Anyone been through rehab?

[gassy]

[cgarr]

Its the in thing now, what do you want to know?

[Mule]

Not Amy Winehouse.

[kach22i]

A buddy of mine went though it/going through it.

I think it's been good for him, but healing a heart, mind and soul can be a slow process.

[gassy]

I think I need it. Too much drinking man. Not affecting my job, but jeez it's hard to cut down on my own. I've read it's basically impossible.
c

[scottmandue]

Have you tried AA?

Some people think it is whack but many others have been helped by it... most of the people who don't like AA have a problem with the "higher power" they refer to in their literature.

And it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper than rehab.

The twelve steps:


1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.


I in no way suggest or imply that this is right for you just putting it out there as a free option

I have been to a few meetings and for the most part they are friendly interesting people.

[svandamme]

if it's not affecting your job, then i would think you aren't drinking on the job
that's good if it is so

if not, i'de say you definately need it...

assuming you aren't on the drink@ work, then how long can you skip the booze?
try it, it ain't that hard if you are just drinking out of routine (vs drinking out of physical addiction)

just stop bringing booze to the house where you live
eventually you'll run out and find out if you have a problem to solve or not

oh yeah, forgot
first you need to be honest to yourself, determine your own status in this matter
no amount of programs will work if you can't do that first of all

[gassy]

Thanks sv--good advice.
c

[Rikao4]

the fact that you had the courage to step out here, should tell you something.
like the fellow across the pond says..
be honest with yourself,
lot's of 'help' out there..
are you drinking till down
drink for the 'taste'
it's there..
could you REALLY do NO drinking for a few days, a week, a month...
good luck
Rika

[gassy]

I want it to change. feel like I can't do it on my own. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Exercise would help tremendously I feel but I'm to depressed to do anything...I've got everything anyone would want (minus my debt) and holy he!! I can't shake it. Just thought I'd post for a good swift kick in the ass and force you guys to tell me to man the fvk up.
c

[livi]

Sorry to hear that, gassy.

I had a friend in a similar situation. He went about the drastic way. Took one week leave from his job. Camped out in the outback with another friend and went cold turkey. Said he went to hell and back again. Came out of the woods a sober man and has not touched it since. Ten years ago now.

[gassy]

could you REALLY do NO drinking for a few days, a week, a month...


Let's start with a day.

um, no.
c

[gassy]

Again, just answered my own question I guess.

[svandamme]

depression has a way of clearing itself when the booze is out of the picture

but the way you mention that you think you can't, that sounds like addictive thinking
i recognize it from when i quit smoking , internal conversations "no point in trying, i'll blow it in a week, so i might smoke now and save myself the hassle)

you'll have to test yourself

i never had a drinking addiction , even if i was a very heavy drinker, but i had no problem not drinking for a week, other then being a bit bored, and effed up with daemons to fight...

with smoking, i know i'm addicted, i know i can quit as well, but i smoke because it helps me not burn up at work... and i need my paycheck, so my priorities are clear...

a real drinking addiction however ain't as compatible with work...

[MikeSid]

Alcohol isn't the best thing for depression.

I drink on a daily basis. I find that whenever I take a break and plan to take a month off or go on "The Irish Diet" (nothing from Jan 1 to St. Patrick's day) it usually only takes 10 -14 days before I start to ask myself what the big deal was with drinking.

I think it helps to mentally set yourself up for this. Treat it like a diet. Start Monday and plan to take 2 weeks off. You can even post here to semi make yourself accountable.

After two weeks you might find that you've kicked the physical addiction and maybe the booze will have lost a bit of its allure.

If you can't make it 2 weeks without breaking your "diet" it will be obvious to you that you need outside professional help. Then, pick a program and sign up.

Good luck. I personally think it's one of the worst drug addictions out there. I probably have my own problems with it and try to be vigilant about the when, where, why, and how much of my own drinking.

[svandamme]

so if you classified yourself as addicted to booze, you have 2 choices
do nothing, see where it leads, for better or for worse
do something

personally, i think if you do something, might as well do something drastic
what , that's for you to decide,
join the french foreign legion, the marines, AA, JW's, drop a 500 ug hit of LSD in plain public, climb everest, move to a dry county, sell all your worldly posessions and travel to 3rd and 4th world countries... you know, commit

[scottmandue]

FWIW I am not a AA attender but have friends that do.

I do drink a lot and it worries me sometimes...

The biggest thing is what others are saying about depression... alcohol makes you more depressed... then you drink to escape the depression (or just feeling like $hit because you drank too much yesterday) so you can get into a vicious circle.

Best advice here is to try to give it (and yourself) a rest even if it is for a day and see if you can break the habit.

[lendaddy]

Not to pry, but what is it that makes you feel you have a problem(I'm not implying you don't). What kind of usage are we talking about.

Feel free to tell me to piss off.

For me I am working really hard to never drink to where it hurts the next day. I would say I have that 95% down and getting better. Again, no implication that my plan makes any sense...just that it's where I'm at. I went out with the guys last night and felt 100% at 6:00 A.M.. Step 2 may go further.

[pmajka]

Regarding Rehab: good luck, didnt work for me. Maybe it will work for you if you need it.

God saved my shebs. not me, not meetings, not 12 step program.

4 yrs clean,

[gassy]

Len,
it's the amount and how long it's been going on. My tolerance is amazing--not in a good way. I'd rather not get in to #'s but I'm sure eventually I will..I don't get hangovers anymore if that's any indication. I have an appt with someone tomorrow to spill my guts. I'm actually excited. I want to start enjoying things again. Off to my daughter's softball game! Thanks for the comments.
Christian