Do you think going to Alcoholics Anonymous can help to get control of drinking?

Question

I know that I drink on a regular basis, and sometimes get drunk on the weekends like a fool like everyone else. I am an avid cook, and love to have wine tastings at my house and explore that part of the whole culinary experience (pairing wine with foods), but I think because I cook every night practically or have friends over, that I end up drinking like, 3 glasses of wine 4 nights a week and then have a blowout weekend just for fun. I told myself I would stop for a while, and I did, but then I'd cut into my celibacy against wine a few days early because i thought "oh who gives a ****"... etc etc. So I am thinking, maybe I am excusing myself from having a real drinking problem because I am hiding it behind the mask of it being a "culinary thing". I've been thinking about going to AA a lot but I am not sure if I want to pledge complete abstinence from alcohol, just control. Serious control. And perspective too.. Is this making sense? I would love serious thoughts only pls.

Answer 1

AA is not about controlling drinking, it's about a way of life that revolves around God and AA. Stopping drinking is secondary, but mandatory.

Here's some practical tips on stopping or cutting back:
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkTooMuch.html

Or, if you want a group, try Moderation Management. They have few face to face groups, but they do have online support:
http://www.moderation.org/

Answer 2

in AA some say to ask yourself- do i drink more than i set out to and do i drink when i don't want to. if you answer yes to both you might be an alcoholic. AA is about abstinence so it may not be for you unless all the places I've been to are nothing like where you live. if you think you have a problem you probably do. just make sure your working on the right one. in part i drank because i was depressed. turns out the depression was caused in part by the drinking. so now i don't use. life is never perfect but it's a lot easier to handle when I'm not constantly poisoning myself.

Answer 3

The recovery rate of AA is almost the same as quitting cold turkey - about 5%. It is not an effective program, though some people do find it helpful. It would be better to talk to your doctor and have them recommend a treatment program that fits your personality and psychological state.

One glass of wine per day is healthful. A man should drink no more than three glasses of wine per day and a woman no more than two. You're fine except for the weekend binges. Those need to stop altogether - they can raise your blood pressure and cause other problems. If you could hold to just having a glass or two a day and not drinking to drunkenness you would be fine.

Answer 4

Most people do not give up drinking unless they have determined that drinking has caused them some serious harm - either psychologically, physically, etc. For instance, alcohol has broken up marriages, estranged members of families, caused car wrecks, DWI's, and a host of other problems. Most serious are health maladies. There is evidence that heavy drinking (averages of 6 drinks a day) can over time enlarge the heart with scar tissue three times its original size. Drinking also causes gallstones, often resulting in a peircing pain and emergency surgery to remove the gall bladder. This, in turn, causes temporary digestive difficulties. During weekend binges such as you mentioned, you then have fatty liver for several days. Without at least two days for your liver to clear out (abstaining completely), then your liver remains fatty. This condition is not serious and actually has no symptoms. But, over time, it can lead to more serious conditions such as fibrosis (cirrhosis).

A common fallacy I hear often is, you can't get cirrhosis unless you drink a fifth of hard liquor every day for 20 years. I asked a doctor once, and she told me this is not the case, that heavy drinking (somewhat similar to what you drink) can eventually cause liver damage or health problems. So if you consider that you could be going down a rough road, then I'd say you should at least cut back, give your liver some time to clear. And, webmd.com says to hold the binges to 6 or fewer, otherwise there can be some minor scaring and damage.

I'm not sure if I answered your question. Just giving you some reasons to consider going to AA. Drop in on a meeting and listen to some of the people talk. No harm in that.

Answer 5

AA can give you a social click....and in some cases might help you find a life....but no more than going to church or going a cult type of group. AA isn't the AA of 25 - 30 years ago. This I can reassure.

28 years ago I stopped drinking with a plan similar but different from AA. I stopped bending my elbow to my mouth and started to think about the consequences of my drinking and who, besides me was getting hurt. That will snap you back into reality for sure. It was for those about to DIE from drinking - I chose life instead.

CJinNC

Answer 6

To be an alcoholic you have to be addicted to alcohol as far as I know. AA will help people who have made the commitment to stop drinking. I don't know that AA can help anyone who does not want to stop drinking. I don't know if you are an alcoholic. You could talk to your doctor and get a professional opinion. Or talk to the people at AA and see what they say. If you are not an alcoholic it sounds as though you are working pretty diligently at becoming one. You don't want that. It is better to stop drinking if this is what is happening. Can you control your drinking? If not then definitely get help before it is too late.

Answer 7

It will help. I know a lady who has been going to AA for over ten years and says listening to all the problems others are facing due to their abuse helps her remember all the reasons she left drinking. So it never comes to "what the *****" that easily. She has been clean that long!
It does depend on your personality type so you'll have to try it and see if it works alone. Medical texts will usually mention using medication (prescription only) such as chlordiazepoxide in severe cases of withdrawal. You must gauge your symptoms to withdrawal, and get help accordingly since that problem is outside the domain of AA. So in the initial phase you will need to work with a doctor (GenPractitioner will do). Your situation is not that bad though from what you have written, but usually one tends to understate the amount. This is what this paragraph addresses. Good luck!

Answer 8

Yes, I think going to a few AA meetings will help you gain some perspective on your drinking. You can go to any "open" meeting and you don't have to "declare" yourself an alcoholic. You may however learn alot about being an alcoholic and the feelings and thoughts behind the disease...and it is truly a disease...

I hope you gain what you seek...good luck

Answer 9

to me you dont sound like and alcoholic you sound like you enjoy drinking but acoholics drink to get drunk and they feel they have to have it and sometimes it brings out bad thing in them maybe what the problem is how much you drink a day it is ok to drink wine every night in fact doctors say it healthy but maybe you should count down to one glass a day

Also you need to do some soul searching on why you drink so much is to make you happy make you forget all your problems a social thing you really love wine and when you find out then make the right step

Answer 10

You can go to AA to sit in and observe. You don't have to commit to being an alcoholic just because you go to a meeting. From the meetings and the people there, you can help to determine if you are an alcoholic or not.