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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Annother awsome new years day without a hangover:)
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Yo Pillow,
I just PM'd you about the Unity Club in Falls Church.
It's the best I've ever been to, and that ain't no BULL!!!!
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Woody the Beaver
Trad climber
Soldier, Idaho
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Finally read the thread and just want to say thanks. 10 years and five months for me, and my climbing skills have not been affected in the least. That is, I still can't climb worth squat! Reading this is like a familiar home meeting; I dig it when Largo chimes in, the wise old-timer who knows where the juice is. I'm so happy to be free of that alky crap; thanks, everybody who testified along the way.
Woody
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Leggs
Sport climber
Home away from Home
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Annother awsome new years day without a hangover:)
Can I get an AMEN!?
Drinking and I recently had an amicable breakup... and I have never felt so good.
Woody, your words summarize this thread wonderfully.
~peace
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Good on you all! I've never been a drinker (although I swear I will have a martini before I die) however I have seen some family members and too many friends devastated by the drink. I felt helpless, many reclaimed their lives, others sadly, not. The struggle is profound and I salute all of you that have been able to prevail...and those that aren't there yet, keep fighting!
I've been a lucky one in that a single beer or glass of wine gives me plenty of buzz
Keep up the good work,
Susan
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
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Starting off 2013 clean and sober -despite having a friend who knows I am clean offer me a pot cookie.....WTF???
The funny thing...the ones who ate the cookie said they didn't get buzzed anyway; it was a dud. Now imagine if I had thrown it all away, for a damned pot cookie that didn't even work!?
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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I guess it is a "sobriety" thread, not an alcohol dependence thread (which is how I tend to view it, through my own experience being an alcohol issue).
For me personally, I don't seek out an entirely sober existence. Dependency, overuse, physical damage, life consequences, etc are what concern me. Consequently, an occasional puff on some herb or trip into psychedelic wonderland doesn't upset my program. I can easily do that, then not think about it or touch it again for days, weeks, months, (or years in the case of heavy psychedlics)...whatever, no stress no mess. Not so with the booze...which is why I quit.
This thread is a pretty good little repository of support for some of us. Probably especially for the non-joiners among us. It isn't likely you'll ever find me at some kind of organized AA meeting, but it's still nice to get the sense of shared experience and community from peers sharing their stories and trials here. And you don't even have to deal with bad coffee or chain smoking old timers.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Made it throgh the month. *WHEW*
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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I have not had a drug habit since the 70's so I do not feel bad takeing a puff or two every coupple of years.. One friend left a bowl of herb in my house for a a few years. I took one puff and then let it sit for annother 2 yrs before I finished it. that has zero to do with my sobriety. free from the booze is what I need to worry about.
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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what, was it new years eve the other night?
i thought the gangs were out,
made it thru the hardest night, thinking of barenders cleaning up puke in the bathrooms helps keep me on coffee nd energy drinks plus herb, but no hangover juice can i get an amen,
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Not saying that's what's happening to you
Oh, I think you're spot-on, that's pretty much exactly what happened to me. Many years (~20) of heavy drinking became a dependence. At times it was just a social lubricant, at other times it was a reality avoidance mechanism, and at the end it was a physical dependence on top of those.
I didn't have a crash and burn, crisis type "bottom". Mine was sitting there in my living room, and feeling physically ill when I realized I had no alcohol left in the house and knowing I had to get dressed and drive to the store, just so I'd be able to even get to sleep that night. That was the "I am a slave bitch to this drug, I am an addict" moment.
Haven't had a drink in...about 34 months...give or take. I think mid March will be the 3 year mark.
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Leggs
Sport climber
Home away from Home
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but no hangover juice can i get an amen,
Amen.
~peace
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Elcap. i can relate. no DWI or any other major drama. just found myself to be dependant on a certain ammount of alcohol every day to get by and hitting it hard at least once a week. Bad stomach, bleeding a bit, acid reflux.... etc...
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xtrmecat
Big Wall climber
Kalispell, Montanagonia
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I just celebrated 29 years and man what a ride its been. Used to sit and drink and talk about all these grand things I was going to do. Got sober and did almost everything I dreampt of. Could never have pulled that off any other way.
Burly Bob
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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Yeah, true for me here as well. Lots of heavy drinking followed by physical dependance. The only way I could sleep for a long time, was to drink until I passed out.
There was even a point when I knew damned good and well that a problem was starting, and I could have chosen to nip it in the bud then - back when I was still relatively "normal." At that point I didn't really give much of a rat's ass whether I lived or died, so I kept on drinking.
This New Years was a little tough for me. Spent it down in Mexico with my gal, and hanging out at Papas n Beer was really reminding me of all my party days south of the border. Still easy to shut down the desire, but it was a good reminder that I will always have to stay on my toes and not get lax in what I do to stay sober.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Many years (~20) of heavy drinking became a dependence. At times it was just a social lubricant, at other times it was a reality avoidance mechanism, and at the end it was a physical dependence on top of those.
Yep. I got myself a little breathalizer and discoved that I needed to maintain a ~.015 blood alcohol level jst to keep from being dopesick. Had to get it over .025 to feel at all loaded. Standard powerdrinking can go really bad really fast if yo become chemically dependent.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
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When I quit, I was on a 3-daycycle. Drink massively (usually alone at home, always to blackout); next day a hideous hangover, and the next day feeling just a little funky still. The next night, ready to go again,and usually did.
I had no crisis bottom either, but I had known I was an alcoholic since I was about 24, and didn't get sober until 36....
One thing that always stuck when I heard it in meetings was when an older guy (it was almost always an older guy) said one day the went to drink and the booze didn't have an effect. They were physically addicted to the stuff, but the effect was gone, and that was utter hell. Even at my 3-day cycle, I could WELL imagine the horror of having the drink not work.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Yeah. It's bad.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, all, had not stopped by here, to visit lately, on this post, as i been so busy... i used to try to stop at as many as i could, just see how folks were, what was up, or if there were any neats, or just good talk going on...
thank for the recent share, happiegrrrl...
i need to add on new info--not sure where i shared it, as to the whole forum--but i had shared how my ex son in law had stopped drinking, when his new gal back then, and mom of his newest baby (their only one--he had two others, by my dauhter) WAS going to leave him...
well, he stopped the excessive party stuff, and toned it way down and they got married... it was a huge change... however,
i just learned from her--due to them suddenly getting a divorce this summer, that: after they moved into their bigger house, and had more friends over that he had been stepping up the ladder, a wrung at time...
she did not want to be the naggy wife and since the worst had stopped and everything else was going smooth, she thought it only fair to 'sail along this way'... after all--as the common thought goes: a man works awful hard and should be allowed his relaxation(such DAMAGE that does!) (getting loaded only does causes the body MORE stress)...
well, sure enough,it was not just weekends, anymore, and unknown to me (being that i lived too far away then/and now, to know: he was becoming
his same old 'self', and always obnoxtious when drunk...
(thankful that the kids never saw, as they were asleep--and did not understand how the afterwork-at-home 'few drinks' was adding up all night... and all these years... :(
well, i said all this, to say THIS... (yep, i prep the soil before i sow
the few seeds that i share) :)
WELL, TO SAY THIS:
IN spite of any good intentions, one will never really stop drinking until one honestly STUDIES and learns WHY one is drinking and the all-fired URGE is for this need... (and it varies from personal thoughts of: just plain 'fun', to 'escapism of work or home pressures, bills, etc, or the work-day-troubles' to 'needing more backbone' to face things in life, wanting what is 'thought to be' persoanl freedom' and--'i got to be me'
more questions to ask then:
well, just who are you, when you are smashed?
are you really someone you want to be, then, or not?
do you really WANT to stop, or do you just feel pressured by
others to stop?
if you really DO want to stop you NEED to find the KEY/keys
as to why, and tackle each door... the doors start to open and work,
then...
without 'self knowledge' though, you'll keep slipping
into whoever it is you 'think' you are, when you are drinking...
and--
remember: it is only a temporary facade as to who you could REALLY
be, if you stopped:
there is a whole new field of life, and new things to grow...
sometimes it is hard to tackle, BUT--when you REALLY KNOW WHO YOU ARE,
you can actually ENJOY doing that and you will love the success...
now, as to my ex son in law, he is happy to be free to have his
daily buzz, and his 'own self to be true to' as long as his kids love
him, and they do... they share the kids and there is no more tension in the house... the girls are older and see this:
but, it was a LOT OF PAIN for these little kids...
and it was very confusing... with all adults working together,
and talking to them, we can only hope and pray that all turns out
well for THEIR adult life...
drinking may seem to join--in party sense... but it is a seperater:
it makes walls... it divides families... later, it eventually isolates
the drinker from all sound wisdom and stablity...
one true story that i like to always share:
and it has held true up 'til today...
mr james drury shared how he met his wife...
and that he USED to drink like fish--all day, and night, and start again
next day...
he stopped drinking for her when he met her, and never drank again...
we seem them together still, all these years later...
his wife is a very wonderful lady...
he can't seem to give up smoking, he said...
but smoking is not the same 'personality disorder hider' or
'personality display-creater' that buzzes/or being loaded, are...
lots of info here from off 'my shelf' of learning/observing...
hope it can help someone, in some way...
:)
just a share, not a preach... :)
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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It's complicated.
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