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binge drinking or smoking for that matter is a case of, when YOU want to stop you will stop, if you don't want to then you wont.
Yep, with some people there is no moderation, you either choose to drink/smoke or you don't. I don't think the OP wants to stop drinking, because he still believes he can control it.
I stopped by not having any beer or alcohol in my house period. If it was in the house, I would drink it, period. Now I only drink at restaurants or with friends camping or watching a game, etc. That limits me given the time, and my desire for quantity is much lower now that I drink far less frequently (4-5 was the min when I had it at home, now 2 is the max, I just do not desire it after that now).
Try not stocking your house with booze. If you can go 90 days without a drink, you probably do not have a problem.
This is one of those common, but incorrect, myths that probably shouldn't be public opinion any more but still is. There are literally thousands of problem drinkers who have quite for years, even decades, who return at some point to problematic drinking.
Proof is not in the "being able to quit"; it's in the being able to "stay quit."
OP, you ask how to change your attitude. I see one huge stumbling block for you. That is your apparent distain or derision toward the recovering alcoholics you have encountered in your two visits to a support group.
Perhaps if you are convinced that you can't be like "those people" a part of your brain that wants to continue to drink can convince itself you aren't really like them. Problem drinkers/alcoholics come in all flavors and social strata. Maybe the next time you visit a meeting you could set a goal to listen for the number of ways your thinking and attitude has been like theirs rather than different.
Remember - it's not the appearance that proves problem drinking but rather the alcoholic thinking and behavior. In that you are so spot on with the idea that your attitude is an issue.
You might try not drinking for 30 days. I'm in the same boat with sugar. I made it 17 days into my 30 day plan to quit, but it is different this time. I can control it, where as I couldn't before. You have to think of your mind as a computer that needs to reboot. Try the 30 day plan and reintroduce alcohol slowly. If you can't control it, you're an alcoholic. You may then need to decide which direction you want to take.
that's what exactly what i am looking to accomplish, brake an unhealthy pattern. I have quit smoking this summer by reading a self help book (Sometimes I smoke when I dream, I now need same attitude adjustment towards alcohol. It is a bad habit, and it I know how it developed from self medicating due to a psychological problem.
I have visited AA meetings 2 times, and I have a reinforced conclusion that these people deserve to be made fun off.
Basically a 70 year old woman takes the podium and with a voice of a heavy smoker says "I used to be a prostitute and alcohol is to blame !" That is my opinion of the whole AA.
I was born in the Soviet Union and I am called a drinker, where some people do not drink at all are called none-drinking persons. People with dependency issues are called alcoholics and then there are some people who are called drunks.
But yahh, looking for an idea for an attitude adjustment. I talked to my shrink, but I think he drinks more then 2 drinks a day 5 days a week. My Physician offered medicine that would make me puke at the smell of alcohol and has nasty side effects. I just have to remember to stop after 3 drinks (when i don't have to) I am 40, but i don't have any kids and I am divorced, i am a high energy guy, so this is exactly this, find a better way to spend my time.
Well, you could start your attitude adjustment by not being an arrogant dick. Binge drinking isn't an automatic sign of alcoholism, but given that you can't stop it, um, yeah, you're an alcoholic. The fact that you're judging and mocking people who have found a way to stop drinking indicates there's some big issues with your character.
I suspect you'll just have to bottom out before you figure it out. Meanwhile, you'll increase your drinking, become more reckless, damage your health and relationships and endanger others.
Location: Foothills of Maryland Blue Ridge mountains
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I'm a recovering alcoholic.
Have you tried a group called "smart recovery?" Google it. I'd say that AA isn't where you belong yet because you don't want to stop drinking entirely. Trying to "manage" my drinking was a lot of work. In the end it was easier to stop drinking entirely. Don't drink for 30 days. See how you feel.
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