Sacha1978

I'm not sure I want to stop drinking at least a third of a bottle of vodka every night. Have been thinking about drinking during the day to just have the energy to keep up with life. I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful boys aged 14 and 10. What's the point in stopping drinking?

doggonecarl

Something brought me to sobriety, and it wasn't the benefits of alcohol. And just about everyone here was brought to their knees by drinking. Maybe it's just us.

Something brought you here asking the question about stopping, so something negative is happening.

Outonthetiles

Somehow I never associated day drinking with "energy."

Jillian2563

What’s the point in drinking? Does it really give you energy? It never did for me. I could never be productive while drinking. I couldn’t even make dinner, even after just two drinks. Not because I was drunk, but because I had no desire to do anything, except sit down and keep drinking.

If you didn’t think drinking was a problem, I don’t think you’d be here.

There’s a lot of support here. Welcome.

lessgravity

If you don't mind me asking how old are you? I recently moved from to vodka, hiding, lying, in pain until that motor fuel touched my lips. It's not energy for life you're talking about, it's the bare energy you need to get back to the bottle and, somehow, though I'm sure not to the best of your abilities, take care of your family etc.

That unsuredness is so common among us I've learned. Some call it complacency or ambivalence - its the fact I think we are not whole but instead are split in two. Split in half by the person we are meant to be and so want to be, and by the demon or beast that only wants what it wants - oblivion.

It's clear that the real you wants help. I hope you find it here and elsewhere in your life. We don't end up posting on these boards by accident.

wildflower70

May I ask, what brings you to Sober Recovery?

Behappy1

Alcohol gave me energy in the beginning. I could go, go, go. Tackle housework, laundry, deep cleaning etc. I would drink and work feverishly on getting my house in order. In reality, it was never “out of order” but I am a stickler on a clean house.

Then... I needed it, daily. I associated drinking with doing. I’d work all day, come home @ night open a bottle of vodka and start making dinner, laundry, sweeping etc. I’d do this until bed. Wake up the next day, rinse and repeat.

Eventually alcohol quit giving me energy. It gave me that “calm, relaxed, not a care in the world, forget my problems” feeling. I’d fall asleep earlier, wouldn’t feel motivated to do anything but veg out or go to bed early. The hangovers got worse, I was shaky during the day, nauseated, dizzy, not clear headed trying to do my job. This is when the day drinking occasionally started. Then the benders. 3-4 days of pure alcohol induced existence. I’d pull it together, get through the withdrawals, vow to never drink again... until I drank again. Rinse and repeat.

This IS a progressive thing. It WILL get worse. I’ve found that even if I go 30,60,90 days or whatever without drinking and I drink - the hangovers are the same as if I was on a 4 day bender. So one night of drinking after sobriety takes me right back to the end of my drinking days and how I feel. I can’t/don’t recover like I did in the early days.

totfit

If a person does not want to stop, then I think that a personal decision. As far as a reason to stop, if it is affecting your life? I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful boys aged 14 and 10.

2ndhandrose

Welcome, Sacha

I hope you take the time to explore the threads and stickies here at SR. There is a wealth of information in them.

As to the point of stopping, other than being able to be fully present in your life and a host of other positives, how about your family?

Are you willing to risk losing your wonderful husband and two beautiful boys?

This problem is progressive, as evidenced by your desire to add more alcohol to the mix.

Please keep posting

ChloeRose63

We can't answer that question. Only you can.
What was the point of your post? Do you need help?

happyandfree

i didn't want to quit either. I also didn't want to quit smoking. But I realized that booze and cigarettes were bad for me so I gave them up. Only you can decide whether alcohol is bad for you.

2muchpain

How bout quitting drinking for a while to compare. You might find life easier to deal with without drinking. John

Bird615

Welcome, Sacha!

I didn't want to stop either, and tried everything I could think of to make it okay to keep drinking. A lot of that had to do with trying to control it.

Except that the time came when I couldn't do that anymore, no matter how hard I tried. I'd end up drinking more than I'd intended to and even when I knew it wasn't a good idea to start. Once I had that first one, who knew where it was going to end up? It got worse and worse and I tried harder and harder to control it so I wouldn't have to give it up completely. How would I manage life without it?

The day finally came when the consequences were getting so bad, I just couldn't stand it anymore and gave up fighting it and asked for help. Some people can see the writing on the wall and take action to get off the ride, while others seem to have to suffer serious consequences before they are willing to stop.

Wherever you're at now, this is a great place for information and support if you think your drinking might be a problem.

MLD51

Yes, If you are not sure, try quitting for a few weeks. You might just find you like life more without the booze. And if you find it really difficult to stop, even if you want to, that should tell you that you are headed for real trouble. We can't tell you that you should quit. You have to want to. But take it from me, and others here, this thing is progressive, and very dangerous.

tomsteve

welcome,Sacha. glad youre here.
ya know, theres a high probability that by asking ,"What's the point in stopping drinking?" you could already be having consequences occuring.
it seems that," Have been thinking about drinking during the day to just have the energy to keep up with life" is saying theres something going on that drinking is effecting.

for me the point was to stop the insanity. to stop hating myself and my life and to start learning how to live life without alcohol- to actually love myself and enjoy life.

ScottFromWI

I would guess that if you came here to a sobriety forum, at least part of you wants to stop drinking.

For me the point in stopping was that drinking was destroying my life. Alchohol will eventually destroy your health, your mind and take away all of the wonderful things we have if you let it consume your life. Drinking during the day is a massive red flag that alcohol is indeed creeping further and further into your life and taking it over.

I can honestly tell you that every single facet of my life has improved dramatically since I stopped. My health, my family relationships, my work, my mental state, my energy level - it's all better. I hope you decide to quit too - you and your family will definitely not regret it.

milly4me

That whole "drinking for energy" lie . . .

That's pure addiction speak, imho.

I was stuck in that lie for a long time. When I drank I got things done. When I didn't drink nothing got accomplished. Of course, when I wasn't drinking I was hung over withdrawing (even when I didn't realize it).

I think the secrete to finding more energy is getting far enough away from the alcohol that your body and brain can start healing. I'm 27 days sober today, and it's the first day in a veryyyyyyyyy long time I can finally feel some real honest energy back.

Nonsensical

What do your husband and sons say when you ask them?

CaliButterfly

I had to smile when I read your post, simply because those thoughts went through my head countless times over the 13 years I was drinking, vodka as well, so I can relate. I was a highly functional alcoholic. Great job, great kids, etc. So why stop? I enjoyed how I felt and it didn't get in the way of my life. I moderated for years and stopped several times, once for a year. In your brief post, it sounds like that's kind of where you're at. We all have our own reasons of why sobriety is most valuable to us, but it all has a common thread - life is better sober. Period. Sometimes it takes a life-changing event to come to that realization, and it is absolutely true that alcoholism IS progressive. People said it to me but I didn't believe it because I was arrogantly "different" - started late in life, no personal or legal trouble, not as bad as others. It crept up on me too, to the point of nightly blackouts. Luckily I only drank at home, another excuse for not needing to stop. You came here for a reason, somewhat trepidatiously. You will find inspiration, support, encouragement, and acceptance from all of the wonderful people here wanting to help others struggling. The only thing we can't do is give you a reason to stop drinking that trumps your addiction. I hope you find that reason before it destroys anything. Eventually it will, you can bet money on it.

VikingGF

There is going to come a point when posing the question "why quit?" is going to have so many answers your head will spin, if you keep drinking. Quitting now when it's a choice vs a consequence of all that's been lost or ruined is actually a privilege, and one that I sure wish I took oh, so many years ago.

I'm pretty sure you do know some of the answers now, if you're really asking- maybe you just don't want to acknowledge them.

Alcohol will ruin every relationship you have, even the relationship you have with alcohol, if you wait long enough.

I love that you are here and curious and hope you consider listening to the great advice on this thread already- if you are looking to quit and want a support system, believe me, you've found it.

Best to you!