Ive been tracking my drinking since the summer in a spreadsheet. I have been able to cut a fair bit, but its the weekend type binge drinking that i worried about. I can stop for weeks with no problem, but then i will feel confident and bang 3 to 4 bottles of wine over a weekend.
Total Weeks 15.28571429
Total Days 107
Zero Days 80
Drink Days 27
Over 10 units 13
10 and under 14
Total Units 348
current zero streak 20
Weekly average 22.76635514
Daily average 3.252336449
Anyone else have a bingey pattern like me ? I am considering stopping completly and I did stop for 2 years before. I dont seem to be able to stop the binging
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Smegmer
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Yes, its better to attempt staying stopped. Whether one can stay stopped on a non-spiritual basis depends on the extent how much they have damaged the body and mind. Some people will have to take some drastic steps and revolutionize the way they perceive and live their life. In AA we call it a spiritual awakening. You can read couple of chapters of the book AA and see you can relate:
""If you have a drinking problem, we hope you may pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: "Yes that happened to me" or more important. "Yes, I have felt like that" or most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too".One of the best stories is the story of the co-founder Bill W. Here is the link to the story:aa.org/sites/default/files/...
My sister in AA and swears by it. Im not really into a higher power. But I do understand I need to stop escaltion of drinking, I do understand its a escalting process. My uncle is on around 3 bottles of wine everyday. I understand a genetic link is likely there, my Dad always drank, but not my uncles level.
Looking at my stats I know I dont need a detox etc, but its just not healthy at my age to have a binge once a month. Some people think im being paranoid and its "not that bad" that I have a session here and there.
I am a believer in will power and re-inventing ones self. I need a more healthy life style all rounnd. So, I'm going to stop completely. I am scared of ending up like my uncle, who too far gone I think to be helped, dont know he is still alive at those levels at 65yo
Sounds like you already know what you have to do. I was a functioning alcoholic for many years, then one night the functioning part was gone and only the alcoholic remained. I was in a loop. I felt so horrible without the booze, I had to drink to function. I appreciate that AA works for some. But I suggest you look at other options as well. I am 8 years sober, did not have to share with a group of strangers my worst mistakes, rely on someone else's idea of a higher power, or make amends to people who I no longer see. I would suggest you read the first section of the AA book. I found it outdated and full of expectations I did not agree with. Whatever support system you choose, it will be likely be the hardest thing you do. But it's well worth it. Living without alcohol you actually see things as they are. Wishing you the best. Feel free to pm me if you want or need to talk about it.
Hi. My sister in into AA and nearly 3 years clean and she was drinking twice as much as me. It works for her, but I agree, Im not too sold on some their ideas. The personal accounts ive read are worth reading though. I come from a village where I now realise that most were alcoholics.
I just dont like my binge pattern and 49yo I need to do something. If I could cut it down by 30% it wouldnt be a worry, but I dont. Gave up for 2 years before with no issues, but the thing reared its head because I got too condifent. Annoyed I started again, but now Im better aware than before.
Its a tricky situation. What makes sense to others may not make sense to you. But the underlying point AA likes to make is, they welcome people having problem with drinking to read one of the stories and see if they can relate and most importanly the person who is seeking help must get convinced that AA will work for them. You see in the preface they dont even mention the term Alcoholic. You will see that across the whole book. AA / AA members will only help you derive a conclusion. Even yesterday I was reading a story "Me An Alcoholic?". The protoganist after several years of struggle arrives at a point where he has lost all his hope and reaches out to a doctor: This is the converstion between him and the Doctor:
After talking with him for a time I heard myslef saying "Doc, I think I am alcoholic".
"Yes" He said, surprisingl;y, "yourare".
"Then why in Gods name havent you told me so during all these years? "
Two reasons, he said. "First, I couldn't be sure. The line between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic is not always clear. It wasn't until just lately that, in your case, I could draw it. Second you wouldn't have believed me even if I had told you".
I had to admit to muyself that he was right. ..........
I could relate to this story becaue, 2005 I had a family counsel qualify me as a border line alcoholic. I wouldn't accept it. But a year later I crawled to another shrink seeking help. Thats the plight of this disease.
I dont see it as a disease, i see it as a genetic predisposition to get addicted to alcohol easier, like some people get addicted to eating food, or chocolate or something. Technically this agrees with AAs "you are powerless", well, because you are powerless, you were born to get excited over alcohol. Its actually scary stuff and unfair !
I also dont consider an alcoholic as a physical addiction only, I am clearly a binge drinker at times, even though its caused me nothing really positive, a bit crazy to do that. yet overall I dont drink much over a month.Im not physically addicted, never have been. I dont think i ever will if I tried to drink daily I wouldnt last 3 days before collapsing in a heap, I would then be put off by the monstrous hangover I would have for atleast a month or even 2. I think I binge out of boredom and to let off steam, something I need to get to the bottom really
Its a progressive disease, in the same story he talks about the gap between binges shrinking over the period of time. The problem is, we will not accept that. I can understand, because I was also had the same mindset. But alcoholism is a sneaky business, it just creeps into our life and we are suddenly in an abyss.
The book very well understands that people will not admit we are alcoholic, hence it suggests 2 tests.
First to see if you have a phsyical craving:
We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition.
The 2nd is to test the mental faculty:
If anyone questions whether he has entered this dangerous area, let him try leaving liquor alone for one year. If he is a real alcoholic and very far advanced, there is scant chance of success. In the early days of our drinking we occasionally remained sober for a year or more, becoming serious drinkers again later. Though you may be able to stop for a considerable period, you may yet be a potential alcoholic. We think few, to whom this book will appeal, can stay dry anything like a year. Some will be drunk the day after making their resolutions; most of them within a few weeks.
i have put my data in my 1st post. I can stop at a few beers or wine over half the time, the times I binged was when it was a weekend and i was bored. I am acknowleging that I have an issue. I stopped for 2 years before with no problem.
Thats what im afraid of, my uncle is on 3 bottles of wine a day, I dont want my current drinking to escalate. The binging is a concern, but like I said, I cant physically take long periods of it. My limit hasnt really gone up over decades. most days i ever drunk was 3 days in a row when an old friend came down, I then stopped for several weeks to detox. But I do know that it can take decades to escalate.
Staying stopped is the problem. Our mind tricks us back into believing we dont have the problem. Also want to add, I too stayed sober for a few short stints but I must admit, I was a very miserable being. Maybe you can/may not relate to what I am talking about. Thats what the book AA calls it the spiritual malady. The state of being restless irritable and discontented. Boredom, anxiety and few other manifestations of this malady is what some people call un-treated alcohlism. As suggested earlier read the chapters I posted, see if you can relate. Good luck.
I will carry on filling my sheet and let you know how its goes. I am in contact with my sister alot who is in AA. Im an every other weekend binger at the moment. When im stressed, depressed or bored. I need to address my life as a whole in this. If need be I can smoke weed, that immediately stops any thoughts of booze, probably saved my life since I smoked it for long periods
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At war with myself. 
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