Alcohol Problems....

[ardour]

Being a bit puritanical and wowser-like perhaps. I mean most of us got drunk at university. I certainly had a habit of downing drinks way too quickly, but then that's teenage idiocy.

You could try to limit it to a couple of drinks in civilized sort of environment, like a Rovers Return style pub full of old people (no danger of having too much fun)

 

[CenotaphGirl]

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself it's more important to find out if you are an alcoholic, which, if you are, you are fresia(ed).....or do you want to say fresia it, I don't need alcohol, I want to be the better person I'm striving toward.
Life will not end if you never drink again, but if you really do have a problem and you do drink, your life may never be what you want it to be.

I think you're right, 100% I guess I just worry that I'll live my life confused about who I am, I have avoided everything with alcohol, even small traces, or a red wine sauce... Sometimes I wonder, is this necessary?

My friends, well is complicated, the reason im sure I never drink for attention is because im so ashamed of it. I'd always excuse it, or hide it, or explain away all of it. Now i'm considering doing the opposite, I will drive to the brunch, and use that as the reason I cant drink. I try so hard to keep up appearances... I try so hard to be seen in a different light.

 

[CenotaphGirl]

Being a bit puritanical and wowser-like perhaps. I mean most of us got drunk at university. I certainly had a habit of downing drinks way too quickly, but then that's what teens do.

You could try to limit it to a couple of drinks in civilized sort of environment, like a Rovers Return style pub full of old people (no danger of having too much fun)

You and your big words, ugh lol think of the stupid people for once!

I mean thats the thing, the thought that lingers on my shoulders, was it just being young and free of was it a problem?

I'm scared but I think I'll see a doctor maybe, see if I can get a professional opinion about my drinking behaviour and what it all means.

 

[ewomack]

I have never been inebriated by alcohol in my life and I have probably drunk 3 glasses of beer in my entire life. I have had a few more glasses than that of wine, but not much more. My family swore off it because alcoholism ran rampant and did some damage a generation or two ago, so I was raised with an almost puritanical disdain for it. Others in my family ignored this, so perhaps I'm the insane one? I only mention this because I have some friends who are recovering alcoholics, since I'm easy to get together and not drink with. All of them say that they will never touch it again, because they know if they do it will start all over.

Though I don't judge others for drinking, I can say that not drinking has made me less popular than I might have otherwise been (people assume I'm overly religious or self-righteous, etc.), but it also means that no one has any damning pictures of me doing things that I have no memory of. Tradeoffs, I guess. Actually, I did enough stupid things without alcohol, so plenty of pictures do exist, except I have no excuse.

 

[CenotaphGirl]

I have never been inebriated by alcohol in my life and I have probably drunk 3 glasses of beer in my entire life. I have had a few more glasses than that of wine, but not much more. My family swore off it because alcoholism ran rampant and did some damage a generation or two ago, so I was raised with an almost puritanical disdain for it. Others in my family ignored this, so perhaps I'm the insane one? I only mention this because I have some friends who are recovering alcoholics, since I'm easy to get together and not drink with. All of them say that they will never touch it again, because they know if they do it will start all over.

Though I don't judge others for drinking, I can say that not drinking has made me less popular than I might have otherwise been (people assume I'm overly religious or self-righteous, etc.), but it also means that no one has any damning pictures of me doing things that I have no memory of. Tradeoffs, I guess. Actually, I did enough stupid things without alcohol, so plenty of pictures do exist, except I have no excuse.

When theres no drink... just say you're tired!

 

[NoxApex(N/A)]

Kicking the bottle took me about 8 years.
It can be a rough road. I'm recovered now.
I can finally have a drink without relapsing.
It is doable, just it takes a lot longer to get to that point (for me at least) than I'd thought it would.

 

[theablekingathelstan]

Cos ms perfection is always right

 

[CenotaphGirl]

Kicking the bottle took me about 8 years.
It can be a rough road. I'm recovered now.
I can finally have a drink without relapsing.
It is doable, just it takes a lot longer to get to that point (for me at least) than I'd thought it would.

Omg, that is a complete recovery! You must be proud of yourself, 8 years! Yikes... well done you. I actually give that a gold star.

 

[NoxApex(N/A)]

Omg, that is a complete recovery! You must be proud of yourself, 8 years! Yikes... well done you. I actually give that a gold star.

Yes and no. I'm glad I don't really drink like I used to.
But I'm not proud of the amount I used to drink, either.
Nobody in the right mind wakes up one day and decides:
"I think I'm going to be an alcoholic."
It kind of just happens accidentally to a lot of people.
Drinking used to be a fun social thing I'd do in my early 20's to help with my social anxiety.
But by my middle and late 20s I was really depressed and actually actively trying to drink myself to death and make it seem accidental.
I was going through a 1.75 ML of 50% Everclear by myself on a 2-day weekend binge.
Just to roll into work Monday morning hungover and exhausted for another 60-hour week of hard physical labor.
I also used to daily drink, like to the point where both of the managers at both of the liquor stores I used to go to knew me on a first-name basis as well as knowing my top, middle, and bottom shelf drinks for every category.

I drink at least once a week every week now, but no more than 6 shots worth.
My main reason is that I've got a friend who's physically disabled from a suicide attempt that I've known for 10+ years, he's agoraphobic, has no friends, and doesn't work anymore as per his disability. He's also an alcoholic, in fact I actually met him at an Irish pub downtown. The one drink I have while I'm there is mostly to negate that amount from him drinking, since he's still struggling with it. I really don't think he'll quit, but also the last time he tried to overdose he almost succeeded, which was a decision he made while he was drunk since alcohol affects judgment first. So about all I can do to try to help the man is make it to where there's less in the bottle. He is, admittedly, getting better about the quantity, so it's I think just a longer stretch. Eventually, if he lives long enough, I imagine given his health problems that he'll just get to where he also can't physically handle it anymore. I'm hoping, at least.

I don't get urges anymore, and when I do, I mostly ignore them because giving into them is how I fresia up my bank account, my work week, my physical health, and my mental health. On like a really rare occasion, once probably every like 5 or 6 months, I'll get a bottle and decide to be drunk, just for fun. Aaaannddd usually by the end of that bottle I remember why I don't really drink, anymore.

And oh dear god I just shouldn't talk to people if I'm drunk. It turns my filters off because alcohol removes inhibitions, and I just say whatever. THAT can be really embarrassing sometimes, or accidentally spark fights when I didn't really mean to. So I've gotten to where if I do decide to drink, I just actively try not to talk to anyone unless it's people online.

 

[Colster]

Too many drunken nights here. I can't recall ever doing anything other than youthful tomfoolery, as opposed to drunken misbehaviour. Truth be known, I am too responsible for that. Last man standing, piling the bodies into taxis, kind of thing. Essentially, I get drunk and turn into a Dad, even when I was young.

These days, I rarely ever drink. Never needed it, and certainly don't miss it. My own issues with alcohol is, within all the social circles immediately familiar to me, nothing gets done without drink. Just look at the current U.K.news, our own Prime Minister, holding several drunken parties during lock down.

Weekend are spent in the pub. Mid week quiz nights, in the pub. Date night, pub. Meeting friends, pub. Work meeting, pub. It changes only when someone comes to your house, and they bring alcohol. And, if you manage to arrange any activity outside of these parameters, it involves the pub.

Initially, I can think of two particular fellows who certainly wouldn't have spent a day sober in approximately 40 years. Lovely guys, always friendly and informative. But their drinking patterns are planned several days in advance. And, if you pay attention, their stories and depth of knowledge, stems from short specific periods of their lives.

Within the pub situation, you begin to notice those who are dependant and aware. Those in denial. And, those that are drinking to fit in or mask their own social inadequacies. But, everything features drink.

The last lady that I was close to, I cannot think of many activities that didn't involve drink. Likewise, there was probably drink before the pub, and almost certainly afterwards too.

Some mask drinking very well, least for significant periods. Whilst other's, it can be as little as a single drink, and they changed. Historically, the actor Robert Shaw, who played the mean drunk Quint in the epic Jaws movie. Shaw was a horrific drunk, and was said be like a ticking time bomb once he started. He would explode in rages and bitterness. Yet, is also said to have been utterly charming sober.

Amy Locane, a beautiful Hollywood actress of the millennium period, stared in Melrose Place and Air Heads. In September 2020, Locane began serving a eight-year sentence for a fatal DUI car accident that occurred in 2010. She had previously been sentenced to three years in prison, of which she served two and a half, and was re-sentenced due to the leniency of the original sentence.

For me, I find the very notion of alcohol, a bit disturbing. Increasingly, I am ushered towards the temperance movement, as I just don't see much good in alcohol.

Now, in contradiction, various studies state that used in moderation, wines can be beneficial. Similarly, men who spend time with other males within pubs, do on average, live a happier and longer life.

And then, is English ruin those studies by binge drinking, and all too often, being utterly horrible drunks.

 

[user 139760]

I only drink with family. I used to have a problem. In a way, still do, certain events will trigger it and I'll become a different person. Which is why I only drink with family. The warm, love and fun of it keep the bad guy away.
I have a little trick an ex-gf gave me. Drink merrily and when you feel you've had lots, touch your lips with two fingers. When I can't feel them anymore, that's when I switch to water.

 

[Mr Doubtfire]

Took me many years to stop drinking.The funny thing is it just happened.I was a boozer from 1987 till 2017.
I got fed up with being unwell and tired all the time…That was just over five years ago.

 

[CenotaphGirl]

Took me many years to stop drinking.The funny thing is it just happened.I was a boozer from 1987 till 2017.
I got fed up with being unwell and tired all the time…That was just over five years ago.

I think maybe there is a difference between maybe an alcohol habit and an alcohol addiction. I feel like if you drink a lot people label you straight away and you just have no clue if you was addicted or not.

 

[user 136944]

Just wondering if anyone else understands this feeling of not being sure, of over thinking?

Unfortunately I suffer from ocd so I could literally write a five hundred page paper on 'doubt' and 'overthinking.' Incidentally I don't drink anymore, never had an issue with drinking previously, just got bored of the whole thing and it brings nothing to my life other than wasted money and a headache the following day. I used to smoke many years ago and i gave that up... nothing to do with health, and all to do with money if I'm honest, just stoped smoking cold turkey and never went back. I think a major problem with drinking is the psychological aspect which is so engrained into our culture (particularly in the UK) that it can be very hard to be a 'non drinker' at times... FOMO and all that. Something that really opened my eyes a few years back was when I had to work in the city centre early evening to around midnight on both Fridays and Saturdays... being stone cold sober, and seeing what I can only describe as a 'two ring circus' that would usually be seen as 'fun' if you had been drinking.. was really cringeworthy actually. I prefer a cup of tea...

 

[CenotaphGirl]

Unfortunately I suffer from ocd so I could literally write a five hundred page paper on 'doubt' and 'overthinking.' Incidentally I don't drink anymore, never had an issue with drinking previously, just got bored of the whole thing and it brings nothing to my life other than wasted money and a headache the following day. I used to smoke many years ago and i gave that up... nothing to do with health, and all to do with money if I'm honest, just stoped smoking cold turkey and never went back. I think a major problem with drinking is the psychological aspect which is so engrained into our culture (particularly in the UK) that it can be very hard to be a 'non drinker' at times... FOMO and all that. Something that really opened my eyes a few years back was when I had to work in the city centre early evening to around midnight on both Fridays and Saturdays... being stone cold sober, and seeing what I can only describe as a 'two ring circus' that would usually be seen as 'fun' if you had been drinking.. was really cringeworthy actually. I prefer a cup of tea...

Yeahhh being a Brit Brat deffo doesn't help at all! I know my dad was sent to a different pub on purpose because he didnt like to drink… they just excluded him and people look at you as if you’re boring because you dont wanna drink.

 

[Shy_Guy_85]

I used to drink heavily a few years ago in my early thirties.
I've fallen off the wagon a few times since but only for a day before I instantly regret it and realise how much better off I am without it.
Alcohol ruined my mother's life, thankfully I think I have more self control than her.

You simply cannot achieve your goals whilst being an alcoholic.
Since quitting booze I got a part time job, became more confident, got in really good physical shape, became better interacting with people irl, saved money and renovated my apartment.....
I'm still lonely but I'm going in the right direction.

 

[CenotaphGirl]

I used to drink heavily a few years ago in my early thirties.
I've fallen off the wagon a few times since but only for a day before I instantly regret it and realise how much better off I am without it.
Alcohol ruined my mother's life, thankfully I think I have more self control than her.

You simply cannot achieve your goals whilst being an alcoholic.
Since quitting booze I got a part time job, became more confident, got in really good physical shape, became better interacting with people irl, saved money and renovated my apartment.....
I'm still lonely but I'm going in the right direction.

Thats amazing! inspiring actually, did you go to AA?

 

[StarDust]

My friends called me 'the shot queen' I use to make some great mixes, B52's, Tootsie Roll and few others. Last event few years back, it was smooth tasting bottle of whiskey that was being pour in shot glasses. My friends are all suggesting the shot queen needs to do a come back this summer but I cant handle the hangover any more . And you cannot tell the Shot Queen to do just one or two shots.... I am fine with other stuff... have a beer one a week... or a social glass of wine, but once those cute little glass pop out on the bar, you are mandated to line them up, and ask "Who's in?" with that mischievous smile as you look around the room
... hmmm..... think I lost the point what I wanted to say as I reminisced.
Ah yes, Shot Queen is aching for a come back.... but I just need to remind myself about last hangover , about it aging me ( thanks, Ardour) and about the stupid honeysuckle you do (thanks, Colster)

 

[CenotaphGirl]

My friends called me 'the shot queen' I use to make some great mixes, B52's, Tootsie Roll and few others. Last event few years back, it was smooth tasting bottle of whiskey that was being pour in shot glasses. My friends are all suggesting the shot queen needs to do a come back this summer but I cant handle the hangover any more . And you cannot tell the Shot Queen to do just one or two shots.... I am fine with other stuff... have a beer one a week... or a social glass of wine, but once those cute little glass pop out on the bar, you are mandated to line them up, and ask "Who's in?" with that mischievous smile as you look around the room
... hmmm..... think I lost the point what I wanted to say as I reminisced.
Ah yes, Shot Queen is aching for a come back.... but I just need to remind myself about last hangover , about it aging me ( thanks, Ardour) and about the stupid honeysuckle you do (thanks, Colster)

The shot Queen!?!? I bow to thee! I cannot handle shots its like my friends really put the pressure on to drink it up and live it up… feels disappointing to run away from the challenge? Almost…

 

[StarDust]

The shot Queen!?!? I bow to thee! I cannot handle shots its like my friends really put the pressure on to drink it up and live it up… feels disappointing to run away from the challenge? Almost…

With alcohol, it is love-hate relationship. L❤ve drinking shots with anyone who will join me, but hate myself after I do it.