Anybody been through AA?

[dgb84]

My desire for alcohol and nicotine really kicks in when I am under stress or dealing with a tragedy. I am enjoying a small victory, as my cat died one week ago and I still haven't consumed any of my favorite recreational drugs. The last time I had a pet die was three years ago and I was drinking and smoking like mad for days afterward. My wife didn't say anything about it because she knew I was grieving and it wouldn't be a permanent thing, but it was still a big disappointment to her.

Good for you buddy. Sorry to hear about your kitty. That’s probably what’s been going on with me, too. I had all those heart problems and finally got them fixed in October and again in December. I have some neurology thing still going on where I get bouts of lightheadedness. I haven’t really been able to drive since September, and have seen several docs that can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. I’m seeing a psychiatrist, cardiologist, neurologist, and endocrinologist but they can’t seem to figure it out. I’m taking a ton of different medicines and a buzz is an escape from all of it. I still haven’t drank anything since my last post and am going strong. Having problems with home A/C and the water line in my front yard burst last night. Spent the whole day digging up and fixing that damn line. Felt good to do something productive, but I’m out of shape and don’t have much stamina. Just been a hell of a run the last 6 months or so.

 

[legdelimber]

dgb84. Just wanted to wish you well for hanging in there.
Heck, let me say it to to all of you folks who are working on it.

You guys can go ahead and boo me off the stage now.
....cause..
I'm that guy who gets a beer (if at a friends house) and carries it around for two hours.
Yeah.., What can I tell y'all, I talk too danged much when I'm around friends and seem to just want the brew or drink to keep a sip on a dry tongue.

I guess this is the part where I trot out something that sounds like that tired-assed cliche of "don't take up an different habit"
But It's really meant to say that I, WE, know and feel, you're not alone in having something you want/need to quit or control.
and thus:
my main reason(s) for mentioning a Good Therapist earlier?
and looking for any underlying issues that contribute to the booze consumption getting out of hand?

Bipolar, OCD, ADD and being a packrat are my glitches (no surprise with that mix) .
Yep. Packratting is an "addictive personality" thing also.

For what it's worth.
Every shrink or psych worker has seemed surprised that I'm not an alcoholic.
Apparently All of the statistics (and my chart) tell them that I should be one.

Honestly don't know why I'm not.
..ran in the family tree on both sides.
But somehow, something/fate just never flipped that one particular switch.
Who knows. Maybe being o.c.d. kinda offsets or overrides the alcoholic gene??
(edit to ad) The OCD tends to make me not like the "out of control" part of drinking to excess. Thus why I suspect it for helping to keep the alcoholic trait in check.

But I do have a bad health hangup in I still want to eat like I'm doing a full days labor as though I'm still 25 years old (despite bad knees etc and also thus) being out of shape, like you mentioned above.
Hmm, there goes that behavior control thing again!

 

[FergusonTO35]

Good for you buddy. Sorry to hear about your kitty. That’s probably what’s been going on with me, too. I had all those heart problems and finally got them fixed in October and again in December. I have some neurology thing still going on where I get bouts of lightheadedness. I haven’t really been able to drive since September, and have seen several docs that can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. I’m seeing a psychiatrist, cardiologist, neurologist, and endocrinologist but they can’t seem to figure it out. I’m taking a ton of different medicines and a buzz is an escape from all of it. I still haven’t drank anything since my last post and am going strong. Having problems with home A/C and the water line in my front yard burst last night. Spent the whole day digging up and fixing that damn line. Felt good to do something productive, but I’m out of shape and don’t have much stamina. Just been a hell of a run the last 6 months or so.

Damn, that sucks. Considering what you are going through and the home and property problems I say you are doing a great job staying sober right now.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Bipolar, OCD, ADD and being a packrat are my glitches (no surprise with that mix) .
Yep. Packratting is an "addictive personality" thing also.

I have packrats on both sides of the family, and my wife does too. It's quite strange.

 

[legdelimber]

Just thought I'd chime in and ask is everyone doing ok?
Times are tough for a lot of folks, so hope everyone is coping in a reasonable way.

Been trying to remember and bump this thread.
yes I'm scatterbrained..... and stuff.

 

[full chizel]

Just thought I'd chime in and ask is everyone doing ok?
Times are tough for a lot of folks, so hope everyone is coping in a reasonable way.

Been trying to remember and bump this thread.
yes I'm scatterbrained..... and stuff.

My family is well and hope yours is too.

 

[dgb84]

Hey everyone. Still rocking along pretty good. Just trying to stay busy. We finally quit working from home, so it’s getting back to a little bit of normal. My marriage is about 1000% better since I laid off the booze.

 

[Boomhower]

Just a few things id like to add. As someone else mentioned is tell your friends what you are doing. The ones that are worth a *f-word will respect you and your decision. Loose the ones that try to get you back to drinking...misery loves someone to drink with. You will notice that some friends even the ones that respect your decision will fade away. Not because they disowned you but because you never had anything in common but drinking.

Relearning to do stuff is the most difficult thing in the world. For instance, I did not realize a bbq would start without a can of beer. Find something your mind looks forward to doing. Might be something as simple as a glass of tea.

Find your self a sponsor and read the big book (earlier edition if you can find it). The new book is too *f-wordin PC for my taste.

Another thing is this. If you’re doing this to lay off the booze for a little bit or think your going to be able to control it in the near future. Go back to drinking and hit rock bottom first. Otherwise you are just wasting your time.

Talk to one sober person a day.

If you need someone to talk to about this *s-word i can PM you my number. Best of luck to you, Adam

 

[FergusonTO35]

Relearning to do stuff is the most difficult thing in the world. For instance, I did not realize a bbq would start without a can of beer. Find something your mind looks forward to doing. Might be something as simple as a glass of tea.

This may be the part that trips up people more than anything else: a day without a buzz is a day that never was. Of course, billions of dollars are spent on advertising trying to convince people to do just that.

 

[USMC615]

I want you to do well young man...

I lost one of my older sisters’ a week ago today, evening of Apr 28th. She was a Deputy Sheriff here in the county we both live in...lost her life to her second bout with colon cancer. I went on a tear for a few days about two days afterwards...drinking from sunup to sundown. Wash, rinse, repeat...get up in the morning, go to the shop in the backyard, do it all over again.

We humans are some funny folks...they’re ain’t no one cure-all pill out there. If there was, my old Marine ass would’ve found it years ago.

I wish you the best!

 

[sawmikaze]

Christ...up until a couple years ago I drank about 15 beers a night. I never went to bed, I just passed out.

You're on the right path big dawg. It comes from within.

Stay up.

 

[Locust Cutter]

Hey All,

I’ve got a bit of a drinking problem that is hurting my marriage. I drink about one time per week, but when I do, I can’t stop until I’m blackout drunk. Has anybody tried AA that’s willing to share their opinion on the program? If not publicly, perhaps in a private message? It seems pretty simple to just stop doing it, but I’ve been trying and am not succeeding.

Thanks in advance.

Dustin

I've never walked in your shoes, but am friends with a few that have. There are various programs, A.A. being the most prominent, plus faith based ones. If I could make a suggestion though, regardless of what program you choose, ensure that you surround yourself with the right people and eliminate the wrong ones. Don't let them entice you back to what you're trying to get away from, due to the peer pressure, and their lack of either desire, or willpower. I've had and have family and friends who are addicts. Those that I'm still friends with, made the choice with much support from their actual friends to get clean, and have more or less stayed that way. Everyone screws up, but it has to be a conscious, daily choice. If you have good-time buddies who happen to be your kryptonite, ditch them.

 

[dgb84]

Thanks everyone! I’m doing surprisingly well. Just gotta keep busy and keep at it. Haven’t been drunk in a good while and am pretty proud of myself. Seems like I have a ton more energy and focus.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Awesome! Keep chasing your goal. If you screw up, just get back on the wagon. Every day of sobriety is an accomplishment in itself, always remember that.

 

[Flint Mitch]

dgb84. Just wanted to wish you well for hanging in there.
Heck, let me say it to to all of you folks who are working on it.

You guys can go ahead and boo me off the stage now.
....cause..
I'm that guy who gets a beer (if at a friends house) and carries it around for two hours.
Yeah.., What can I tell y'all, I talk too danged much when I'm around friends and seem to just want the brew or drink to keep a sip on a dry tongue.

I guess this is the part where I trot out something that sounds like that tired-assed cliche of "don't take up an different habit"
But It's really meant to say that I, WE, know and feel, you're not alone in having something you want/need to quit or control.
and thus:
my main reason(s) for mentioning a Good Therapist earlier?
and looking for any underlying issues that contribute to the booze consumption getting out of hand?

Bipolar, OCD, ADD and being a packrat are my glitches (no surprise with that mix) .
Yep. Packratting is an "addictive personality" thing also.

For what it's worth.
Every shrink or psych worker has seemed surprised that I'm not an alcoholic.
Apparently All of the statistics (and my chart) tell them that I should be one.

Honestly don't know why I'm not.
..ran in the family tree on both sides.
But somehow, something/fate just never flipped that one particular switch.
Who knows. Maybe being o.c.d. kinda offsets or overrides the alcoholic gene??
(edit to ad) The OCD tends to make me not like the "out of control" part of drinking to excess. Thus why I suspect it for helping to keep the alcoholic trait in check.

But I do have a bad health hangup in I still want to eat like I'm doing a full days labor as though I'm still 25 years old (despite bad knees etc and also thus) being out of shape, like you mentioned above.
Hmm, there goes that behavior control thing again!

I'm glad I saw this thread, I was actually going to start something similar. I am one of those OCD, Bi-polar, anxiety drunks. Im 36 years old and was up to 15+ drinks a night, mostly beer. I can't honestly remember the last day I didn't drink in the last 20 years. I realized about 2 years ago I was killing myself when my liver started to hurt. I was finally able to make the decision to try to quit about a month ago after my grandfathers funeral. There were some pictures there that stirred up some really bad memories of a relative that most likely started my issues, and I had a bit of a mental break I guess you could say. I got really bad for a few days, and finally reached out to my mom of all people. I'm now 12 days alcohol free, and feel pretty good. The first 4 days sucked! I'm just hoping I can keep it up, trying to keep myself busy is the key I find. Support seems to help me the most, which unfortunately I'm not really getting at home from the wife. She for some reason feels the need to come home and have 2 or 3 drinks right in front of me, so I now forsee another struggle which will be just as hard or harder that will most likely end in a divorce. But enough about me.. I really hope you get rid of your problem! If you need someone to talk too im available call or text anytime 9892515466

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 

[Mastermind]

You might oughta be finding a group of recovering alcoholics to hang with. We understand each other.

 

[Brush Ape]

I used to pound some beers in my 20’s. Raising some serious hell a few times too. Some of my buddies peeled out on me one time. I was taking a pee and look up to see taillights and dust down the road. I walked to a nearby town and got to hammering some 50 cent drafts . Then some guy blew smoke in my face and I nailed him and knocked him off his stool. He was in a fetal position before he hit the floor. I ran out and walked home 14 miles in a snowstorm.
Next morning I thought it was all too problematic for me. I was probably getting close to 24 or just turned. Heard that song by Neil Young Take a look at my life twenty four and there’s so much more....it was on the radio in my S10 on the way to a church basement for an AA meeting. In there guys were generally supportive of one another. The chainsmoking in there really put me off but some things always stood out about that one meeting:
Some guys drew the higher power directly from the organization and the association with the others. One leader there even claimed his higher power was in the oak tables themselves.
One of their rules was to admit you are an alcoholic. I determined I didn’t feel as if I wanted crammed into that compartment. It was like saying that if I practiced meditation I was a buddhist. I say I made mistakes and I practiced alcoholic behavior. But to say I was reduced to it by the alcohol and not by my own actions seemed as if I would minimize my own role in that.
Either way I quit then. Actually I had quit before the walk in the snowstorm when I set down the mug before I hammered the other drunk. One thing had an impact at the meeting was that I was introduced to some guys that took it to the absolute limit and survived. Survival is the purpose of life and you cannot knock a guy for that.
Ozzy said one’s too many and ten’s not enough. To the OP read what I just wrote there and practice it wholeheartedly and without fail your problem with binge drinking will dissolve inherently.

 

[Brush Ape]

That said I talked to Randy on the phone one afternoon and we discussed addictive behavior. One thing is for sure some guys have it more than others. Cross-addiction is not a bad thing if you leave what you were doing and trade it and the resources you would have spent for something beneficial and hopefully profitable to get obsessed with.
With booze don’t just look at the monetary cost of supplying yourself alcohol, factor in the downtime you are stupid drunk and counter or non-productive. Then calculate what those resources would fuel toward locking onto a real goal.
And I’m not saying beat yourself up either. All skill learning is done thru negative feedback patterns which are used to make the required adjustments. Then when you hit the target just remember the last thing you did and discard the mistakes.

 

[Mastermind]

I used to pound some beers in my 20’s. Raising some serious hell a few times too. Some of my buddies peeled out on me one time. I was taking a pee and look up to see taillights and dust down the road. I walked to a nearby town and got to hammering some 50 cent drafts . Then some guy blew smoke in my face and I nailed him and knocked him off his stool. He was in a fetal position before he hit the floor. I ran out and walked home 14 miles in a snowstorm.
Next morning I thought it was all too problematic for me. I was probably getting close to 24 or just turned. Heard that song by Neil Young Take a look at my life twenty four and there’s so much more....it was on the radio in my S10 on the way to a church basement for an AA meeting. In there guys were generally supportive of one another. The chainsmoking in there really put me off but some things always stood out about that one meeting:
Some guys drew the higher power directly from the organization and the association with the others. One leader there even claimed his higher power was in the oak tables themselves.
One of their rules was to admit you are an alcoholic. I determined I didn’t feel as if I wanted crammed into that compartment. It was like saying that if I practiced meditation I was a buddhist. I say I made mistakes and I practiced alcoholic behavior. But to say I was reduced to it by the alcohol and not by my own actions seemed as if I would minimize my own role in that.
Either way I quit then. Actually I had quit before the walk in the snowstorm when I set down the mug before I hammered the other drunk. One thing had an impact at the meeting was that I was introduced to some guys that took it to the absolute limit and survived. Survival is the purpose of life and you cannot knock a guy for that.
Ozzy said one’s too many and ten’s not enough. To the OP read what I just wrote there and practice it wholeheartedly and without fail your problem with binge drinking will dissolve inherently.

Great post Keith. Thank you for sharing.

I still feel that all too familiar itch sometimes. Then I look at where I am, compared to where I was.

 

[JimBear]

You might oughta be finding a group of recovering alcoholics to hang with. We understand each other.

I can’t like this post enough !!! A person can go it alone but it’s tough & often doesn’t work. When a fella is alone with his own thoughts it can get pretty hairy. It’s a whole lot easier spending time with folks that have “ been there & done that “ or done worse but are willing to share their experience, strength & hope to help another drunk see life from a different perspective. I found out the easier softer way was spending time with a bunch of folks who were also trudging the road.