Support Groups for those that need to take a step back from partying

kipling85 · May 14, 2016, 04:33 PM

The answer is obvious - if you are having problems and you think they could be tied in anyway to substance abuse - then take a step back. For me, I can't go out without people pushing drinks on me, me accepting them, me spending money I don't have, me pissing people off and then days of feeling guilty. Things don't always progress that way, especially when I have things to look forward to but as of late there is not a lot going on for me so depressants truly depress and nothing good comes from them. Never mind the risk that comes from getting depressed and cocaine entering the picture. While I have been able to avoid it for the most part the last five months, it runs rampant in my scene and a single mistake can set me back a week out of every month.

My current state of affairs is especially depressing so one drink rapidly turns into 10. While this is often only a once-a-week affair, the residual effects are obvious. The list of things going wrong would shock most people but that is not necessarily what I am looking to discuss. I am looking for support in preventing myself from drinking, however, as I often find myself locking myself in my place to avoid it. This makes me feel lonely and depressed and I have just as much a hard time focusing on the important things as I do when I am drinking.

I am not looking for a 12-step and I do not currently have health insurance (one of the many mistakes I have made as of late), so a support group of those that understand the struggle of not having a good support group is what I am looking for. I am single, with no family capable or willing to help, and friends that don't seem to get that the struggle is real.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Angelique67 · May 15, 2016, 10:44 AM

Hi kipling85. I was a binge drinker from the time I was about 18, through my late 20s. My therapist at that time told me I did have a drinking problem. That was the first time anyone had told me that.

I continued to binge drink, I'm afraid. The only thing that helped me stop using alcohol was that I entered a new phase of reading certain non fiction books, and I couldn't read while I was using alcohol. So my drinking just sort of got lower and lower until I realized in my late 20s I was no longer a drinker at all.

Now, I'm on meds where mixing with alcohol would make me very sick. I can tolerate a glass of wine, but nothing more I guess.

So the things that changed were that I reduced my time drinking socially and at home, because I wanted to read instead. This presented new and different social involvement without drinking. I don't know whether this could help anyone else, but I do understand the binge drinking. I hope you'll be able to reduce your drinking too.

kipling85 · May 15, 2016, 03:31 PM

Are these the types of meds you are referring to?

"alcohol.addictionblog.org/pills-to-help-you-stop-drinking"

I also have a house full of boos that I don't drink at all. It's definitely the social aspect of having a good time and then blammo - I'm hammered. 9/10 it's cool but the time it isn't - it isn't. I also live in a city where drinking surrounds every day life - it's crazy.

Thanks for your story - reading is definitely something I like to do. Binge drinking a lot is the only thing I do well that takes away from the other things.

Angelique67 · 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kipling85

Are these the types of meds you are referring to?

"alcohol.addictionblog.org/pills-to-help-you-stop-drinking"

I also have a house full of boos that I don't drink at all. It's definitely the social aspect of having a good time and then blammo - I'm hammered. 9/10 it's cool but the time it isn't - it isn't. I also live in a city where drinking surrounds every day life - it's crazy.

Thanks for your story - reading is definitely something I like to do. Binge drinking a lot is the only thing I do well that takes away from the other things.

Nope, not those sort of pills, just my psych cocktail. I hope you can decrease your binge, by maybe one drink per party night. Like if you normally have 9 drinks, decrease it to 8 for the night. Then the next binge, try 7 for the night. When youre not having an alcohol drink, try a seltzer water with lime squeezed in.

The main problem with drinking is dehydration. I hope you'll be able to ease out of binging. I had no physical side effects when I was stopping drinking, only psychological.

See if there's a meetup group near you that revolves around not drinking (former drinkers, or people trying to drink less). I hope you'll find the daily type of support network you are hoping for. Why don't you want to try AA?