Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
Hi Everyone,
I am Joseph, Im 18 and live in England. In January something quite upsetting happened to me and at first I didnt start drinking, it was about 3 weeks later I had a drink...it was a Wednesday night and I kept thinking about it over and over in my head and in the end I bought a bottle, after that I found myself drinking most nights just as a way to forget what happened for a couple hours.
I realised I should probably stop drinking about a month after I started and cut down on drinking, I went 12 days without drinking and it didnt bother me that much at all however I went to a party on the 12th night and drank a bottle of vodka to myself throughout the night and I found myself drinking every night from then again.
After the 6 days I spent drinking I stopped for 5 days which became a little bit harder to resist and I started drinking again every night, my usual drinks are either 2 bottles of red wine or 1 bottle and 6 cans of vodka and coke.
I have finally stopped drinking for over a day and Im on day 2 now but I didnt realise how hard it would be and think I might need support with this, so does anyone else out there now if I am an alcoholic or may just have a problem because I dont actually know if I shoulod even go out for a drink with friends at the moment.
I am Joseph, Im 18 and live in England. In January something quite upsetting happened to me and at first I didnt start drinking, it was about 3 weeks later I had a drink...it was a Wednesday night and I kept thinking about it over and over in my head and in the end I bought a bottle, after that I found myself drinking most nights just as a way to forget what happened for a couple hours.
I realised I should probably stop drinking about a month after I started and cut down on drinking, I went 12 days without drinking and it didnt bother me that much at all however I went to a party on the 12th night and drank a bottle of vodka to myself throughout the night and I found myself drinking every night from then again.
After the 6 days I spent drinking I stopped for 5 days which became a little bit harder to resist and I started drinking again every night, my usual drinks are either 2 bottles of red wine or 1 bottle and 6 cans of vodka and coke.
I have finally stopped drinking for over a day and Im on day 2 now but I didnt realise how hard it would be and think I might need support with this, so does anyone else out there now if I am an alcoholic or may just have a problem because I dont actually know if I shoulod even go out for a drink with friends at the moment.
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check out that smoke ring. It tasted really good. I smothered it with Maulls BBQ sauce which is Local to St. Louis and one of the best I ever had.....
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I was recently separated from my wife of 33 years and it's complicated. Anyway I rented a room about 15 minutes away and I see my kids about once a week. I see the people who own the house I live in once in a while but other than that I stay in my room where I do my cooking, wash dishes in the shower, read, color, and sleep. I get out at least once a day. I grocery shop and I attend 2 meetings...
I wouldn't worry about terms or names at the moment, but for me if you use alcohol to numb/hide the pain then that can be a problem and could lead to long term use or dependency
I'm still struggling and admit I use alcohol to get a quick fix, i.e numb the feelings of worry/stress or whatever, the problem is it's a short term fix and when the booze wears off the problem is still there, so you'll drink again and repeat, a vicious circle mate
maybe try addressing what happened, have you anyone to talk to? support group, help lines whatever, a problem shared is a problem halfed mate honest, otherwise it's wizzing around your head doing it in
best wishes English.
Nobody here can say if you are or are not an alcoholic as it is something that you must decide for yourself. However, we can give an opinion and based on my experience with alcoholism I would say that you may have a serious problem with alcohol. In order to successfully treat any problem, it is first of all necessary to find out the exact nature of the problem and for that reason I would encourage you to learn about alcoholism.
Alcoholism is a condition that affects the drinker in two ways, with part of it being in the mind and part in the body. The mental part is an obsession that develops for alcohol and you are exhibiting signs of having that obsession. You have been drinking in response to something that happened and that can become a habit that is difficult to break. You found yourself thinking over and over about alcohol until you bought a bottle; you stopped for 5 days which became a little bit harder to resist and I started drinking again every night and those are signs that you have developed an obsession for alcohol.
The second component of alcoholism is an abnormal reaction that develops in the body (not in the mind) once an alcoholic takes a drink. This leads to a strong craving in the body for more alcohol and it explains why an alcoholic will keep drinking when other people will have stopped after a couple of social drinks. The amount that you have been drinking once you start would suggest that you are developing this craving for alcohol or may already have it.
A person who has developed an abnormal reaction in the body to alcohol will always have this reaction and can never go back to normal drinking. One drink will always set off a craving for more and if such a person drinks, even after being sober for a long time, he or she will immediately develop a craving for more alcohol. The only solution for someone who has developed that condition is not to drink at all and then the craving for more cannot develop.
If you can go out with your friends and limit yourself to a couple of drinks and maybe go out some nights and not drink at all (and feel happy about it) then you probably have nothing to worry about. However, if you find yourself unable to control the amount that you drink or find yourself making excuses to justify taking a few drinks you may be an alcoholic. I often drank because as you put it, something quite upsetting happened or at least that was why I thought I drank. Later on I learned that those things were only excuses that I used in order to justify the drinking to myself. The real reason that I drank was because I had developed a mental obsession for alcohol and once I took a drink there was an abnormal reaction that produced a craving for more.
I'm glad you were all here to save me from making this mistake I just wish I could have helped you the same way, you all seem like such nice people and I hate that you have to suffer with this, if anyone wants to talk I am here for support and goodluck to you all...stay strong!
Good Luck!
I was sexually assaulted at a young age and started drinking in my late teens so I wouldn't feel the pain. This turned into addiction pretty quickly since I have many in my family tree who are addicts or alcoholics. You may need some additional help with this so please reach out to a professional soon.
Laura
Most people who question whether or not they are alcoholic are or they would never question it. Even if you're not an alcoholic you are drinking way too much for all the wrong reasons
Most people go years and years before they put their hand up, and say ' I think I've got a problem...'
good luck with it.
T is my 4th day being sober now but I do get cravings quite alot, I go on a 2 hour walk in the nights now as thats when theyre usually the worst and I know if I walk out into the country where there is nothing there then I know there is no possible way I can get a drink. so I think I can get through this but I will talk to someone...
Where do you go for help though?
I'd like to share a personal story that may or may not be applicable to you. I started to binge drink getting wildly intoxicated 2/3 days a week while in college at 19. I was daily drinker 2 years later at 21, not intoxicated every day, but still getting hammered 2/3/4 times a week. At 23 I was about to graduate college, by the skin of my teeth I might add, and 2 weeks before finals I decided it was time to "grow up" and stopped drinking. I stopped for 2 weeks give or take a day or two. I got bored one night and decided to go to the pub and listen to a band and see some friends. Before I knew it I was wildly intoxicated. I vaguely remember going on a rampage destroying property at the college causing a couple of thousand dollars of damage (1980 dollars). It could have been far worse as I overturned a water fountain in the anthropology building on the first floor and the artifacts from the Jamestown, Virginia settlement were stored one floor below in the basement. There was some flooding in the basement from the overturned water fountain, but thankfully none of the artifacts were damaged. As a result of that I stopped drinking for 11 months, but I was not done getting wildly intoxicated. I did it much less frequently, but increasingly handcuffs became the outcome of these binges quicker. My 20s were pretty much wasted in a holding pattern.
If you read all the way down to the bottom of the article you will see that many sufferers drink to cope with the overwhelming feelings that PTSD causes you to feel. Not sure if this is what you are dealing with but wanted to pass the info along to you just in case.
I have PTSD and drank to try to cope with the horrible feelings it caused. After I got sober I learned a lot about it and I no longer have any symptoms. The important thing is that you get help from a counselor for what you are specifically going thru. Don't wait reach out today. And feel free to friend me and personal message me anytime. Laura