Problem with alcohol

jaycich

Hi everyone,

I made this profile a little over a year ago with intents to lose 15-20 lbs. Well, life happened. I won't get into details, not because it's privite, (it's just too long of a story) but rather than lose belly fat, I got used to drinking a 6 pack a day, often with added shots of liquor and I think it's taken a toll on me, physically and mentally. I'm having a hard time focusing and getting motivated, not just for losing weight, but for doing everything. I sleep until 11 everyday, I procrastinate, I have a hard time reading and writing anything longer than 2 paragraphs and I keep drinking everyday mainly out of boredom. I don't talk to my friends anymore (they never call for that matter) I feel a little spaced out when I'm out in public. I've gotten so light complected since I don't go outdoors much. I've taken up a very expensive hobby (fire arms) I have more than I need, I've spent a lot on guns, ammo and trips to the shooting range.

I'm drinking a beer as I write this. How do I shake this habit?

SisterSueGetsFit

Talk to a professional, now. Overcoming a drinking problem is difficult. I just completed 30 days sober. The guns frighten me. Please don't use then while drinking. I wish you luck.

jaycich

Well I drank only 2 yesterday and woke up at 9 this morning. I think this is a start. I'm going to see if I can sell some of my firearms.

girlinahat

talk to a professional. Don't go near a shooting range or anywhere else with a firearm with alcohol in your bloodstream. Find a local AA group and TALK to them.

Focus on the alcohol, the reasons you drink, and work on getting into a regular routine. See your doctor for referrals if need be.

ShellGetsFit

There are many ways to get help, the first thing is wanting to change the habit...and you've realized that!

Toronto6fan

call up one of your friends, people get busy and I suspect they would like to hear from you.

ShellGetsFit

I had written much more but it seems that it didn't post. Feel free to msg me if you want. You can turn things around!!

jflanaganasl

You definitely have a drinking problem. Schedule a doctor's appointment and start looking into resources in your area for alcoholism. Remember that this won't change unless you really WANT to change. Good luck!

alainaxo95

I'm an addict myself in recovery. Though I didn't have a drinking problem I had a drug problem. I am now at a methadone clinic with about 7 months clean. You can turn things around if you really want to trust me. It's definitely not easy but it's worth it. I wish you the very best of luck.

jaycich

I wanna thank everyone for the replies, you gals are so kind. Here we go, I'm on a mission! I'll keep updating this thread.

Jadedlily83

You sound similar to my husband, except he eats instead of drinking. Getting motivated is tough for anyone-- so it's important to take it one day at a time.

CaffeinatedConfectionist

I would certainly recommend substance abuse counseling, if you feel like rather than you being in control of your drinking it is the other way around - because if you can't stop now, it's not likely to get any easier. There are usually both individual and group counseling opportunities, and it can be a good way to create a network of other people struggling with the same difficulties. Everyone needs help sometimes, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching out.

That being said, if you are able to continue cutting back and controlling your drinking on your own like you had mentioned, I'd really recommend that you find other ways to stay busy and other things that you enjoy. Having no structure and no routine in your day is going to make it that much harder to resist drinking, whether out of boredom, loneliness, what have you. I know that I sometimes teeter on the edge of alcoholism, and have gone through periods of heavy drinking every single day for lengthy periods; what helped me ultimately control this tendency was signing up for a self-defens/fitness class that meets in the evening. I love the class, I find it challenging, and I find punching and kicking and throttling the bejesus out of people to be extremely cathartic. But most importantly, I can't drink beforehand for obvious reasons and the class runs late enough that by the time I've come home, showered, and eaten dinner I'm too tired to feel like mixing a drink.

For me it was all about structuring my day, and my life, to reduce the opportunities and temptation to drink. I will still indulge in weekends, but I now feel entirely in control.

jaycich

CaffeinatedConfectionist wrote: »

I would certainly recommend substance abuse counseling, if you feel like rather than you being in control of your drinking it is the other way around - because if you can't stop now, it's not likely to get any easier. There are usually both individual and group counseling opportunities, and it can be a good way to create a network of other people struggling with the same difficulties. Everyone needs help sometimes, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching out.

That being said, if you are able to continue cutting back and controlling your drinking on your own like you had mentioned, I'd really recommend that you find other ways to stay busy and other things that you enjoy. Having no structure and no routine in your day is going to make it that much harder to resist drinking, whether out of boredom, loneliness, what have you. I know that I sometimes teeter on the edge of alcoholism, and have gone through periods of heavy drinking every single day for lengthy periods; what helped me ultimately control this tendency was signing up for a self-defens/fitness class that meets in the evening. I love the class, I find it challenging, and I find punching and kicking and throttling the bejesus out of people to be extremely cathartic. But most importantly, I can't drink beforehand for obvious reasons and the class runs late enough that by the time I've come home, showered, and eaten dinner I'm too tired to feel like mixing a drink.

For me it was all about structuring my day, and my life, to reduce the opportunities and temptation to drink. I will still indulge in weekends, but I now feel entirely in control.

On man I haven't done MMA since 2007. That's something I could get back into, although I was looking into mountain biking. I need to at least get out to the track, I haven't exercised since September.

Katiebear_81

Alcohol is a major depressant, too. Your lack of motivation might be an underlying bout of depression, which is made infinitely worse with drinking. I'd definitely start with your doctor. Depending on how much you're drinking every day, you might need medical assistance. My boyfriend dried out in the hospital. They watched him for seizures, sucicidal ideation, etc. he didn't always drink a lot, but he drank a fair amount every day (ok, probably a lot by most standards). He was super nauseated and had the shakes/hot flashes. So once he had dried out, it was a lot easier to eat with the other issues around it.

I have a really hard time losing weight when I'm drinking. So that's another reason to consider drinking less. Even if you get down to 1 beer a day, which is reasonable.

CaffeinatedConfectionist

jaycich wrote: »

CaffeinatedConfectionist wrote: »

I would certainly recommend substance abuse counseling, if you feel like rather than you being in control of your drinking it is the other way around - because if you can't stop now, it's not likely to get any easier. There are usually both individual and group counseling opportunities, and it can be a good way to create a network of other people struggling with the same difficulties. Everyone needs help sometimes, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching out.

That being said, if you are able to continue cutting back and controlling your drinking on your own like you had mentioned, I'd really recommend that you find other ways to stay busy and other things that you enjoy. Having no structure and no routine in your day is going to make it that much harder to resist drinking, whether out of boredom, loneliness, what have you. I know that I sometimes teeter on the edge of alcoholism, and have gone through periods of heavy drinking every single day for lengthy periods; what helped me ultimately control this tendency was signing up for a self-defens/fitness class that meets in the evening. I love the class, I find it challenging, and I find punching and kicking and throttling the bejesus out of people to be extremely cathartic. But most importantly, I can't drink beforehand for obvious reasons and the class runs late enough that by the time I've come home, showered, and eaten dinner I'm too tired to feel like mixing a drink.

For me it was all about structuring my day, and my life, to reduce the opportunities and temptation to drink. I will still indulge in weekends, but I now feel entirely in control.

On man I haven't done MMA since 2007. That's something I could get back into, although I was looking into mountain biking. I need to at least get out to the track, I haven't exercised since September.

Seriously, starting Krav maga was the best thing I ever did to limit my drinking. It's almost like being an entirely different person. But anything, mountain biking, MMA, running, lifting, swimming... non-exercise things like joining meetups, reconnecting with friends, finding someplace to volunteer, whatever - as long as it helps you find a routine and something worth spending your time on and staying sober for, it's bound to be worth doing.

jaycich

sorauren wrote: »

call up one of your friends, people get busy and I suspect they would like to hear from you.

IDK, 2 years ago, I lost my job, at the time I had a fancy car and an apartment. In order to save money and not get into the habit of being out while unemployed, I stopped going out. I was just doing a lot of reading and cooking. Well, that unemployment lasted a lot longer than I thought and I ended up selling my car and breaking my lease. This was about a year into it. My old man passed away back in August. When that happen happened my friends called me and met up with me. Well I started to exercise and started feeling good. I started to hit them up again, but every time it was like they had something going on. I tried for 3 weekends in row, like hey let's do something, they say yeah and then wouldn't return my calls. I don't think they were purposely avoiding me, what it is, is that the crew broke up and they each have a set of their own friends who they normally hang with now.

jaycich

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

Alcohol is a major depressant, too. Your lack of motivation might be an underlying bout of depression, which is made infinitely worse with drinking. I'd definitely start with your doctor. Depending on how much you're drinking every day, you might need medical assistance. My boyfriend dried out in the hospital. They watched him for seizures, sucicidal ideation, etc. he didn't always drink a lot, but he drank a fair amount every day (ok, probably a lot by most standards). He was super nauseated and had the shakes/hot flashes. So once he had dried out, it was a lot easier to eat with the other issues around it.

I have a really hard time losing weight when I'm drinking. So that's another reason to consider drinking less. Even if you get down to 1 beer a day, which is reasonable.

Yeah that seem to be the common problem from most of what I've read. However I'm not especially depressed, my drinking comes from my love for craft beer and sports. It's like anytime there's a game I pick up some beer to drink while I watch the game. I used to watch sports sober during the week, but got used to drinking.

jaycich

Alright guys, I had 0 drinks last and I woke up at 6 this morning. I sold one of my fire for just a pinch less than I bought it for. I'm going to make a listing and see if I can get rid of another one.

The bad news is I ate pizza last night and this morning. Lol

robertw486

It's a slippery slope, but at least talk to a group or professional and figure out what is going on. I abused alcohol for years, but would stop myself at times to prove I could shake it. Then I'd go right back to drinking. I've had a decent bit of tragedy in my family and I think it was a self medicating thing, but somehow in my mind I justified it and didn't deal with it since I still made it to work and paid my bills. So being that I was a responsible alcohol abuser made it ok in my mind somehow.

In a clinical sense, I'm not an alcoholic, and have had plenty in recovery set me straight on the differences. A few times I had myself convinced that I was, but would quit drinking for a few weeks to prove to myself otherwise.

For me, I more or less quit all drinking when my daughter was born. I just didn't want it in my life. Now we have a drink or a few socially, but very rarely.



Though I was never abusive or anything like that, I'm lucky my wife put up with my crap through my drinking years. Really lucky. And I'm sure there are other things I screwed up beyond my relationship with her during that time. If I could just have the beer money back I'd be a lot closer to retirement, and the list grows easily from there.

TaraTall

Lots of respectable honesty here, props to all of you for seeing and wanting (and some accomplishing) these changes.

I have a tendency to drink too much too but with an autoimmune disorder that flares with alcohol use, it has started to set me straight. Pretty, smooth, healthy skin > tasty wine. Sometimes, I find it's the physical habit of drinking something that isn't coffee or water so I try to replace the actual drink - tea, juice, diet soda, something that is 'different' but not liquor.

Also agreed on other habits. Soccer is my 'drug of choice' the only downside is the occasional team beer post game, but I'll offer to drive and it keeps me accountable.

If you feel the want to have a craft beer here or there, don't deprive yourself but moderate yourself. Instead of guzzling it and reaching for another, perhaps start a craft beer journal/blog where you sip the beer and write about it. My issue was always that I don't want to stop after the first glass of wine so I finish the bottle. Now, although it's more expensive, I'll buy those single serve glasses. It helps with moderation (and calories!)

Great luck on your journey. As others have mentioned, the fact that you WANT to fix it, is a huge step in the right direction.

mbaker566

talking to a professional or finding an AA group or other group for people who want to stop drinking can help greatly
They say that alcohol is but a symptom...get to the root of the issues-either medical or emotional or both

also, getting out and getting busy can help you feel better. make new friends. take up new hobbies. maybe a cooking class?