Thread: Anyone here stopped drinking because they thought they might have a problem?

[QUOTE=ponyboy;1512219]I can go out and have only a couple of beers, but every now and then (probably once a month) I have a night where I get totally out of control. Last night I don't remember half of what I did and apparently some of it was pretty stupid. I also tend to say and do things I would never do sober and it's starting to worry me a little bit because alcoholism runs in my family.

Is getting completely sober the kind of thing where you just cut yourself off from booze completely? I know that I would like to be able to still enjoy a nice bottle of wine when out with the g/f once in a while and the occasional summer patio beer. Anyone here ever had a problem like this? I think it's basically binge drinking but there's like a little trigger in my head that says "have more". And I know it needs to stop. Any advice? Others say I have a problem because I don't drink during the week and that makes me feel like I can binge on the weekends.

For me....that happens nearly every weekend. They say alcohol brings out the extremes in people, for me that works in the fact that 1-8 large beers i'm really witty, sharp and good natured, 8+ i can become riske and an obnoxious arrogant dickhead.
But i don't want to stop, as weekends can be really dull without a good session to void all the troubles of the working week. I'm all or nothing too, can't have just one beer, and I won't bother having one at all if would only be a quick one in the pub.

I have a problem. The last maybe 4 months I have drank average 5-6 days a week. I usually drank average 10-15 drinks. Weekends will consist of getting drunk friday night, crashing on someones couch or bed and waking up and drink the half can i fell asleep with. Then continue to drink.

I did this on the weekend again. I crashed out at 3.30am, woke up at 7.30am and by 3pm I found myself walking around the neighbourhood, listening to my ipod and thinking I wasn't even that drunk. Continued to drink till 3.30am then woke up Sunday at 11.30am and started drinking till 2am, woke up at 7am for work.

As I right this I feel fine. Not sure if i am hung over, or what. Feelings of being sober and drunk have kind have merged.

I am trying to stop because I look at myself now and wonder how this happened when a year and a half ago I drank maybe once a month.

I am worse with food than with drinking, but I have had some nights where I wake up the next morning wishing I had cut myself off sooner. I only have one incident in my past where I actually forgot a portion of the night, I apparently took a nap in a restraunt bathroom which I do remember going into, but the next thing I remember was getting into a cab with my friends. I didn't drink for a good while after that incident because my stomach actually was bothering me for three days afterwards. "Wanna finish my drink for me? Umm, sure." - no more!

Its probably not that uncommon because I see bar regulars who drink heavily night after night, which is pretty gross.

Originally Posted by goob

For me....that happens nearly every weekend. They say alcohol brings out the extremes in people, for me that works in the fact that 1-8 large beers i'm really witty, sharp and good natured, 8+ i can become riske and an obnoxious arrogant dickhead.

Past 8 and I'll be in the bathroom so much pissing, you will probably forget I was there with ya!

I am the master of self destruction when I drink. I stopped drinking because I would piss people off, get into fights, destroy private and public property, and the list goes on and on. I wouldn't hide what I was thinking either. I don;t hold back anything with you guys, and when I start drinking I start saying what I think to the people around here rather than holding back. I have pissed a whole lot of people off. Not that everything I said wasn't true, but some things are just better left unsaid.

I do like to have the occasional few drinks when I go out. Usually about once or twice a month I go out and have a few drinks. Generally it is no more than 4-5 over the course of several hours, which isn't bad at all for me as I weigh almost 200 pounds. I haven't had a binge issue in a while. Only if I go to visit a friend at college once in a blue moon, or some such occasion, will I go further than that. Even then I try not to.

In my past I used to drink more, but I didn't even really like getting like that. I still regulated my total intake most of the time, but I just did it more frequently. However, I have certainly had my moments of extreme drunkenness. I have never blacked out from drinking, though I did puke once.

I have friends with your same issue. They are pretty good during the week but tend to binge a little out of control on the weekends. You're not alone, and it seems like a common thing. I don't know if abstinence is the answer. The people I know that do it see no problem with it, they figure that as long as it isn't fucking up their lives and doesn't progress further it's okay. They see no reason to quit the weekend partying, so I can't tell you from experience, or through my friend's experiences, if abstaining is the best idea.

How long have you been battling with this?

i tend to get retarded on the weekends. i'm really stressed most of the time right now so thursday-saturday night are my partying/relaxing days. i don't do the whole alcoholic thing and drink straight through but i'll have a couple of drinks a night each day. there is usually one day out of those where i get really stupid drunk, like two weeks ago where i drank so much i passed out, threw up and blacked out for like 3 hours at a club. woke up at 830am, got home, showered and went straight to work for 14 hours. its a lot of abuse on my body, but i'm in college and want to party.

Probably only a habit not an addiction. It is only a problem if you feel that you cant stop it anymore.

Originally Posted by Vieope

Probably only a habit not an addiction. It is only a problem if you feel that you cant stop it anymore.

Wrong, most addicts don't feel the need to stop.

Ponyboy,

Most of my family has been through some sort of rehabilitation for alcohol. Some stopped cold turkey, many had relapses, many had self-realizations etc. I guess I picked up on this trend early, regardless of being around it all weekend, every weekend, I have only drank once in the past 6 months or so. Feel free to PM me if you feel I could be of any help

Originally Posted by goandykid

Wrong, most addicts don't feel the need to stop.

What did I say?

Dont ever say Vieope is wrong.

I see no problem in letting your hair down and getting ripped once in a while.

Mind you I am not the best person to ask.

Im only 19, but a few years ago (like, from age 14-16) i pretty much got drunk every night and went down in weight to about 8 stone from 10 or 11 when i got really bad. Id binge on the weekend, but after a whole week drinking conservatively (hah).

I got over it and gave up for about a year, then started drinking again, still pretty heavily (old habits die hard, eh?) but not quite as bad as before. The difference was that i started to turn into a really angry, violent drunk, and started to abuse it again. Thankfully nothing serious ever came of it, and ive been 100% sober for a year and a half, and plan on staying that way.

I have an incredibly addictive absorbant personality. I will literally get addicted and obsessive with ANYTHING. Its a problem in every facet of my life, but when it comes to substance abuse it goes from being a personal problem to a potential issue for everyone i come into contact with, and possibly a danger to my health.

Thats why i never drink anymore.

God forbid i ever try any sort of drug. I can safely say if i got addicted to something with a difficult "getting clean" property, such as heroin or something, i would die.

If you can make yourself control it, then i dont see any problem with anybody drinking, taking drugs, excessively fucking everybody in sight etc etc. But thats as long as you can control it. I still go out, go to parties, and hang around with people who drink a lot, and shoot up/get stoned/trip out, but i have enough mental power to stop myself from even taking that first step.

If you can go out and have 6 drinks instead of 12, then do it. Dont deprive yourself of a good time just because you think you shouldnt be drinking this much.

It could be a problem. I have never wanted to be in a position of being out of control and luckily I haven't. I know when to stop. Normally 2-4 beers is plenty for me.

Originally Posted by Vieope

What did I say?

Dont ever say Vieope is wrong.

So sorry.

I drink every single day, most days 6-8 cans of lager or cider but at the weekends i always go out on a friday and drink 8-10 pints lager/cider saturday go to the pub watch footy 6-8 pints come home and carry on drinking cans and usually the same on sundays.I must be very lucky as i have never had a hangover, headache and my mates know when ive had enough because i go quiet....

To answer your question, short answer - YES. I did. A few years ago. Haven't had a sip of alcohol since 2003.

Originally Posted by ponyboy

Anyone here ever had a problem like this? I think it's basically binge drinking but there's like a little trigger in my head that says "have more". And I know it needs to stop. Any advice?

Sounds like the trigger in my head, too. So what did I do? I stopped altogether. Not even a nice glass of wine once in a while. Having none of it is better than running the risk of that trigger going off, and I really couldn't control it once I started anyway. So long as I didn't start, though, I was fine. I never CRAVED alcohol, and never felt dependent on it. Just happened when I was already drinking.

I can't say that's the best way to address your particular situation. I just know that for me, the all or nothing was the best approach. I don't miss it. Heck I don't even like alcohol. I don't know why I drank to begin with. It was just what you do in college, when you are out with friends, so I did. And it kinda carried into my post-college life, as it does for a lot of people.

Bottom line is that if you feel (and obviously you do) that it is a problem you need to address, then it IS a problem.

I used to have a lot of out of control nights late in high school and early college years. After my freshman year in college, I consciously cut down the nights where I would get totally wrecked, which was almost always five of the seven days of the week (no more chugging, beer bongs, etc.). The last time I got totally drunk to the point where I didn't remember the entire night was on my 21st birthday.

Sometimes it's hard to manage casual drinking nights (just having a few) since everyone else I hang out with will get drunk and then you feel like the odd one out, but I have been better about not taking it too far as I've always known liver disease has run in the family, plus being stupid all the time isn't worth it (especially getting older).

I know and accept that I have a drinking problem, it's sad to say but it's true. I drink 7 days a week and that's not good. I don't get hammered every day but I do drink every day. With me I think the fact that I drink every day has actually helped me control myself, I used to go out like 2-4 times a week and get absolutely wasted to the point of blacking out. I am slowly learning how to drink in moderation, now when I go out I drink slower and can maintane myself. I do still have my wasted nights though, like lastnight I got blackout drunk and when I broke my hand.

It's funny because everything good in my life happens because of drinking, but everything bad that happens in my life is also because of drinking. I wish there was a happy medium.

I didn't drink in my teen years and hardly at all as an adult. My dad drank frequently, sometimes every night, while I was growing up, but it wasn't to inebriation, so I was passivated to it when I met my ex, who drank regularly. I didn't think much about it, they just did it. Both had addictive personalities. After I turned about 30 or so, when sulfites began to be used regularly in wines and beer as preservatives, I couldn't drink at all without getting a massive headache. Thats a very heady duty incentive not to touch it, period. Sulfites screw up the metabolism of vitamin B12.

It wasn't until earlier this year that I happened on information on how to reduce this issue (use of molybdenum chelate supplements plus taurine), that I was able to enjoy an occasional beer. Once every 1-2 months, I have a couple of shots of whiskey, over several hours. Not even enough to get more than mellow.

Pain is a powerful inducer of behaviors. I doubt I will ever drink much. Now that I understand what alcoholism is, and recognize it, I don't tolerate it so well in those around me. Seen bad things happen to people who are alcoholics, but I also understand the chemistry behind it.

Dopamine, serotonin, and melatonin are related, all are made in liver with just two enzymes, both require methyl donors. But with respect to addictions, there is one helluva big difference between a food addict, like Mudge and I have experienced (which is serotonin-based) and nicotine, drug, and alcohol addictions, which are 5-HT dopamine shortage-related.

I don't think there is much cross-over in the addiction end between these types, but there is in the energy metabolism outcomes for all of them: insulin fuckups, from liver disease. Interesting how that ties in, fatty livers, screwedup sleep, screwed up hunger, and impaired polyamine chemistry in liver that can slowly wind its way to the fully addicted state.

Generally speaking, where you find addiction, you find depression. And where you find depression, you also find melatonin-related problems with late night cortisol control.

I also was an avid drinker - Until I did my first cut. I stopped completely for the first 2 months, then allowed myself one drink every other week until I was at my goal %.. The first week sucked for getting sleep, because the drink before bed did the job for me.

Now is a completely different story, now that I realize how I had screwed up my body by drinking so much.

Granted, when we go to Vegas, it all goes downhill and we drink ALOT - but doesn't everyone there?

Drinking affects your brainwave activity
which in turn affects hormone production, and sleep patterns

SO no I choose not to drink, its a lifestyle
Alcohol is expensive and alters your personality

I like being "ME"

plus hangovers suck

Back in the day, persons who didn't indulge were known as T-totalers (people who had their act together)

Originally Posted by The Monkey Man

Drinking affects your brainwave activity
which in turn affects hormone production, and sleep patterns

SO no I choose not to drink, its a lifestyle
Alcohol is expensive and alters your personality

I like being "ME"

plus hangovers suck

Back in the day, persons who didn't indulge were known as T-totalers (people who had their act together)

You are you all the time. Your perception of yourself may be different when drinking but none the less you are yourself. Maybe you dont like being you, thats why when you drink you realise this? Just a thought.

I drink more than anyone I know personally. I am better off than most of them too, yet I admit I have also lost more than most of them have ever had.

Originally Posted by Mista

You are you all the time. Your perception of yourself may be different when drinking but none the less you are yourself. Maybe you dont like being you, thats why when you drink you realise this? Just a thought

Ummm -



... No

Alcohol alters your mindset, so you are "YOU"... (Modified) while drinking

If you drink a bunch, you probably handle yourself well
and don't illicit a dramatic behavior shift when intoxicated...

I just don't like drinking, or drinking activities anymore

Originally Posted by The Monkey Man

Ummm -



... No

Alcohol alters your mindset, so you are "YOU"... (Modified) while drinking

If you drink a bunch, you probably handle yourself well
and don't illicit a dramatic behavior shift when intoxicated...

I just don't like drinking, or drinking activities anymore

For me I feel more myself when drinking. I speak more and dont regret what I say.

I agree with the bold statement to an extent.

Like I said I am more free to be myself when drinking, and there are times when I almost act drunk when not drinking because I am in such a good mood.

If you enjoy yourself enough to not need a drink to have fun good for you, I can too but drinking usually push starts me.

Mista, MM is totally correct (post 25).

It does change brainwave patterns and hormone production. It tends to bring out normally repressed character traits.

Its certainly not the same 'you' sober vs intoxicated.

Originally Posted by Trouble

Mista, MM is totally correct (post 25).

It does change brainwave patterns and hormone production. It tends to bring out normally repressed character traits.

Its certainly not the same 'you' sober vs intoxicated.

I dont deny this.

After retyping this post 3 times I have come to the conclusion I dont know myself.

I drink every now and again, nowhere near what I used to. I used to do the get smashed and then pass out Thurs-Sat and then stopped. I got sick of losing the sleep so I pretty much drink a 6 pack and chill out 1, maybe 2 nights a week. I typically don't go out, though, so I may have 2 or 3 good beers and watch a football game.