Thanks for this positive thread. Resonate with about everything that has been share. I never post on the message board but decided to do so now. Alcohol was a huge problem in my life and a struggle for 20 years. I am now sober for a 18 months, although I couldn’t have done it by myself.
I have read through this entire thread, and it has been amazing hearing people be open and honest about their struggles. I began to get concerned about my drinking about a year ago when I realized I was slowly increasing the amount I drank daily (about 3-4 drinks per day). Over the past 6 weeks I decided to break the habit, and have only had 9 drinks total since then. I have already lost weight and my mood has improved. I also have lost the desire to drink daily, and have no alcohol in the house.
I realize many of you have had/have a much worse drinking problem, but I wonder how many are in the camp of "I am not an alcoholic, but I really should cut back on the sauce" camp.
I have read through this entire thread, and it has been amazing hearing people be open and honest about their struggles. I began to get concerned about my drinking about a year ago when I realized I was slowly increasing the amount I drank daily (about 3-4 drinks per day). Over the past 6 weeks I decided to break the habit, and have only had 9 drinks total since then. I have already lost weight and my mood has improved. I also have lost the desire to drink daily, and have no alcohol in the house.
I realize many of you have had/have a much worse drinking problem, but I wonder how many are in the camp of "I am not an alcoholic, but I really should cut back on the sauce" camp.
Think of a Venn diagram where EVERYONE who eventually became a full blown alcoholic is within a circle that includes people that have said this to themselves. But the entire circle of drinkers that have said that to themselves intersects with just a very small portion of the alcoholic circle. Meaning, it's perfectly normal to believe you should cut back, and that doesn't by itself mean you have a problem. But believing that you need to cut back, left unchecked, is absolutely a precursor to having a BIG problem.
So my advice is to take stock of where you're at with your drinking on a regular basis, like you have. Because the level of abuse can creep up very slowly, over months or more likely years. At which point you've crossed that Rubicon, and now you've got a real problem.
But this is VERY important, don't think you need to get to the point where you apply the word "alcoholic" to yourself before you decide it's time to stop. And by stop, I don't mean cutback. I mean, just remove it from your life. I don't know anyone that when they got sober said "well, at least that last year of two of drinking was the best part". It's actually the polar opposite.
I have read through this entire thread, and it has been amazing hearing people be open and honest about their struggles. I began to get concerned about my drinking about a year ago when I realized I was slowly increasing the amount I drank daily (about 3-4 drinks per day). Over the past 6 weeks I decided to break the habit, and have only had 9 drinks total since then. I have already lost weight and my mood has improved. I also have lost the desire to drink daily, and have no alcohol in the house.
I realize many of you have had/have a much worse drinking problem, but I wonder how many are in the camp of "I am not an alcoholic, but I really should cut back on the sauce" camp.
Think of a Venn diagram where EVERYONE who eventually became a full blown alcoholic is within a circle that includes people that have said this to themselves. But the entire circle of drinkers that have said that to themselves intersects with just a very small portion of the alcoholic circle. Meaning, it's perfectly normal to believe you should cut back, and that doesn't by itself mean you have a problem. But believing that you need to cut back, left unchecked, is absolutely a precursor to having a BIG problem.
So my advice is to take stock of where you're at with your drinking on a regular basis, like you have. Because the level of abuse can creep up very slowly, over months or more likely years. At which point you've crossed that Rubicon, and now you've got a real problem.
But this is VERY important, don't think you need to get to the point where you apply the word "alcoholic" to yourself before you decide it's time to stop. And by stop, I don't mean cutback. I mean, just remove it from your life. I don't know anyone that when they got sober said "well, at least that last year of two of drinking was the best part". It's actually the polar opposite.
Good post you are spot on. Quitting drinking means you are smart, it doesn't mean you definitively have an issue. The knee jerk reaction to someone quitting shouldn't be "that person must have a serious problem". It should be "good for them, improving just about every aspect of their life" I think this applies to cutting back as well, though.
Honestly this thread has been a massive help to me and I had read through it a few times before finally making a change. Nice in a strange way to hear from like minded people with similar interests struggling with the same issue. 116 today.