Alcohol Problem?

LegacyUser · 20-02-2011 6:23pm #1

Right I'm going to keep it fairly simple. I think I may have a problem with alcohol. I'm not addicted to it as in that i feel the urge to drink the whole time, however I do I often drink to excess, and once i start I don't know when to stop. Although many people don't do silly things when drunk, I usually lose all my common sense and often black out.
I'm an intelligent relatively successful young man. However during my last six years of drinking there is a litany of crazy things I've done when drunk that have nearly killed me or could have landed me in prison . I'm not exaggerating, I have had many miraculous escapes. I also did have an issue with other drugs, although I've given them up completely and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I'm not exaggerating, I have had many miraculous escapes. I thought I would grow out of it but the last month I have been getting fairly drunk and doing stupid things. I enjoy drinking but I don't like being drunk, however once I get that warm glow, i usually don't turn back, and I can be extremely reckless with money. I feel that I'm not improving, although at the beginning of the night I often think not to drink too much but then once i've had a few the floodgates open.

For this reason I have decided to give it up completely. I feel it will make me more focused, ambitious and happy. Is it possible? All my friends go out and drink heavily, and I really like being out (when I can remember

and I really like chasing tail and having a laugh. What do I do on nights out?People will think I'm strange and don't know how successfull I'll be chatting up girls sober(though I'd give it a go) Also I feel I will get extremely bored on nights out. I'm also worried that I will feel unfulfilled, being unable to blow off steam. I know very few people my age who don't drink and those that don't are usually boring, all generalizations aside

Johnny Favourite · 21-02-2011 3:35am

its a tough one. I've been on and off the wagon for years now. Giving up is not as easy at it seems.

Try to knock it on the head for 3 months and see how you get on. But remember when you start back again you will be right back where you left off. This thing never goes away...

Best of Luck.

Esel · 21-02-2011 3:45am

Pint bottle full of ice. Lucozade. (Looks like cider, in case you feel embarrassed). If you knocked the other drugs on the head, you can knock alcohol too. Sounds like you need to.

Good luck!

marywary · 23-02-2011 12:12am

Know what you mean. Don't drink during the week when at work but at weekends when out with drinking buddies don't know when to stop! Friday & Sat nights are always big sessions, something stupid always happens & I can't remember what it was, but i'm usually in the middle of it! Sundays are spent in bed, always, usually not knowing how i even got there, into work mondays not a bother. Have promised myself that i'm going teetotal the following weekend but never happens. I have a problem i think but easier to stick head in the sand & hope i grow out of it. went on the dry for 1 week only but was laughed at. would love to be able to have a break for a few months but friends say i'm sad case if i do. bit embarrassed really.

dashboard_hula · 23-02-2011 2:05am

Hey OP,

I gave up drinking for 18 months in my early twenties, mostly because a bad relationship had turned me off it. I applaud your decision, especially on the back of the previous issues you've had with other substances. I drank Coke when I was out (which was just as often as when I was drinking), and once I was with a group of people that I got along with, I never noticed the difference. I do however, remember endless nights of doing washing up and laundry at 3am because I was off my face on caffeine and sugar, so I switched to sparkling water and orange juice instead.
To be honest, I didn't miss it, and I especially liked being able to call my own shots as regards when I would go home, or where I'd go next because I was sober. I do remember being drawn more into conversation with men who didn't drink, because it was something we had in common, and because they seemed even more relaxed and less obnoxious than the lads with 6 shots in them. That could be rose coloured glasses, I'm not sure, but there was lots of bonding going on when you're both trying to manhandle your mates out the door of the nightclub!
Best of luck OP, hope it works out well for you. Just remember that you're not condeming yourself to a teetotal life and its not all downhill from here. You're just trying something different and giving your liver a rest. There isn't a decent person in the world who's going to give you sh!t over it.

Deepwell · 23-02-2011 1:45pm

I'm not an expert in addiction but have some experience of alcholism through extended family members.

I believe what the OP has described would fit in the catagory of binge drinkers and IMHO is potentially more destructive than someone who continually craves a drink in so far as it is harder to accept that they may potentially be an alcoholic since it may only happen once in a week, a month or maybe a quarter. But the crux of the problem is the excessive nature of the drinking and the subseuqent lack of control.

I'm not saying the OP is an alcoholic but I think its the right decision to stop. It is going to be an adjustment but one that will ultimately be for the best. Reach out to some of the support groups that exist for practical advice.

Best of luck with it.

Shelli2 · 24-02-2011 1:52am

Can I ask what your drinking? Do you drink a lot of shots?

I find certain drinks make me behave differently, and certainly shots, in particular Jager, are just bound to make me wake up wondering what the hell I've done.

Recently I've swapped spirits for pints, and cut out shots (bar the odd one at the very end of the night) and things have improved hugely.

I like you was getting myself into some pretty close scrapes. And my friends, rather than saying 'maybe you should slow down' were laughing their asses off and buying me another shot! That said, I was never in a passing out or falling over state, but I wouldn't remember the night before and from what I've been told, was acting like a nutter!

I don't want to cut it out completely, but I found that slowing down at the start of the night, leaves less time towards the end to get wrecked. Like you, my problem was, once I start I don't know where to stop.

Hope it all works out for you.

Alcohol Problem?

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