Depending on how you mean. A friend decreased drinking because he has gout and if he drinks too much, he’ll be unable to walk. But he still drinks more than me…
@Jear77
I think everything about coke is gross, specially the culture.
I drink a beer or a shot or two about once every 3 weeks socially.
I find the buzz of alcohol and tobacco to be all skanky-scumbuckets. It feels unclean like being dipped upside down into a room temperature vapor bath of atomized fryer grease.
I know of my brother who drank until he was 56, then got pancreatitis and it was so painful that he decided to quit drinking and live. My motto for him was, “Instant asshole — just add beer”. He straightened up for 20 years that I knew of, however, he was drunk last New Years and talking to him was impossible. He is a total asshole when drunk. I tried calling him when Mom died, last January and he was drunk and again a total asshole. So, I will not be talking to him, nor seeing him, ever again. He is now 80 years old and NOBODY in his family will talk to him. He has destroyed all of his relationships and now only has a wife in his life.
I, myself, used to drink whiskey. I started drinking in May of 1980 and stopped in May of 1981 when I became a Baha’i. Alcohol is forbidden in the Baha’i Faith. So, I stopped all alcohol use as soon as I decided to convert to a Baha’i. Stopping was easy for me, as I am normally not a drinker.
@five2one I get drunk alone.. I can’t tell you why because it’s private. I do also give up wine for long periods because it just tastes awful. Why can’t people admit that alcohol tastes so bad, and surely there’s something else? Liquid gel caps containing straight alcohol would be a good idea.
@Yoshikawa Yeah. I have quit drinking, hopefully for good. Not that I ever needed to do it, I act as if drunk already (the good kind, not the bad).
When I did drink, usually drank alone. But… that usually meant interacting with people online. I suppose it is alone because it is anonymous. Or, I would drink and write without that. But… really I always had an audience in mind.
@luftballooneyegouge
Participation in a lot of different charities, social settings, including churches.
Essentially the Biblical “body of Christ” is a mutual spiritual rehabilitation experience. One where people freely share both dark pasts and progression out of it.
But I will admit that there are a lot more religious “play-churches” out there than actual functional fellowships.
2. One is me and I’d like to keep the other one confidential. I sometimes LOVE drinking two bottles of red wine and screwing around on the internet – including here. But lately I haven’t been able to drink red wine because it tastes disgusting for some reason, The other person I know who was a drunk years ago went to alcoholics anonymous and hasn’t drank since. I wish I was in a place where I didn’t have to take things or get drunk to avoid boredom.
17 responses to “How many drunks have you directly known to stop being drunks?”
Depending on how you mean. A friend decreased drinking because he has gout and if he drinks too much, he’ll be unable to walk. But he still drinks more than me…
@Jear77
Specificity doesn’t matter too much. Just wondering about people’s experience with overcoming an alcohol addiction as in numbers of successes.
How old was your buddy when he got diagnosed?
@luftballooneyegouge last few years. But the point is that i think if you know this… don’t drink at all!
@Jear77
What was his age?
@luftballooneyegouge 48, 49? He also used to to lines of coke (tho not at the same time)
@Jear77
I think everything about coke is gross, specially the culture.
I drink a beer or a shot or two about once every 3 weeks socially.
I find the buzz of alcohol and tobacco to be all skanky-scumbuckets. It feels unclean like being dipped upside down into a room temperature vapor bath of atomized fryer grease.
@luftballooneyegouge i don’t drink save wine… maybe 3-5 times a year most years.
I’ve known two people who quit drinking after 40 years of the drink.
I know of my brother who drank until he was 56, then got pancreatitis and it was so painful that he decided to quit drinking and live. My motto for him was, “Instant asshole — just add beer”. He straightened up for 20 years that I knew of, however, he was drunk last New Years and talking to him was impossible. He is a total asshole when drunk. I tried calling him when Mom died, last January and he was drunk and again a total asshole. So, I will not be talking to him, nor seeing him, ever again. He is now 80 years old and NOBODY in his family will talk to him. He has destroyed all of his relationships and now only has a wife in his life.
I, myself, used to drink whiskey. I started drinking in May of 1980 and stopped in May of 1981 when I became a Baha’i. Alcohol is forbidden in the Baha’i Faith. So, I stopped all alcohol use as soon as I decided to convert to a Baha’i. Stopping was easy for me, as I am normally not a drinker.
I have had crazy binges, and who knows how many times I have gotten insanely drunk with friends. But, have stopped for years at a time.
Current psych meds totally remove my desire to do so.
I think there are a lot of people who have had binge times in their life, or get crazy drunk with friends who are not actually a “drunk”.
My own drinking definitely has been life period based.
@five2one I get drunk alone.. I can’t tell you why because it’s private. I do also give up wine for long periods because it just tastes awful. Why can’t people admit that alcohol tastes so bad, and surely there’s something else? Liquid gel caps containing straight alcohol would be a good idea.
@Yoshikawa Yeah. I have quit drinking, hopefully for good. Not that I ever needed to do it, I act as if drunk already (the good kind, not the bad).
When I did drink, usually drank alone. But… that usually meant interacting with people online. I suppose it is alone because it is anonymous. Or, I would drink and write without that. But… really I always had an audience in mind.
2
Probably fewer than 50.
Just a few dozen if we’re talking people I’ve known for long enough to consider it a permanent “cure”.
@griz
Why is your number so much higher than everyone else’s?
….rehab?
@luftballooneyegouge
Participation in a lot of different charities, social settings, including churches.
Essentially the Biblical “body of Christ” is a mutual spiritual rehabilitation experience. One where people freely share both dark pasts and progression out of it.
But I will admit that there are a lot more religious “play-churches” out there than actual functional fellowships.
2. One is me and I’d like to keep the other one confidential. I sometimes LOVE drinking two bottles of red wine and screwing around on the internet – including here. But lately I haven’t been able to drink red wine because it tastes disgusting for some reason, The other person I know who was a drunk years ago went to alcoholics anonymous and hasn’t drank since. I wish I was in a place where I didn’t have to take things or get drunk to avoid boredom.