First ask yourself a question, "Am I drinking alchohol to become less stressed or simply drinking in order to avoid thinking about the things that are worrying me and making me stressed?"

If it is the latter then you should try to ananlyse what is worrying you and confront your fears. You will probably find that things are not as bad as you thought.

Also because of the addictive properties of alcohol you might be kidding yourself that things are worse than they are and getting worried and stressed as an excuse for drinking.

thanks for the advice

Riddles

oh, that is a tough one Riddles - one little drink doesnt matter as it just relaxes you a bit, but then if it is too much then addiction steps in, doesnt it...and then, as Simon says, you will worry about the addiction. Try to cut down a little? I have a drink every evening just to loosen up my brain, but I dont want this to grow to more..:(

Yes, try to cut down. Also maybe think about joining the Alcoholic community if you feel you need to. I've seen too many friends go down that road. Hugs.

Thank you folks, hugs to all of you.

Riddles

Riddle's there are many medication's that will help calm u down. Maybe go to a therapist and u will have a profrssional to talk too. My son became addicted to drug's and alcohol and he almost died, Please do get help-{HUG'S}-ILGY

I tried alcohol for my stress and all it did was make me feel worse. Think of the after effects. Nausea,hangover headache and so on.It's also a depressant so it's just a temporary fix.I manage my stress by riding my mororcycle. Get your mind on something relaxing.Find a hobby.Good luck.

thank you, a hobby could be good, but where to get help from i have no idea

riddles

I would suggest as i also practice. Find out the triggers that bring stress about, Then either remove them and or make ajustments accordingly. Alchole is the result of the problem, its the stress that has to be put in place and resolved.

I like what SimonM posted. I found I was mostly the latter. So I started analyzing the problems. First ask yourself a question, "Am I drinking alcohol to become less stressed or simply drinking in order to avoid thinking about the things that are worrying me and making me stressed?"

If it is the latter then you should try to analyze what is worrying you and confront your fears. You will probably find that things are not as bad as you thought.

If you are having mood swings you may be using the alcohol to self medicate.
I use to turn to alcohol to block out the things I found difficult to deal with in life. All the alcohol did was make me forget for a short time and then my depression or my stress modes would be compounded. It is well known alcohol is a depressant. Not a good solution. I stopped the drinking and faced the demons that seemed to haunt me during that period in my life. You may want to see a doctor and see if some type of medication will help. Natural things you can do are exercise, eat healthy and stay busy so you dont rely on drinking so much. Find time to spend on a hobby or event you really enjoy. When I analyzed my behavior of why I turned to drinking I found my problems where mostly financial and relationship issues that kept me up at night and then I would drink to try to help me sleep. (or rather forget the problems) One of the things I did and still do is make a list of what I need to accomplish the next day. I put the priorities at the top of the list to make sure they where done or faced with how to deal with the next day. I even take a small note pad to bed with me to add to the list or write down what is bothering me if I wake in the middle of the night. Journaling helps me a lot. I let the paper do my worrying and it is there the next day to handle appropriately. When I do the journaling I sleep better because instead of stressing all night I know I can deal with it tomorrow. It is surprising in the morning how silly some of the things are I was stressing about. I totally stopped drinking and that helped tremendously in my out look. Try staying away from the alcohol. In time you will still have problems and maybe mood flips but you will have narrowed out one of things making the problem worse. This was my personal experience hopefully you will find some help in it. Good Luck.