Quitting Drinking

[HeinekenMan]

If I drink, a lot of the times I know my limit and where I need to stop. I will have a few beers, relax and just be done with it. I don't want to be "that guy" in the bar like several of you are saying or "that guy" at a party. When I last drank however, I transcended the boundary and became him. Only a few instances brought more shame onto my conscious than that night. The next day at work that was all I could think about, plus the thought that I might have ruined a relationship. It turns out I didn't ruin the relationship, but it led to the significant other saying that she was afraid I would "hit her", even though I would never lay a hand on anyone, especially a woman. That is what made me fearful the most. Not only the fact that I embarassed myself beyond belief, but my girlfriend would think that I would be drunk to the stage of hitting her.

I excercise regularly, I belong to a gym, and I take pride in my body. I do run but haven't been out there in a while, and that is where I do most of my thinking. Maybe one of these days I just have to go out there and kick my own ass with a run or just lift until my arms fall off.

The more I read about your situation, the more I think that the problem you need to tackle could be something else. Is there something that caused you to drink that much? I think fixing that might fix your drinking problem, however serious it might be.

And 21 is right that you can't take yourself out of situations that involve alcohol. What I'm talking about, though,is taking yourself out of situations where you surround yourself with people who you know will drink. You can control yourself, but it's much harder to control yourself if you're at a bar with three friends who are drinking.

 

[User 1019]

In the Army (and other services), when you go to schools or short assignments, we call it TDY, or temporary duty.

I have a TDY drinking problem. I'm away from my wife. In the evenings, I'm stuck in a hotel or barracks with nothing to do. So, what do I do, head to the bar on post -- where beer is almost ALWAYS cheaper -- for a couple of beers with the guys.

I'm bored, so I drink. Hmph.

I'll have about five months of continuous TDY that begin later this month. God please let me have a work schedule that allows me to play golf nearly every day!

 

[Colonel Angus]

Have you ever read AA's "Big Book"? Even if you don't think you're AA material, you might take a glance through it some time, particularly the Doctor's Opinion and the first three or four chapters. It might help you decide if you really have a problem. It might not.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm

I post this as one whose struggles w/the bottle have been fairly well-documented on this board, but those posts have probably been lost to history.