I have a history of alcohol abuse. I don't like to call myself an "alcoholic", because I dislike referring to myself as an illness. [I don't call myself "a bipolar", either.] Also, I have been able to drink in moderation in recent years (meaning 1/2 to 1 drink in a day), without going on some binge or relapse of alcohol abuse. I know that is not the case for people with real alcohol addiction. I rather think my past alcohol abuse has been more a form of self-medication.

I have been treated with bipolar medications for a good 13 years now. Sometimes they didn't cut the mustard at all, and other times they've worked well. There are still times when I have an urge to self-medicate. I try very hard not to do so with alcohol. Plus, if I mix alcohol with my current medications, it can be very dangerous. In the past, I learned that the hard way. Instead, I find myself occasionally having binge eating days. To emphasize, it's occasional, but they are indeed binge eating sessions. I've exchanged eating as my "self-medicating" choice, for alcohol. As many might guess, it's usually junk food - particularly sweet starchy stuff.

Has anyone else here experienced something similar to the above? If so, what replaced alcohol or drugs for you? And how often do you self-medicate with it?

Note: I am overweight, but not extremely so. I could be nice and slim, with a normal BMI, with a 20 lb loss. My binge eating is intermittent. My weight goes up and down as it occurs and lets up. I never purge or fast.