Alcoholism?
it runs in my family and im very aware of it. ive been drinking for under a year but lately its been every weekend and ive recently stopped because of finals i have for school and id rather not mess them up. but i catch myself thinking what am i going to do this weekend because im not drinking. im not getting like cravings for it like i need it but i feel as if i have nothing to do besides get drunk with my friends and walk around. is that a sign of future alcoholism?
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Sounds like you have a (all be it perfectly natural) paranoia because of your awareness of your family history…. this fear you are feeling is quite normal for a young person and does not neccessarily mean you will be a future alcoholic, it also sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and can prioritise things in your life like your finals… this is not a trait of an alcoholic! Your young, enjoy yourself, and once you keep dat sensible head on you will be fine….everyone goes through a stage where socialising takes over for a while, its something nearly every youth encounters especially when it involves a group of friends…. if you still feel this way after a few months and realise that maybe your priorities have changed and drink is indeed becoming the more dominant one, then it’s time to take some action or seek advice before it goes too far, but for the moment i would put it down to being young and carefree, alcoholism is not genetic, its a state of mind and an addiction dat people fall into in life, you do not have to go down the same path, you choose your own xxx good luck with your bright future
It runs in my family as well, as a matter of fact it brought on the early death of several family members. The route I choose was to keep drinking to a minimum, as least after my teenage years. Back when I came of age the legal age to buy alcohol was 18. Since my 20s I’ve barely touched a drop. I’m not saying you have to do this, but don’t drink to get drunk, and don’t get into contests about who can better hold his or her liquor, and don’t get involved in any drinking games. Even if you don’t become an alcoholic in the traditional sense, I know a lot of people who cannot fall asleep at night without a couple of glasses of wine. Just be careful in observing what is going on in your body. I also lost a lot of friends to hard drugs. I remember years ago a friend telling me and another friend about some strange symptoms he was having. We told him it was the beginning of a heroin addiction. He insisted it couldn’t be, that he didn’t do it often enough and that he had things under control. He died an addict. Right now your alcohol use sounds like recreation, but make sure you control it so that it does not become dependency.
You don’t need to get cravings in order to be an alcoholic. Especially if you are genetically predisposed to it like you are. I never crave it but if I do drink then I cannot stop until I pass out or end up in jail for hurting someone. That sucks so i just stopped all together. I’m sure you are not even close to that but the point is you don’t need to crave alcohol to be an alcoholic. There are many things you can do instead of drinking. Let your friends know how you feel and you may be supprised that some of them might feel the same way. They just may chose to not drink with you. The most fun things in life are experienced sober! Take care!
it really depands on you it start with just one then goes to two and so on soon you need a beer everyday , everynight its just like if you smoke need one then another for you know it it a pack then two and so no so i think you get the picture can it lead to alcoholism yes the anwer is yes
That’s always the problem; what am I going to do for fun. When I was 43, I weighed about 140, I couldn’t work anymore, too sick, my wife left, and I was getting evicted, and I was in constant pain. My life was shot and I was on the way out. And all I was thinking was: if I get sober, what am I going to do for fun. It got so crazy out there, I went to an AA meeting and swore I’d never go back, ’cause I was afraid it would work. I never figured at what point the booze took over, but I just had nothing to do but go to the bar. All my friends were there and that’s where the laughs were. It’s not like I did it, it all just happened. Long time ago.
It does sound like a big warning sign.
If I were you I would get onto the AA website and find some meetings near you. You may not be one yet, but some meetings would probably help you before you get too heavy into it. You can also go to some Alanon meetings, they are for family members and loved ones of alcoholics.
I wish you the best~
Just establish borders and stick to them. If you start drinking with breakfast or blacking out then you may want to consider leaving it alone
Yes. Please don”t let it take over your life. If you know someone in your life that goes to AA, talk to them.
set realistic goals, get help if you cant reach them
No it is not. Thats just college. I am in a similar situation. I drank way too much my junior year of college, and my grades and life really suffered. I eventually took time off school to get it together (well my parents pulled me out of school). Now, I don’t go out very much, and I don’t drink too much either. One, because my health is more important, two, good grades are more important, and three, my hangovers are terrible now! It’s tough being social when you don’t drink, because, lets get real, thats all people do in college (and some in high school). But search hard enough, and you’ll find other alternatives. I have a lot of friends still, and they’re good friends that get me, and what I like. I still socialize, and go out and do fun things, it’s just not always about drinking. You might also want to consider your friendships as well, because if drinking is all you have…you don’t have much.
Because alcoholism runs in your family, you NEED to be EXTRA careful. Remember it’s a disease, and it’s a life long struggle you can’t reverse. It can also develop with enough habitual drinking, and the odds are against you I’m afraid. Just focus on your studies, focus on your health, be aware of your circumstances, and remember that there are other things to do other than drink. You just have to redirect your mind a bit : )
Hope this helps!
It is good that you are aware of a potential problem, it took me over 20 years to realise I had a problem and it was only after an unsuccessful suicide attempt that I decided I had to stop. If you have cravings you need to do something about them.Getting drunk now may be good fun but after years of abuse you’ll realise you’ve made a big mistake. I think you need to be careful about advice from people from Alcoholics Anonymous as Alcoholics Anonymous keep people addicted to alcohol. If you look at the recovery statistics for AA members, you may be surprised to learn that their overall success rate is 5%. You’ve got a much better chance of giving up drinking on your own.I tried Alcoholics anonymous and was very disappointed because they don’t believe in empowerment and there is no place for anyone who thinks for themself.
if I were you I’d try to find activities that do not revolve around alcohol, maybe get a new hobby, join a gym or do something that is good for you. If you let alcoholism take hold then you will find it very hard to quit in the future.
Take a look at the sites in the reference box below, there is some valuable and useful information there.
Take care
Alcoholism definitely runs in families here is a little discussion that you may find useful, good luck:)
From Father to Son
It was supposed to be a fun day at the beach for Hans and his family, with swimming, sand castles and maybe an ice cream cone. Everybody was there that day. His mom and dad and older sister were with him and they were all looking forward to a day of play, not a day for near death.
Hans tried to hold back tears as he recalled the day he nearly lost his life at a beautiful beach in Southern France, where he grew up. The event happened many years ago, but for Hans, it was like yesterday. It was a beach on the sea near Monaco. There was a small bay, with rock formations not far from shore. Hans was very young and not a strong swimmer, but he decided to venture out and go to the rocks, while his sister was playing in the sand and splashing everyone. As he swam out he began to have difficulty fighting the current. He was being pushed farther out than he wanted to go.
Meanwhile, as he recalled;
“My father had to go to the concession stand to buy beer. He was an alcoholic. That’s all he did.”
As the current swept him farther and farther out, Hans began to yell for his father, but his father did not hear. He yelled but his father did not respond. “I managed to get to some of the rocks,” he said. “I was tired and I could not fight anymore, but I hung on to the rocks.”
Hans kept yelling for his father. Soon his mother and his sister went to find his father. The father at first did not seem to be alarmed, thinking that Hans was playing some kind of a joke. He drank his beer and told them nothing was wrong. His mother and sister took him by the arm, dragged him away from the concession stand, and pointed to the rocks where Hans continued his struggle. Now convinced that his boy was in trouble, the father swam out to the rocks and took hold of his son.
“I am just like my father,” Hans explained. “I am an alcoholic just like he was. He didn’t hear me. He was drinking, and now I drink and I don’t hear my children.”
Hans has experienced the helplessness of alcoholism. In a sense he has an understanding of his father’s behavior, but at the same time a deep-seeded resentment towards his father, who did not respond to his perilous need. There is a genetic component to addiction, as patterns of behavior in families repeat across generational lines. Addiction has cycles in families, just as it does in individuals. Hans was in treatment to break the cycle.
“I fear for my son,” he said. “I would never forgive myself if harm came to him because of my drinking. He is the same age now that I was when I almost drown that day. That scares me. What if I let him die because I was not there for him?”
The circumstances of Hans’ story are repeated every day in one way of another in this country. Parents, addicted to alcohol or some other substance, are not able to respond to their children. Alcoholism robs them of their capacity to reason, to act responsibly, and most of all to be a loving parent. The deep emotional scar leaves a void in the child, and that void must be filled. The generational cycle continues to turn.
Hans is working the 12-Steps, trying to fill the void and break the cycle. “I do not want this to happen to my son,” he asserts. “It is my responsibility.”