I drink beer...lots of it

[cpn1004]

Greetings all,
I have been around this site for about two years and yet have not gone 30 days without drinking. I drink beer just about everyday. At it has to be Budweiser. Now I can hear the Euros and Aussies saying "that ain't beer, mate". And they are probably correct. The taste seems unimportant to me, but I must want the buzz.

So how much beer? Well it seems to be 7 to 12 a day. I work from a home office so around 2pm I get the strong psychological urge to open a beer. If I do, then it is on. No stopping until the beast is satisfied.

Well Phil why don't you read some books about this? I have. In no particular order I have read:
"Drinking: A Love Story" by Caroline Knapp
"The Easy Way to Stop Drinking" by Allen Carr
"A Drinking Life: A Memoir" by Pete Hamill
"The TAO of Sobriety" by David Gregson & Jay Efran
"Seven Weeks to Sobriety" by Joan Mathews Larson
"Staying Sober in AA" by Rick A
"My Way Out" by Roberta Jewell
"The Thinking Person's Guide to Sobriety" by Bert Pluymen.

If I am not completely stupid, I must be stubborn. Obviously the intellectual knowledge has not been sufficient in this battle.
As for supplements I do vitamins, L-Glutamine and sometimes Kudzu.

I have been lucky on the health side and legal side. No DUI's ever in almost 30 years of drinking. For my weight, height and age my calorie intake should be around 1400. Well if the numbers are correct I get 1450 calories from 10 Bud's a day. YIKES!

Last year I had 55 days without drinking with at best 10 in row. Not real good but better than 2006.

Not sure why I posted this or what I'm looking for. Maybe I want to see if anyone can relate or someone to call me out for being in denial.
Thanks for listening,
Love and Peace to all,
Phil

[Lotus]

I drink beer...lots of it

Hi Phil

I joined MWO last year and have kept coming back, because deep down I wanted to change. I wanted to stop drinking but felt like on part of my brain wasn't allowing me to do so. Something clicked 2 weeks ago though.

If it's the buzz then I couldn't even suggest AF beer. (Now that's definately not the real thing).

Ask yourself why you want to stop drinking rather than why you drink and I can confidently say that your reasons for not drinking will be more than for drinking. Although Allen Carr's book did loose some of it's glory for me I do agree that as drinkers we use excuses not reasons to drink. Unfortunately it is denial - we don't want to think life without alcohol. I'm Af at the moment but again I don't want to think about tommorrow. Can I ask over whether over the last 2 years hae you increased the amount of beer you drink in a day?

As for the supps I found Kudzu excellent but you need to take them regularly. Have you considered topa?

[lushy]

I drink beer...lots of it

Phil, I relate very much to your story. I work at home too and I think that really can be a negative when trying to get the beast under control. Whenever I am out of the house and busy I never think twice about drinking, but get me home and the wine calls my name. I have no great advice, just wanted you to know you are not alone.

[cpn1004]

I drink beer...lots of it

Lotus and Lushy,
Thanks for your comments.
I will think some more about all this.
It is comforting to come here.
Phil

[dexterhead]

I drink beer...lots of it

Phil, I am in exactly the same situation as you. My brain knows what I have to do ... but ... there is still some viciously stubborn internal thing that keeps me from stopping. yeesh

[Marshy]

I drink beer...lots of it

Hi Phil,

It must be difficult working from home, where you can do things that you wouldn't be able to do in an actual office, and knowing you don't have to turn up to an office with a hangover every day. About the only thing that stops me getting totally hammered on week nights is the thought of having to go into work the next day - I don't want to look really horrendous.

So, do you have to be available for phone calls etc at all times during work hours or could you leave the house when the urge strikes and catch up later? Just to break the habit, could you go out for a drive, swim, walk? Have you thought about AA or counselling?

OK, so you say last year wasn't great but it was better than the year before. Maybe this year can be even better. You're still here, you're still working on it, you're still fighting. Don't give up.

Love and peace to you too.

[MouseFL]

I drink beer...lots of it

cpn,
Thank you for sharing. I too HIGHLY suggest kudzu on a regular schedule. I take 900mg a day in 3 separate doses, usually at noon, 4pm & 7pm.
I have the advantage of an evening position at work. I typically have to be there at 2-3pm & clock out at 8-9pm. As I've mentioned before, my company is well aware of my DUI last summer. So there is no way I would ever drink beforehand. I also force myself up & out of bed by 7am at the latest. This way I am usually too tired in the evenings to indulge too much.
Maybe you could find a part-time job in the afternoons or evenings, or even a volunteer opportunity?

*Big Hugs*
M

[KatieSmiles]

I drink beer...lots of it

cpn,
I relate more than I care to admit, however, my best advice is to keep at it.
If you stumble get up and try again.
If you really want this you WILL win.
It's a long journey but worth it.

Hugs
K

[IAD]

I drink beer...lots of it

CPN409
It's safe to say that you drink to get drunk. You don't care what the beer taste like ! A
drunk knows a drunk, you can't bull shit us. Try AA first, and then come to us. IAD

[cpn1004]

I drink beer...lots of it

Thank you all for posts. I will keep working on this.
phil

[gabby]

I drink beer...lots of it

That was my story too Phil. Honestly you can break the habit when your ready. Topa helped me a ton tho.

[MissMe]

I drink beer...lots of it

This might be kind of an annoying post to some but wine is my seductress, not beer. And, as fate would have it, I work for an ad agency that counts as one of its clients - Budweiser! Also Grolsch. The fridge in the kitchen is always well stocked with all kinds of Bud. And there are a lot of beer lovers in the office. We work hard and play hard. But it's always been frustrating to me (until recently) that they never offered wine at the 4pm Friday happy hour, or that we don't seem to get wine clients! Funny how that is! I just had to share. We all have our own private seductresses!

[IAD]

I drink beer...lots of it

Sorry to be so blunt !
I.'m fighting , like yoiu are lets us get real l! We need to take our gloves off and take care of this problem...IAD Best whishes !!!!!

[Aileen]

I drink beer...lots of it

Phil,

Understand where you are coming from. Read most of those books and others. Have seen the destruction alcohol has done to me. Still I swing by the convenience store on my way home and pick up a 6 or 12 pack and drink it all. I am not going to give up trying to quit, though. Have even tried just about every new med on the market. Don't give up, keep trying.

[mac]

I drink beer...lots of it

May be worth thinking about why you want to quit - seems obvious but will help to focus on that and , no doubt, like many of us the rather awful negative images of the states /incidents/positions etc etc we have got into - seems to be agood starter before moving on to the positives you will find when really cut back or AF.
Like others I am working on it.