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.
so I have had some serous addiction problems in the past mainly prescription drugs and sex but recently I have been doing some bad habits and was wondering if anyone could tell me if this is a bad habit. im looking for some personal experience help here not some do u think its a problem kinda help. :-) thanks so every night after my kids go to sleep I used to have a glass of wine. yes only ONE glass. but this past week or 2 ive moved up to a glass or 2 of liquor with juice. I just don't want to see me falling into the whole addiction state again. I don't see it as a problem but others do. now take into consideration I don't smoke or party. im a single mom of two children both with special needs and im a college student so I use it as a stress reliever. is this leading to a problem like others think it is?
My $0.02? Nip it in the bud. Switch to a cup of tea nightly. Definitely easier to stop in the long run...
Hugs,
Dennis
Keep doing your best, and stay focused on your goal!
In my experience with many years of drinking I have learned that other people could see that there was a problem long before I did. Even when I knew deep down that my drinking was not normal, I deliberately avoided thinking about it too much in the hope that I would not have to accept reality. Later still when drinking was completely out of control, I did not want to admit or accept that I could be an alcoholic and when I was left with no alternative but to finally admit it, I thought that I could fix it on my own without help from anyone. So as you can see, I was in denial about the problem at every stage of the journey into alcoholism.
I have nothing to gain by judging you or anyone else for that matter and I cannot tell you what is right or wrong for you. However, I can tell you what I think, based on my own experience. From what you have posted I can see that you find it necessary to justify your drinking: kids gone to sleep; only ONE glass; dont smoke or party; single mom; special needs; college student; stress reliever etc. Someone who does not have a problem with alcohol would not feel it necessary to justify drinking and would probably say something like: I enjoy a glass of wine now and again.
My wife is one of those normal drinkers and her recent relationship with alcohol may be of interest in that it shows how a normal drinker reacts. She would take one glass of wine and sometimes a second glass a couple of nights per week but there was a lot of alcohol in the house around Christmas and she ended up drinking more regularly. She has now decided to quit drinking, except when she goes to visit her sisters on Friday nights, when they will have a couple of glasses over the course of the night. Not drinking for the other six nights of the week is normal to her and she does not miss it, drinking tea instead. That is a normal relationship with alcohol but something that would not make any sense whatsoever to me because I was never a normal drinker.
In my opinion, you are developing an obsession for alcohol because you are finding reasons to have those few drinks every night. That obsession for alcohol is one of the symptoms of alcoholism. Perhaps more worryingly, you are beginning to drink more, moving from one glass of wine to two glasses of liquor (with or without juice makes no difference). The second sign of alcoholism is that once you take a drink you will crave more and that is what seems to be happening to you.
Therefore, to answer your question: Yes, your drinking is leading to a problem like others think it is. If I was a gambling man, I would bet that if you continue as you are, you will be in a pretty hopeless place with drinking within a few short years. However, it does not have to be like that and nothing would make me happier than to lose that bet. Difficult as it may seem right now, your best option is to quit drinking completely because it looks like you cannot drink safely. If you find it very difficult or impossible to quit or if not drinking makes you unhappy, it may be wise to consider getting some help.
Yes of course this could become a problem though not necessarily. I hear that you're concerned or others are concerned for you and you have some previous experience of using things to take you away from reality.
Having kids with needs or extra difficulties is tough. ..perhaps it makes sense to seek some support in this area and be mindful of the possibilty drinking might be or might get out of control if left unchecked?
P
BTW -- the switch from a glass or two of wine to mixed drinks can be a danger sign. Unless you are measuring the amount of alcohol in your drink, you might be adding more than an ounce and increasing your alcohol consumption by quite a bit. ("I'll just add another splash of vodka to my juice.")
But yeah, from what you've said here, IMO it sounds like you are headed towards a drinking problem.
The fact that you are even posting questions Also others seem to be aware but you can make that admission.
Example, is I loved cigarettes. Liked them alott. Smoked socially in college and even bought a few packs and smoked a few on my own. The very first time I recognized they were interfering with my lung capacity on a big run after smoking the night before....I quit. No need to think about it. It wasnt good for me, I felt ill effects, DONE.
Anyway, if you feel you *need* to moderate, you might seriously consider that you are in worse shape than you are willing to admit at the moment.