[FallingTears]

How do I stop when I only feel OK if I drink?
I know it's bad for me, I know it's not my friend but I can't cope without it! There are NO DRUGS that offer what alcohol offers!
Can't be in my own life without alcohol! But it's getting less effective and more expensive by the day....
Hate my life, can't deal.... Don't wanna feel...
And alcohol offers false hope..
I know all this but yet I drink.....
What do I do?
(Please no AA stuff! It's great for some people but I'm a lapsed Christian so any higher power stuff is too much!)

Thanks

FT

[Sabrina]

I understand. I am an alcoholic. Sober now for just over 2 months. I spent years wanting to stop / not wanting to stop / needing to stop / refusing to stop - it goes on and on. I didn't reach a rock bottom or anything but the fear of losing my husband finally snapped me into place. And I was tired! Tired of "needing" to be drunk. Tired of going out and never leaving later that night all that sober and trying so very hard to seem sober. It also became so expensive! And my body was starting to reject alcohol. Violently. I really thought I felt less lonely with alcohol. If my husband was late or went away - at least I could drink! Alcohol (as I suppose with any drug), is really a terrible kind of evil. Offers so much false hope, just as you said.

I really have no idea how to advise you to stop. It is so different for everyone. I think I was very lucky. I just stopped cold turkey. I had no physical withdrawal whatsoever and didn't miss drinking physically at all. I just had to wrap my head around not drinking emotionally and psychologically. I also had no desire to do the AA thing. Not my kind of thing at all.

I can only wish you much strength. And talk about it here. There will always be a sympathetic and understanding ear. You're welcome to PM me.

[Sober4life]

Use to have drinking issue since I was 15. Would drink constantly every single day and was slowly ruining my life. Would drink 2 bottles of beers every morning and then get even more drunk at clubs later. Got to the point where I wasn't doing anything productive in my life anymore. This lasted until I was in my early 20's. Parents offer either the choice of rehab, to stop drinking, or get kicked it. I didn't want to go on rehab the counselor at that time since I was still young and this was embarrassing for me. The counselor who was a family friend gave me one of their books and told me to read it. The book was called how to Give Up Alcohol created by Rahul Nag. For those interested this was the exact same book reviewyu.com/how-to-give-up-alcohol.html. So I tried it cause I was 20 at the time and was scared of rehab. After 3-4 weeks of reading the book I started lowering my alcohol consumption. I learned all the tricks I needed to overcome my alcohol consumption. I felt great, I realized their was so much more to life then just drinking my life away. I realized I have complete control in my life. I went to school that following year and I am graduating next year. As of today I barely drink anymore. I drink maybe once a month but everything in moderation right? Also had a gambling issue and that was probably the worst thing anyone can experience.
You just need realize that alcohol is nothing and don't let it control you. It's okay to drink if you can control yourself

[splitimage]

Fallingtears, I feel your pain. I've been where you are. At the worst of my drinking, I just needed to drink to feel normal. I was starting my day with a couple of scotches and drinking a full 26'er every night. It was killing me.
I finally found help, after I had a withdrawal seizure. That was in 2006. I've been working on remaining sober ever since. It hasn't been easy and I've had a number of relapses. But I have to say that although hard, being sober is so much better than drinking. I have my life back.

If you want to stop, I'd start with talking with your family Dr. about stopping safely, it's not safe to stop cold Turkey if you've been drinking a lot. There are drugs that your Dr.can give you to make it safe and more comfortable. You might also want to consider a rehab program. I found rehab to be very helpful.

I'm not into AA either. I'm guessing you're female (sorry if I'm wrong) so you might want to google Women For Sobriety. That's the program I follow, and it's all about taking personal resposibility and building a better non-drinking life for yourself.

splitimage

[DeeAnnaD1913]

I am not big on AA or NA, I've been to tons of meetings over the last ten years; mostly court ordered for some DUIs I had, and it actually isn't good for me to go to them bc I have found even more "get high buddies" or guys wanting to find some chick to get high with. This time around, i get on this site and talk to some awesome people on here when I start feeling anxious to drink or take pills. You can go the medication route for DTs. Some people do well with that. I had to stop cold turkey bc I would find any way that I could to lie to myself and take too much of whatever they gave me for my nerves. That's just me though. Good luck and as far as advice goes, everyone is different. Yoga, meditation, and online support groups are working for me so far. (I have done rehabs, meetings, outpatient, you name it I've probably tried it).

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There is a site called Sober Living that may be a resource for you. I think they may have non-AA meetings online too?

I realized I had a drinking problem when I started having physical withdrawals. I basically was a wine drinker and keeping a buzz all the time. And not driving. So I kept it up but kept increasing. Had some falls, etc.

My partner approached me and suggested a rehab OP. I immediately said yes. They required an inpatient detox at a hospital due to my severity. That ended up in TEN days in detox. Hell, but I did it.

I need benzos for my MI and the OP center I've been to weekly for 7 months. They give me Naltroxone and Campral for alcohol treatment.

My pdoc prescribes benzos and I don't abuse them. Never have. I'm ok with it.

Take care. xo

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