Sorry-Don't understand moderation

[Struggles 106]

Hi

First I want to say that I would never question or judge anyone's method of managing drinking as they see fit. I just don't get the concept of moderation. I can selfishly say
my opinion is formed partly by my own experience.
I was once reading a forum about alcohol where the comment was made "If you're here at this site you probably have an alcohol problem." I've also seen the idea that if you thiink about whether you have an alcohol problem a lot you probably do.
In my experience ( and many others according to what they tell me) the point of drinking is to get drunk, which of course involves excess. That's not to say there would never be a social setting where one or two drinks would be possible. But the knowledge that one drink could quite possibly lead to 20 with horrible repercussions? That's alcohol addiction.
Again please don't misunderstand my post; to each his/her own. I just think it's better to call it what it is and proceed accordingly.
I can see myself "moderating" about as easily as I can see my cat talking.

[Doggygirl]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

Ann, I am just like you. One drink leads to 20 in my world as well. I tried moderation and it didn't work.

The progression of alcohol abuse passes through many stages. There ARE situations where people are able to reign in their drinking and be successful with a moderation strategy. There are also medications that facilitate such an outcome. The My Way Out book is based on the alternatives of abstinence and moderation. Topomax is the recommended medication in the book to help achieve moderate drinking.

When I started the MWO program, I ultimately decided that I would pursue abstinence as I really didn't think moderation was possible for me (proven many times) and I didn't want to have to take a prescription med just so I could safely drink (and experience the side effects, etc. - if it would even work for me).

I think you are right that for a high percentage of us, by the time we have enough concerns about our drinking to find My Way Out, we may be past the point of being able to drink in moderation. I know I was.

But...that is not true 100% of the time. And also, most of us (unfortunately) find we have to experiment with the idea of moderate drinking in order to finally know for sure whether we can do it or not. Proving once again that AL is powerful - I know I still wanted to find a way to drink it despite all the adverse consequences.

:nutso:

DG

[nollie]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

I came to this site back in 2009. If you'd told me then I would have to abstain completely I'd have run a mile. I hung around for a bit, tried moderation and ultimately failed. But the point is I hung around, listened & learned a bit, discovered there were other people who felt like me and it was a site where I felt 'safe', and now I'm back again doing my best to abstain. For me moderation was a first step on the journey to AF.

[Lavande]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

Hi Ann,

Our thoughts & perceptions change over time I think.
I used to be able to enjoy a drink or two then leave it alone. Later in life I drank to try to dull the emotional pain in my life & that sure didn't work. I came to MWO thinking I wanted to learn to drink moderately but cahnged my mind when I approached 30 days. Like DG said above, I knew I had crossed the line & I'm not taking any chances of ending up back in a pit of despair. For me it just feeles easier & much safer to remain AF.

We all have to make our own choice

Lav

[Supercrew]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

When I learned that there was a chemical reaction going on in my brain when I started drinking that increased my dopamine levels to where for some reason my serotonin levels never kicked in to make me fell satiated and I always wanted more. This is when I realized that for some reason my brain processed alcohol differently than a majority of people and my problem wasn't a mental self control issue once I started drinking, it was a physical brain chemistry issue that I would not be able to control.

That is when I realized that moderation for me would be impossible. Abstinence was my only option.

[Peacefull]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

I've tried to moderate a few times. I was fine at first, then whamo the gates opened and back to bingeing worse than ever. My mind is still bargaining, like - after a long period AF I will be able to drink only very light beer. I am accepting the thougths for what they are and riding them out, I don't have any cravings and am at peace with not drinking. My life depends on me being AF, that's it!

Peace

[Wagoneer]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

I have learned as of late (after 11 months of sobriety I blew it 5 times in a two week period) and I am back on track. I cannot moderate. AT. ALL. The sooner I an get my cranium to understand that the better. It was a painful lesson, but now I know.

[nancy]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

serotonin

Supercrew are you so sure that you somehow are so different from other people?
And that you don't have the right serotonin reaction?

If you consider all types of addiction, I think it's pretty common to abuse substances (food, alcohol, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, gambling).

I think some people are especially more vulnerable because of mental issues, like anxiety.
Someone on the meds section of this site posted FAQ by Oliver Ameisen, who discovered off-label use of baclofen. It's very interesting, here's an excerpt:

What makes people vulnerable to addiction?
A Anxiety disorders, mood disorders such as depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and impulse and control disorders also produce the same general pattern of imbalanced neurotransmission seen in addiction, and the likeliest explanation of vulnerability to addiction is a preexisting imbalance in neurotransmission from such a disorder. The National Institute of Health?s National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) found that ?associations between most substance use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders were overwhelmingly positive and significant.?

Why do you think you became an alcoholic?
A In Alcoholics Anonymous I constantly heard people say that they suffered all their lives from physical and/or emotional ?dis-ease,? because of anxiety, depression, or a similar disorder, and that drinking was the only thing that helped. From my early childhood I experienced the same kind of underlying dysphoria, to put it in medical jargon, because of chronic anxiety. In my teenage years and adulthood, the anxiety frequently escalated into crippling panic attacks. None of the medications I was prescribed for these problems helped much, and I turned to alcohol as a tranquilizer, especially in stressful social situations. For quite a while I was a moderate social drinker, but eventually I plunged into full-blown alcoholism. Baclofen has been so helpful to me because it has resolved my pre-existing anxiety as well as my alcoholism. Again, it can likely do this because the same neurotransmitters that are involved in addictive and compulsive behaviors are also involved in anxiety and depression.

[Guitarista]

Sorry-Don't understand moderation

Great thread Anne, and hello everyone,

Why would i want to have 2 or 3 drink's? What's the purpose in that? For me, i want to get numb, so i'll keep drinking long after other's have stopped and gone to bed. Why? Don't know, and don't particularly worry about it or question it now. Like Super crew alluded to, our brain chemistry is different to most other folk where AL is concerned. I'm not missing out on anything either. I am gaining life, happiness, and treasure never before known. (insert big cheesy grin)