Grrrr scourge of my life. Every Saturday or Sunday I wake up with the heebie-jeebies and hate myself. I need to quit drinking, or cut down severely but it’s hard when nearly every social occasion here is in a pub or a club and there are so many damn pubs and alcohol is so damn nice.
Whiskey you’re the divil, you’re leading me astray!
And it’s also made me a walking stereotype to be sure to be sure.
Don’t feel bad I’m part latino and latin looking, work at taco bell and mostly do cleaning jobs.
Alcoholism is a major problem to deal with, and certainly more complicated then suggesting something like “well just get soda pop at the pub”.
Check around for local support groups and what not. It might seem ackward but lots of people have had the same problem.
Everyone in my close family sans my aunt, (and me cause I had heaps of bad examples so shunned the stuff) has went through an alcoholic phas and that’s how they got out of it.
Alcohol isn’t the problem.
Irresponsible use of alcohol is the problem.
If one can’t use it responsibly, one shouldn’t use it at all.
I couldn’t use it responsibly, so I gave it up.
(Not to imply that giving it up was easy. It took me years of trying to quit along with a number of inpatient treatments. But it’s been over 17 years since my last use)
Good luck with that.
And if you’re ready to quit, consider calling a mutual-help group (like AA and others). They’re free.
Do your pubs and clubs not serve soft drinks, juice or water? I understand the momentary social pressure to “Just do one shot with us!” but really, if you say no and aren’t an ass about it, they’ll just do the shot without you and 45 seconds later, they’ve forgotten you weren’t in on it.
Volunteer to be the designated driver, or drunk-person-walker-home or some other position of responsibility.
Blame it on your doctor, or your mother, or your job or class tomorrow. I’m all in favor of white lies to avoid social drinking, if that’s what you want to do. In a civilized society, “no” would be answer and reason enough, but in this reality, people are nosy.
Bottom line: it ain’t the booze, it’s you. You get to choose how, when or if to use it. And if you can’t choose wisely, then choosing none at all is the best course of action.
Some people can cut down, but I couldn’t, so I had to quit. Ask yourself this: When you drink, can you predict in advance when you will get smashed, and when you will only have one or two? Or is it a crapshoot every time? If you answer the latter, you will find it difficult to cut down. Very difficult. Been there, done that. 9 years sober, one day at a time.
Well here (maybe it’s the same everywhere) it seems like you’re making a big thing of it if you’re in a pub and not drinking. Then people get defensive, as if you’re looking down your nose at them. I’ve heard of some people drinking blackcurrant from a wine glass or drinking other things and pretending they’re alcohol. Alcohol-free beer is also popular. I don’t need to drive when I’m heading out so volunteering to be the designated driver ( I can’t drive) wouldn’t work. There’s also the major problem of everyone getting monged drunk and having to listen to them. I think I’ll just have to avoid pubs except if I’m going to concerts etc. I’ve had a few bad experiences drinking, and countless good ones. I just worry that it encroaches too much on other parts of my life, lowering my physical and mental health, and my economic output.
Ah we use it (friends and family) to mean the paranoia, depression and sense of guilt you feel after a night of excessive drinking.
Talk to a counselor who specializes in alcohol abuse. I speak from experience. I’ve had issues with alcohol and talking to somebody really helped me get my shit together. I still drink now but I’m much better at not overdrinking.
We dopers love to help but we aren’t a substitute for expert help. Only somebody who has the time and expertise can rightfully analyze your situation and advise you to either quit, be more careful, or stay the course.
Well, if you care to talk more about what happens when you overdrink, then I suppose we could talk about it, but I must re-iterate to seek help.
I endorse this pitting wholeheartedly. Ow ow ow.
I don’t get too hammered anymore simply because I fear the hangover, but I’ll have one or two 5 days a week.
If you’re not driving, your drinking is limited to weekends, and people aren’t acting strange around you (and you have no idea why), I don’t really see what the problem is. Enjoy.
OK, but why is there this immediate assumption that the OP is an alcoholic, or even has “alcohol issues” or whatever?
Because normal drinkers don’t post stuff like:
I’d like to pit chocolate, the way it’s so sweet and tasty and leaps into my mouth and forces me to gain weight and my teeth to rot.
“Don’t you have a shred of empathy?”
Not in the Pit, not in abundance.
I was a drunk from a long line of drunks on both sides of my genetic family. I had problems with all intoxicants. Once I started feeling a buzz, I couldn’t stop drinking. Like you I suffered terrible hangovers. I also made terrible finanacial decisions because of my drinking. Yes, I also tried unsuccessfully to cut back, drink only beer, only one per hour, etc. Sooner or later I’d end up going on a bender. People asked me “Why can’t you just stop?” I didn’t have an answer.
Like Doctor Qadgop I also went through 12 step fellowships to stop using intoxicants. I have been clean (sober, whatever you want to call it) for 13 years now. I hardly go to meetings anymore, maybe every 3 or 4 months. I go to bars to see bands and drink either non-alcoholic beers or a soft drink. Nobody cares. If they do care that I’m not drinking, I don’t care what they think.
I still meet women, still date, still go to concerts. Yes, I quit those things for a while. I was married. I probably woulnd’t go to a function whose whole purpose was alcohol-related or alcohol-driven, like, say, Mardi Gras. Overall my life is much improved for my decision.
If you are able to cut back successfully and still enjoy alcohol moderately and responsibly, I say have at it. Enjoy. But if you have to quit alcohol 100%, then check out AA or NA or rational recovery. If you don’t like the God stuff, talk about it in the meeting. Try different groups until you find one that works for you.
Meh. I might’ve posted something similar myself last week or the week before when I drank more than I usually did. Hyperbole =! alcoholism.
No one but you has mentioned alcoholism. Some people have shared their personal experiences, and offered support to someone who expressed a desire to quit drinking. Is this a bad thing now?
So, people are out of line when they take “every Saturday and Sunday” to mean every Saturday and Sunday and don’t make the common sense assumption that it is hyperbole?
Let’s focus on the data posted by the OP in this thread, shall we?
[ul]
[li]I pit alcohol[/li][li]Scourge of my life[/li][li]Every Saturday or Sunday I wake up with the heebie-jeebies [/li][li]and hate myself[/li][li]I need to quit drinking[/li][li]or cut down severely [/li][li]but it’s hard [/li][li]alcohol is so damn nice[/li][li]Whiskey you’re the divil, you’re leading me astray[/li][li]it’s also made me a walking stereotype[/li][li]it encroaches too much on other parts of my life[/li][li]lowering my physical and mental health[/li][li]and my economic output[/ul][/li]Now counterbalance with the positive things the OP has said about alcohol in this thread:
[ul][li]I’ve had a few bad experiences drinking, and countless good ones[/ul][/li]
Add in that the author of the OP is in Ireland, which has one of the highest rates of alcohol abuse and alcoholism in the world.
And you expect me to ignore that, and assume it’s all hyperbole?
I will take the post at face value unless/until the author of the OP comes in and says he/she was just blowing off steam, and really doesn’t mean those things.
I did say Saturday OR Sunday lol.