[Proud90sKid]

I am an alcoholic. I have had the same concerns that you have, but in the end for me I actually was an alcoholic. It isn’t something that I tell other people, I just say I’m not drinking because it doesn’t agree with me.Being an alcoholic doesn’t necessarily mean a lifetime of AA either... I never joined AA and never went to rehab. I don’t “ work my sobriety” like some people in those programs seemed obsessed with. I’ve been able to just become a non-drinker, not “former alcoholic” .

How long have you drank like this and how successful have your attempts to moderate been?In my case, I was never able to drink moderately for more than a few weeks ( and even then I would always get cravings for more alcohol that I had to almost constantly fight). I didn’t want to become a non- drinker, I wanted to be able to moderate- so I have years of attempts. No matter how much I wanted to stay moderate- that resolve just never stood the test of time no matter how I attempted it. I would slowly slip back. I tried drinking only with friends, I tried only buying what I wanted to drink for that night(and would then often just return to the store later for more), I have tried therapy, Etc. But in the end I realized moderation is just not a reasonable goal for me with my addictive personality. Have you ever been having a drink of alcohol and then just decided halfway through you didn’t want it (because that is something that alcoholics rarely do, but normal drinkers will frequently do). Do you feel a strong compulsion to get drunk by yourself after social functions where only one or two is acceptable?