Has anyone struggled with Alcohol?

[DigDug]

I think I have a drinking problem. I won't drink during the week, and only drink on a few weekends, but when I do I end up getting obliterated. It's like I don't have a switch that turns off, and the next thing I know I'm waking up the next morning, not having remembered the end of the night.

My friends say that I'm pretty drunk but not wildly out of control at that point, and I always seem to make it home and take out my contacts and take my clothes off. I just can't remember how I got home.

I'm really pissed at myself, and am afraid to drink at all anymore.

 

[dullard]

I don't have an answer for you (there are plenty of places that do though). I was just curious and wanted to ask a question. Do you intend to get obliterated? That is, do you buy a bunch of alcohol with the purpose of getting quite drunk?

 

[xSauronx]

yeah

this one time, i put the corkscrew in the cork, but i wasnt really paying attention, and put it in at an angle, and almost ruined the damn thing to where it wouldnt come out :/

but i got it, so it was ok.

 

[DigDug]

No.

When I'm at a work function, I'll just have a couple and that's it - because I'm just too worried about getting at all out of control. But if I let my guard down slightly (say a friends party), and make it past 4 or so drinks, I lose control.

 

[Lonyo]

That's not having a drinking problem IMO.
A drinking problem is when you drink every night and you drink a fair amount (say a bottle of wine + a beer or two) when you get home.

Getting obliterated when you go out isn't a drinking problem, if anything it's just a slight lack of self control.

 

[gigapet]

Can you go out and just have a couple beers? I mean I go out intending to get sloppy drunk sometimes and I do. other times just a couple drinks. If you have no control then you migh thave a problem. Goto an AA meeting.

 

[Miramonti]

I've struggled with people who've struggled with alcohol.

 

[dullard]

Sounds like you have a couple of the signs of alcoholism.
1) Having more drinks than you intend.
2) Plans to drink less.
3) Cannot remember how a night ended.

Typically a minimum of three signs is needed for a suspected alcohol problem. So you are right near the border.

 

[imported_Trippin315]

I suffered Sunday morning which follows Saturday night.

 

[DigDug]

Typically a minimum of three signs is needed for a suspected alcohol problem. So you are right near the border.

You are scaring the sh*t out of me. The weird thing is that I don't crave it, and can go months without it. If I never went to a party, I wouldn't get smashed. Its when its there and I have it that it gets out of control.

 

[clamum]

That doesn't sound like an addiction problem, if that's what you mean. It sounds like once you start having some drinks you want to keep doing it because you're having fun. That's more of a self-control issue IMO.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: gigapet
Can you go out and just have a couple beers? I mean I go out intending to get sloppy drunk sometimes and I do. other times just a couple drinks. If you have no control then you migh thave a problem. Goto an AA meeting.

Indeed.

I haven't had any drinks in months...but sometimes I like to get completely sh!t faced...

Koing

 

[Cattlegod]

i struggle trying to buy it before noon on sunday.

 

[JDrake]

One time I couldn't get the cork out

 

[BeauJangles]

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/7/2950_853.htm

It sounds like you are okay when you're away from it, but have trouble once it's in your face. Although that might not be a textbook definition of alcoholism, it's probably an issue you want to deal with. Maybe the WebMD article will help.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I quit drinking for about 15 years, then started back. I just like getting a slight buzz now days. I don't get sh!t-faced like I used to. If you want you can quit for a while and see how it goes.

Good luck to you.

Perry

 

[zixxer]

wtf is wrong with people

Drinking/getting drunk EVERY day is a drinking problem. If you're drinking by yourself, that's a problem.

If you're 20-28, unmarried, and go out drinking w/ your buddies on the weekend.... that's NOT a drinking problem. I would say something to your buds about you drinking too much though - ask them to say something when you start going overboard..

 

[CKent]

Yeah, I used to struggle to keep it down. I don't have a problem with that anymore; keep practicing & you'll get it.

 

[Kadarin]

I've struggled with it. Before I turned 21 (drinking age where I am) it usually took some effort to get alcohol. Now I just go to the store and buy beer, and I don't even get carded anymore...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Nope, I pour it in a glass and then I drink it. No struggle at all.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: DigDug
You are scaring the sh*t out of me. The weird thing is that I don't crave it, and can go months without it. If I never went to a party, I wouldn't get smashed. Its when its there and I have it that it gets out of control.

I'm not an expert. You certainly don't have all or even most of the warning signs. But you do have a few. You are just at the borderline of the common self-help book levels. You may or may not have a problem yet, but just be careful. The out-of-control part is the worrying part to me. Can you somehow treat parties like work functions? Can you just have a couple and get your party enjoyment by watching others do stupid things? Ie can you drink within your means or will that end the fun of parties?

 

[SearchMaster]

If you're getting consistently trashed without intending to, it's a problem. It may not be a problem that ruins or affects your life, but it's a problem. I wouldn't suggest AA or that ilk, because the very fact that you've smelled alcohol in the past year is an alarm to them, but see if you can go your next 5 drinking expeditions without going past happy buzz.

 

[Bryophyte]

If you think you have a problem, then you have a problem. I think it's more of a self-control problem than full-blown alcoholism.

I was with someone for a couple years who drank every day (12-18 beers a day) and we almost got married. I broke off the engagement when I realized that I just couldn't live with an alcoholic or have a family with one. I found myself getting drunk most weekends during part of that period (I was in college at the time). I didn't have an alcohol problem, I had a relationship problem and had no problem cutting off the alcohol when I puzzled that out.

What do you think is the thing that starts the drinking? Socializing? Social anxiety?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: DigDug
I think I have a drinking problem. I won't drink during the week, and only drink on a few weekends, but when I do I end up getting obliterated. It's like I don't have a switch that turns off, and the next thing I know I'm waking up the next morning, not having remembered the end of the night.

My friends say that I'm pretty drunk but not wildly out of control at that point, and I always seem to make it home and take out my contacts and take my clothes off. I just can't remember how I got home.

I'm really pissed at myself, and am afraid to drink at all anymore.

12 Step Program

 

[BurnItDwn]

I solved my own alcohol problem by growing a beard when I was 16. I rarely got carded. Now that I'm 26 it doesn't matter if I get carded or not. So I don't have a problem getting alcohol at all now.