DOES ANYONE ONE HERE EVER CRAVE ALCOHOL? HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THOSE CRAVINGS AND THE URGE TO DRINK WHEN YOU KNOW IT WILL MAKE YOUR ANXIETY WORSE.I DONT WANT TO DRINK ANMORE B/C I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH ABUSING ALCOHOL OVER THE YEARS. I ALSO TAKE LEXAPRO AND I KNOW NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM MIXING THE TWO. I HAVE HAD SOME REALTIONSHIP ISSUES OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS BUT I FINALLY ENDED THE RELATINSHIP AND AND READY TO MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE. SOMETIMES DRINKING HELP TO EASE THE PAIN. MY QUESTION IS? I JUST NEEDS SOME TIPS ON FIGHTS THAT URGE TO GO TO THE STORE AND BUY THE WINE? PLEASE HELP!!!!

I used to LOVE to drink,I had to make a choice to drink and deal with the terrible way I felt afterwards or quit. I have been alcohol free for ten years now and feel great! I look back now at how stupid I was and dont miss it a bit.
Sometimes when I go down the liquor isle at the grocery I can taste the alcohol and remember what I thought were good times but I know its not for me. It never solved anything and usually made things way worse.Dont fall weak to your craving,you will thank yourself in the long run.

Hello Happy To Be Me:
I think that one of the things that you could do is get in touch with others who have given up alcohol. Like, for instance, AA. And there might be other organizations.
I quit drinking about 23 years ago. I was a "lone drinker". That is, I just would drink at home by myself. To medicate my bad feelings , I suppose.
The support of people from AA helped me vey much.
Anyway, I became afraid to drink because I was having a lot of anxiety and feared that if I kept drinking that I might just lose my mind.

Once you experience life without the alcohol, it gets so much better that you lose that craving to drink.
One thing that might have helped me was that my doctor gave me anti-depresant. My diagnosis
was that my primary problem was depression, the alcohol was secondary. As I mentioned, I drank the alcohol because I felt so bad most of time and was looking for something to help my bad feelings.
But the alcohol is a depressant , so , of course, it was increasing the depression in the long run.
I never think of using alcohol now. It is long out of my system.
I wish the same for you!!
Good Luck!!
You can and will get there!!
MaryJane

At AA meetings they discuss these problems and
help each other cope with the strong cravings.-
Esp when life is not going well.
I has helped my hubby out a lot.

Best Wishes

Cry out to God to deliver you. HE WILL.

Goodevening HappyToBeMe,

I hope you were able to overcome the urge to drink. I guess I would recommend to keep yourself busy and try to get your mind on something else to detour the cravings that you get. I hope your okay since you recently ended a relationship with someone, I know that can be hard on us, and can cause us to relapse. I'm going through a divorce right now, I know the feeling. You are among friends here and we are here to support you when you feel like drinking and tell you that you deserve better than that. We don't want you to hurt yourself. You know mixing alcohol with your medication is bad for you. That scares me. I really don't want anything to happen to you. So please think about your health and put yourself health first when making a decision to drink. Let us know how you're doing. Keep your head up!

Your Friend,
Dee

THANKS SOOOO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERDERFUL ADVICE. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THINGS I CAN DO WHEN IT COMES TO THINKING ABOUT DRINKING, READ, WORK OUT, YOGA, WHICH ARE SOME THINGS I LIKE TO DO? ONE MORE QUESTIONS. ITS REALLY HARD TO RESIST THE URGE WHEN I GO OUT TO THE BARS THOUGH.. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?

P.S I HAVE NOT HAD A DRINK SINCE THE DATE OF THAT E-MAIL!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!
It is great that you resisted the urges and didn't have a drink!! You are doing well!!

As for the bars, I may not have any tips about that as I never went to bars to drink. Just didn't fit into my life.
But I'm pretty sure that most bars serve some non-alcoholic beverages that are appealing.
They sparkle and bubble in the glass and taste pretty good to. So you could order one of those. In fact, no one would know that you weren't drinking an alocholic drink.

But I'm betting that you could find things to entertain yourself with that doesn't happen in bars.
My grandaughter that had the problem with alcohol loved to visit bars. My grandsons that did not drink were more interested in other things. One of grandsons is interested in horses. And he builds his own barns. He and his wife like to ride.
I have another grandson that doesn't drink at all. He keeps himself very busy with other activities.
There are many things that one can do and never visit a bar.
You are doing so well.
You will find a way to resist temptation.
My grandaughter has quit drinking also.
Wishing you the best of luck!!
MJ

Happytobeme - I wouldn't recommend going to any bars if you are still fighting the urge. When I stopped smoking there is no way I could be around anyone who smoked until all my urges were gone. The temptation was just to great. I had to set up an environment that gave me the best chance for success and being around cigarettes was not one of them. A bar atmosphere is probably not the best place to be if you are fighting the urge to drink.

YOU ALL ARE THE BEST.THANKS SOOOO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT!!!

You're not alone. I'm sittng here tonight on my computer drinking a vodka/soda. I'm not sure if I'm an alocoholic or not, it's a day to day thing. I justed started session 3 of the program yesterday (I've ben really god at sticking with the program so far) & my husband told me today that he is seeing a difference in me. He never says anything when I have a drink: beer, wine , etc. Sometimes I drink a lot & sometimes only have one or two. I think getting off medication at this point is most important. I just handle it one day at a time. Guilt is my major issue cuz I feel the need to do what others expect of me.I'm starting to think I need to do it my way & at my own pace. I mostly drink at home, no threat to others.. I suffer from insomnia & some times 1 or 2 helps me sleep.So far, it hasn't taken control of me, & with this program I hope to progress to the point when I need no drugs or alcohol, I'm just not there yet. Everything worth doing comes in it's own good time! Just pace yourself, don't feel guilty, have faith! We're only human afterall! Good luck to you!

Julene G.

quote:

Guilt is my major issue cuz I feel the need to do what others expect of me.I'm starting to think I need to do it my way & at my own pace.

Julene,

Not only yes, but HELL YEAH!! lol. Been there done that for close to 50 years of my life. [dependent on others for my self-esteem] Healthy self-esteem comes from within us, not from outside of us [pleasing others and favorable circumstances]. Do seek your way at your own pace. Anything else is insanity.

Hey Don57

Got your message! Thanks for your input! I do want to get better, fear is always in my way! I'm working on the poitive thoughts as I'm only on session 3. Hard to stop the mind from wandering...I try every day! My mom is dying from cancer & it seems to become my only reason to stay alive. Is that sick or what? I live in NM & she's in MT. I'll be going to ee her in 2 weeks. She was too ill to have her chemo this week. We are planning a 50th anniversary party on June 28th (real date is 2/16/08) but no one can get to Mt at that time. Her 2nd sister is dying from another form of cancer right now. It's hard to think about a celabration at the doorstep to anothers death! I need to go home with a positive attitude & help my family out! I hope I'm strong enough to pull it off! I can be a good actor at times, but this will be my hardest role to date, that's why I joined the program.I sure hope it works?! Thanks for sharing your time with me!

Julene G.

quote:

I can be a good actor at times, but this will be my hardest role to date, that's why I joined the program.I sure hope it works?!

I suppose in this case, perhaps being cheerful is a good idea and trying to be strong. But acting in general was why I became sick. Not able to be "me" but putting on a face of what I perceived others wanted. It's a painful way to live. We lose touch with our very selves in the process. I hope the program helps you get in touch with who you are and you begin to live that. It will bring healing to you. Good luck. God bless and take care of your Mom and aunt, and you.