Do i have a drink problem

LegacyUser

hello, im getting pretty worried about my drinking I don't drink every weekend maybe twice a month but when I go on a night out I just get so drunk I cant help it I just cant have 1 or 2 drinks I have to be out of it, I never remember the night or anything I do or say, I wake up with bruises, sore arms legs etc from falling, and usually go of with random people and leave my friends, the next day and for 3 days later I feel like crap and really depressed, and usually the day after I will have to have a few cans for a cure

leon_jones

Ye u really do have a problem with drink , the danger you put yourself in does that not worry you ?. I have a friend who behaves similar to you , at this stage me and my other friends are fed up minding her when she is to drunk to walk because it happens all the time and like you she is always going off with strangers and leaving us without a word .We are very reluctant to go out with her anymore . If you cant cut down on your drinking you will prob have to give up . Its not good to be getting that drunk

feargale

The answer to your question is yes. That's binge drinking. Not remembering is very bad news. It means that alcohol is damaging your brain. You are clearly heading towards serious alcoholism if you're not there already. Talk to a professional ffs. It won't hurt you to hear what they have to say, unless your alcohol problem has progressed to the stage where you are in serious denial.

silverharp

to be fair I wouldn't have thought an alcoholic would only drink once or twice a month. But binge drinking is clearly an issue and will do damage to your body , personal safety and will damage your relationship with your friends. Somehow you need to find a way to manage your consumption, stay away from spirits maybe stick to beer and alternate with alcohol free ones perhaps? and if you cant control it, don't do it, its not worth it.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Alcoholism isn't always about how much you drink, it's about how you handle what you do drink.

OP - sounds like you're putting yourself into some very vulnerable positions when you drink and it's only a matter of time before something serious happens. I'd either stop, or seek help.

ABajaninCork

The first step with any problem is admitting there is one. For that, I commend you OP. That takes guts given the peer pressure people are under these days to drink.

I agree with Princess CB. But I would stop AND seek help.

Good luck!

Tramps Like Us

Just stop drinking.

I had (had) a friend like you who just went mad whenever we went out drinking, she' get trashed, falling all over the place and going off with randomers. Our friends used to just say to leave her to it but I couldn't so I'd end up basically babysitting her for the whole night, a few times I've had to drag her out of taxis which a bunch of random lads had bundled her into (led to more than a few fights!), her being out of her face barely able to stand. She'd thank me the next day then, and just have a laugh about it. She wouldn't drink anytime else during the week. Eventually I just had to stop hanging around with her, it was just too stressful, it just isnt in my character to just leave one of friends at that carry on by themselves, as others have said something very serious can happen.

My advice to you is to stop going out to nightclubs and such. You dont remember what happens anyway, it leaves you a wreck for the guts of a week, you have to be annoying your friends, just give it up and find another social activity.

You most certainly do have a problem with drink. You dont have a dependency on it so it is easily addressed by doing what I said above. After six or eight months you might be able to wean yourself back into it, by going and coming home early.

iusedtoknow

it sounds like you have a problem with drink, rather than a drinking problem. Some people just cannot handle alcohol. When I was drinking, i couldn't stop (the session) and would black out. Then sometimes i could have only 2 or 3 drinks and still act out of carachter. I decided to stop drinking - not because I was an alcoholic but because I didn't like who i was turning into.

I would recommend Alan Carr's book (Easy way to quit drinking) It changes your perspective on drink completely, and for me anyway, made me want to quit and stick with it. AA works for some people, willpower and change works for others. I still go out to pubs etc, but just don't drink. I can stay dancing till 2 or 3, and still get up at 10 and go cycling instead of reaching for the bacon and sausages.
either way

Good luck! The alcohol free life is a nice one.

Merkin

Yes, quite a serious one.

I'm not being funny but why on earth would you continue to drink when you are clearly making a total arse of yourself? Falling about the place and going off with goodness knows who is just so dodgy. That's before even endangering your own life and potentially ruining friendships etc. You don't have to be hitting the drink every day to have a problem. When booze effects your life like this you clearly do have a problem. I'd knock it on the head completely if I were you and if you don't think you can do it alone then I'd advise you to go and see your GP.

Also, have you any idea if you use protection when going off with strangers? I think it's best you probably get a full sexual health screening while you're at it.

LegacyUser

because I like to go out and blow of some steam, im a very stressed out person and worry a lot and I find the drink helps me relax for the first few hours anyway before I get mouldy, I don't really sleep around ive had the odd one night stand but always use protection no matter what state im in, what will my Gp do for me im just wondering how to go about getting help? also its not just as easy as just stopping everything in this country resolves around drink, I have weddings, friends birthdays etc comeing up and I feel like im a bore when stone cold sober this is another reason I drink!!

Tramps Like Us

unhapygirl11 wrote: »

because I like to go out and blow of some steam, im a very stressed out person and worry a lot and I find the drink helps me relax for the first few hours anyway before I get mouldy, I don't really sleep around ive had the odd one night stand but always use protection no matter what state im in, what will my Gp do for me im just wondering how to go about getting help? also its not just as easy as just stopping everything in this country resolves around drink, I have weddings, friends birthdays etc comeing up and I feel like im a bore when stone cold sober this is another reason I drink!!

You need to stop drinking.

Lots of danger signs in what you posted there, needing drink to have a good time is bad, very bad. Drinking should be something which is incidental to having a good time.

Listen, I'm sure you are not boring when you are sober, but a friend who is trashed out of it is far far worse than someone who may be boring. I'm sure you aren't though.

What do you want help with exactly? Do you want to stop drinking, or do you want to be able to stop drinking at a certain point? The latter may be impossible.

I'd recommend finding other outlets to blow off steam, exercise in particular is very good.

Looking at it objectivly, you don't have a good time when you drink (you can't remember it!) it leaves you in a state for the guts f a week, it puts you in dangerous situations, the obvious thin to do is to stop drinking. This may necessitate stopping going out for a while.

ABajaninCork

There's a difference between 'blowing off steam' and getting absolutely sh1tfaced... You can have a drink and relax without getting drunk as you seem to have been doing.

You need to make an appointment to see your GP. You need to get to the bottom of what is causing you stress and WHY. A counsellor can help in this regard and your GP should be able to recommend someone.

iusedtoknow

unhapygirl11 wrote: »

because I like to go out and blow of some steam, im a very stressed out person and worry a lot and I find the drink helps me relax for the first few hours anyway before I get mouldy, I don't really sleep around ive had the odd one night stand but always use protection no matter what state im in, what will my Gp do for me im just wondering how to go about getting help? also its not just as easy as just stopping everything in this country resolves around drink, I have weddings, friends birthdays etc comeing up and I feel like im a bore when stone cold sober this is another reason I drink!!

It isn't really blowing off steam when you can't remember it. I was like that as well, using it as a way to unwind, however the agro drinking caused me the day after left me feeling anything but unwound.

You need to take a step back, and look at what YOU want. Do not use other people as an excuse to drink. Weddings birthdays etc are not fun only for the drink, if they are then maybe you need to examine your idea of fun.

Not drinking does open your eyes to yourself a bit (I am trying not to sound preachy here) and allows you to see yourself for who you are. It took me about 6 months, but i started to enjoy hanging out with people who were drinking, without needing to drink.

The final thing to remember, alcohol is a depressant, it does anything but take the blues and stress away.

LegacyUser

today is Wednesday and I am still suffering the after effects from the weekend, Monday I was stuck to the pillow I had such bad fear could not even hold a conversation or eat a mouthful without thinking I was going to throw up, also at night I cannot sleep a wink with the sweat pumping of me for three nights after a heavy session, I will buy that allen carr book this week and hopefully it will help me I want to give up but its hard, really hard, as the weekends I have nothing to do as all my mates go out and that's the only thing they do except for the cinema the odd weekend, I did try going out and not drinking one night and I had to get out of the pub everyone was really drunk and I just wanted to get out it was horrible...

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

There's actually a non-drinking forum heer on boards - have a chat with them over how to deal with nights out and not drinking....

forum is here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1015