Daily drinking, even in moderation, can only snowball. Given the fact that alcoholism runs in your family, I would say there is a decent chance that your daily habit will eventually become an uncontrollable addiction unless you take steps to mitigate now. I would taper down to three beers and then work my way down to not drinking at all. We all think we're the exception to the rule, but the truth is that addiction is passed on through the generations, and our fathers thought they were the exception too. My grandfather died of liver failure, my father is a recovering alcoholic who relapses yearly and goes into binges, and all three of my uncles are dysfunctional alcoholics. They're not unintelligent people, they just started drinking out of habit in their youth and continued drinking out of genetic predilection, and as a way to numb their disappointment in life. The sad thing is, it's alcohol that led to many of these disappointments; failed marriages, lost jobs, broken families etc.
Word ^^ predisposition to alcohol addiction has been shown by a pretty solid body of scientific research to be, to varying degrees, a hereditary trait. Add that to a culture in North America and most of Europe that is so socially accepting of alcohol use as opposed to other substances like weed, and it's no wonder that the percentage of people who develop a dependence at some time in their life is so high. My dad's side of the family all drink, my dad is basically like the OP, probably takes out 5-6 beers a night after work, never drinks during the day/when he has shit to do. But he does it pretty much every day. OP, i'd take the advice about slowly tapering off, but you'd probably also do well to talk to your doctor. Doctor's see this kind of thing alot more often then you would think. Just think positive man, you've recognized you have a problem pretty early, which is something a ton of alcoholics never do.
just to clarify....nothing besides correlation has ever been shown. we dont really know much scientifically about the roots of addiction at all, apart from dendrite formation ( with cocaine) and the pleasure/reward mechanisms. the culture bit is very accurate though.
Thats the same train of thought that got me into this mess. I figured that by "Hey, im only drinking BEER, not liqour at night so I wont have any problems" 2 years later after one night of skipping the regimen, I feel like complete shit with symptoms i described above. Shaking, clammy pale skin, nausea. Im gonna use my week's vacation to get sober. It's gonna suck but i need to do it before it gets coimpletely out of hand. Thanks to everyone for their advice and support.
Love ya Buddha, i'm happy you decided to quit. I thik alcohol has it's place. I face a whole bottle of champagne on NYE every year (its my tradition)... i usually drink with relatives on Christmas... and i've noticed a nice white wne on thanksgiving makes !verything taste that much more amazing... also i do love halfing a bottle of santa margherita with my girl on her birthday. She loves it and gets sloppy drunk... lol Sent from my MexiPhone5000
Garden of evil, where the dollar is king, and the weak are meat. Nothing to do with OP's issues, but the US is a sick, sick place. A kingdom of despair.
Yeah man. My dream is to get the fuck out of here. I could have pursued acting and been famous here cuz i did when I was young but when I got older I said fuck that shit.
If you put me on some TV show like Letterman or that cunt Conan it would be epic. Fuck all the celebrities. Most have no talent. Stupid people making talentless people famous and rich. Fuck this country.
shit man, you went for two years straight drinking nightly and thought thered be no repprecussion? theres no difference between the alcohol in beer vs hard liquor. just content. i wish you the best of luck sobering up. if you become too shaky, drink a beer and immediately seek a doctor. physical dependence aint nuthin to fuk wit
I know that now. As far as the shakes, they arent severe and i think there more to due with the panic attacks i was having.
good man. just always be cautious about it. if you stopped days ago and are still good youre probably fine now though.
i didnt stop. im drinking right now (2nd beer in 2 hours). i know it sounds completely fucking stupid to be drinking, but i need to be able to function at work tomorrow. ill be using my 6 days vacation in a couple weeks to get sober. This is something i need to deal with alone and NOT at work risking my job. Im seeing a phsyciatrist in a couple days, so maybe she can help me somehow. Meds, counseling, idk. All i know is i dont wanna end up like my fucking dad...
well the good news is that if you have an ounce of determination, you dont have to be like your dad. i would perhaps talk to the doctor beforehand about alcohol withdraw. if the psychiatrist tries throwing you on antidepressants, psychotics, etc, tell her you are only interested in the physical withdraw aspects of the medication, because really thats the only life threatening aspect. the rest will be shitty for awhile possibly, but switching to a different drug wont solve anything.