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    It is purely mental.

    This is the first time I have ever sought help for my dependency. My mother is an alcoholic she drinks every night. I have moved in and out of my parent?s house my entire adult life, sans the last 3 years, because of my irresponsibility. In my young adulthood, while living at home spending time by myself reading or writing she would always call me to come and talk to her. This would involve her telling me all the negative things about myself, all the while passing me cigarettes and pouring shots of crown royale. Over time I feel I started to accept the comments on a subconscious level, but even more of a problem is that it created a horrible association with e.g. reading and writing being followed by verbal abuse and drinking, smoking and verbal abuse being followed by acceptance. You can only guess the consequences of such thinking

    One of the reasons I believe this was able to happen is my accepting the misconception that your loved ones are always doing what?s best for you, but they are not perfect and blah blah. In my case she used her "love" for me as a tool of manipulation to force me to accept her reality. She succeeded.

    My drinking often occurs at night after work either at a local pub or at home. Sometimes it carries over to the morning, but effects work only in that I may have to drink a cup of coffee to get started. BTW I work at night starting at 4pm. Besides my job there are many other interests that I have from entrepreneurship to overseas travel, but when I start to pursue anything of such I start to hear that voice telling me how bad I am. Even more is the fact that I am not depressed or moody, etc. I am usually smiling more than most. I am energetic, outgoing and have a positive outlook on life's possibilities.

    I have seen a couple of psychologists, one said I just had adhd and put me on adderall while totally disregarding anything I said about my life till that point. The other was over the phone, we talked quite a few times but he just didn't get it. At these sessions, though, I had still not truly accepted that I had a problem with alcohol. I refuse to go to AA I am sure it works for many but A: I?d like to deal with this privately or in this case semi-anonymously and B: It's way too religious. I want more of a common sense approach and maybe I have found a piece to the puzzle here. As I have already learned much from you all by just reading posts and taking a look around.

    Anyway it has been twelve hours since I have had a drink and I just want to get through today without drinking. I do not know whether the goal is moderation or to completely stop and I don't care as of now. Just this first day.

    -Marlon
    Marlon

    #2
    It is purely mental.

    It sounds like you know that alcohol contributes to your unhappiness even though you "appear" to have it together. Been there. Always was the overachiever with the alcoholic mother, then hubby who squished my efforts until I started to believe them. Got to the point wear I ran out of energy, so here we are. Fortunately, I am now with someone who is very supportive and have to work on getting those nagging neysayers out of my head. I know I can't do this drunk, so again here I am. Day 2 AF and already a little more positive. Please join me - we probably know more than the shrinks anyhow. Best of luck on your journey. Keke

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      #3
      It is purely mental.

      Hey CXD...

      Boy, do I know how to "appear" all is great and I'm happy. If only they knew!

      All the negative thoughts need more then just a pill. The best bet is a good psychologist, and sometimes you have to go through a few, before you find one you like. Also, I read/worked this book once a few years ago, it did wonders for my negativite thoughts. Had worksheets and made you put alot down on paper, not just read it. I am a perfectionist, and when one thing goes wrong, my automatic thoughts are not good. Let me see if I can find out the title, and I'll let you know.

      In the meantime, STAY HERE! It really has helped me, and I just started - only 7 days so far, but feeling much better.
      "Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

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        #4
        It is purely mental.

        Hi Marlon.....and welcome. Hey, I started a thread (Newbies unite, June 08')....last month. I'd like to invite you to visit there....it's a wonderful group of people like yourself, just starting out and supporting one another. I work evenings as well and can relate to some of your story. I wish you the best and hope to see you over there.
        Renewal

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          #5
          It is purely mental.

          sWELCOME...You will find tremendous support here...It sounds like you have allowed yourself to be brain washed into believing things about yourself that just aren't true.There are some really good tools that can help you reverse that.One of my favorite is the book..YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE...by Louise Hay..it can help you reprogram your thought process...Change your thoughts and you change your world...
          sigpicEyes on the PRIZE, a SOBER Future !!!

          Comment


            #6
            It is purely mental.

            This is therapy

            Thanks all for the responses. Panacea the book and worksheet sounds like something I could use, so definately keep me posted if you find it.

            I may come here tonight after work, as that is the time when I feel the cravings most. I have kept my imperfections to myself for too long. This is actually really theraputic in itself, just telling people about it. Thanks again and have a great day everyone.
            Marlon

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              #7
              It is purely mental.

              The book....Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy, author David Burns.

              He has some newer additions out, but this is where I started. I was told to read it and work the excercises due to being a little depressed, but most of my down times were due to my thinking. I saw things black or white....right and wrong....good and bad. If one thing went wrong, I thought "See, you do suck, why do you even try, you'll fail anyway, you don't deserve to be happy, they were right" (I had a very negative influence throughout my life too).

              This book, and others about cognitive behavior, rationalize your thinking. If you inner voice is negative, as mine was, and still is ocassionally, it teaches you to look at it differently, and gives you "tools" to stop that thinking and shut it up!

              It really did make me realize how my thoughts affected my mood. I had no idea my inner voice had such a BIG MOUTH! I was silently beating myself up mentally ALL THE TIME, and had no idea how bad it was till I started working the cognitive behavior therapy and I began recognizing the "voice".
              "Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

              Comment


                #8
                It is purely mental.

                Welcome CXD,

                I think we're all a little ashamed to admit we can't control our drinking. It seems - to someone who doesn't share our problem - like we should just be able to stop or cut down. That's like asking an anorexic to just eat. If you have a chance to read RJ's book (recommended), you'll see that she, too, didn't want to wear her problem drinking on her sleeve. That's one of the things that's so great about MWO - we can share our stories, triumphs and falls with others who truly understand. We're not here because we're saints or are particularly wise - we all need each other's support. And you have mine. Visit often - I've found the posts to be of great comfort and motivation.

                V.

                Comment


                  #9
                  It is purely mental.

                  Welcome to the Board. No one likes to admit certain things about themselves; especially to someone who would not understand or comprehend what you are going through. I hope you find what you are looking for; this place if filled with so many good people and the support is truly amazing. You will find out what direction you want to take; like you, I take it one day at a time.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    It is purely mental.

                    :welcome: I can relate to much of what your write. This forum in an amazing place that allows sobriety or moderation at whichever pace you need to be at. There is more compassion and friendship than I could have ever expected.

                    Please join us, you are no longer alone with this problem.
                    Enlightened by MWO

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                      #11
                      It is purely mental.

                      Thanks Panacea, for the book title your review seems right on for what I am looking for. The inner voice is very crippling, the problem, it seems, is that where ever the voice came from it comes, primarily, at a young age.

                      Quick question* I feel my problem is in my thinking, but I know a lot of people believe they are genetically predisposed to drink. In your opinion is it one or the other, is it a combination between the two, etc.

                      BTW, I am at 26hours now and am shooting for 48. This though will be difficult, I can not remember the last time I had a Friday off and didn't have a drink. But this site seems to make it a little easier.
                      -Marlon
                      Marlon

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                        #12
                        It is purely mental.

                        Hope you find it helpful. I did, if just to discover that nagging inner voice that seemed to knock me on my ass.

                        As for the reasons of why we drink, I can tell you three reasons why I drink....everyone, I assume, has their own reasons...

                        1st - It made me happy, fun, energetic, bold, confident....in the beginning.

                        2nd - My family has a history of heavy drinking.

                        3rd - My negative thoughts which consumed me, which for a while, the alcohol helped....in the end, they were the main reasons for continuing.

                        I've always had issues w/what my inner voice told me. But drinking just MAGNIFIED it, and I never had a chance to fight them, while drunk, so any problems I had were just compounded by this vicious circle of thoughts and drinking.

                        Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!! I'm on 8 days today, and NEVER thought I'd be here to say that....YOU CAN DO IT!
                        "Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

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                          #13
                          It is purely mental.

                          Vicious circle...

                          OH yes - that destructive voice that Never seems to shut up!! And it's a vicious circle: the negative voice leads to negative actions which leads to more negative thoughts. Even if you can't replace with Positive thoughts, I've found that if I at least GIVE IT A REST - "don't think!!" - it's a start. Rest that brain somehow. Rest seems to weaken that harsh, critical voice. And Then you can start putting in some good thoughts. You are good. You may have "bad" problems, but YOU are GOOD!



                          It really did make me realize how my thoughts affected my mood. I had no idea my inner voice had such a BIG MOUTH! I was silently beating myself up mentally ALL THE TIME, and had no idea how bad it was till I started working the cognitive behavior therapy and I began recognizing the "voice".[/QUOTE]
                          Sometimes you have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down... Anais Nin

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                            #14
                            It is purely mental.

                            Panacea,

                            So well said. Your 3 reasons are probably the same for most of us, plus or minus a minor detail. I've found that the mind can be far more devious - long after the body has gotten comfortable with sobriety, the mind tries every which way to sabotage. That's why RJ went after the booze demon with a multi-prong approach. The cd's are a key part of retraining the mind. They've helped me. CXD - keep on keepin' sober. It's the really happy land.

                            V.

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