I drink, almost every night , to help me sleep. Even before I had my first drink I had great difficulty sleeping (I can sometimes not sleep at all, even if I am tired) I drink too much though. I wake up with a need for water and sometimes a very dry throat, but I am sober, and I generally do not suffer hangovers.
Apart from the cost, dry throat, and occasional upset stomach, this drinking does not affect my lifestyle. I can still function at work (in fact function is an understatement as I often astound people with my abilty to solve virtually any problem that all others would be clueless about).
I am nowhere near the stage where I will drink during the ‘day’ (I put that in quote marks as I work nights so my ‘day’ is everyone else’s night). Not a soul in the world (other than the thousands of dopers who may see this thread) knows that I drink. Let alone how much I drink.
Obviously - I am worried about this, I am killing braincells (getting less intelligent. Intelligence being something I deeply value and cherish in myself) and walking the first few steps on the road to becoming a bum. But I am the most incapable person in the world at breaking habits.
Am I an alcoholic?
What is typical alcoholic behaviour?
How much, per day, would a typical alcoholic drink?
I don’t think its measured on how much you drink, but in what way it affects your life. As you say, you are in control in work but what about other areas of your life? Do you feel its becoming a problem?
I think maybe you are concerned enough to post about it … maybe you should check out AA etc and perhaps talk to someone there.
It is necesary for me to drink to get to sleep because when I have been drinking, I fall asleep relatively quickly. Whereas when I haven’t been drinking, I lay awake for hours, sometimes until it is time to get ready for work.
It is because you don’t have to be drunk 24/7 to be an alcoholic that I suspect I am.
Without hesitation - my answer to that question was - The alcohol has the upper hand, for now. (I have a few tricks up my sleeve to combat it, but for various reasons I am not using them yet. one of them being that it is not a serious enough problem)
I apreciate the wellwishing. I didn’t know there was an alcoholics anonymous website. I will ckeck it out.
Lobsang, I’m glad that you spoke up. My husband used to drink 12 tall boys a night, pass out, then go to work with fully functioning thinking skills the next day. Fortunately, stopped altogether about fifteen years ago. His brother has continued to drink and is showing signs of brain damage. Such a waste.
It is never going to get any easier to stop than it is now. But unless you want to kiss off the idea of having a decent life this go round, then you really have to get this under control.
AA has saved a lot of folks and that may be exactly what you need. Those twelve steps are there to help you break the habit. But since you have sleep problems, you might want to consider seeing a physician who can help you get something non-addictive to help you sleep – at least until you are alcohol free.
I once knew a young man who was only four or five years older than you when he shut himself up in a cheap hotel room for the purpose of drinking himself to death. It was three days before his father found him barely alive and literally carried him out of the hotel in his arms – the son was that frail.
I would also suggest you see your Doctor about the sleep problems… there is an underlying reason why you are not sleeping and having problems… drinking is only covering up the symptoms, not dealing with the cause of the problem. Get to the root and you’ll sort this out for once and for all.
And the fact that you’re concerned enough to post means you are ready to take the steps to do something about it.
Good luck to you and keep us posted ok??? {{{{{{{{{hugs for Lobsang}}}}}}}}}}
Go to a physician BEFORE you go to a self-help group. While AA-style programs do work, they are not effective for all people. First, see if there is some kind of underlying physiological problem that you are “self-medicating” by means of ethanol. For that, you need a doctor.
My first impression would have been that a nightcap before going to sleep doesn’t really hurt. But if you’re feeling that you are becoming or already are an alcoholic, then that’s a different story of course.
Good luck in finding a middle ground - restful sleep and not descending into alcoholism.
It is heartening to see this concern when I/a doper levels with the other dopers with a genuine worry. I thank you all very much!
Strangely - the questions and FAQ on the link provided by Ice Wolf (thankyou) seem to suggest that I am not an alcoholic. (Although I won’t let that be an excuse to be complacent)
I am in a bit of an awkward situation here in the Isle of Man - There are far too many people per doctor. When I first moved here I compiled a list of close(ish) doctors. I rang every single one of them. All of them were full (were not accepting new patients)
I should probably re-iterate, in case anyone is really worrying about me, that it is not too serious right now. As I have said I can function, and I seem to get enough sleep after the drinking to be alert the next day. I think I have the type of personallity where problems sort themselves out once they reach a certain threshold. My ‘problem’ used to be worse than it is now. The thing is - now, even though I drink less than I used to, My life is more worth living than it used to be so the [lesser] drinking is more of a problem. There will be a day when I say to myself - “I would rather get no sleep, than drink myself to sleep”
Again - I am heartened by the concern showed here.
I could have used the exact same words to describe my drinking frequency, except is was not “to sleep”. I stopped about 15 months ago, and I am not an alcoholic. I was a “Problem Drinker”, according to the AA Big Book. Drinking too much does not make you an alcoholic, but drinking too much can be a symptom of alcoholism.
Sounds like a sleeping problem. Work on that, and just stop drinking alcohol. Drink a goddam glass of orange juice instead, or milk and cookies–“they” say that helps one to doze off. I myself used to love to get drunk, and made a point of doing it as much possible; it then tapered off to a need for a minimum of 2 beers at night, every night. Now, after finally convincing myself that what the fuck good did two beers do me?–why not orange juice or milk?–it made me just as (not-) drunk (or, put euphemistically, mellow) as the two beers. Now I’ll only drink that beer or two at a party or if I have some private reason to celebrate with a Guinness or something while reading or watching a good rental.
Judging from your posts, seems like you can do what you want; so do what you want to do.
And as for sleeping, develop some kind of ritual (turning on white noise, reading a boring or already-read book), and you’ll eventually figure out how to get to sleep. If that’s what you want.
Just want to re-iterate the doctor thing. If you are hurting your liver, you have an alcohol problem. Call them all again, and tell them why you need to see them.
When was the last time you tried to sleep without the aide of alcohol? Is it a chronic problem or epidsodal? cleops gives some good alternatives to alcohol for sleeping aides. Alcohol is fine in moderation. But using it everyday to help you do function in a way your body should naturally function is not good for you.
To expand on UncleBill’s post, excessive drinking is one of the main symptoms of alcoholism, but does not in itself automatically mean the person is an alcoholic. The “problem drinker” can stop on his or her own, but the alcoholic generally cannot.
Here is what the Big Book says:
Lobsang, it sounds like you have determined that you fall into the category of problem drinker rather than alcoholic, so that gives you some idea of what direction to go in now. Good luck.
Lobsang – I am with you there. I have recently put to question my need for alcohol. I personally would consider myself an alcoholic yet I can quit cold turkey and the only “side effect” I have is getting to sleep.
My father had the same problem, it took him about a week to regulate his sleeping patterns, if that helps you. I, however, am a night owl so the sleep pattern remains out of wack.
I drink only on the weekends now. You might try melatonin (I think that’s right) to help with sleep. It’s up in the air as to how safe a synthetic hormone is, but it’s 'sposed to help regulate your natural melatonin. It didn’t work for me but nearly nothing does unless I went to a serious prescription, which I am not willing to do.