how does one transition from hard core casual drinking to alchoholic?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

4.5 hours to happy hour or in nautical terms it won't be long before the sun is over the yardarm

The sun is always over the yardarm somewhere, or as the landlubbers say, "It's five o'clock somewhere."

Seriously, ever seen an episode of Mad Men? They only had to walk into an office for a reason to pour a straight shot. When you see the actors on that show, you see the spitting image of my dad. That show is dead nuts spot on how I grew up.

In every respect.

If he were alive today, he'd be one of the show's writers. Well, maybe. There's no shortage of those types if they are still alive. Just like the show, he lived on the edge and went down in flames when 2 large accounts went belly up owing his agency more than he could cover by a large margin. He ended up teaching at USC; smoked Camels and drank to the end.

On his 3rd wife.......... maybe I ought to be on the Mad Men writing staff.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I'd finally hit bottom. At some point the only lower level is a dirt nap. The good thing is that it is only up from that point.

Until you actually hit rock bottom you have no idea how hard of an impact it actually is. Some people never recover from the crash and die or walk around at that level.
The self examination that follows is the worst thing imaginable. I look back at old photos and don't remember being there, even though I was in the photos. You find out your true measure when faced with this. The true test comes after the pain subsides, and reality is something you have to face.
Most people need help, to get back up and stay clean. I was fortunate, I had all the motivation I could ever need. To this day I can still see my daughter, the disappointment in me. I can see her as if she were standing right in front of me now. I made that little girl a promise to never again touch another drop. When everybody else in the world told me I would never be able to do it, she was there to help me, and she never doubted me. I may have been responsible for bringing her into the world but she is responsible for giving me my life back.
If anybody on this board is having trouble quitting and needs some support or just an ear to help them down the path I already know, please do not hesitate to send me a PM.

[tweezers74]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

So. I fell in love with Vodka.

I told my ex that I felt like alcohol was his mistress. That all those years, the lying, the hiding, the disappointment and him choosing it over me. That's how I felt. So I told him to choose and if he chose me, I would be there for him. If he didn't, well, he was on his own with "her".

Good for you, Seahawk. For all those who have chosen to stay dry, I know it is a hard decision and a harder one to keep true to, day after day. I admire all of you.

[vash]

a good buddy of mine got hooked on budweiser. he said he could drink a case a day!! he would get blasted and neglect his family. he said his wife told him she loved him, and he had to chose. she packed up and left with the kid. my buddy said the very first thing that jumped in his head was, "now that they are gone, nobody will nag me about drinking!! i can drink more!"..he was happy!

he said shortly afterwards, he stopped cold turkey.

i never knew he was an alcoholic. i thought he just didnt drink.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

As an aside how the heck do you know that far back like 6 generations? Is it documented? I only know about 3 generations and my mother's father's behaviour is not worth repeating except for his short stint in WW1. Yes indeed it would be interesting to know about 6 gens. of history but in my case some editing might be in order or it might become a bestseller!

Six generations in New Zealand, and very well documented. Crazy bastards even before they got here. Whereas my grandmothers people, Germans, much more civilised.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by vash

a good buddy of mine got hooked on budweiser. he said he could drink a case a day!! he would get blasted and neglect his family. he said his wife told him she loved him, and he had to chose. she packed up and left with the kid. my buddy said the very first thing that jumped in his head was, "now that they are gone, nobody will nag me about drinking!! i can drink more!"..he was happy!

he said shortly afterwards, he stopped cold turkey.

i never knew he was an alcoholic. i thought he just didnt drink.

That guy must have been addicted to peeing a lot.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by tweezers74

My mom doesn't have the asian glow. My dad does. And I do. Never knew what caused it until I went to nursing school and read about it in one of my textbooks. We lack an enzyme to break down the alcohol so it builds up in our bloodstream. I get short of breath, my heart rate goes up to 120's, and I get flushed. Almost sunburnt. And I get hot. Like I have a fever. It's weird. Almost like an allergic reaction. Can be delayed by taking Pepcid AC before a night of drinking.

Really. That explains one of my friends from Western Massachusetts. She always claimed she was allergic to alcohol. This must be the effect she experienced. And she was ethnically mainland Chinese.

[red-beard]

I was married to an alcoholic for 7 years. She gave it up a couple of time, or tried to. But then something would happen (ski trip, celebration, tragedy, etc) and she'd be back.

I was pretty young, so I didn't understand what was going on. I was still only a bit out of college, so it didn't seem that unusual. But it was the drinking during the week that was an issue. Every night. And I joined her in it for a while.

Some time in the mid-90s, I had basically said I had enough. I stopped drinking during the week. Only Fridays and Saturdays. It was around that time I figured out she had a problem, as she had no desire to join me in reducing consumption. By 2 years later, we'd had a couple of really bad incidents which showed the problem. Another 2 years later, we were under so much stress, we called it quits.

In the transition where we decided to split, I quit trying to control her drinking. She was "up" to 9-12 oz of straight vodka a night.

A few months after our divorce was complete, she needed some help on her resume. I had the files on my computer and we met at a friends house. It was funny that as soon as we were back together, the sniping restarted. I had to catch myself!

He face looked OK, but other exposed body parts were going yellow. Yep, she was starting to have liver failure...It has been over 10 years now. I don't even know if she is still around.

I saw the demon coming, and I stopped it. Some can't. Some lose everything over it.

[enzo1]

The Days of Wine and Roses 1962 - Greenhouse - YouTube

[Outback Porsche]

I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk!
Alcoholics go to meetings

Seriously though,
Brother's an alcoholic and a drug addict. It buggers the whole family up a bit. It's a sad story and I'd rather not go there. He's in a better place now but is a ward of the state in 24/7 care/supervision.

I like alcohol, one or two glasses with dinner. Sometimes more, most of the time less. I don't crave it.

My wife suffered a dose of DVT a few years back, she has a glass of red wine most nights. It was the only thing that would stabilize her INR when on the rat poison. She says the red wine is medicinal

[MarkRobinson]

From my experiences, it takes a trigger or two: a stress or two that can't be easily shaken, so the desire for continued alcohol starts a downhill relationship that can't be easily broken.

Once the stress(es) are removed, the dependence remains. If one WANTS to get dry, they need to actively explore the common means of doing so: AA, online AA meetings, Insurance-paid outpatient or inpatient facilties, etc. A lot of AA is merely counseling & figuring yourself out until you can keep your progress on your mind enough to get over the initial hump.

The more one is mentally healthy & socially diverse & well adjusted, the less likely they are to fall to alcoholism (from what I've seen).

[MarkRobinson]

Most recovering alcoholics will turn to another item to become dependent on: smoking or food are the two most common after one is sober: while they are trying to become sober they often think they can pawn off the addiction onto prescription drugs: a very dangerous game.

You can't trade one addiction for another: they have to recognize that to prevent/stop it from happening. True sobriety is a rare thing & only the strongest will achieve it.

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by vash

i have some coworkers. friends too. they drink easy 4 drinks a day. some of my good friends..hunting and fishing, they carry a 12 pack. (i just realized none of my california hunter buddies drink at all). some of my family members drink a bottle of wine nightly. none of them are addicted that i know of.

is it something different with people with addictive traits? i have addictive traits..I've been hooked on nose spray three times.

how does it transition? I've only known one alcoholic. a girlfriend's dad. he was unbelievable. like in the movies.

I would bet that you have known more than one alcoholic, they just hide it well. That's part of the game. They are magician's at that.

I stopped at 35 and don't miss it but I was fortunate to be able to quite and very fortunate to make 35 without killing myself or someone else. My wife was the most significant force in me stopping. She is one strong gal and she deserves most of the credit. We are together to this day and I don't fault her one ounce for putting the gun(so to speak) to my head.

The line of demarcation is very blurry. I was in sales and on expense account most of the time so it was easy going down but hell on the return. I really only lost one friend (customer) who told me "real men can drink" and I said Fook You and that was the end of our relationship. It didn't make any difference to any of the others. Got bailed out of the slammer twice. There isn't going to be a third time at least not for intoxication. It's the lowest moment in my life and one of my most significant successes. I can live with the history but don't wish it on anyone else.

I have many stories of my escapades, some can be told and others, well I have decided to keep some to myself. I share the history because I hope others learn through my pain. The most significant event was sitting down and telling my son I was an alcoholic, not a pretty picture.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by MarkRobinson

True sobriety is a rare thing & only the strongest will achieve it.

It is a very hard battle, which will actually start a year or so after one become sober. I know a lot of people who have back slid into drinking again or another form of addiction.
For me it ended up being popsicles, I had a thirst that was unexplainable, nothing was wet enough, or cold enough, and a popsicle was the closet thing I could find to stave off that thirst. I am still hooked

[ramonesfreak]

going from casual drinking to hard core alcoholic for me is about one thing..FREE TIME.

without time to drink every day, i dont. but, ive been there. it happens gradually without you knowing that it has become a problem. the funny thing is that i never looked at drinking a bottle of wine before 10 am and then sipping whiskey for the rest of the day, 7 days a week as a problem. i noticed the problem was severe when i didnt have the time to continue the routine and then felt the physical effects of not having it. i spent 3 years doing this. breaking the daily routine was quite brutal

i am fortunate in that i am able to contain my drinking now to week ends for the past 20 years and i avoid trouble, dont drive while drinking and am a cheerful, productive and creative drunk which is the opposite of how several alcoholics i am close with are....unfortunately their family, personal and legal troubles never seem to end and they are miserable and often violent and not good to be around and one of them recently died at age 40

[dafischer]

Well, we're about to make the transition, since we leave for vacation tomorrow PM, for 10 days.

[mikeesik]

-by being on Pelican.