Anyone ever quit because not drinking became a necessity, although possible?
 

Here's the story. I'm 26, spent the last many years in school, still living at home because I couldn't afford to work and study full-time to pay for my own place.

At my parent's insistence, now that I'm working, I'm moving out in November; I'm not the easiest person to live with, since I hate hearing other people making noise with a TV, stomping around upstairs, etc.

Here's the thing. Given the current amount of money I'm making, I can afford to pay rent on a small apartment, but only if I'm not drinking. I also have a car and student loans. If I AM drinking, I'll run out of money when it comes time to pay rent.

I've known I need to stop for some time now, but never before has it been an immediate essential to life.

Anyone have similar experiences, and has it helped you to quit?

To be honest, I hoped that having to be responsible like that would 'force' me into quitting but it didn't.

It just meant I skimped on other things like food and paid bills late.

I hope you have a different experience - in fact...why not make it a different experience and work out a recovery plan now?

D

Why not quit so you can truly enjoy life?

Quit to be healthy - no matter how fit if your consuming a lot of alcohol that is not healthy.

By stating your are not an easy person to live with you are giving yourself a pass on your behavior. Why not change?

I got sober at 24 for almost a year. Then I rationalized I did not have a problem and went back out for the next fifteen. Life can be dramatically different based on the choices we make.

I know for a fact that there are people who live under bridges with nothing but the clothes on their back who panhandle until they have enough to buy another bottle of fire water. They eat from trash cans and food they find or beg for. They drink until they are 'gone' and repeat the same thing day after day.

I should mention that "my behaviour" that affects how easy it is to live with me is independent of alcohol at the moment; the "not being able to deal with much noise" thing has been with since loooong before I even started drinking at all.

I know. That's the reason I ask the question. I wanted to know if the necessity aspect did it for at least some people.

Yeah, that annoying necessity - growing up.

If you are going to be in an apartment and you don't like noise, be picky about getting a top floor, end unit. Apartments have noisy people in them. :) Even then, you've got to deal with their cars and their talkie voices...most of them have TVs too...and then there are lawn mowers, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, and repair people. Toilet flushing, washers and dryers, pipes with noisy water in them. People always moving in and out. Lots of activity in apartment complexes.

It's good to learn to deal with those kinds of stresses and it's much easier to deal with them when alcohol isn't involved.

I am much less stressed without alcohol.

Flip the necessity question on its head, was is the necessity of drinking?

Addiction can't be backed into a corner by very much I found, we will find a way to fuel that addiction no matter what, whether it's cut costs in other areas of life, run up huge debts, if alcohol is still your focus, you'll make it happen no matter the cost!!

It's tackling the addiction itself that is going to make the real difference!!

Necessity never had an effect on my drinking. I "always" found a way to drink. I paid bills late, stole, manipulated, ran up debt, ate less, lowered my standard of living and used people. It wasn't until I had hit bottom and truly wanted to get sober that I finally put the drink down, got sober and grew up.

Well done, KeepComingBack. Congratulations to you on your decision and your choice of sobriety. Fantastic!