Hi everyone,
This is my first post here and I guess I'm posting it in the hope that some of you will have maybe read similar experiences that others may have had or maybe you've gone through a similar thing yourself.
I'm Scottish and my situation with drink is that I am a weekend binge drinker. I'm 29 and have been drinking like this since I was 18. Basically, my pattern is that I will go out on a Friday or Saturday night, sometimes both although more often one or the other and drink until I am drunk. Generally this means drinking from about 8pm to 3am and I'd say on a normal night i'd drink about 10-15 drinks depending on what they are (i wouldn't have that many pints!) .
This has been a pattern i've followed for ages. I have never considered it a problem as I've only ever drank in social situations, never alone or at home and very rarely during the week except maybe the very occassional time (every few months maybe) when I'd go out and have a couple of pints maybe watching a match. My friends are also drinkers who follow this habit and although I get drunk I am never sick or pass out (another reason why I never considered it to be a problem) or in trouble or fights etc
My holidays recently have all been weekends with a group of lads to foreign cities basically to drink and have a good time. I have had a couple of episodes in the past year during such trips where I have felt disasterously bad with withdrawel after 3 nights in a row drinking. When I'm at home 3 nights out in a row never happens so i'd never experienced this before.
Anyhow at the risk of this turning into War and Peace i'll get to the point - my aim is moderation. When I say moderation I mean limiting my drinks per night to a level I am happy with and will not result in me feeling hungover the next day. As i'm only 29 I really do not want to stop drinking altogether - I am single, live alone and would fear for the future and my chances of happiness if I felt I wouldn' be able to have some sociable drinks with people. This is really more of a cultural thing as in Scotland everyone seems to want to meet in the pub and meeting new people/potential partners etc would become dificult for me.
I don't crave booze, at home I have spirits and beer in the fridge I never touch - I keep them there to offer others when they come round. My nights out have always been around the fun of being with my friends - we have always i guess lacked respect for alcohol and most certainly abused it to add to the 'hilarity' and I guess over the piece have so far all been lucky!
My decision to moderate began at the start of February - I deceided to log on a self made spreadsheet how much I drank each night I was out - since then I have been out every weekend and kept within my target amounts. This weekend will be the 9th week of 'moderation'. So far i've tried to avoid situations with a group of people rather buying my own drinks etc. I suppose I get anxious that one night i'll drink too much especially as my friends are still drinking really heavily and I am trying to widen my social sphere and change my lifestyle - I guess I'm looking to hear from anyone on here who has perhaps done something similar or whether your opinions are that my new lifestyle is doomed to failure!
I suppose at the moment I buy into the theory that self control is a skill that can be learned rather than the abstinence or nothing approach being the only way. My thinking is that I know one drink will not make me embark on a furious bender - the 9 weeks of drinking less during nights out have shown me that and I've always been able to drink less depending on the company i'm in - when I've been drunk in the past its always because I've wanted to be and have let myself go. Will this happen to me again in the future? If I moderate and gradually change my lifestyle not to revolve around my nights out could this work? As long as I keep making progress then is it likely I'll be able to relax and enjoy nights out etc again.
I know its common to say if i think its a problem then it must be but I'm not sure I subscribe to that as I could think I have any disease then be told I don't actually. Either way whether it all works or not, this could be a long journey so thought i'd say hi - if anyone does know of any similar precedents or has any thoughts, i'd love to hear.
thanks
Sam
This is my first post here and I guess I'm posting it in the hope that some of you will have maybe read similar experiences that others may have had or maybe you've gone through a similar thing yourself.
I'm Scottish and my situation with drink is that I am a weekend binge drinker. I'm 29 and have been drinking like this since I was 18. Basically, my pattern is that I will go out on a Friday or Saturday night, sometimes both although more often one or the other and drink until I am drunk. Generally this means drinking from about 8pm to 3am and I'd say on a normal night i'd drink about 10-15 drinks depending on what they are (i wouldn't have that many pints!) .
This has been a pattern i've followed for ages. I have never considered it a problem as I've only ever drank in social situations, never alone or at home and very rarely during the week except maybe the very occassional time (every few months maybe) when I'd go out and have a couple of pints maybe watching a match. My friends are also drinkers who follow this habit and although I get drunk I am never sick or pass out (another reason why I never considered it to be a problem) or in trouble or fights etc
My holidays recently have all been weekends with a group of lads to foreign cities basically to drink and have a good time. I have had a couple of episodes in the past year during such trips where I have felt disasterously bad with withdrawel after 3 nights in a row drinking. When I'm at home 3 nights out in a row never happens so i'd never experienced this before.
Anyhow at the risk of this turning into War and Peace i'll get to the point - my aim is moderation. When I say moderation I mean limiting my drinks per night to a level I am happy with and will not result in me feeling hungover the next day. As i'm only 29 I really do not want to stop drinking altogether - I am single, live alone and would fear for the future and my chances of happiness if I felt I wouldn' be able to have some sociable drinks with people. This is really more of a cultural thing as in Scotland everyone seems to want to meet in the pub and meeting new people/potential partners etc would become dificult for me.
I don't crave booze, at home I have spirits and beer in the fridge I never touch - I keep them there to offer others when they come round. My nights out have always been around the fun of being with my friends - we have always i guess lacked respect for alcohol and most certainly abused it to add to the 'hilarity' and I guess over the piece have so far all been lucky!
My decision to moderate began at the start of February - I deceided to log on a self made spreadsheet how much I drank each night I was out - since then I have been out every weekend and kept within my target amounts. This weekend will be the 9th week of 'moderation'. So far i've tried to avoid situations with a group of people rather buying my own drinks etc. I suppose I get anxious that one night i'll drink too much especially as my friends are still drinking really heavily and I am trying to widen my social sphere and change my lifestyle - I guess I'm looking to hear from anyone on here who has perhaps done something similar or whether your opinions are that my new lifestyle is doomed to failure!
I suppose at the moment I buy into the theory that self control is a skill that can be learned rather than the abstinence or nothing approach being the only way. My thinking is that I know one drink will not make me embark on a furious bender - the 9 weeks of drinking less during nights out have shown me that and I've always been able to drink less depending on the company i'm in - when I've been drunk in the past its always because I've wanted to be and have let myself go. Will this happen to me again in the future? If I moderate and gradually change my lifestyle not to revolve around my nights out could this work? As long as I keep making progress then is it likely I'll be able to relax and enjoy nights out etc again.
I know its common to say if i think its a problem then it must be but I'm not sure I subscribe to that as I could think I have any disease then be told I don't actually. Either way whether it all works or not, this could be a long journey so thought i'd say hi - if anyone does know of any similar precedents or has any thoughts, i'd love to hear.
thanks
Sam
just to echo what the others have said: congrads
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