Addictive personalities !!!!

[Saoirse & the wild horse]

I guess I'm just realizing that if you get addicted to one thing , you can very easily get addicted to another. So I quit drinking 2 mths ago. ( was a binge drinker ) but now my new thing is food it seems!! What I am wondering is does anyone know how long it takes to stop comfort eating???
Also I'm wondering if I need to stay away from alcohol forever or if I just needed to get my head straight.
I was binge drinking once or twice a month never 2days in a row, I was super stressed and depressed and had a few bad experiences as I was blacking out when drinking. I quit by myself , my own decision . Because I new that I needed to get my head right!
But do you thi k I need to quit forever? Or can I learn to moderate?
BTW my drink of choice was Pinot grigio which I cook with almost daily and I only craved it for the 1st week off of it , not anymore!!!!!
Could I moderate or am I deeper in than I know??? :thanks:

[Supercrew]

Addictive personalities !!!!

I think most people become addictive to things that make them feel good, and to things they perceive make them feel good. As far as eating, I used to have a problem over eating. But just like drinking, I realized stuffing myself, although it seemed to feel good at the time, ended with me looking and feeling bad later on. This caused me to be depressed and have a low self image. I find that if I eat to live rather than live to eat I may not feel completely satisfied at the moment, but I feel great later on. Adding a daily workout routine also helps to keep my mind in the right place when that second piece of cake looks like a great idea.

As far as the drinking, if you have drank to black out and it depresses you and you admit that you craved it, why do you stilll want to drink? It's up to you whether you need to quit forever, but throughout my 27 year experience moderation was something that I could not rely on. Sure I had nights where I didn't get sloshed, but I never knew when my lucky number was gonna come up and I would forget I was moderating.

I have been studying alcoholism/problem drinking over the past year and a half, and I have not heard of a person who went from being a problem drinker to someone who could moderate every time they drank. I know I tried to "learn" moderation for well over 10 years, but the more I tried to practice it the drunker I got.

Congrats on the 2 months, why don't you try to make it 6 months, I bet your body will thank you, and what a great goal, sobriety through the holidays!

Good luck!

[Saoirse & the wild horse]

Addictive personalities !!!!

Super crew & mollyka thanks so much for the advice it really helps to keep me motivated. I guess I already know the answers to my own questions . But you know we like to wishful think! My goal is day by day as that doesn't scare me , however I would really like to get through the holiday season AF. And I know within if I can do that I'm gonna go into the new year with a new AF perspective ( long term ) I like your advice on the over eating super crew!!!!! I also like yours Molly , food is never as bad as alcohol anyway!! I'm interested in the fact that you also over ate I. The first 2mths . I'm glad it passes as I want to feel better about myself .
Thanks , thanks and thanks again . It really feels good knowing others care and have been in my shoes and still are !!
Love and light to us all !!!

[Struggles 106]

Addictive personalities !!!!

Wow-2months? GREAT

That's a darn good accomplishment!
But I will tell you my opinion. Moderation is not possible for
me and I venture a guess you as well.
People without alcohol addiction do not black out and do not
spend much if any time worrying about alcohol related things.
IMO- moderation is the inability to deny reality. Perhaps for some several
bouts of moderation can lead to the eye-opening required to say
I CANNOT DO THIS
Sorry to be negative but my best guess is it ain't gonna happen

[Saoirse & the wild horse]

Addictive personalities !!!!

Mollyka, I thought that this had been ezy for me to quit and tnoughto myself "wow If I can do this , then I can totally moderate ."
But then last night I was re-reading my journal from the few mths before I was AF and was surprised to see 3 different promises I had wrote to myself that I wouldn't drink!!!! I had wrote these after 3 different nights of binge drinking .
So truth be told I did try to moderate. It's amazing how quickly we forget the bad times and how we only remember the good times. Alcohol really is and evil demon !!

Because I didn't drink more than one night a week, or one night every two weeks . That plays with my mind telling me " I was just going through a tough time , I'm in a better place now."
My hurdle is to remember that " I'm in a better place because I don't drink ."