Is it harder to quit if......

[Supercrew]

you are a binge drinker as opposed to a daily problem drinker?

I know many might disagree with me on this, but I think quitting drinking is harder for someone who doesn't use it daily.

I have been in both situations. I was a heavy binge drinker for over 20 years, and then I became a daily heavy drinker for about 5 years. Most of the time during my binge drinking time I didn't think that I had a problem with booze. I thought I was like everyone else. Get plastered 2 to 4 times a month on weekends normally. Now a few times (hundreds ) I did either promise myself or someone else that I would "never do that again", but I was never really sure what "that" was. I knew at the time that I might have what I thought was a self control issue, but I never really had the intention of quitting. I mean it was obvious to me and everyone who knew me that I wasn't an alcoholic, I just liked to drink too much when I drank. Why would I quit something that I loved and looked forward to? I didn't really have a problem because I wasn't like those losers who drink every morning, everyday, out of brown paper bags. I did know that my heavy drinking did get me into trouble, but I was just unlucky sometimes. I was known as the life of every party, I had been a drinking celebrity since I was 15. Even after a DUI and losing my front teeth in a bike accident and getting into numerous fights, I didn't really think drinking was my problem. My problem was sometimes, (always ) I drank too much and was out of control. But that wasn't a drinking problem that was a self control problem because I loved alcohol and I didn't abuse it daily, and alcohol loved me and people expected me to drink. I would have never looked for a solution to a problem that I didn't believe existed.

Now when I became a daily drinker, which I did consciously, because it seemed like a good idea at the time, I just figured this was the next step on learning how to handle my booze better. I mean if I was always drinking my tolerence would go up, and then no one would ever be able to compare Supercrew drunk to Supercrew sober...because I would just stay under the influence. (I didn't realize at the time that my body could become physically dependent on alcohol). In the beginning I enjoyed the hell out of drinking daily. I felt like I was one step ahead of everyone else, popping a few tallboys in the AM before work to get that buzz back and wash that hangover away from the night before. I got to the point where there were no hangovers because I woke up still full of vodka from the previous night. As time wore on I got better and better at planning my days around my main goal in life, staying drunk. But as the months ands years passed this daily drinking routine became harder and harder to keep up and harder and harder to hide. I started realizing that my tolerance was so high that I really never felt a buzz anymore, and the joy of drinking for me basically disappeared. At that time drinking became my job, and I had to continue my job just to feel normal. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month to drink every chance I got, normally alone, to try and feel like someone who wasn't sick. The pleasure was completely gone, but I couldn't quit or I would shake and get sick and feel like death. Anyone who has read my story knows I eventually found some real good reasons to finally quit and finally accept that I could never drink again. I learned through the process that I love being sober and I cherish sobriety.

Now back to my initial question, I really don't think I would have quit drinking or would have felt enough justification to quit if I would have remained a 4-6 time a month binge drinker, because I really felt that those drinking episodes brought me huge pleasure, and I lived for those times of popping that first drink after a week off to either celebrate or mourn or bond or just to hang out. I would have never learned that it really wasn't the alcohol that made these moments, it was my perception of what I thought the alcohol did for me. I would have never learned how to be happy sober, because I never truly believed that I could have fun or happiness or contentment without alcohol in my life. It took 5 years of full blown alcoholism for me to realize that I am the one who gets to dictate what happiness means in my life, not a stupid little bottle of poison.

So I guess what I am trying to get at is I feel bad for many people on this forum because I don't think I would have ever really quit drinking if I never got to the point where drinking quit bringing me any pleasure. It was just something I had to do to feel normal. Kind of strange how that worked out. I had to drink so I wouldn't feel pain. The only way out of the loop was to detox and then cherish what feeling really normal felt like. After drinking for almost 5 years straight it's amazing how good it feels to not have to rely on anything to make me feel better anymore, because now I feel great everyday! The problem when I was binge drinking there was nothing that special about feeling normal, so those couple of times a month when I would drink I made myself believe that I was getting some sort of pleasure explosion when the bottle hit my lips. So I do think it is harder to quit if you are just a binge drinker and you never become physically dependent on alcohol because you will have a hard time convicing your brain that drinking isn't some sort of reward for you. On the other hand I would never recommend anyone try what I went through to discover the the break point when alcohol no longer becomes pleasurable at all.

[Unwasted]

Is it harder to quit if......

SC, I don't know of anyone who has remained a binge drinker. Since alcohol is addictive and we need more and more to get the same effect, it seems from what I've observed that we all "ratchet up" and end up drinking most days rather than just 1-2 a week. I started out on the weekends too like most kids but ended up at daily drinking.

I can't speak for the comparison because it's been so long since I binged as opposed to drank daily. But, I do see your point. For me, though, doing something every single day of my life was torturous to give up because it was so "necessary and such a habit" to my alkie brain........like breathing. Once I got past the inital quitting, though, things got much easier and now I'm like you ....... much happier and healthier both mentally and physically and I wouldn't go back for any amount of money or love!

[Supercrew]

Is it harder to quit if......

I think whether someone progresses to daily drinking is another choice we make whether we have more free time, more money, or our lives get worse and we feel we need to handle our stress/life differently so we start drinking more. As far as people remaining binge drinkers, I would say most people in my circle of friends have not "ratcheted up" and continue to get plowed a couple times a month without progressing to drinking full time, hence the reason why few people do quit because drinking just remains a small problem that still brings them some sort of pleasure. When I quit I was at the point where I drank to avoid the pain of the detox instead of drinking to gain pleasure by getting buzzed and feeling happy. I was drinking to feel normal.

I think most people who binge drink never really get to the point where they derive zero pleasure from drinking, so basically they will continue on their path to get that high a couple times a month and they will find ways to deal with the short term pain of the hangovers and the depression and the consequences of the stupid things they do while under the influence.

[rubywillow]

Is it harder to quit if......

Super, it is one of the difficult things to understand when people from our youth who got wasted more often and more profoundly than others one day just quit, and others progress down the dangerous road. I know people like that, and they have no explanation. Just something about each individual it seems, the way AL affects us. Binge drinking, which young people think is totally acceptable, has now been proven to be almost as dangerous as a daily habit. So, though your question is a good one, I just don't know. All I know is how I function, and hope people don't take overdrinking lightly no matter the frequency.

[rubywillow]

Is it harder to quit if......

Eva, I once read that there was a point, as you talked about with the bell curve, that is different in all people. Once passed (and it all has to do with duration and amount) our brain tells us we may not WANT to drink, but we HAVE to drink, to feel 'normal'. So, after that point, one drink is not possible. It has to be continued to it's excrutiating end.
There are lots of theories, not enough studies. AL is big business. Look at what the governments reap from it in the beginning, when the AL is bought. Look at the business dependent on it. I cringe in restaurants when I see guys stopping off at the bars before they go home, knowing they're on the road. So far the government's answer: more arrests, more fines, more rich lawyers. So many people benefit from this there is no steam for studying the answers.
Sorry for my :soapbox:, just MHO. Great posts and discussion.

[Supercrew]

Is it harder to quit if......

That's funny. Sad. Heartbreaking. But funny. 'cause I can certainly relate. (My sense of humor is a little off-kilter when it comes to booze. But truly, only those of us who 'get' how it makes sense to drink regularly so we don't drink too much in one fell swoop actually would 'get it.')

I find it funny as hell.....obviously insane....but still funny! When I talk about how I became a daily drinker, which for me was a conscious decision, most people can't comprehend that I truly thought that by drinking all of the time I would learn how to better handle my intake. The real funny thing was that it worked for the better part of 5 years. Yes many of my binges were much worse because they would go on for days, but on an average day with 12-15 beers in my system no one had a clue that I was even drinking unless they smelled it.

[Supercrew]

Is it harder to quit if......

I think my point is binge drinkers might not have the urgency to fix the problem because the problem disappears for stretches of time until their next binge. Basically they don't fix the problem for the same reason that they will continue to drink, alcoholics have short memories. When I was drinking fulltime, I never got a break so there was no time that I wasn't not thinking about alcohol. The obsession to drink made it hard to quit, but it also made the problem unavoidable.

[KateH1]

Is it harder to quit if......

Supercrew;1286485 wrote: I think my point is binge drinkers might not have the urgency to fix the problem because the problem disappears for stretches of time until their next binge. Basically the don't fix the problem for the same reason that they will continue to drink, alcoholics have short memories. When I was drinking fulltime, I never got a break.

Once again, you have started an interesting conversation, Supercrew!

Much like you, my drinking problems began with Serious Binging, followed by periods of abstinence, I continued this behavior for over 20 years prior to taking up daily drinking. Both forms of alcohol abuse were horrible and there were many, many consequences due to drinking, as both my personality and my self control are non-existent when I drink. Many, many times, after a binge, I would swear that I was finished with AL. But, as you mentioned, days would pass and so would my memories of "How Bad it Really Was", and sure enough, I would binge again. The desire to drink always won!

My daily drinking went on for almost 6 years. I was living a life filled with anxiety, and depression due to my alcohol consumption. I was miserable! I still functioned as a professional at a very high level, and thought of myself as a"Functional Alcoholic". These days I am in full realization of how truly dysfunctional I was during that time. When I arrived here at MWO, I had been researching Rehabs. I am so grateful to have found this place and the people that were here to welcome me and to help me make the biggest decision of my life.......To Stop the Madness of drinking AL! These days, I accept the ups and downs of life without the "Intense" anxiety and depression that results from consuming alcohol.

[AGUYFROMNC]

Is it harder to quit if......

I agree its harder to quit if you drank everyday, but I know ive repeated this many times, I was up to a gallon of rum a day.... and some days vodka to hide the smell, still can smell but not as much.. but , went from binge drinking friday nights to sundays, just beer, then just everyday the harder stuff, I am 3 days AF again.... just feel crappy all over, all the symptoms we know about when we stop drinking, I actually moderated to a point when i did start drinking again, sometimes a pint but most times a fifth a night....glad I found the support this board gives.. Thanks all

[Supercrew]

Is it harder to quit if......

I will agree that it is harder to quit if you are physically dependent and drinking everyday, but it also gives you more reason to quit. You can't hide from your alcohol problem for a week here and there after your binge is over. It is in your face 24/7.

So yes it is harder to quit, but if you only binge drink it is easier to pretend that you really don't need to quit, or go back on a promise to yourself.

[LibraryGirl]

Is it harder to quit if......

Funny that you bring this up SC. I said to my bf last night that I didn't think I would have ever come here if I only got drunk once a week, or even 2 or 3x a week. That's normal. LOL!!! I noticed when I went on FB Friday so many of my fb friends posting they couldn't wait to get drunk/wasted/drink because it was the weekend!!

I too used to laugh along with them and say hell yeah, or something like that.:H People who thought it was wrong or unnecessary to drink to get drunk were just uptight jerks. We DESERVE it, lol.

[Supercrew]

Is it harder to quit if......

It's sad to say LG, but I doubt I would have ever quit drinking either if I would have stayed a binger. At the time I honestly didn't see it as a huge problem.....now on the other hand my wife did. In my mind at the time drinking wasn't the problem it was my self control. That's why I was looking for ways to moderate, and trying herbs and tricks to help me drink less. But the reality was that drinking has always been the problem, and becoming a daily drinker helped me discover that fact. Otherwise I would still be on the "trying to find ways to moderate" train.

[DriftyAlison0]

Is it harder to quit if......

I was a binge drinker, I could go days without the AL and then boom I would drink. I think it is harder because it is hard to tell a person who only does it 1 a week or less that they have a problem and they have a hard time admitting it themselves.

I knew I had a problem starting when I went from very special occasions to special occasions downward. But it still took me a couple of years to fully get it. I only drank a total of 2yrs and 4 months, but I knew I had a problem when I was drinking friends who have been drinking for years under the table.