back. I'm going to have a wild and crazy and successful ride here over the next 30 years or so, and it will all be possible because I took the actions necessary to free myself of booze.

Giving up alcohol was one of the very best decisions of my life. It was life-saving, life-changing and liberating!!!

The thought of having a drink rolls my stomach now.

i was mainly a pot smoker from 18-21 then from 21-24 i switched to alcohol and bars and smoked less weed. alcohol destroys you all around while weed is a little more subtle which fries your mind and turns you into an emotionless drone. i've seen pot suck the life out of many of my friends and myself. most people don't even realize what it's doing to them. and the way pot is celebrated today makes me sick. it's ******* up countless lives.

my first thoughts about quitting probably came around 22 but i didn't have it in me.

i'm 25 now and have 88 days sober.

i'd say get off them both as quickly as you can.