based on what i've read, i'm sure there are many of us on GC. i'm creating this thread as an attempt to bring us together, to educate and perhaps lessen the negative effects of our upbringing. share stories, inspiration, etc. i'll start off with giving a bit of my background directly relating to alcoholism - at the time of my birth, my father was already an alcoholic. he had one OUI around the time i was six. around the age of eight, my father taught me how to drive so that i could drive him home if he was too intoxicated. i learned many tricks of the illegal trade from my father, specifically how to avoid detection/suspicion. i guess i'll leave off there, in case this thread goes nowhere.
Good intentions, but I have been on GC a while and someone once tried to do this and it became a big mess a year or two ago. Even on the internet people want anonymity, in some way. I fit the criteria of this thread but fuck, thinking of those old days haunts me and I ignore it -- with alcohol. The irony is relentless.
people hate on you guys on this forum because theres so many alcoholics, i support yall 100 percent but if somebody hates you could guess why, bringing yourselves together is important though.
sadly an estimated 53% of people in america are alcoholics. its safe to say no-one is untouched by alcoholism. if anyone "hates" on this topic, i'd simply say they can't take too close a look in the looking glass (not to say that its an easy task, but necessary). self-medicating, regardless of drug choice, is common. i chose any drug but alcohol, because alcohol is dangerous right?
I like the idea...no one is forced to share, so people could remain as anonymous as they'd like... My dad was also an alcoholic before I was born, before my parents were even married. First DUI at 18, started drinking at 6. Definitely makes for some baggage from your childhood years, and it always helps to have someone to talk to.
How many relationships have faded because all they wanted to do was bar-hop and get tanked.... Consumed with consuming.... Sad.
My Dad is a functional alcoholic. He was also a great dad to me and my brother growing up. He wasn't the kind of alcoholic where he binge drank every night, but he'd come home and have his few beers after work every day, and if for some reason he ran out he'd generally be in a bad mood until he could pick up some more beer. He's a freelance contractor, and he never goes to work drunk, as he works on construction sites and being drunk in that environment is a good way to get injured. Overall, he's dependent on it, but he doesn't let it ruin his life. Also he went to the doc 6 months ago and they said his liver is fine, which is awesome. Nothing compared to some of these stories though, can't imagine having a raging/severe alcoholic for a parent.
my father is similar to your's, the main difference is the amount he drinks. its not unheard of for my dad to kill an 18 pack after work. something that had a huge impact on my interactions with other people, is that walking into my home, i didn't know what to expect. my father was quite unpredictable, and often times i would set him off by doing something. now more often than not this "something" i'm getting yelled at for is something i've been doing and not hiding for a lengthy period of time. current example: since getting out of the hospital, i've been blazing my oil rig in the basement next to the woodstove while i play chess with my father. daily, multiple times a day. but two nights ago, literally as i'm heating the nail for my last dab of reclaim, my father says "that shit has got to stop". and since then, every time i smoke he'll say something. my father, alcoholism aside, is a great father. he took a lot of time out of his life when i was part of the scouting program (11 years). but he also brought beer on most of our scout camping trips, because there was another alcoholic father in the troop.
The worst day of my life (or one of the worst) was when my dad was driving me and four of my friends home from a basketball game my freshman year of high school. He was fucking tanked and got pulled over. I watched him take sobriety tests, watched him get handcuffed and put in a cop car and I had to call my mom to tell her what happened. And my friends had to tell all their parents what happened. I cried uncontrollably all night, and then my dad was gone for a little while. I wish that upon nobody. But, he has been sober ever since that day and I am glad because he was on the path to killing himself.
that sounds tough man. i would have felt humiliated for sure. aside from that, it seems your father answered his wake up call. some never do.
Mine. I've practically lost contact with 90% of my cousins because alcoholism is accepted within our family and encouraged. Makes me sad, but I'm accepting it slowly.
We got lucky. My mom deserves it more than anyone for all the shit she put up with for years. They have been married for 32 years now.
from the outside, your extended family looks like a close-knit, supportive group doesn't it? i've noticed my friends don't seem to take me seriously when they've met my family.
My mom who literally went from making over 100k a year to being practically homeless because of her alcohol. Shes no longer allowed to see her grand kids unless shes sobed but usually drunk by end of visit. My father encouraged my demon of cocaine and still uses till this day from what I know. We havent spoken in 6 months. I got sober because of almost loosing my wife and kids. So needless to say im breaking the cycle so that my children are not exposed to excessive drinking and the after math. Teach them the green peaceful route when old enough. http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1272388-First-grow-journal!
100% bro. We literally can't do anything together unless it involves being plastered. I get embarrassed.
yeah, i know how that is. family functions look like this: women and minors inside, men outside standing around a cooler. except at dinner.
So I guess I'm the oddball...my mom is the alcoholic of my family. She comes from a long line of alcohol abuse. My mom did a good job hiding her addiction until I was about 16 or so. She has had many "wake up" calls including divorce,DUI charges, flipping a SUV 8times, me and my sis begging her to stop drinking...but it seems that she still refuses to put down the bottle. I went to go see my mom over the holidays (its been a year or so) and she seems to have gotten worse. When I woke up at 9am she asked if I wanted some coffee and I said yes,she then asked if I wanted some liquor in it too... I almost cried. Her speech seemed to be getting worse but I don't know if that's permanent damage it due to just being drunk 24/7. At this point I've given up on trying to help her BC it just upsets me. I look for her to have a stroke or something in the next few years. Maybe that will stop her?
My parents split a handle of vodka between the two of them every night in addition to whatever wine or other drinks. My dad went to rehab a couple years ago, and is now sober every now and then for good.. I literally barely have a grasp on reality. I didn't know that I wasn't normal until I was like 16. I never know what to expect when I come home, greeting a different person almost every time I come into the door. I am pretty scared of my dad, and all the blame is on me for "hating him." He used to yell at me for not loving him when I was younger. I didn't even know he was an alcoholic at the time, and it really screwed up my sense of reality and how I judge social situations. He is extremely emotionally manipulative, and is nearly incapable of logic anymore. He can't make a point calmly; it's always accompanied by some terror and evil. He beat the shit out of my brother too one time. I had to lie when dyfus came to ask questions. I was like 8 or 9. After years of abuse, it's almost like I can see the holes starting to develop in my parents' brains. I think both of them are nearing insanity at this point. My mom is nice though, but still kills half a handle a night.