A Problem with liquid happiness

[OniaPL]

As the title says, I'm having trouble with liquid happiness, a.k.a. Alcohol. As of late, my work has become very time consuming and all I can think of during the week is the pint I'll get to enjoy on friday; expect it's not just a pint on friday. Nowadays I spend more time drunk than sober during my free time, and I am starting to resent that fact.
It's not that I seek to get drunk all the time, but the minute I'm sober my friends or family are offering alcohol to me (because it makes me happy but only momentarily). And when I sober up, I get depressed, and then drink again. I'm stuck and I'm feeling worse and worse once the alcohols effect wears off. I'm stuck and wondering what to do.

Any helpful advice?

 

[Esotera]

Just try really hard to reduce the amount you're drinking, and do it gradually. Instead of drinking in the week try doing some exercise instead as it will also make you feel good after doing it, and only drink on the weekends. My current plan to reduce drinking is to cycle/walk to uni every day, and only drink on Fridays/Saturdays. I don't always stick to it but the important thing is that any lapses are pretty rare & not that big a deal.

Wanting to reduce your alcohol intake is half the battle...and keeping up that motivation is pretty much the rest of it.

 

[krazykidd]

Stop being sober .

Joking aside. Drink in moderation . When you've had enough ,stop. Drinking is not about getting drunk. Drinking is finding the perfect balance between sober and drunk,stopping there and enjoying yourself.

 

[akai]

Just ask your friends and family not to give you any alcohol anymore, tell them it's not really helping the situation in any way and they'll understand. If it's too extreme or too sudden for you to stop drinking, then you can ask them to watch out for you and not let you go overboard in the future because you're worried about your health.

 

[Linksmash]

This might prove controversial, and it certainly doesn't work for everyone (Avoid like the plague if you have an addictive personality) but years ago, when i was developing a bit of a problem during a period of unemployment i weaned myself away from the booze by using pot as a substitute.

 

[Lightknight]

As my buddy Dan once told me, the only way to truly avoid a hang over is to never stop drinking. True to his word, he kept open liquor bottles next to his bed and generally never stopped at any point that I knew him. He's also quite dead at the moment which was directly related to his addiction. So there were two lessons in his one.

I'm a big fan of alcohol. I love trying new things here and there but my pursuit is never to get drunk. A couple beers and I'm good and have maybe found a new beer brand that I like or a new mixed drink I enjoy to try again another time. I understand that there will be more drinks later and have no need to rush them in now. I say that just to give you a reference for where I'm at.

What you've got here is an actual addiction. Either psychological or physical (perhaps both). Your particular brand sounds like alcohol dependence [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_dependence] (rather than alcohol abuse). My best advice to you in the short term is to find another outlet for you. Activities, hobbies, people, etc. Learn to say no to drinks and take time nursing the ones you have. Don't just swig it down but try to enjoy the drink and pay attention to it if you're going to drink. Maybe even become a bit of a drink snob and turn down the cheap watery beers that most parties have.

But at the end of the day, it's a disease. 12% of American adults will have this in their lifetime so it isn't particularly rare either. You may find this embarrassing, but you've also got to try to get your friends and family on board.

The most important thing is that if you recognize that this is a problem you need to act now. It only gets worse the longer you wait. The problem with this disease is that you can continue it even while seeing that it's a problem. I'd encourage you to get a support group if possible.

 

[HardkorSB]

I'm stuck and wondering what to do.

Any helpful advice?

Erm, stop drinking?
I see the old "drink in moderation" advice here but from what you wrote, you always want to drink in moderation but are unable to do so. You've developed a habit and i personally think that "shock treatment" is the best option here.
Stop drinking for 2-3 weeks. It would also help if you would stop going out for a few weeks as well. Your friends and family will understand.

Also, despite the bad image associated with it, going to an AA meeting can help. You might not think of yourself as an alcoholic but just think about this - if someone was taking ecstasy or mushrooms as much and as often as you drink, would you consider him a drug addict?

 

[WenisPagon]

The most important thing is not to dismiss it as a trivial problem. Alcohol is actually significantly more dangerous where addiction is concerned than other common pleasure substances like nicotine and marijuana.

If you have a problem with drinking more than you initially intended, you may well have developed an unhealthy dependency. Treat it as such and get some help.

 

[Whispering Cynic]

Based on your description you indeed seem to have a problem and it is the kind of problem that is very likely to keep getting worse if left unsolved. The best thing you can do is to stop drinking for an extended period of time, that itself should help somewhat. If you can't go cold turkey, try tapering off gradually. And seek proffesional help if you can't do it on your own, you really don't want this to ruin your life.

I can't really claim to have any practical experience with this sort of thing, so you might want to take the aforementioned advice with a grain of salt...

 

[an annoyed writer]

In addition to what's already been said, I've got one thing to add: DO NOT attempt to walk or exercise when heavily inebriated. My mother just had to go to the hospital yesterday because she tried walking while wasted and broke both parts of the socket of her ankle. She had to go and get surgery to repair the thing and can't walk right now.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I used to drink half a bottle of vodka a day for about three years with short breaks
Then i stopped
Alcohol is one of the worst things you can consume
Now i feel like i am half asleep all the time

 

[Ryleh]

Do you enjoy your job? Do you feel like you get energized from it? Is there some other aspect of your life that's draining you?

I found when I worked my dead end office job I could not resist getting drunk. I couldn't stop myself from starting, and I couldn't stop myself from having more. I'd challenge myself to go one day without a drink and fail.
So I did everything I could to create a better lifestyle for myself and start anew. It's taken a year, but now I can get through the day without a drink.

I see others have mentioned the importance of exercise - this is a huge help. I forced myself to go down to the gym and sign up one morning before I could think of any excuses and the change was noticeable almost straight away.

The only other tip I have is to not go cold turkey. Just gradually decrease how much you drink until you can still enjoy a pint on a Friday afternoon without going nuts. It's a gradual process a bit like dieting, if you place heavy restrictions on yourself you run the risk of getting disheartened by the lack of immediate results and/or binging.

 

[ShipofFools]

Ha, I feel you, OP! Don't listen to people who say you should "just stop drinking", they obviously don't know what you are talking about.

Moderation, as in everything, is key, but I understand that it can be pretty hard when you really need that buzz to feel human again.
Now I can't recommend you anything, but I used to be in the same situation you are. And I solved it by adding more and different buzzes to my life.
Tobacco, some weed, lots of Civilization 5... if you go looking for it, I'm sure you'l find something that works and is right for you.

Good luck mate.

 

[Jarsh82]

It sounds like your alcohol consumption is a side effect of you feeling shitty about yourself. You should ask yourself why you feel depressed.