Redmayne

Granted, when I say this there'll be a temptation for some to say,'Oh,it's ok for him to say this, he got sober ten years ago....'. Which is true,but like everyone else, recovery wasn't easy, I was still broke and confused about why and what had happened to me? Given in my 'drinking days' I'd been a 'high functioning alcoholic' so much soo that I'd held prestigious positions, made good money, raised my so as a single unsupported parent... but it all went!

No question about that, to the point that at one point, apart from the width of the door on my sparsely furnished flat on a low demand housing estate I was all ut sleeping on the streets!

But eventually, after finally asking myself the obvious,' Are you going to , not only do this but commit yourself to it for the rest of your life?'. I got sober and kept on getting sober, a day at a time.

So much so that now, I can't remember why I drank in the first place. 'King Alcohol' lost his crown and plays no part in my, which hasn't exactly been 'a bed of roses' but it not only life, it's my life. Lead in a safe, sane and sober manner which , when you consider the alternative is more than I could've hoped for or expected....

Ghostlight1

I drank to get drunk.

least

I drank to avoid things. To avoid facing responsibilities.

48heath

I drank because I am an Alcoholic.I have never analysed it and am very grateful for that.

Guener

I started drinking to change the way I felt about myself, and I have stopped primarily for the same reasons.

Redmayne

Good idea!

Tynesider22

I drank because my life sucked.

After a few beers, in my head, my life was awesome, but the reality was the exact opposites.

Don't get me wrong, I have friends and family that I love and cherish dearly, but the every day hum drum I couldn't cope with.

I first started drinking to get drunk because I liked being drunk. It felt good, and I guess after a bad day, I wanted to go back there.

Redmayne

Love this,it reminds me not so much of my drinking but the amount of pain and suffering I endured at the hands of selfish, irresponsible people, from whom, together with the alcohol. I've now broken free...

Pearldoor

I drank because I didn’t want to face my problems. Also I was chasing an old high that I’d never see again.

I will NEVER forget why I stopped.

Redmayne

An odd, if not native comment this because if, as is generally accepted the main problem for the alcoholic centers in the mind, not the body and we all exist in our state of mind, the rest is all external. And he only thing we have control over is our opinions including our perceptions,judgements and desires.

Logic and reason says that if you change any of these you will change your state of mind, which is why alcoholism is sometimes referred to as 'the Disease of Perception'. In this I include addition to virtually anything, change your perception, change your mind...

'The only power you have is over your mind, all the rest are external events. Remember this and you will gain strength,' - Marcus Aurelius.

Guener

As somebody in early recovery, it's difficult for me to conclude that my alcoholism is strictly a matter of the mind. A great deal of my alcoholic behavior certainly has been a function of my thinking and following my emotions. But, as I still feel physical cravings, I think that my body is still in an altered state that requires the intervention of my higher faculties to overcome. To this degree, it's an internal process in my present biology that is still included in my perception.

That being the case, I was told by my ex that it was possible to change my thinking, and after decades of my own malformed perception I dismissed the idea. I realize today that I was wrong, that I have been able to change some of my thinking processes and therefore reach other conclusions than heretofore were eluded from me. Mental gymnastics and a good deal of personally directed sophistry have a great deal of power over the active alcoholic, and those guided my thoughts and subsequent emotions for a long time.

I don't claim to have any grand revelations from having been going through the changes in how I think, and it requires constant attention on my part to sort out when I'm having authentic moments where I truly am changing. It's more a gradual process for me now, when a lot of my energy is spent on abstinence and keeping my head level enough to get the daily things in life completed -- reinforcement of habits that I need to internalize.

I am drawn toward the fundamentals again of learning, and that is the beginning of new things for me, I am certain.

Redmayne

Thanks for that, as I understand it, alcoholism is a two fold illness/disease, consisting of a physical allergy and a mental obsession,the only respite from which is abstinence.

Addiction to alcohol or anything really is a form of mental obsession.

Initially, abstinence stills the physical allergy so you're left with a mental obsession. To deny this obsession, you change your state of mind or perception. Do that,again with anything, you change your life...history, both in individuals and society generally has proved this over and over again.

amzoun95

Haha, no seriously, just ask someone who was there. You might have been slipped something in your drink, but if you can't remember much, maybe you had more alcohol but couldn't remember, I dunno. And take note that 'blackouts' are caused by a rapid increase in blood-alcohol concentration, so doing shots and stuff is more likely to cause this anterograde amnesia.

Redmayne

When want constructive advice from others, it usually comes from hose who like me are willing,based on their own experience of drinking to share their experience, strength and hope to help others, including themselves to recover.

It doesn't come from those who play at life and don't recognize reality until it slams them in the face...not least those who know all the answers but none of the questions.

Willdoit

Looking back I was an alcoholic from day one , a terrible childhood then I drank cider my problems went.

I never realised I had a problem for 20 years , I would drink weekends , blackout etc.

Tried to stop and moderate but I have not lasted long , this time I will.

silentrun

I'm still unclear why I did that to myself. Toward the end, I didn't even want to drink but I had this thing in my head telling me I must. I often wonder what's become of that voice as I'm pretty sure I can't destroy it and only weaken it to the point where I don't have to act on it.

Redmayne

Love,'complete abstinence is better than perfect moderation,' thank you...something to remember you by ...

Ken33xx

I can remember when and why I started to drink in my late teens.

Then maybe four or five years later I can recall sitting alone in my parked car and opening a can of beer thinking, "Why am I doing this?'

I wasn't unhappy. In fact I was very happy. Life couldn't have been better but I was hooked. I simply liked the feeling of being high be it booze or pot.

It wasn't long before I needed a drink or a few bowls of pot (often both) before I went or did anything.

But I got away with it. Mainly because I was a young man and people excused my act. People hadn't stop associating with me. I wasn't losing jobs. My future still looked bright

But the slow slide downward had began.

nez

The longer I am sober, the more fully aware I am becoming of the why behind my drinking. The more aware I become of that, the more my peace and serenity increases. I am finding recovery to be a gentle unheard roar.

alphaomega

I drank because I was born addicted and subsequently plyed with alcohol by my parent because it "calmed me down".
I never had a fighting chance. Operative word being HAD.

I also drank to cope with a prison of my mothers design. I simply didnt know how to extradite myself from her narcissistic stranglehold that accompanied a lifetime of extreme anxiety and agorophobia.

Now that she is dead (my biggest blessing ever) I no longer need to try to survive by any addiction possible.

My poor brain is an off the charts hot mess, but I will never drink again.

And I will never change my mind.