Alcahol Posted March 13, 2006 Posted March 13, 2006 I am pretty sure that all of you have heard stories similar to mine. I'll make another addition to it. I am 22 years old and this started about 3 years ago when i was first introduced to alcohol. My first experience at the age of 19 had been a bad one and I did not like the idea of loosing control. As time went by, I started binge drinking on a regular basis due to a number of reasons such as peer pressure, stress etc. Binge drinking was a norm during my college days and I started to believe that there is no problem with getting intoxicated every weekend. Over time, I became a big fan of Alcohol. I would drink to the point of intoxication almost every saturday at different college parties. My grades and school progress did not suffer as I only restricted my Alcohol intake to weekends. I managed to get a college degree and a high paying stable job. It's been almost a year since I have been working and functioning properly at my job. I still binge drink almost every weekend. During the week, I have absolutely no urge to get drunk and I don't even touch alcohol despite the fact that I have all the alcohol in the refrigrator but as soon as its Friday night, I get a strong urge to go out to the bar. I promise myself that I would limit my alcohol to a couple of drinks but I almost always end up breaking my promise and drink upto 10 drinks on one occasion. Everything around me looks soo great while I am intoxicated. I get more passionate and more social when I am drunk. I even prefer to have sex while i am intoxicated because for some very odd reason it seems a lot more enjoyable while I am intoxicated. I used to smoke pot occasionally back in the days (Once a month or so) but now I have totally given up on it since I do not like the feeling of being high. I haven't touched pot in over 6 months. I have only done ONE hard drug during my life time and that was ecstasy. This was two years ago and i never had an urge to try it again even though the euphoric effects were far beyond my imagination. It feels like nothing compares to alcohol. The pleasurable feelings I get from alcohol are far beyond any thing else out there. My sundays are usually filled with guilt over the things that i recall doing during the past two days. I feel depressed and lonely and I promise myself that I will never drink again. Five days later, I end up breaking the promise again. I have a problem and I need to over come it. I don't know how but it would be soo awesome if i can restrict my alcohol intake during the weekends. It feels like I am socially dependant on alcohol and i need it to have fun.
Touche Posted March 13, 2006 Posted March 13, 2006 It's good that you are recognizing a potential problem so early. You have every right to be concerned. The fact that you can't socialize without it and need it to have fun is a BIG red flag. Not saying this will happen to you BUT be careful because you are at risk. The type of drinking that you do many times ends up progressing. Before you know it, it won't be restricted to weekends any more. You'll start having a couple during the week, etc. Right now, in my opinion you are a problem drinker but you have great potential, unfortunately of becoming an alcoholic who will come to depend on alcohol for other reasons other than to be sociable and feel good on the weekends. (Like to relax during the week, to reward yourself, etc. etc.) You're really smart to suspect a problem this early on. Be careful with it. It's a dangerous, evil and sneaky thing, alcohol is. Perhaps you should try to go a month without drinking. Can you do it? You're going to have to watch this the rest of your life...yes, you're the type of drinker who's at risk for becoming an alcoholic. Does it run in your family? Just curious.
Outcast Posted March 13, 2006 Posted March 13, 2006 You don't have to drink every day to be an alcoholic. Weekend binge drinkers are also alcoholics. You're an alcoholic if you can't stay away from it. Check out AA. Art Critic is an LSer who has overcome an alcohol problem and has great advice for folks still in the grasp of alcohol.
Author Alcahol Posted March 14, 2006 Author Posted March 14, 2006 No doubt I have a problem with alcohol. At this point, I can say that I am not physically dependant on it but I am very much socially dependant on it. I was wondering about the people who drink alcohol in moderation.. do they do it to enjoy the taste or for the feeling? I for one hate the taste of alcohol but I love the feeling that it creates. Instead of going to AA meetings at this point, are there any other tips or pointers that I should try for now and if all else fails, then I make a move for attenting AA meetings? Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't cover counciling or else I would have definately tried that. I would like to try home treatment first. I would like to be able to go out with my friends on the weekends and coming back home without getting drunk. I am not blaming my friends. They all drink in moderation on the weekends (1-2 drinks at most) so it is pointless to stop hanging out with them and try to find a group that totally abstains from alcohol. The problem is not with my friends or the bars. The problem is my self control and alcohol. Alcohol like any other drugs creates euphoric feelings and carries a risk for addiction. It should have been banned like many other hard drugs. Having something legally available gives it an impression of being a good thing and people initially fail to realize the dangers that they are exposing themselves to until its too late.
Guest Posted March 15, 2006 Posted March 15, 2006 I completely randomly stumbled upon this site and your post, and it was strange to find a complete mirror image of my own problem here. I too struggle with weekend (and occasional weekday) binge drinking, but I don't have many of the consequences that seem to go hand-in-hand with what is considered "real alcoholism." Remember, the term "alcoholic" as far as AA is concerned is as flexible as the sky is wide. I have attended AA meetings for a time, and it kept me sober, but I left because I didn't feel I really fit in. And now I am drinking just like I did before. It has gotten worse in some ways, but like you, I've managed to continue a general forward progression in my life. But I still feel guilty as hell when I wake up all hungover and waste a whole day because I can't move. I have a strange 5-day and 7-day cycle with drinking. I binge, then don't want to touch it for 5 days. On that fifth day, I start craving the buzz. If I make it through that day, it's usually the seventh one that gets me. I have not gone more than seven days without getting drunk (with the exception of an 8-month sobriety stint) since I turned 21 almost 6 years ago, and probably before that. I am now looking at going back to AA because I really don't know what else to do. I know AA can work, if you work it - but that's a tough pill to swallow for me. I am fiercely independent and don't much like being labeled or put into a big group of people based on one common factor like drinking. If you don't want to go to AA, one thing I've found helpful is listening to AA leads on my iPod. You can download them from various sites. Maybe you can check that out and get a feel for whether you would fit in there, like I'm trying to do. Good luck.
Author Alcahol Posted March 15, 2006 Author Posted March 15, 2006 I have never totally understood the true meaning of Alcoholism. Today, my friend was upset over some problems and I decided to go to the bar with him to have a chat. I could not even finish my second beer and had to throw it away. Now if it had been a weekend, I could have easily had upto 5. As per AA's description, it feels to me like the majority of the people at the bar are alcoholics. I see different faces all the time who show up at the bar and have over 5 drinks within a course of 2-3 hours and act totally normal and head back home. I believe, a true defination of an Alcohol problem would be a person who drinks alcohol and usually ends up loosing control over himself and turns into an entirely different being. A true defination of Alcoholism could be a person who has physically become dependant on Alcohol and cannot go on without it and when he drinks, he is a liability to his surroundings. Me, I have an alcohol problem. I turn into a different person after drinking.. not a bad person or a liability. I am what you know as a "happy drunk" and since I do not see any bad consequences of me being happy, I end up drinking more assuming that I would get happier even though drinking more doesn't benifit me at all but rather make me drunk and senseless. I have never picked up a fight neither have I insulted anybody while I am drunk. I don't drive drunk and usually give the keys to someone who is sober. Although, I have quite often made a fool out of myself doing other weird things which other people find funny. I am not justifying my drinking behaviour. It is wrong and could/would progress into something worse unless i control it. As you all know, Alcohol makes a person feel more relaxed and lowers his inhibitions. Once that effect takes over after a couple of drinks, I do not see anything wrong with drinking more even though just 20 minutes earlier i would be thinking about not drinking more than 2 drinks. Consequences of alcohol abuse are ambiguous for people who show a drunk behaviour like mine. Take jumping off from a building as an example. Even if a person who is totally drunk and non-suicidal would think twice before jumping off from a building since he knows that he would hurt himself. However, when you are drinking alcohol and having a good time, you don't typically think about the future consequences of it at that moment in time and you feel as if the relaxed state that you are going through is going to get much better if you drink more which is not what actually happens. If this idea can be somehow programmed into my subconcience, I know I can easily overcome this problem. However, it is not as easy as i think it is.
Guest Posted March 15, 2006 Posted March 15, 2006 was wondering about the people who drink alcohol in moderation.. do they do it to enjoy the taste or for the feeling? I for one hate the taste of alcohol but I love the feeling that it creates. That's interesting. I like the taste of alcohol but HATE the feeling. I have never been drunk and never want to be because of the awful feeling. I believe, a true defination of an Alcohol problem would be a person who drinks alcohol and usually ends up loosing control over himself and turns into an entirely different being That's trying to define alcoholism so it doesn't fit you. If you cannot give up booze, you are addicted as surely as is a smoker who can't quit. You can keep trying to dodge the fact but it's staring you right in the face, so it's time to choose to fight it. If you 'love' the feeling alcohol gives you, you're in trouble. That's the big red flag saying you need to quit.
Recommended Posts