MoFo Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous

BRB while I'm making Teetotaller Anonymous thread.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

My names Bob and I'm an alcoholic.

That's really your name? Bob?

Bob the Sci-Fi Slob.

My name is Marley. I am an alcoholic.

I have been sober for 5 years and 6 months.

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You are no Vader. You are just a child in a mask.

I should probably say something since I've been there, but it's very hard to know what to say, so forgive me if some of it sounds like rambling. I had very serious alcohol and gambling problems and have been to meetings for both. Although a lot of drinkers gamble, and a lot of gamblers drink, I believe that they're two completely different entities, so I'll just stick to talking about alcohol. First off, I don't necessarily buy into the term"alcoholic". I prefer using the word "drunk". There's no set definition for the word alcoholic; the best meaning I heard was that it was for someone who's drinking causes them problems in their life. Drinkers drink for different reasons, and I believe no two people are the same. Because of that, I think it's very difficult to offer advice, but it's easy to give opinions based on personal experience. Meetings just did not work for me. I went to many AA meetings because they were court ordered. I couldn't identify and I just didn't buy into it. Some people do buy into them, and for those people, meetings can be a godsend. I started drinking heavy at the age of 18, and my issue was probably at it's peak from the ages of 19 to 25. I'm 43 today, and I never made a serious effort to give up drinking, even though I knew I had a serious problem. Over time, I gradually slowed down in a natural manner. Today, I wouldn't even know I had a drinking problem if it wasn't for my foggy memories. I am now a very normal, social drinker who doesn't have any type of problem with alcohol. it's probably been about 3 years since I've gotten drunk; it's as if it never happened. To give you an idea of my drinking during my peak years, I drank every day while I was awake. I would routinely drink a case of beer while working the morning shift at the airport, and then go right to the bar until closing time, and then more if I found a party or met a girl. I would never go to sleep, I would only pass out. My tolerance was through the roof, but I would still get to the point of being trashed out of my mind, putting me in danger and making an ass out of myself. In fact, when I look back at how I was, I feel a lot of embarrassment. The only thing that makes up for it, is the pride I have for getting past it. Whenever I meet someone from my past, they can't believe I'm still alive, and just as surprised that I can have a drink like a normal person. There is a widely held belief that someone with a drinking problem has to stop altogether, but again, everybody is different. You cannot group people with the same problem together, because the problem is only the same from the outside looking in. I would tentatively advise someone who is having a hard time quitting drinking, to not try quitting altogether. I would get pretty sick if I didn't have a drink by around 11am. Slowing down drinking is not as hard to do and is a more realistic, immediate goal. I never could comprehend doing anything while sober. I went everywhere drunk, the movies, dates, stores, funerals, you name it. I just could not picture not being drunk. It takes the realization that life is better being sober, to truly want to be sober. Of course, there are people that just can't drink at all. You can only do your best; slow down one drink at a time if necessary. If meetings aren't working for you, then you have to do it alone. You can have support, but you will make your own decisions. Realizing you have a problem is an important key. Find something you can stand doing sober, like going for a hike, and go, and do it-alone or with someone that doesn't have a drinking problem. Give meetings a fair shot, but if they're not for you, don't force it. If you go to bars or hang out with friends who like to get drunk, it's much harder to control yourself because your behavior is acceptable. You have to find out what works best for you individually, and you have to realize that life is better when you're not drunk! Good luck, John, and to anyone else who is fighting an addiction.*

I've been too. Different for me as whilst I wasn't 'addicted', my problem was I never knew when to stop. I always argued that I didn't have an alcohol problem because I could go a week without a drink, what I didn't realise was that my problem was that I was always out of control. It completely destroyed my life and the lives of my loved ones and has caused so many problems that still exist. I have cut down a lot but still prone to the occasional binge but it's very difficult when you have a circle of friends more or less revolve around alcohol. It's left me a nervous wreck any time I'm around alcohol and leaves me extremely depressed for days after.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

My name is Raul and I am a drunk about two times a year.

Sam brings up an important thing, I know it's hard when you're going through problems with any addiction but your family is suffering too and most of the time they're helpless It's an awful place to be to be looking on at someone you love being so self destructive.

You're right Christine, it's a very helpless feeling, because nobody can tell what the right move is. A lot of times there's an underlying reason why someone has a problem, and maybe identifying that problem can help. My father drank and gambled his whole life, but I had no other issues. I went so hard with both, way beyond what my father even did, and I have no idea why.

You could've fooled me

Maybe you were just trying to be like him. To make him proud of you by being an even bigger drunk and gambler than he was. You might have figured -- he loves to do it, so I'll do it, and I'll do it better, and he'll love me for it.

I would drink from the time the bar opened until the time that it closed every day. I drank whatever people bought for me. I had a sky high bar tab and therefore had to go to work for the owner just to pay my tab. She was cool with me drinking while I was working as long as I didn't get so drunk I couldn't handle money. I would smoke anywhere from two to four packs of cigarettes a night. I gave that up on the same day as I did the drink. As long as I don't drink I don't want to smoke and vice versa. The biggest problem that I have found with it is that I have 0 social live now. There isn't really anything around this area to do that doesn't involve drinking. My grandfathers on both sides had drinking problems so I got it honest. I started drinking around 15 years old, maybe a little younger. There is a camp next door to my house and they used to stay stocked up on beer and never really noticed that I was drinking a case or so of it on a weekend when they weren't there. My cousins and I would stay there on weekends and drink. When I turned 18 years old I started hanging out with my Aunt and Uncle (coincidently they run the bar now) at the bar. I would order a pop, drink that and then refill the can with alcohol. I would end up drunk every weekend that way. At 19 I made friends with the owner of the bar and she started letting me drink as long as I was careful about who saw me. I was drunk every day shortly after that. I stopped drinking/smoking on March 4th 2009. I am getting ready to get a tattoo to commemorate my sobriety. I am more proud of that accomplishment than anything that I have done in my life. Looking back on it there are a lot of things that I am ashamed of that I did, and there are also a lot of things that I am surprised that I lived through. I quit drinking because the doctor told me that my liver was damaged and if I continued at the rate that I was going then she wasn't sure if it would repair itself. I am happy to say that, besides being a bit overweight, I am in great health.

I've never had a problem with alcohol, well, not for a Brit anyway, but I do recognise this. I've not had a 'proper drink' since I stopped smoking 7 years ago. I don't drink because the desire to smoke again would, I'm sure, be overwhelming. It's been 7 years and I still sometimes, especially when I can't go to sleep, I really want a cigarette

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Sometimes someone elses cigarette will smell SO good! But I never want one. I know it will just cause me to be extremely dizzy and coughing will ensue.

I have to give up cigs next. "cough"

That wasn't the case with me, although I'm sure it is with a lot of people. I hid everything as much as I could from my parents, and I grew up hating that they drank and smoked, and he gambled. But it could've been the familiarity that enticed me; they used to take me with them to the bars until closing time, and after parties too. I'd sip on my kitty cocktails and play pool and the jukebox. That started as early as I can remember and didn't end until I didn't need a babysitter no more. My wife sometimes gets mad, and says I had an awful childhood, but that's not true. I loved it and was very happy, even if it may have affected me negatively later in life.

I'm very not near to be an alcoholic... I am drunk at maximum 10 to 15 times a year with my friends when I go to the bar or partying ,etc. I love beer but don't very like strong alcohol like rhum, vodka and gin... I can take 1 or 2 shooter occasionally but I'm not a ''fan'' of this. For beer I try to control myself, I don't do drugs, I don't take pills or smoke ,etc. I'm just a big fan of beer and that's all.

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''Haters are my favourite. I've built an empire with the bricks they've thrown at me... Keep On Hating''
- CM Punk
http://threemanbooth.files.wordpress...unkshrug02.gif

Stop -- or you'll have a hole in your throat like she does.

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I don't know; I mostly hated my father gambling because it would upset my mother. I probably exaggerated when I said I hated them drinking and smoking. I didn't like it, but it didn't seem like it was affecting me personally. I had to do what I did because my father did it, even if I can't understand it. I don't know, there's no easy answers.