Is moderation possible

[zhelezo]

Is moderation possible

Doesn't work for me either. Even if I drink a little bit, or "moderatelly" around other people (2-3 drinks at a dinner party for example) all I think about is another drink and I stop enjoying myself.
my 2 cents...

[Marley]

Is moderation possible

Good luck...day 5 is great! I am only on day 2...I've had lots of 30 days, but tired of it and don't want to stand outside that bakery anymore (with me it would be a chocolate factory!) ; )

[Palatia]

Is moderation possible

Welllllll.. the idea for me was abstinance... I settled on the idea of total AF....

But for some reason the last two Fridays since I started here.. I had a few beers... (not because of the forum, because of my weakness :P)..

Now... I was able to get right back on track.. but I regret those nights so much because I mostly do not think about AL much at all anymore....

Today is Day 13 AF for me... would be Day 15.. but I screwed up those two nights. It does make me wonder if I can moderate on those nights only.. but the way it takes a few days to get even close to how clear headed I was beginning to be.. I don't think it's worth it.

I hope you find your answer...

:welcome:

[DAMO]

Is moderation possible

Many thanks for your kind words and advice,

[Croft]

Is moderation possible

This is just my opinion and I happen to know that some people do not agree with it, as I have been told I am wrong. In the end though I think we all have to find our own way.

I think moderation is very possible and that is the very reason that I joined this site. RJ's book was inspiring as it gave me hope that I could learn to be a normal drinker. Learn to have a glass of wine with dinner and be fine with just one. Learn to have a beer on Saturday afternoon in the back yard and stop. Have a toast on New Year's Eve and not end up praying to the porcelan god.

So I believe in RJs book and it is my goal to become a moderator. I am on a 30 day AF journey right now, but it is a path to my moderation goal. I have had stints of moderation that were very successful. I think moderation looks like not drinking on school nights and having an occassional glass of wine with dinner, maybe a beer on a hot summer night in the backyard. If you are drinking everyday you are not moderating.

Hope this helps.

[Sunbeam]

Is moderation possible

It seems that there is a wide variation in the quantity one drinks "moderately". For me, I like that "just-on-special occasions" kind of moderation. I also don't want to use meds or supplements just to be able to drink moderately in a larger quantity. And I definitely don't want to go back to constantly thinking, "Can I have a drink yet?" or keeping track of how much I have had. I don't want to count drinks or days on the calendar. I know I can count to one (glass of wine). Beyond that, my counting skills begin to fail.

[trixietrack]

Is moderation possible

I just read last night in a book on current research about alcohol use, abuse and addiction.

that says that only 2% of the people who had drinking issues can moderate after working on it.

the funny thing is that all the research is done on people in AA or in VA hospitals, so they are already in

pretty bad shape when they try to moderate.

[FinallyRN]

Is moderation possible

There is a section on this website for Moderators. Go to it, read it, see if thats something you can do. One of the members there has rules she sticks to, such as never on a week night and then only 2 on the weekends. It works for her but it appears for most here, its too much. That the amount usually becomes greater in a short period of time. I have moderated but it takes work and I don't know if I want AL to take that much from me anymore. And in the end I'm back here, maturer, wiser? Lets see if I can this time.