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A few years back, I decided I was drinking too much beer/soda. So for 8 weeks before the end of the year I quit both. I lost 16 pounds, changing nothing else, no additional exercise or diet changes. My rationale was the soda was too much sugar and the beer was simply too many calories. I am back to drinking both but not nearly as much. I don't have a single can of soda in my home refrigerator right now, actually no beer either.......drank the last two beers yesterday.
The whole side of my fathers family had alcohol issues, ironically my father did not, he never drank. Some got help early, some wasted 30 years then got help. A good friend was racking up DUIs frequently and was forced to take an alcohol course which was a temporary epiphany for him. If you are getting stopped for suspicion of DUI you are likely going to jail, the tests are designed for you to fail. Don't believe me? Grab a smart phone and start filming yourself saying the alphabet backwards, you will look like an idiot and likely fail in doing it while completely sober. Cops are waiting for you to screw it up and then panic will set in for you.
Booze rarely is an advantage for anyone. If your asking yourself if you drink too much you probably are. Why not take a break and see if you really need or miss it? Google comedians that quit drinking. I always figured drinking was required to be that funny, yet Nikki Glaser, Bill Burr and others recognized it wasn't helping their careers and booze+microphone could end a career quickly.............(Michael Richards AKA Kramer meltdown as an example.........but no idea if alcohol was an issue that night).
Wow! Thanks for sharing the info.
Question: Didn't Winston Churchill drink a 'large amount' everyday and yet was not called an 'alcoholic'. What makes some people manage such a lifestyle like him and my friend without severe consequences for so long?
Winston Churchill had a heart attack in 1941 and multiple strokes in the years after. He had hypertension and atherosclerosis, both of which are aggravated by Churchill's style of daily drinking. His excessive drinking was well known in his day. "Alcoholic" is a layman's label for someone who is dependent on alcohol; there's not a single mention of "alcoholic" in the DSM-5, or in the literature on addiction. I'm a retired mental health professional -- substance use falls on a spectrum: at one end there are nondrinkers; in between are moderate drinkers, alcohol abusers, psychologically dependent drinkers, and at the far end physically dependent drinkers. Those who are dependent typically need assistance to quit drinking (self help group like AA or SMART Recovery, and/or working with a mental health professional); quite a few abusers can quit on their own, or learn to moderate their drinking. If you're dependent, all the evidence suggests you're better off abstaining.
Churchill was prescribed unlimited use of alcohol by a doctor after being hit by a car in 1931. Those were different times and heavy drinking wasn't always viewed negatively by society -- nor was smoking.
Winston Churchill had a heart attack in 1941 and multiple strokes in the years after. He had hypertension and atherosclerosis, both of which are aggravated by Churchill's style of daily drinking.
OTOH, there are those rare individuals for whom heavy drinking was beneficial --
Had to chime in again. Plenty of opinions, personal stories, etc. in this thread.
The bottom line is when it comes to drinking, overeating, whatever it is, if one is asking whether he or she is doing it too much, then the answer is highly likely a big fat YES. There likely have been warning signs from others and the person him/herself already noticed an emerging or an existing issue but remained in denial for a while or a long time.
Ultimately, it is only that person who can say, you know what? I am f*king drinking too much, or I am f*king eating like a pig. Look in that mirror and be honest with yourself.
No amount of stories, advice from others, etc. will truly drive one to change and change permanently other than being honest with yourself daily and putting in that work daily. Yeah, it sucks, it's hard, the timing may be off, you are tired, you want a drink, you had a rough day. Want to hear the truth? Nobody cares. Better yourself for nobody else will do it for you.
As David Goggins mentions in his book, callous your mind and your hands. Nothing is freaking easy. Sometimes we fall off a wagon and become a different person other than the one we want to be. Don't use the 'I'll do it tomorrow' excuse.
You know what tomorrow is? The day that never freaking comes...
Man up, look in that mirror and work to change. Put up Post It notes around your bedroom, living room, etc. with some motivating stuff if you need to. Switch those up. Do whatever it takes to push yourself. Schedule your day in advance.
Not directing the above at anyone in particular, but if you feel like you have been dishonest with yourself about something and leaving so much 'on the table' (unaccomplished), living with a habit you don't like, start the change today. Day 1 of a version 2.0 of yourself.
You're an alcoholic. Addicted to alcohol. And, obviously, in denial if you think just cutting down is going to fix anything.
Until you admit that and quit drinking completely and go to AA meetings, nothing will change. You might cut down for a week or two but something will always come up that will give you an excuse to ramp up consumption.
Attached are results of my friend's liver enzyme.
1) 13 Nov. 2019: Really high after several weeks of extreme indulgence.
2) 14 Jan. 2020: Normal after moderation. (It was January--not March )
Not saying anything For or Against--sharing something related to the original question and my friend's own life.
Attached are results of my friend's liver enzyme.
1) 13 Nov. 2019: Really high after several weeks of extreme indulgence.
2) 14 Jan. 2020: Normal after moderation. (It was January--not March )
Not saying anything For or Against--sharing something related to the original question and my friend's own life.
Those numbers indicate someone that has completely stopped drinking for 2 months. The liver does heal itself, as long as it is not too far gone.
Those numbers indicate someone that has completely stopped drinking for 2 months. The liver does heal itself, as long as it is not too far gone.
I know for a fact he didn't stop drinking for two months. But the doctor put the fear of God in him enough for him to moderate a bit. I can't say how much moderation, but he never stopped drinking. But some months ago he was in a situation where he didn't drink for 19 days and didn't miss it or had any symptoms. And he has been averaging at least 6-7 every day for almost 3 decades.
As I had said in a post above--not exaggerating one bit.
A few years back, I decided I was drinking too much beer/soda. So for 8 weeks before the end of the year I quit both. I lost 16 pounds, changing nothing else, no additional exercise or diet changes. My rationale was the soda was too much sugar and the beer was simply too many calories. I am back to drinking both but not nearly as much. I don't have a single can of soda in my home refrigerator right now, actually no beer either.......drank the last two beers yesterday.
The whole side of my fathers family had alcohol issues, ironically my father did not, he never drank. Some got help early, some wasted 30 years then got help. A good friend was racking up DUIs frequently and was forced to take an alcohol course which was a temporary epiphany for him. If you are getting stopped for suspicion of DUI you are likely going to jail, the tests are designed for you to fail. Don't believe me? Grab a smart phone and start filming yourself saying the alphabet backwards, you will look like an idiot and likely fail in doing it while completely sober. Cops are waiting for you to screw it up and then panic will set in for you.
Booze rarely is an advantage for anyone. If your asking yourself if you drink too much you probably are. Why not take a break and see if you really need or miss it? Google comedians that quit drinking. I always figured drinking was required to be that funny, yet Nikki Glaser, Bill Burr and others recognized it wasn't helping their careers and booze+microphone could end a career quickly.............(Michael Richards AKA Kramer meltdown as an example.........but no idea if alcohol was an issue that night).
The bigger issue is that the roadside sobriety tests don't really matter...when I was pulled over in 2008 after driving past a state trooper (on a slice of urban medianed interstate that NEVER has a police presence) at a clip of maybe 85 MPH, I was asked to say the alphabet backwards from the letter v to the letter d and did so with no issue...despite a BAC that was later measured at .11. (I also used to say the alphabet backwards for fun as a toddler, so I'm not exactly the typical case). Certain mental functioning (recall, creativity) can actually improve after a few drinks (I've read that .07 is the cognitive peak), but it declines pretty rapidly after that (and the descent is more stark than the ascent). Point is, I'm not sure that anyone's stellar performance at a recitation of the alphabet backwards or in a negotiation of the 'imaginary balance beam' is going to impress an officer enough to let one off.
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