Alcoholism Support Group

Welcome :)

As Serenity says on here.....try doing two drinks every time you go out for a month and see if you can stop at the two. My first drink would ALWAYS get me drunk.

I find that the people who were my 'drinking buddies' didnt want me to be sober for if I was admitting to a possible problem it put thoughts in their heads about them!

Denial is what our disease of alcoholism loves us to feel! The disease of alcohol is cunning baffling and powerful and will always wait for us.

And, the fact you are here, the fact you are looking up support groups such as this may say more about your drinking then you think :)

You're on a slippery slope right now, I don't know how old you are as you don't say but this is where alcoholism gets started. I was like you. Never drank without people being around, always had a great time and then the blackouts started, I couldn't stop myself once I got started, humiliation, depression anxiety. If you can set yourself a limit then that's great but many of us just cannot no matter how hard we try. Sit down and have one drink with them. Just one and see if you can manage that. See if you can manage without drinking with them at all, just sit and hang out. Only you can determine whether this is headed down a bad path but because you're here on an alcoholism forum is a good indication that you are sensing that something is wrong.

Hi:)

My friends didn't want me to cut back either. THEY didn't want to and without actually saying it, they wanted ME to be as fuc** up as they were when partying. You know, then they had to look at their own behavior.

Just make a change and cut back anyway. If you think you can't manage your drinking then you may want to consider admitting you have a problem.

I've been where you are right now and it's difficult in the beginning to look at and understand.

It's great that you are reaching out and allowing yourself to take a real honest look at what's going on in your life re alcohol. This step takes a lot of courage.

Glad you're here!

I don't know anything about your age or history- you sound as if you could be on the younger side? If so, I'd say you're at a crossroads here- the beginning of something that could become very bad. Start cutting back on your own(whether your friends like it or not). Go out with them less often, and limit your quantities when you do go out. If you are unable to do this, then it's time to stop. Check back in with us soon, and give us a little more information.

Let me add one more thing- it wouldn't be a bad idea to knock it off for 30 days. Just to prove you can do it and to re-orient yourself. If you can't do it, then you know you have a problem.

Thanks guys,

It's already helping to know that even if my friends haven't accepted that I (and possibly they as well) may have a problem, that there are people I can talk to and share.

Whilst they might think that I'm being a killjoy by cutting back I'm sure that it will be recognised here. And maybe if I can show them that I'm still the same fun person to be around, just with less alcohol (and no hangovers) that they could be persuaded to follow suit.

Jacker, I am on the younger side (early 20's) which is why I think this is something I need to address now, rather than before it gets out of control. I am of a similar temperament to my father, who while he doesn't have an alcohol problem, has become violent after dirnking before, and does suffer from health problems such as high blood pressure and gout. Last year as part of an abs training program I managed to cut out almost all sugar, starchy carbs and all alcohol for a month before, so know it is possible, and that I have a degree of willpower. However, on that occasion I removed myself from the situations where I would drink. This time I want to achieve a more permanent change, of not necessarily going teetotal, but of controlling my intake, whilst still enjoying an active social life.

Thanks, for the comments so far, and I will keep you up to date. I don't think anything is planned for the next couple of days, but have a feeling my flatmate and her friends want me to join them at a club Wednesday night, so I can try out my willpower and self belief then!

You may be one of the lucky ones who can cut back,moderate,etc.If you find doing this difficult,it may be time to do some real hard looking at yourself.Even if you can cut back now and can control your drinking,be ever watchful as time passes.

My last attempt at social drinking was to take my big mug of vodka and cider into the small cemetery in Sharon, CT. I'd sit on the grass and ask the tombstones how things were going, and on the whole they were very good listeners. But I knew I was getting in a little too deep when one of them volunteered to be my sponsor.

I have several observations, questions, and suggestions.
First how do you define an alcoholic I think your definition may be a bit restrictive. In other words I think that you may think it requires more drinking than it really does for some people. How much did your dad drink? From the little bit you said it sounds as if maybe he does have a drinking problem. What's the rest of your family history.
You say you don't want to give up going out with friends. Can you say no when they ask you out? If they asked you out every night would you go?
Some have suggested that you only have 2 drinks when you go out and see how that works. I suggest you have none and see if you can do that also give an honest appraisal of how much fun your friends are when you are sober and they are drunk.
You seem to want to drag your friends along on this exploration "am I an alcoholic". This isn't about them it's about you and if you co-mingle the two you will not get an honest answer to your questions.
It may be you are just young, single and having a good time or maybe not only you can decide. Then again most normal/social drinkers never have a thought about being alcoholic.

funny as hell Nemo