Time I got sober!

[bangkok blue]

After years of heavy binge drinking the booze has finally got a hold if me. I become irresponsible and unreliable. Once I start I can't stop. It's now clear to me, despite the amount of times I've denied it to myself that I have a problem with alcohol. Today is my first day where I've said to myself I'm gonna stop, forever. Instead of ill stop until this friends birthday, Xmas etc.... It's gonna be a tough path but its time I began walking along this road. Fingers crossed I can make it.

[impulse]

Good luck on your adventure into sobriety.

Keep in mind you don't have to go it alone. Lots of people have cleared the path for you and will happily show you how they did it- just like the folks before them.

Or- you can do it the hard way. Easy choice for me.

[Lantern]

Hope it works for you, good luck.

[gerryBScot]

Well done on your moment of clarity. That's all it takes, a simple moment to recognise this isn't working and that something is wrong. Well done on being brave enough to recognise the solution isn't to try to drink smarter or in a different way, but rather to quit. For some of us quitting is the only solution that works. You might find it helpful to get involved in AA as the solo route is generally acknowledged to be very difficult and problematic. If you are in BKK there are plenty of meetings. I promise, you'll be allowed to leave on your own and will not be taken hostage! AA might help because there is a very strong possibility, in all likelihood a certainty, that you'll identify with a lot that is being said in AA. Good luck and please share your progress.

[ttthailand]

I really need to do same but weak. i even think i am now allergic to alcohol

[ttthailand]

Long time ago I quit drinking for health reasons. It was affecting my breathing. I quit for almost 3 years. I must say that I felt great and I got back in shape. My work life improved and my personal life improved. i still went out but I became the evening driver for running my friends to the bars.... Hahaha. They never pushed me to drink and all were surprised but very supportive. I have since started drinking again and drink too much too often. My health is starting to suffer again so I might be joining you and stopping soon. I got really ill from drinking recently and I have not had a drink in 5 days and I am feeling great. Just wanted to tell you that you don't have to drink to enjoy your life and everything will improve. Maybe join you soon ! Good luck !

[gerryBScot]

I really need to do same but weak. i even think i am now allergic to alcohol

Yeah I am definitely allergic to alcohol and the general rule for normal people is you avoid things that cause an allergic reaction. Not so with alcoholics! I now understand there are a whole pile of things that just don't happen anymore in my life because I don't drink.

[Alwyn]

I really need to do same but weak. i even think i am now allergic to alcohol

sounds like you're allergic to lack of alcohol

[gerryBScot]

Long time ago I quit drinking for health reasons. It was affecting my breathing. I quit for almost 3 years. I must say that I felt great and I got back in shape. My work life improved and my personal life improved. i still went out but I became the evening driver for running my friends to the bars.... Hahaha. They never pushed me to drink and all were surprised but very supportive. I have since started drinking again and drink too much too often. My health is starting to suffer again so I might be joining you and stopping soon. I got really ill from drinking recently and I have not had a drink in 5 days and I am feeling great. Just wanted to tell you that you don't have to drink to enjoy your life and everything will improve. Maybe join you soon ! Good luck !

Thanks for this - I have never heard a person say they started drinking again and it was better. Virtually everyone I know says in no time they were back to where they were when they quit and soon after that it got worse .......... good luck, glad you are in contemplative mode.

[gerryBScot]

I really need to do same but weak. i even think i am now allergic to alcohol

sounds like you're allergic to lack of alcohol

that's not allergic - probably withdrawal symptoms!

[patekatek]

Very courageous of you to post your very personal situation on this forum. However, it is great to see the overwhelming support from the TV members. I just received a Facebook message from my niece in the USA that she just celebrated her 8th year of sobriety. She is 31 years old and she said she has never felt better. I hope you will be saying the same thing a few years from now.

[Rockhound]

Good luck - it takes courage to admit it but, as people have said, it's the first step..

It was around about 2003 that I realized I was dependent on alcohol. I was lucky in that I had the chance to returning to work offshore where I spent up to 5 or 6 weeks on an offshore oil rig and thus had no access to booze. The first couple of weeks offshore were always tough for the first year though!

Now I can enjoy a drink or two (or more) most days I am onshore but have no problem with going without when I'm back at work.

[Cam Khao]

Good luck to you, I did a similar thing some time back, also started exercising regularly (nothing heavy, just walking) and eating healthier.

It completely changed my life.

The first couple of weeks were the worst, as I had to find things to do to fill up the time I had been spending either drinking, being drunk, sleeping it off or walking around with a hangover. Amazing how much active free time I had on my hands.

Still have not managed to quit smoking though yet!

Cam

[A1Str8]

Sure you can make it. Stay strong.

[gerryBScot]

Good luck to you, I did a similar thing some time back, also started exercising regularly (nothing heavy, just walking) and eating healthier.

It completely changed my life.

The first couple of weeks were the worst, as I had to find things to do to fill up the time I had been spending either drinking, being drunk, sleeping it off or walking around with a hangover. Amazing how much active free time I had on my hands.

Still have not managed to quit smoking though yet!

Cam

Yeah the smoking thing is truly mind-boggling. I last quit 8 years ago and have been off it since then but the first two years were absolute hell - I wanted to smoke every day for those first two years. Then the madness left me inexplicably and it has been plain sailing ever since.

[monty1412]

Bangkok Blue.. tough road but worth it..... this is all a game in your mind... you will tell yourself heck I haven't had a drink for two days i can have one and your body will want that.... trick is to NOT give up alcohol rather give up the first drink... just focus on the first drink being the one you must not have.. the demon so to speak....

Look at that first drink as the root of all the evil... easy to deal with if you blame it all on the first drink.... then cast yourself in the future its 6 months on.. you havent had a drink... imagine how good you feel.... your friend asks you was it hard.. you say NO all I did was concentrated on the first drink and said no to that. I never gave up alcohol I just gave up the first drink

Easier to give up the first drink than give up alcohol from a mental perspective.....

Good luck...

Let us know how you are going .. do you have folks around you that can support you and give you encouragement... lean on them... heck PM me if you want some encouragement .. happy to help

[Lysdexic]

I am definitely allergic to alcohol - it makes me break out in handcuffs.

Now going on 32 years sober, the meetings here in Chiang Mai are excellent.

[NBD]

All too easy to way over do it living in Thailand.

Just had a very sober weekend for the first time in a while and already feeling better for it. I will be aiming to keep it up.

Everyone's different but the people i've known who have been to AA have ended up turning a mild problem into a personal crisis. No substitute for self discipline and finding an enjoyable alternative to drinking, in my opinion.

[maybefitz]

It's thought that between 3% and 5% of the population are biologically incapable of handling ethyl alcohol in any shape or form. Even at the lower end, that's a lot of folk living miserable lives because their head is telling 'em to drink, and their body can't deal with it. I happen to be one of those people - I didn't work it out until AA found me in a psychiatric hospital. As has been said, it's the 1st drink that causes the trouble; because 'more' kicks in once the first goes down the neck. So, the aim, miss out on the first drink. Sounds simple, eh? But, thousands of people die with this illness because they haven't the self-honesty to admit it. Yes, it's a killer, and a major killer in the world today. In the West, up to 20% of long-term hospital inpatients have a booze problem - that's a big chunk of society.

You are in the lucky group that have the self-honesty and self-courage to admit it's got out of hand and are prepared to do something about it. As has been said, joining in with other folk who have faced up to this reality could be a life-saver. Find your nearest AA group and be prepared to listen to others experiences. That's how I did it, years ago, and still sober today. Hope you make it.

[Emdog]

Good luck, be strong. I am against AA because seems to sub one addiction for another. And like most religions, based on idea you are a "hopeless sinner". I would strongly suggest finding an incompatible substitute behavior. There is an alternative to AA, this one not faith based: http://www.smartrecovery.org/ You might get some help from them. BTW, I should be an alcohol abuser: everyone in my family is. Guess the joints during those formative years got me through the vulnerable stage. Remember drinking is a choice and a behavior. Not easy to stop. Different choices, different behavior.

[bangkok blue]

Astounded by all the messages of support and experience. All I'm thinking about is the seven weeks I went sober earlier this year and how much better I felt. I want that feeling back again, except this time for a much longer period.

[gerryBScot]

Good luck, be strong. I am against AA because seems to sub one addiction for another. And like most religions, based on idea you are a "hopeless sinner". I would strongly suggest finding an incompatible substitute behavior. There is an alternative to AA, this one not faith based: http://www.smartrecovery.org/ You might get some help from them. BTW, I should be an alcohol abuser: everyone in my family is. Guess the joints during those formative years got me through the vulnerable stage. Remember drinking is a choice and a behavior. Not easy to stop. Different choices, different behavior.

As an AA member I am very comfortable with alternatives/complements to AA. But I don't like your anti-AA stuff which doesn't seem to have any basis in reality. Please say more about how you reach these conclusions - personal experience or what?

The reason why I am challenging you is not for controversy's sake but because people come on here in desperation seeking help. As many say here these folk are showing courage and bravery by opening up. Please don't put them off one of the most accessible and free resources for people with drink problems unless you have solid reasons.

I also think you are being irresponsible in glibly dismissing AA as "susbtituting one addiction for another" and being based on a concept of being"a hopeless sinner". I have never heard any of these concepts in any meetings I have attended on four continents over the last ten years. If AA was based on being a "hopeless sinner" it would have crashed decades ago. Sober alcoholics as a general rule don't want sinfulness and conventional religion even though many of us, myself included, find ways to re-connect with religion as we get sober.

AA is by no means perfect - <deleted> it's a bunch of drunks - but it works, it's there, and it's free and it is worth checking out. Its longevity and truly international scope is proof of its efficaciousness.

[swissman53]

@emdog. Have you ever been on a AA meeting? I'm agnostic and a AA member sins 1981. We welcome ALL people and if they don't like it they can go again.

My higher power are the people in the groups. Than without those people i would be dead sins a long time.

And it's free. And if i drink water instead of spiritus i can afford a dollar in the box for the roomrent.

[mickeylo]

I really need to do same but weak. i even think i am now allergic to alcohol

Yeah I am definitely allergic to alcohol and the general rule for normal people is you avoid things that cause an allergic reaction. Not so with alcoholics! I now understand there are a whole pile of things that just don't happen anymore in my life because I don't drink. same here it will be 18yrs for me god willing in feburay I have been to thailand 9 times I love the place you don't have to drink to have a good time,and Iam always in a meeting weather Iam in bbk or pattaya.

[crazykopite]

Good on you Sir, the drink is a terrible thing it has killed two members of my family and I was going pretty much the same way until I moved over here and gave it up . now in my 8th year and in that time I have had no more than 10 small cans of Chang. My son has been in and out of rehab and has lost good jobs through it so I know what you will be going through if it gets to much go to the chemist I think they can give you something to make it easier for you. I know that there are AA meetings in Thailand but am also aware that a lot of people hate going to them my son being one when the Thais are having a problem with drink they tend to go to the Temple once again good luck I hope you can make it. You have got over the 1st step by coming out and admitting you have a problem so your on your way well done !!!!!!!!!

[JHenry]

Two years clean. No doubt it is possible, but the devil will be always here waiting. Learned to recognize it and to live with this. Good luck.

[EveryDayTheSame]

Good advice from Monty....Just resist the FIRST drink.............If you concentrate on that alone, you are half way there. Same goes for ciggies. You only have to say no to that FIRST one.

GOOD LUCK!

[phitsanulokjohn]

It won't be easy,but at least you realise you have a problem.Take one day at a time and learn to love your liver.I wish you all the very best.

[Chicken George]

Good luck!!!

[planetdweller]

Stay out of the beer bars. Watch out for temptation from those who do drink. There are many triggers to make you want to have "just one more". It is a compete lifestyle transformation.