YEP! and for some of us... looking forward to it is almost as good. I can usually keep myself busy enough to not drink until 5-6pm. But then feel almost programmed to start around that time and not stop until I've drank at least 120z of vodka. Try to limit it to that but doesn't always work. That's just when I'm home... when I'm out... no control.
Man I am exactly the same hey! I can easily wait until about 5:30-6pm to have my first drink, but then, it's on. However I find that I am the opposite in terms of having more control at home vs. when I'm out. When I'm out socialising I can abstain from alcohol reasonably happily, and most of the time I designate myself as the driver so that I CAN'T drink, and then if I have that reason to not drink, it's so much easier. But when I'm at home, I have no reason to control my drinking, especially on Friday-Sunday nights....hell, who am I kidding, on weeknights too. If I drink enough water and go to bed before 11pm, I pretty much avoid a hangover for the next morning, which makes it harder to have a reason to abstain from drinking each night.
I think that, as opposed to pain killers and benzos, drinking is so reinforced by our culture and environment that it stays in the back of some people's heads. Not to mention it's generally more accessible than any other drug.
Oh, absolutely man!! It absolutely disgusts me how many pop songs there are floating around at the moment which blatently advocate and glorify binge-drinking. What kind of message is that sending to the pre-teens who listen to that crap?!?!
Also, blahman, I'm not sure what country you're from but here in Australia drinking is
very much an ingrained part of the culture. Every single social event is doused with alcohol, there's no real escaping it
Hm. I'd say if you don't count the holidays (yeah, let's not count those..) then I'm still averaging about 3 nights a week, which is maybe only 1 less than before. What has changed however is what I drink, and how much. For about a year there, I was getting into a habit of picking up a 26oz bottle of vodka a couple/few nights a week, and supplementing it with beer.
That is really good that you've changed that part of the habit Cyc. Keep it up man
I can have oxycontin in the house for weeks without touching it. Ditto for benzos. A bag of weed will last me a couple months. I know that I can leave most things alone. I still don't really get why this should be any exception.
I've always maintained that alcohol is the ultimate boredom-killer. It's not being drunk, but the process of getting there that just makes the hours more enjoyable.
I wholeheartedly agree man. I too can easily have various recreational substances including benzos, opioids, stimulants, psychedelics in the house for weeks and weeks, and MONTHS without using them. But I can't have any alcohol in the house without having to drink it immediately, until it's all finished. I
hate that.
For me, alcohol drowns out the negative self-thoughts and obsessive worrying that plagues me every day, and it numbs the negative emotions caused by those thoughts. Moreso in recent years alcohol has also become my self-medication for anxiety (which is CAUSED by alcohol abuse!). I've recently come to the realisation that every part of my evening routine after work/uni has a part to play in drowing out/blocking these thoughts and emotions. I come home, turn on some loud music, have a few drinks, surf the net, help other people with their problems in TDS, have a few more drinks, turn on the TV and watch anything funny (it has to be something funny, cartoons etc), drink some more, until I take some OTC sleeping tablets and zonk myself out for the night. That's what I do every night, and each task plays a part in me avoiding my thoughts. I've been doing this for years and years, so it's gonna be a tough cycle to break. But it has to be done.
