age you started drinking?

[tinkerbell]

I saw a show last night about the rise in teenage alcoholism in the UK, apparently "statistics show" that the younger we start drinking the more likely we are to become alcohol dependent....

so, just wondering....when did you start? and what do you think could have been done to deter you from drink at that stage.

me - 14, occasional drinking, 18 daily drinking, 24 - drinking alone, 27 - realised i had a problem, 28 (now) - trying to get a grip on it

i think i would have been put off if it hadn't been so cheap






p.s. Uk peeps - there is a show on tomorrow about alcoholism that looks interesting too

[Mackeral]

age you started drinking?

Hiya Tinkerbell,

I was in hospital at 13 due to drink...I drank a bottle of vodka straight at a friends party..

I definatly think my parents drinking at home had a big influence...You gotta learn it from somewhere....Thats proberly the major reason i have give up...My eldest is 12...And i dont want history to repeat itself..

Like you said the fact that its so cheap now to buy ( and so strong ) means if one of the kids looks older than 18....and young girls do now by the time they're 13...They could easily afford booze with just pocket money..

Scares the life out of me sometimes..

[tinkerbell]

age you started drinking?

my parents drank heavily, i remember hiding my mothers vodka bottles at 8 years old. i suppose it seems normal after that

it is very frightening

i worry about the state of the nation in 10 years time when this generation of teenage drinkers is running the country

[MonaCat]

age you started drinking?

What about the all the teens smoking pot?
That really frightens me, because I think it effects their motivation to do well in school.
The teens I know are more into pot than drinking.
I don't know which is the lesser of two evils.
If only they knew what we know about addictions.

[Newyear]

age you started drinking?

Very first time, I believe I was 16 (probably just turned 16). It was Summer and someone got beers and we all drove around and then parked on the causeway and drank. I had 4- 8oz beers. I remember that very well. I was completely fascinated with the feeling it gave me. I liked it from the start.
I remember I really had to go to the bathroom and we couldn't find anything open except a strip bar....the bouncer let us come in and use the bathroom and then we had to leave.

Funny how rarely I share this lovely childhood memory!!

Just for info purposes...My parents rarely drank. My mother never and my dad occasionally drank bourbon and coke.

Lisa

[MonaCat]

age you started drinking?

Me too Lisa, my parents rarely drank, so I can't blame them, as much as I'd like too!

[Popeye]

age you started drinking?

Hi Tinkerbell, I think I had my first drink aged 14, but I didn't start drinking "properly" until I was about 20. I am 44 now. I have never been a big fan of bars and most of my drinking has been done alone and in the house, which I must say, I enjoy up to the point where I don't know where I am.

[InnerStrength]

age you started drinking?

Hey Tinkerbell
Great topic!
I got drunk for the first time when I was bout 13-14 at a friend's house - her older brother thought it would be funny to get us ripped. I remember asking for more and more so I loved it from the start. The next day though I felt so terrible, I couldnt even touch carbonated drinks for about 2 months. (I had been drinking whisky and coke - crazy eh??)
I didnt really drink after that until about 16 or so and then started drinking beer occassionally. By 17, I had met and become friends with a girl who was a very heavy drinker and I became the rum and coke girl. Thats when I would even come home from school by myself and break into my parents' liquor cabinet and have a few until they got home (and later). So I guess I have been drinking pretty regualrly (weekends, then more etc) from about 17 to now (29).
Love Jen

[iia67]

age you started drinking?

First time I got drunk...I was about 9. My older cousin though tit would be funny. I didn't really start until I was about 14...it became very heavy very fast. I smoked a little pot, but didn't really like it. Pot did not last very long. Cocain...way to scared to try it...scared I would like it too much. I have had many chances, but always walked away.

[LtLM]

age you started drinking?

I was VERY much against drinking in high school.

I started drinking when I went to college (age 18, to attract a boy....whom I later married....non alcoholic).

It was only weekend drinking. We never kept anything in our dorm room or apartment. As a matter of fact I would go to the liquor store for my younger friend and buy her a case of Little Kings but it never dawned on me to get anything for myself.

At that time you could buy beer at age 18.

When I moved out on my own, I remember being embarrassed to buy beer at the grocery store. I remember one time when I only needed some....er....uh....."personal items" and beer. I made my friend (now of age) buy the beer.

I started working as a waitress and bartender during college. I still only drank on the weekends but remember filling a coffee cup with alcohol when working as a bartender. That should have been my first sign.

The first time I remember being REALLY, REALLY drunk was around age 23.

My alcohol consumption has just gradually increased over the years. I'm now 46. I also hate bars and really prefer to sit at home and drink copius amounts of wine. I got my first blackout about 3 year ago.

HOWEVER, I have 2 days of sobriety under my belt now. I have gone many times for a few weeks without drinking but somehow this feels different! I hope my life is changing....how I view and feel about myself....not just my drinking habits.

I'm including all of you in my prayers at night. Hopefully those of you who are so inclined will do the same for me!

I'm so glad to have found this place!!