As said in the subject line i am a young man (21) struggling to curb or cut down on alcohol. I have had some bouts of heavily drinking until I cant take it anymore and stop for a while but I have been unable to curb it completely. For context as to how much I drinking, I mostly drink after 5 pm and I am drinking every weekday and weekeend. So probably average weekday intake could be anywhere from 6 to 9 drinks maybe more, along with getting cross faded with weed. it has been getting on my nerves because I dont necessarily ruin my life all at once but I feel like since ive been drinking so often my quality of life has gone down aswell as the quality of my friendships. There has been a few weeks where I have drank to blackout almost every night aswell but i have been able to control myself to not do so. I have cut down significantly since i was blacking out almost every night since i realized that isnt how i want to live but the pressures and trials of life always lead me back to alcohol since im using it as a coping mechanism but whenever I drink to cope everything always gets worse and leads me back to the bottle, any tips or similar experiences?
>>34271047Fill your time up with something just as or more stimulating. For me it's video games and 4chan, it could be outdoorsy stuff too though.
>>34271047When I have alcohol available, I drink it without hesitation. When there's no alcohol in my refrigerator, I don't even bother getting it.My point is, get rid of all the alcohol you have on hand. That greatly reduces the likelihood that you'll drink it again.
>>34271047Get into some kind of dependency treatment. It doesn't have to be AA or 12 step but it has to be something. Even if you manage to quit completely you're what we call a dry drunk - meaning that all of the psychological mechanisms that make you an alcoholic are still there and operating you're just not drinking. This makes the chance of a relapse near 100%. The second some big stressor or life event hits you'll go right back to drinking because you never built anything to replace it.
>>34271047You have severe anxiety as it shows. You need a doctor in psichiatry. Surely some pill stint couldn't be worse than drinking yourself to death.
>>34271047Ask your doctor to prescribe Antabuse. Actually take it.
>>34271101yea, I am severely anxious but I sometimes fear it might be something more. With that being said I did goto a therapist for a couple of years and I was never prescribed anything. Personally im sort of scared to take something like an ssri as I have heard alot about them being harmful if you arent severely depressed.
>>34271152Ive heard of this before not in depth though, Ill look into it, thanks anon
>>34271058Not OP but as another alcoholic, almost anything you could do sober is more fun with a drink in your hand. Only exception is athletic activity but you can't spend your life in the gym.
>>34271101>Surely some pill stint couldn't be worse than drinking yourself to death.Well hold on there bucko!But seriously, I've been diagnosed with chronic GAD, and it never "goes away" it can only be suppressed. So your choices are liver poison, liver poison in pill form, or white knuckling the feeling of impeding doom and existential dread every day.
>>34271047A A
>>34271047You're in your most formative years and you're setting yourself up to be an alcoholic. I mean, you already are one. I would really do whatever it takes to stop altogether. Spend your energy and resources more wisely. Life is short, stop wasting what could be the peak of your life. Respect your body more, eat healthy actual food and get daily consistent exercise. That goes a long way in making you feel better mentally and physically. Beyond that, set yourself actual concrete goals and work toward them to give yourself some purpose. Doing that will get you out of your head and to stop dwelling on unpleasant things that give you anxiety. Alcohol makes anxiety and depression way worse. After being sober for a month or two, everything really won't seem as bad. Alcohol is the worst friend you could ever have, please stop drinking. It doesn't take long before there's really no pleasure in it and all you'll be is depressed, sick and ugly as shit and full of regret. Your tolerance will keep climbing and it's permanent so every time you go back to drinking after being sober you'll be downing bottles of liquor like it's nothing. It's an addictive chemical and it will kill you and it doesn't take all that long if you're a serious daily drinker.
>>34272205>So your choices are liver poison, liver poison in pill form, or white knuckling the feeling of impeding doom and existential dread every day.]Those are not the only choices, anon, and medically assisted withdrawal doesn't poison your liver. In fact, for many alcoholics its their only option because severe alcohol withdrawal is deadly.
