The Demon Drink

Alcohol can be one of the little pleasures in life. I have met many people who didn't like the taste, but none who didn't like the buzz. I happen to love both the taste and the effect it has. It makes me happy and more social. In fact, it is probably the social lubrication aspect thatIlove most. I can't remember how many good times I've had drinking, but I know that there were many a laughs had.

There are some problems, however. When you're raised in an environment where the goal of drinking is to get as drunk as possible, as fast as possible, there are bound to be some negative consequences. Fairly recently, I have discovered that whenIstart drinking I can't stop. There is something compelling me to drink more and more, faster and faster. What a fool I am for giving in to these impulses, and what a fool I must seem to everyone else in thevicinity. Slurring words, making jokes that can't be funny and basically acting the fucking eejit.

So, where do I go from here? Do I continue down this road of excessive alcoholconsumption, which could so easily lead to full blown alcoholism, should I try to moderate how much I drink or should I just quit altogether? It is probably worth noting that I have tried to quit before, and was successful for over two years. Again, in recent times, I tried to quit on a number of occasions but kept getting sucked back in. It's all these damn social events that have me fucked. They are just not the same unless you have a few drinks, but I can't seem to be able to have just a few drinks.

At this point I have to say that I am not an alcoholic. I do not drink every day. I only drink once a week, with twice being the maximum. But, one of my biggest fears is becoming an alcoholic. It could so easily happen when you are raised and live in a culture which places so much emphasis on drinking. And recently I have felt something within my drawing me towards drinking during the week. During the day, even. It's almost as if the part of me that had become so used to smoking weed everyday has changed it's focus, now that I have been off weed for a year. I've heard that it is a slippery slope. It's easy to slide down, but coming back up can be near impossible.

Advise is welcome, as is your account of whatever experiences you have had.

Cheers

updated by @kelly3: 02/14/15 08:27:59AM

You do not have to drink everyday or wake up and drink to be analcoholic. The major symptom of alcoholism is not being able to stop. A binge drinker is someone who drinks maybe once a week (or more) but can not stop til they pass out. A binge drinker is an alcoholic.,

I know this sounds corny but AA has helped a lot of my friends. My friend in Mississippi would be dead right now if it wasn't for AA.

Drinking can bepleasant. You loose your inhibitions. Alcohol is not allowed at gatherings ( A Camp does bring alcohol, but they have to stay on the perimeter. And they cause a lot of problems.) The reason is it not allowed is because of the violence it causes. Fights and disagreements happen often because of the lack of communication. Alcohol makes your brain work funny.Just like giving euphoria and the ability to feel comfortable in social situations, it starts to do the opposite. When you let alcohol control you, it is time to stop drinking.

Thanks for your input.

AA could never work for me. All that giving up to a higher power, etc, doesn't sit well with me, being a staunch atheist, as I am. And, to be honest, I don't think I need it.

Alcoholism has different levels, sure, and I would fall under the category of binge drinker (keep in mind that a binge is anything over 4 pints), but I still wouldn't call myself an alcoholic. I looked up the DSM criteria for alcohol and I don't even come under the category of alcohol abuse,never minddependence (alcoholism) , according to the list.

Alcohol doesn't affect my daily life. It is only whenIhave had a few drinks that I have troublecontrollingthe input. I can have 2 or 3, but when I go over there is no stopping me. I rarely forget what happens and almost never have hangovers, but I will still drink way more than I should.

Agreed. I used to be a heavy drinker, some might say alcoholic, Ididn'tthink so but it was excessive far more than you described for yourself and mixed with prescription meds. Today I have a host of internal problems from it, liver and kidney disfunctionplus digestive issues. Definitely take it easy alcohol is a dangerous substance and can on its own cause death. unlikeeverybody'sgreen friend! haha

Little said:

I have Chronic Pancreatitis as a result of excessive drinking. Slow down I'd say.

I'm pretty similar to you, I've stopped drinking recently since it got to the point where everytime I'd drink I'd 'black out' for a few hours and not know what had happened in the past few hours, or wake up in the morning with no idea how I got to bed. I actually woke up in my bed with grazes all over me and with three broken teeth haha, I'm not sure if i qualify as an alcoholic either but I would definitely say that i have a problem with alcohol as I can't just have a little.

im 1 that despises the taste and the buzzz the buzz more then the taste if im offered something special ill take a drop a sip just big enough to touch my tongue and taste on cristmass a 1/4 glass of wine bout 3 big sips i feel and hate

you think its fun you think it makes u more sociable but its the oposite it makes u a drunk idiot that nobody likes to be around except other drunk idiots

ill give u an extreme example without using najmes cause shes trying to improve but shes a hard core alcaholic says she cant have fun without alcahol

ive seen her drunk ..fun? its a horror

crying hystericly with a knife to her throught or ranting in a rage over something very minor

day after day not knowing what the hell she did the day before

checking her car for bloid not knowing if she killed someone driving home completely blacked out

losing every freind she had her family too

1 abusive relationship after another (i dont mean simple abuses like nbeing mean i mean beatten to death and revives=d spending a week with a fractured skull and no medical care having boiling water thrown on her..etc etc etcf

and these are the things alcahol has convinced her is having fun

thers nothing fun aboiut alcahol its pure evil

its poision

it poisions the body mind and spirit

and your life

quite bow and never take a sip again it will be the best desicion u ever made

hows it sociable when nobody can understand you or stand beingf around you

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

i had 1 blackout..one was enough for me i quite then and here and havent touched any since i was 20

i was on my way to a problem then drinking heavily and daily

stoppoing was the smartest thing i ever did

taye gatherings are the safest place u can ever be ive sat by trade circle when someone took off their clothes and left them there we found 1000 dollars in the pocket they were hung in a tree so he could find em 2 weeks later he comes back and his thousand dollars were still there

but a camp i go through at 4 or 5 am when they are passed out to avoid them i dont go back till i leave

there were gatgherings where everey single 1 of them had black eyes and i had a guy on main trail trtying to get me to punch him

there were others where someone was hit with a shovel

alcahol makes loving people dangerouse

its evil

and i avoid any contact with it at all costs

Duncan Dodsworth said:

I'm pretty similar to you, I've stopped drinking recently since it got to the point where everytime I'd drink I'd 'black out' for a few hours and not know what had happened in the past few hours, or wake up in the morning with no idea how I got to bed. I actually woke up in my bed with grazes all over me and with three broken teeth haha, I'm not sure if i qualify as an alcoholic either but I would definitely say that i have a problem with alcohol as I can't just have a little.

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Dude you dont need our opninion on this. if your worried about the effects of drinking.... dont drink... If you think you are fine and can handle it.. then drink...

I believe you are an alcoholic once you believe that your an alcoholic. Considering all the concern you obviously have, i would slow down...

I'm definitely not an alcoholic. I should have updated by now, but I went out last week and stuck to a moderate drinking regime. 1 pint per hour for 4 hours and then stop. That was all I had and I stayed out for the rest of the night. My problem comes whenIget drunk. It is then that I push the limit as far as it will go. I will stick to moderate drinking for theforeseeablefuture.

Anyway, even whenIwas drinking a lot when Iwent out, it still didn't even classify as alcohol abuse,never minddependence, according to the DSM IV.

My main concern was that I felt the urge to drink during the day, which was a new urge that I never felt before. I know better than tosuccumbto such a notion, having smoked heavily for years and trying for ages to quit. That, and I was getting wasted when I went out. After a certain point, I just go for it. I wrote the original post on a whim, after a night of heavy drinking. This site is great for asking advise, and everyone is helpful. It really is a great community. There is no harm in asking for advise.

Spencer Mcduffy said:

Dude you dont need our opninion on this. if your worried about the effects of drinking.... dont drink... If you think you are fine and can handle it.. then drink...

I believe you are an alcoholic once you believe that your an alcoholic. Considering all the concern you obviously have, i would slow down...

I'm struggling with this now... and seriously want to quit. I think about it daily.... Really sucks.