Red78

Thanks for all the replies... I know i have an addiction to alcohol, it's a strong pull everyday that takes over around 5ish, the witching hour..
I'm mentally addicted to this **** but was.curious to see when others became physically addicted because I'm not. I had thought maybe I don't drink enough to become physically addicted but from reading the replies that's not true.

Red78

Is a hangover not the fact that you have poured toxic substance into your body and the body is trying to get rid of it.. I thought hangovers and withdrawl are two different things?

Boxer1

Wow SL, I can sure relate to your comment. Exactly my experience as well!

Dee74

Hi red

I spent years telling people I wasn't physically addicted but the sweats the anxiety the crushing depression, the brain fog, the nausea, the irritability and the endless apathy were all I think directly attributable to my drinking.

You can be semantic with these things - I was too. Alcoholic poisoning seems a lesser thing to accept than physical addiction.

But...if you've ever felt crappy and knew that a glass of booze would make you feel better -and it did....(at least in the short term)

the chances are you're as physically addicted as the rest of us.

D

dcg

They are different; hangovers are from too much alcohol, and withdrawals are from too little alcohol.

That's not to say you haven't suffered mild withdrawals that you mistook for a hangover, though.

least

I got addicted to wine very quickly. Within six months I was drinking all day, every day, and waking up with the shakes/anxiety something awful.

I'll never put myself thru that again. I will gladly be sober the rest of my life.

wynwrights

See, I told myself over the years that I couldn’t possibly be physically addicted to alcohol. For whatever reason, a mental dependence seemed more palatable to me than a physical dependence on those occasions I gave myself leeway to think properly about my drinking. I’m pretty sure that I drew this magnificently redundant distinction, because a mental addiction could arguably be seen as circumstantial in nature, while a physical dependence is the real deal.

But here’s the thing. All the while I was drawing this elegantly useless distinction, the physical signs of addiction were there in spades. I’d regularly have dreadful hangovers, my joints ached, I was ratty all the time, there were frequently days I’d think about wine for breakfast... I could go on and on. All this should tell you that mental and physical addiction go hand in hand: you can’t separate one out from the other, no matter how much you’d like to. If you think you have a mental addiction to alcohol, then it’s pretty certain that you have a physical addiction also.

PeacefulWater12

I think as addicts we tend to over think, we want to dissect things piece by piece. Desperately searching for a way to carry on drinking but stop all the harmful effects on ourselves and people around us.

This was certainly true for me.

There is one simple solution, don't have the first drink.

All the best to you.

johnnyt53

Amen to that.

johnnyt53

Every day for years around time to get off work I would have to have my beer. Increasingly drinking more and more after work. I conditioned my brain to crave it around this time and I think it was both mental and physical. This is day 133 for me and I don't expect to undo years of abuse in a short time though I wish it were so. Getting help here and AA and wherever I can find it. Staying in the moment with hope for a much better life sober.

Keeping it in the day

I saw a patient fit on the second day out. In hospital for entirely unrelated reason and very lucky to be alive as was behind closed curtains at the time.

Please don't wait for physical withdrawal symptoms to decide that you may be in trouble. Get some help to overcome this

whatsgoingon

I can relate to so much on this thread. I’ve been drinking for the past twenty years or so and it’s progressively getting worse. Over the last five years I’ve had two long periods of sobriety once for 9 months and once for 6 months but I’ve always gone back to drinking.

Over the last 8 months it’s been a real hard struggle for me. I’m now 43 years old and I find life in general tough going. I don’t seem to have any spare time, I’m busy with my business, I’m always running the kids everywhere and I run a local business club. I’m know I’m not that different to most folks but for whatever reason I find life stressful especially recently. This had led me to drink more. I am acutely aware I have problem and at the moment I’m battling. I’ll go two or three days sober and then I’ll drink again. I don’t drink normally (is there such a thing!) I binge drink and once I start I can’t stop. I sometimes get embarrassed coming on here because everyone is so kind and supportive it makes me feel like I’m letting you all down. The fact is giving up drinking is really tough. My drinking has no logic. I know how bad it is yet I still crave it, that’s addiction right there.

It’s now Sunday, I didn’t drink Friday night but last night I drank 3 cans of Guinness, 1 bottle of beer, two glasses of wine and 3 gin & tonics. Once I start drinking I lose all control. Deep down I wish I was in control so that I could drink “normally”. Thing is I think I’m past that stage now and I am actually addicted. If I was addicted to heroin I would not even be thinking about how I could do it normally because it’s a drug and it’s not normal. Alcohol on the other hand is deemed normal and everyone does it. But it is still a drug and just as addictive as heroin. I wish alcohol could be demonised in society. If I gave up smoking people would think it was great. You tell people that you are giving up drinking and they think you are weird.

I hate booze. I’m addicted and out of control.