Another binge

[NotAllThere]

Get married, it sorted my boozing out

Posted from under my wifes thumb

Didn't work for me. "Get me another beer from the fridge, love".

Not true. She used to nag at me for drinking so heavily. Then she stopped doing that, and let me go my own merry way. A year or too later I quit altogether.

[sasguru]

SY. If you want to 'pwn' Sasguru as you PM'd out to a dozen posters last night

I suppose that just proves what a sad fookwit he really is.
Does the poor sap really have nothing better to do on a Sunday evening, FFS?
What a cock.

[sasguru]

Didn't work for me. "Get me another beer from the fridge, love".

Not true. She used to nag at me for drinking so heavily. Then she stopped doing that, and let me go my own merry way. A year or too later I quit altogether.

I thought you quit this year?

[suityou01]

I suppose that just proves what a sad fookwit he really is.
Does the poor sap really have nothing better to do on a Sunday evening, FFS?
What a cock.

R....e.....s...i....s......t u.....r...g....e..... to .....pwn.....SAS

[Jog On]

The thing about drinking if you've been doing it for a long time is that it becomes habitual. Like AP said you need to look at changing your habits and replace the destructive ones for positive ones.

I've realised that there's a certain level of drunkeness I don't want to get beyond. I don't enjoy being in the too far gone state, I always say/do stupid carp, I pi$$ of my other half and other people around me, feel carp the next day both physically and mentally........ It's horrible stumbling around, slurring your words, repeating yourself over and over, getting aggressive - and then waking up on the sofa with a hideous hangover just to be told about all the stupid tulip you said and did the night before.


.....but I still do it anyway because like you after a certain point I will carry on until I'm paralytic and pass out if left to my own devices.

It's tough when you've been hedonistic in your youth and are adapting to becoming a grown up - what I'm trying to do is create a cut off point where i can sense I'm getting past 'fun drunk' and into 'not fun drunk'. Sometimes I've managed to remind myself of how it feels/the next morning/the fall out etc and say to myself "where is this going?" when I feel like I've just got to have another one. I'd like to just enjoy drink in moderation like normal people but I've got the demon...

However if I can develop an aversion to getting into the 'bad place' I'm hopeful that I might beat it.. It's WIP

[sasguru]

R....e.....s...i....s......t u.....r...g....e..... to .....pwn.....SAS

You are about as likely to pwn me as you are likely to hold down a contract for any length of time before bursting into tears due to your social and professional ineptness, oversensitivity and incompetence.
Don't think that because you have been tolerated here for a while that we have forgotten your initial bed-wetting tendencies that you have managed to suppress temporarily.

HTH

[alreadypacked]

Of course, when I started on the booze at 15, I quickly started using it to overcome shyness. That continued for quite a few years - using the booze as a tool. And that set the pattern I think.

Later I embraced hedonism and used boozing aswell as other drugs to blow my head off purely to escape the planet for a few hours. My motivation then was excitement and I fell for the peer pressure I suppose.

I think nowadays its legacy behaviour that i've childishly continued into near middle age. Someone earlier posted that I should grow up. I think that sums it up.

I have managed to quit smoking a decade ago. I know how hard it is. I don't feel addicted to boozing. I can go without. But once I start boozing I enjoy the feeling of freedom and recklessness and that's what I find hard to walk away from. I don't have the thing in my head that tells me when i've had enough and it's time to go home. I just don't think of restraint and common sense once i've had more than two or three pints. I think of recklessness, impulsiveness and excess - things I enjoy but don't do when i'm sober because I am sensible enough to reign it in.

So i'm knocking it on the head and going to grow up. At some point in the future, when i'm settled with a family I might have a few beers with my family on the weekend. But until I reach that point I can't trust myself to reign it in on my own, so i'm going to have to abstain due to the severe after effects I am now experiencing.

As you said you may not be addicted to boozing but the feelings of freedom etc.
Maybe you could replace how you get the feeling. You could try hand gliding, wall climbing or other extreme sports.

This would also get you fitter too

[aussielong]

As you said you may not be addicted to boozing but the feelings of freedom etc.
Maybe you could replace how you get the feeling. You could try hand gliding, wall climbing or other extreme sports.

This would also get you fitter too

I will give wall climbing a go. Considered it before. Good idea.

[suityou01]

I will give wall climbing a go. Considered it before. Good idea.

While sober! Remember this.

[northernrampage]

Smoking is one type of self-medicating, for compulsive personalities. Gives them something to do and relaxes them.
Giving up smoking is more difficult if you don't have a plan. You can't stop a habit, you can only replace it. Whether you realise it or not, that what you have done with smoking.

Drinking is a lot more complicated, as drink and effect you in many ways, lowering your inhibitions, making you feel more outgoing, forgetting your problems etc. The effects drink has on you can change depending on how much you drink. Was the self-medicating effect you wanted after the 3rd drink or the 10th.

aussielong, You need to get some help.

WSS.

I smoked from the age of 11 or so, when I did stop 20 years later I felt really weird for months. I was so used to using nicotine to de-stress/deal with boredom/whatever, I had to make a conscious effort to replace it with something else. And not be with people that got on my nerves too much down the pub. Then years later I stupidly smoked again when drunk so had to kick it once again.

Aussielong, I'd do what others say, as in replace it with something else, but also have a chat with your GP. Pretty sure most towns have alcohol advisory services, they may have counselling/group therapy/support groups. I know this as I come from a family of alcoholics and am always terrified about my own drinking and going that way myself so have checked out services in the past. Doesn't mean you have to go into endless therapy, but they should be able to give you coping mechanisms.

I've read other articles where people have tried AA, decided not for them in the long-term but done other things like hypnotherapy, yoga (and climbing) to give them something else to do.

I'm not an alcoholic, but it's always in the back of mind, for me it was very easy to drink too much when fed-up after bereavements, moving cities and losing my social network, and other things. I have no idea if it's genetic in my family, I think it's more likely learnt behaviour as I've always seen others do it at all times, but you can debate that all day. I've used it to deal with social anxiety, when depressed, when wanting to have a good time... list goes on. But your life doesn't fall apart without it, however it takes some time and effort.

I'd start by replacing the habit, and chat to your GP to see what help is available if needs be. Good luck with it.