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For me, My relationship with alcohol started early and was not good. I would binge drink almost every Friday and Saturday with friends. Then one day I decided I just needed a break and decided I would hang out with friends but I wouldn't drink. This is where it became awkward and a sobering reality that these people I had associated with weren't really my type of friends unless we were completely drunk. Then as things progressed and I remained sober and watching all my 'friends' being completely drunk I just knew that I needed to stop while I was ahead. I didn't like the sight and it was quite the embarrassment you never realize because you're that drunk too so you never pay attention to how you're really acting and behaving. So from then on I took a complete break from alcohol for over 2 years, and now I have a better relationship with alchol as I only drink a beer here and there, and maybe a glass of wine with dinner or just to relax. But even that is very rare as the taste and smell of alcohol turns me off most of the time now.
I didn't "quit". I stopped. I just got sick of drinking. Admittedly, I drank to cope and needed to cope so much that I drank when I didn't even want to. Considering how much I drank, I feel pretty lucky. I had no withdrawal and no real urge to go back. I don't miss it, don't crave it, don't want it.
However, the greatest struggle was in socializing. I didn't know how to have fun without alcohol. I became more of a homebody. And, worst of all, I no longer liked most of the people I associated with. I found myself pretty isolated after a while. So, it was a major adjustment. But it was the best thing I ever did. I learned to enjoy my own company and really value and thrive in solitude.
It's easy for those who don't have a big problem with alcohol to say it's easy to quit, drink in moderation. I have a close family member who is an alcoholic though she won't admit it using that word but will say she drinks too much. She says it makes her feel better and makes her forget her troubles. She does not drink and drive or drink during work hours but as soon as she gets home she pours herself a glass of wine. She quit once before and was sober 2 years. Fell off the wagon again. I would like her to quit because she is a different person when she drinks. She says things and then doesn't remember saying them. She has blacked out on occasion. She has confessed to me that one time when she was off a week from work for vacation she drank everyday from the moment she woke up till bed time. She knows she needs to go into a re-hab (she won't try AA) but she is using her job as an excuse why she can't go. She only started drinking a lot about 10 years ago before that it was once in awhile but then she had several deaths in the family. I drink a glass of wine now and then but that's all. Unfortunately alcoholism runs in the family.
I drank too much for far too long, specifically from 2003 until mid-2014. I know this because I did quit for a year back in 2002. That was thanks to Rational Recovery. More recently, I was feeling lead by the Holy Spirit to really question why I was drinking so much and why I blacked out so much and felt guilty and icky in the morning. I was drinking a bottle of wine plus some beer nightly. Sometimes I added rum to my beer for a quicker kick. My pastor did a series called Life's Healing Choices, based on a book and it's related to Celebrate Recovery. I was already attending CR, but not quitting. I prayed and prayed and finally, God removed my desire for alcohol. It has been 6 months since I've had a drink and I don't miss it a whole lot and it's not white knuckling whatsoever. I honestly don't feel all that different. I have lost weight but that's because I started watching my food intake. I do feel blessed to have an addiction removed from my life because I'm sure it wasn't easy on my kids. My "drinking girlfriend" was so very supportive, she and I would have "Diet Coke dates." We don't spend as much time together anymore, but when we do, it's all good. She can drink if she wants and it doesn't bother me. If anything, watching her talk too much after a lot of drinking just clinches my decision and doesn't make me want to join in. I hang out with people from CR a lot, so no temptations there. So it can be done cold turkey. I was afraid I was going to have those DT's for sure! But I didn't.
I drank too much for far too long, specifically from 2003 until mid-2014. I know this because I did quit for a year back in 2002. That was thanks to Rational Recovery. More recently, I was feeling lead by the Holy Spirit to really question why I was drinking so much and why I blacked out so much and felt guilty and icky in the morning. I was drinking a bottle of wine plus some beer nightly. Sometimes I added rum to my beer for a quicker kick. My pastor did a series called Life's Healing Choices, based on a book and it's related to Celebrate Recovery. I was already attending CR, but not quitting. I prayed and prayed and finally, God removed my desire for alcohol. It has been 6 months since I've had a drink and I don't miss it a whole lot and it's not white knuckling whatsoever. I honestly don't feel all that different. I have lost weight but that's because I started watching my food intake. I do feel blessed to have an addiction removed from my life because I'm sure it wasn't easy on my kids. My "drinking girlfriend" was so very supportive, she and I would have "Diet Coke dates." We don't spend as much time together anymore, but when we do, it's all good. She can drink if she wants and it doesn't bother me. If anything, watching her talk too much after a lot of drinking just clinches my decision and doesn't make me want to join in. I hang out with people from CR a lot, so no temptations there. So it can be done cold turkey. I was afraid I was going to have those DT's for sure! But I didn't.
Congratulations!!! I wish you a lot success and luck. You are lucky you did not have DT's because my loved one did when she quit the first time. It wasn't sever but she had them. She had cut down some.
I drank too much for far too long, specifically from 2003 until mid-2014. I know this because I did quit for a year back in 2002. That was thanks to Rational Recovery. More recently, I was feeling lead by the Holy Spirit to really question why I was drinking so much and why I blacked out so much and felt guilty and icky in the morning. I was drinking a bottle of wine plus some beer nightly. Sometimes I added rum to my beer for a quicker kick. My pastor did a series called Life's Healing Choices, based on a book and it's related to Celebrate Recovery. I was already attending CR, but not quitting. I prayed and prayed and finally, God removed my desire for alcohol. It has been 6 months since I've had a drink and I don't miss it a whole lot and it's not white knuckling whatsoever. I honestly don't feel all that different. I have lost weight but that's because I started watching my food intake. I do feel blessed to have an addiction removed from my life because I'm sure it wasn't easy on my kids. My "drinking girlfriend" was so very supportive, she and I would have "Diet Coke dates." We don't spend as much time together anymore, but when we do, it's all good. She can drink if she wants and it doesn't bother me. If anything, watching her talk too much after a lot of drinking just clinches my decision and doesn't make me want to join in. I hang out with people from CR a lot, so no temptations there. So it can be done cold turkey. I was afraid I was going to have those DT's for sure! But I didn't.
I didn't "quit". I stopped. I just got sick of drinking. Admittedly, I drank to cope and needed to cope so much that I drank when I didn't even want to. Considering how much I drank, I feel pretty lucky. I had no withdrawal and no real urge to go back. I don't miss it, don't crave it, don't want it.
However, the greatest struggle was in socializing. I didn't know how to have fun without alcohol. I became more of a homebody. And, worst of all, I no longer liked most of the people I associated with. I found myself pretty isolated after a while. So, it was a major adjustment. But it was the best thing I ever did. I learned to enjoy my own company and really value and thrive in solitude.
That is good news. I hope you stay sober and continue to enjoy life as simple as it presents itself.
I'm not an alcoholic....but I have had some really idiotic and pathetic experiences because I drank too much. So for me, if I don't really watch how much I am drinking......I turn into a total idiot.
Some people are really good at moderation and alcohol is not that big of a deal......1 or 2 beers and they do fine and don't become idiots. Many others, best to avoid alcohol altogether, it can be truly wicked and troublesome.
Addiction has a genetic component. Person A may do fine with moderation (whether alcohol, some other drug, or a behavior), person B may need to abstain entirely. There are likely multiple genes involved in this component of addiction. You won't know if moderation will work for you unless you try it. But you need to be honest with yourself and be prepared to admit it if moderation isn't working.
The rule of thumb is: if a behavior is causing you problems with finances, friends, family, health, etc. you probably want to change it. If you try to moderate or quit and can't, it's likely you have some degree of dependence. In which case you may want to get some help. Here's where rigorous honesty with yourself is critical.
I don't like the label alcoholic, or AA's insistence on substance abusers/dependents naming their "disease". Like many behavioral problems, addiction happens on a spectrum; it's not an on-off thing.
Addiction has a genetic component. Person A may do fine with moderation (whether alcohol, some other drug, or a behavior), person B may need to abstain entirely. There are likely multiple genes involved in this component of addiction. You won't know if moderation will work for you unless you try it. But you need to be honest with yourself and be prepared to admit it if moderation isn't working.
The rule of thumb is: if a behavior is causing you problems with finances, friends, family, health, etc. you probably want to change it. If you try to moderate or quit and can't, it's likely you have some degree of dependence. In which case you may want to get some help. Here's where rigorous honesty with yourself is critical.
I don't like the label alcoholic, or AA's insistence on substance abusers/dependents naming their "disease". Like many behavioral problems, addiction happens on a spectrum; it's not an on-off thing.
I agree with you Vasily on the label of Alcoholic. I had started a thread in the Alternative Health forum on this topic to assist others that may have developed symptoms of alcohol abuse.
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