my alcoholism is spiralling out of control any sensible ideas to reduce it -AA isnt an option?

Question

i don't want to stop drinking just to drink slightly less, if your going to suggest turning to god don't bother im not an idiot so i don't believe in gods catholic. hindu. muslim. norse. roman or otherwise - just ways to get back to the equilibruim of drinking sensible amounts - im single so don't have any children to keep me on "responsible" adult actions

ok i reported abuse on the person suggesting AA and turning to god, i decieded when i was 17 not to learn to drive and to drink alcohol instead so im not a drunk driver or ever will be one - my normal habit is to drink in the evenings in the last couple of weeks i have started drinking in the mornings and sleeping it off with an afternoon nap - this is the habit i wish to break, not the night time drinking that i have done over half my life,

ahhh another one reported for suggesting i turn to the AA and god - if i wanted to turn to alcoholic counselling it would not be through a religious group like the AA it would be through a drug rehab center via my GP, qualified proffesionals not god botherers, some of you have come up with sensible suggestions such as have a soft drink between alcoholic ones or long drinks

a further note on the AA, I was christened a ROMAN CATHOLIC so if I were still religious, which i am not, it would not be to a METHODIST organisation I would turn to, it would be the Roman Catholic Church!

Answer 1

The last thing i would tell anyone is to turn to God, prolly the reason why a lot of ppl drink in the first place. U dont want to stop so no point in doing any programmes etc. U say u want to drink less, well that is really hard to control so when u get so far, u dont realise when enuf is enuf! To be totally honest with u, if yr drinking doesn't cause u or anyone else a problem i wouldn't worry too much. If u r aggressive with it then thats a different ball game. Maybe u shld be looking at what is the reason why u wish 'to drink less', when u have answered that maybe u r half way there. Good luck

Answer 2

You are aware that you have a problem. That is a major step!
I understand why AA isn't an option. You still want to be able to enjoy alcohol but on a more controlled footing. I am the same. My tipple is dry white wine. I am fine during the week. I don't need to drink before I go to work - but when I get home, or at the weekend I head for the wine bottle (well, box now, it is less expensive to buy it that way!). I tried low alcohol wines, but they taste pretty disgusting, so that wasn't an alternative! I find that grapefruit juice does the job! Just try to find a soft drink that does it for you at home and then when you go out you will be ready to have just 'a couple.'
I also didn't realise that AA were religion based! But I am aware that it isn't just idiots that believe in gods!
If this doesn't work then come over to our pub and join me for a drink - we can drown our sorrows together!

Answer 3

Its not the drinking that's the problem i think you should be dealing with the problem behind the drinking ie what is making you drink so much and believe me i know your thinking 'there is no problem I'm fine' no sorry there is something weather big or small that you have hidden and not dealt with. You are sooooooooooo not on your own i have personal experience of this and know how you are felling, 'how the hell did i get this bad and not notice' it creeps up on you and then all of a sudden you are p###ed more than sober. Your just ganna have to watch what you drink everyday and if that's is to hard i suggest you do not do this alone you need some help, and its not embarrassing to get help, i wish you luck i really do, please don't let it go as far get to the point where you cant drink at all, because if your feeling this now you are not that far away from that point, Good luck and best wishes xxx

Answer 4

I had your problem for the last 11 years. I had the determination to stop it sometime but never got the chance. On the 9th of oct this month, i got malaria and was bed ridden for 8 days.4 more days it took to recover and I then seized the opportunity that since I had lost the taste of booze the past several days,this was the moment to give it up.Beleive me,I have abstained till today. WHY? Because I really wanted to give it up ,but was searching for a break. and i got it..I also gave up smoking the same way in 1990 after falling sick.Man,you have to first be determined that u want to give it up. Then wait for an opportunity.No half ways.Either u drink and rot, or abstain and feel good like me. Hope I've been of some help to you or even others.Good Luck.

Answer 5

Replace your drinking with another activity such as joining a gym. Instead of sitting at home after work and hitting the bottle find something else to occupy your time.

Find yourself some sort of support system. Do you have some family or friends that can help keep you accountable for your actions?

Does your employer have a medical plan? If so, it will likely help to cover the cost of a councillor?

To get through your rough times you NEED someone to lean on.

Answer 6

You have begun the process by acknowledging that you have a problem and you are seeking help in addressing it, posting your message on here is evidence of that. You admit to a lack of control over your drinking. When something is affecting your social, physical, emotional, domestic, professional or financial life in a negative way then it needs to be dealt with.

There is no magic bullet, what works for one may not work for another. All of the answers, sensible ones anyway, will be relevent and one may be the answer that works for you. My own experience was that I realised one day what drink was doing to me, I don't know what it was that gave me that insight, I was not ready to stop drinking but I knew that I wanted to, I remember wanting to feel 'normal' without having to have alcohol in my system, to stop the shakes, stop the 'panic' attacks, to give me confidence. It was about six weeks later when I was unable to drink anymore after a binge, I was too ill to drink and 'dried out' for the nth time without any help ( I now know and should have then known how dangerous this can be )
I cannot explain how I didn't drink again, it is really 'one day at a time' and build on that success, I liken it to a light being switched on one day and remaining on, I don't know why I stayed stopped this time unlike the other times. I am not a particularly religious person, lapsed Catholic, but many times I had dried out before and after a period of five/six days I would be back drinking, cutting down of course, no spirits and just to be sociable, two weeks later the blackouts etc would be there again.
The reason I stopped the last time I believe was related to my unexplained, to me that is, realisation one morning six weeks previosly that I wanted to feel normal without having to have a drink at six o'clock in the morning so I could go to work and then coninue to top up throughout the day.
It was not easy, it was very hard, I had to change my way of life, find other ways of occupying my spare time, many people find the routine of meetings a way of adapting their life, nearly all my friends were people who drank like I did and were my friends because I drank like they did, mutual support, I only drank as much as the other guys,
But not drinking becomes a habit in itself, I am an alcoholic, I don't go to meetings, I don't lead a one day at a time existence, i don't need to anymore because I don't drink, not ever again. AA, rehab etc are great if they are for you but I know they are not for everyone, the most important step I believe is accepting that there is a problem that needs to be sorted.
I'm sorry for the long answer but I hope it may have helped you in some small way, if not now then in the future and if not you then someone who may be looking for their own answers.

I wish you luck with your search for an answer and hope that you are successful in reducing or stopping and staying stopped.

Answer 7

AA was never an option for you, AA is for people with a desire to stop drinking - not for people who want to cut down their drinking. As for responsible adult actions - you dont need kids to carry them out on a daily basis - keep yourself busy if you drink a lot when you have nothing to do. Keep an eye on your drinking though if you seriously try to only have a couple of beers and cant stop after one then Id suggest going to AA only to quit - not to cut down. If you said AA isnt an option becuase of a pride thing or ego then that could end up killing you. I go to AA and a year ago I would have laughed at anyone that said I had a problem, I drank too much and tried many times to cut down and failed each time - eventually I swallowed my pride and went into AA and havent looked back.

Answer 8

My drinking does spiral out of control sometimes. I'd say I'm probably a weekend drinker now although a couple of years ago it all got out of hand and I was drinking all the time.

Now I absolutely don't have 1 drop of alcohol in the house. I don't have a drink to "relax" while I'm getting ready to go out. I go out on a Saturday and instead of knocking back shots, wine, spirits etc. to try and keep up with everyone else, I have to make a really conscious effort to keep to single drinks and take it steady. Now I'll have a single Tia Maria in half a pint of coke to try to make it last. I am out tonight and i'm already telling myself that I'm not going to get drunk. Also, it's really interesting to see everyone else plastered when you're still in control.

Good luck.

Answer 9

if you know anything about alcoholism you will know that as you age your intake increases, I think you do ned professional help but seeing as you are determined not to go down that road at the moment why not try to get involved in something so that you have to stay sober, or every 2nd drink take a glass/pint of water?
Life should'nt be ruled by alcohol what a waste, you can enjoy a few but who enjoys the hangovers and the miserable depresion it causes even up to 3 days after drinking
sit down and hyave a good think do you really want to loose out on life for a stupid drinking session?

Answer 10

well buddy comin from and alcoholic family and watchung my brother disintegrate,he is now on the run for his umpteenth felony dui,i can tell you from experience....if your a serious alcoholic,you cant. its either quit completely or be a drunk,thats it,once youve crossed the line there is no "equilibrium" or "sensible" drinking,and just by the very way you worded this question i can tell that your not going to quit until you start getting into trouble....or maybe you wont and youll just throw it all away,drunk driving one day youll slam into a mini-van full of kids on there way home from a field trip,kill all of them but you'll live but you will be in prison for a long time possibly life and youll be somebodies *****,making raisin wine in the cell toilet,(personally i think thats most likely where you're headed)