LOCKED TOPIC
I drank a lot last night.
I drank a few German import beers (sooo good) and a few glasses of wine. It didn't affect me at all. Everyone else drank a couple glasses of wine, three or four at the most, no beer, and were tipsy.
I guess there are some perks of being a recovering alcoholic.. not much bothers me anymore. I'm working on finding a balance with alcohol. I don't want to be afraid of it for the rest of my life. I did awesome last night. I drank just enough, but I didn't get tipsy at all.. which is huge for me.
Are there any other recovering addicts here? I've always been curious about how many of you are hiding! I'm technically 3 years sober, though I have thought I had some serious slip-ups, though I realized that it's all part of my sobriety. I view my own sobreity as.. well, not drinking at all for 3 years, then deciding it was time for me to stop being so afraid of alcohol. I would freeze up when there was a bottle of ANYTHING in the room. Another aspect of my sobriety is never using ANY illegal drugs again. Not even in moderation. Maybe it's cool for some people to use in moderation.. but not me!
Inspire me! I want to hear stories. I hate AA meetings because it's all military or court ordered. I don't relate with any of those people :(
Reason: Locked; inflammatory off-topic posts
Well I'm not a recovering alcoholic. The story I have to share is about my cousin in 2001 he was drinking and driving and he hit a woman and her husband the woman didn't press charges but the state did so he spent 6 years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. It was a rough 6 years for the family because then my other cousin got into the bottle himself and was drinking but he checked himself into Teen Challenge and they help with recovering addicts and since all that has happened I don't drink that much at all and when I do I won't drink at a bar very often unless I am with fiance then not very much. I won't even work at a bar because frankly I don't want to be around drinks and no offense to those that do work at a bar that is your preference. Don't be afraid to have a couple drinks just be aware of what you are drinking and congratulations on your sobriety I'm sure it is not easy for you at all. I hope I am helping you by telling you these stories and you can do it. I know that I am afraid of alcohol after these two incidents so I can relate to how your feeling
If you really are an alcoholic and you're drinking, you're not recovered.
Original Post by rosieblue:
If you really are an alcoholic and you're drinking, you're not recovered.
Gonna go ahead and agree with this one.
Woah I don't agree at all. You have recognised slip ups and can see they one off occaisions where you messed up. You spent a long time completely sober. You are trying to have a heathy attitude towards alcohol not be scared of it.
Sound recovered to me.
I'm not an alcoholic but my dad was when I was growing up and I now consider him a recovered/recovering alcoholic dispite him drinking everyday. But he doesn't get drunk and I've seen him when he was and I know the difference.
This is a such a good topic for this website as in my head alcoholism is very similar to EDs espechically as it is so difficult to draw the line and say "I'm now fixed" which most of the time is impossible. Many people with EDs never completely get over it and just accept their weight they learn to control it and that what it sounds like you are doing.
Original Post by rosieblue:
If you really are an alcoholic and you're drinking, you're not recovered.
Well, I binge drank a lot in high school. My issue wasn't the fact that I needed alcohol all the time, but that I just drank enough to get drunk 3-4 times a week during parties at night.
I'm not necessarily addicted to alcohol as I was to some drugs, but I just couldn't control myself.. therefore I do consider myself an alcoholic.
I'm working on learning the self control to not have to get drunk every time there is a beer in front of me.
If you know anything about addiction, you will know there are many types and just many different ways that you can approach a situation for recovery. You aren't a therapist, my dear. I have a therapist of my own who is helping me every step of the way :)
Original Post by double_emma:
Woah I don't agree at all. You have recognised slip ups and can see they one off occaisions where you messed up. You spent a long time completely sober. You are trying to have a heathy attitude towards alcohol not be scared of it.
Sound recovered to me.
Thank you. That is exactly what I'm working on. The slip ups that I had were all part of becoming sober. I don't believe that having to stay away completely from alcohol is consider sobriety.. I consider it fear!
In my opinion, some people do need to stay away from it completely. There are others, like myself, who need to work on self control. I spent a long enough time away from it to understand the need to have that control!
Do you have to be 'drunk' to be an alcoholic?
-Im not trying to cause an argument, I'm genuinely interested in your definition of alcoholism, I always thought it was an all-or-nothing kind of thing?
Ex-drunks can be a lot like ex-smokers; i.e., very strong beliefs that one puff or sip leads to disaster.
I was court-ordered to AA meetings in the 80s when I was arrested for DUI at 19. At those meetings, I was told that even if that had been my first day drinking -- I was alcoholic because the test was: does your drinking cause you problems?
Now, that sounded extreme to me, so I ask about many other scenarios; trying to see how extreme the rule could be. Can't remember them now, except "what about someone who only gets drunk on New Year's Eve, but does so most every year?" If the hangover affects their life negatively (and who can disagree with that?), they are an alcoholic.
I knew then AA was not for me (and the higher power stuff isn't my cup of tea either, so to speak.)
I stopped drinking completely for a few years. Noticed no change in my life, realized the only problem was being a **** and driving drunk. Socially drink, don't drive, no problem.
But those at the meetings would still say I'm an alcoholic (once identified, always identified). Non-recovering, at that.
Now, I *know* people who can't and shouldn't ever have a drop... and complete removal of alcohol/situations works for them. But it is definitely not an exact science.
Q&A: "What's the difference between an alcoholic and a drunk?" An alcoholic attends AA meetings. A drunk doesn't! =)
I think that being an Alcoholic is a form of addiction. It's a serious condition/disease that needs treatment. However, being drunk is a state of intoxication. Its momentary thing that people experience. A drunk may or may not be an alcoholic. It depends on the circumstances/person in question,imho.
Best of luck, Kate. Some people have a momentary lapse of self-control and suffer being labeled one thing or another. In honesty you could very well be an alcoholic. ( and/or drunk. ) It may be hard for people to believe, but alcoholics don't necessarily drink to get drunk. This is something you need to figure out for yourself. There are different types of alcoholics.
Either way-Take care!
Original Post by cassie_bee:
Do you have to be 'drunk' to be an alcoholic?
-Im not trying to cause an argument, I'm genuinely interested in your definition of alcoholism, I always thought it was an all-or-nothing kind of thing?
I don't think you have to be drunk to be an alcoholic. I think alcoholism differs from person to person. For me, I knew that my drinking alcohol wasn't a healthy thing because when I was at parties, I could never turn down a beer. I drank, and drank, and drank, and didn't know what was going on. A different type of alcoholism that I have witnessed other people experiencing is needing a drink at all hours of the day, driving intoxicated, and not grasping that drinking a beer for breakfast, having a few glasses of wine before getting in the car to drive to work, etc., is not a good thing.. just as I didn't really realize that my binge drinking was a good thing.
It's not healthy to completely deprive yourself of something if you feel like you have issues with it. It's like people who quit smoking and don't go anywhere that may have smoking areas. By not getting back into the groove of things and learning to be able to resist the temptation, they are setting themselves up for failure. Some are able to resist, but some fail miserably.
I believe that if I would have kept being so afraid of alcohol and being very anxious whenever I was at a party that other people were drinking at, that the slip ups that I had would have turned into a full relapse. For me.. drinking socially, but not getting drunk, is something I really need to do for myself. I know it sounds silly, but I don't ever want to be in a situation where I feel so deprived and so afraid of relapse that it defeats the purpose and I end up relapsing completely.
Original Post by katesorad:
Original Post by rosieblue:previous text moderated
Woah. Take a grown up pill!
No way! I can still use childish remarks while I'm young.
Original Post by katesorad:
No way! I can still use childish remarks while I'm young.
ATTEMPT to act like/be a mature adult instead of child.
Binge drinking is a form of alcoholism. Do your research people.
This week Kate is an alcoholic. She's not responsible.
I, as a mature woman, should be. But I couldn't resist. It's like that last drink. You know you shouldn't do it, but you do, and then you have to live with the consequences.
And Kate dear, there is absolutely no way you can hurt me. I'm not like you--I like myself.
Original Post by katesorad:
Original Post by rosieblue:
Quoted texts previously moderated
^ That comment only made some of us appreciate our maturity.
Kate, I suggest that you talk to your therapist about your personal insecurities. There will come a point when youth will no longer excuse your lack of maturity. It doesn't camouflage it! ( A nice rack won't camouflage it either. )
Personally: I'd rather have saggy breast/etc than the maturity of a child. Anyone can buy themselves a nice set of boobies. ;) Or: Claim to already have one.
Being young/immature doesn't trump older women.
Original Post by alibsam:
Binge drinking is a form of alcoholism. Do your research people.
exactly what i was thinking. if you had a few beers and a few glasses of wine...that doesn't sound like a casual drink with a friend. that sounds like drinking to feel it.
which isn't necessarily a problem...if you're not a "recovering alcoholic".
and stop with the cheap insults, kate...it makes you look ridiculous.
Original Post by enchantingimage:Or: Claim to already have one.
i almost spit out my wine. thanks EI. <3
(also a little ironic that i almost spit out wine while reading a thread about alcoholism...)
^ Lol. That's fantastic!
You're more than welcome. ;)
