I am a lush.

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I have successfully replaced my addiction to gay porn with an addiction to bourbon.

This isn't helping anything.

s**t. Maybe I should try to become addicted to something healthy, like literature or mountain hiking or serenity.

Exactly.

As for bourbon, it's a bit ironic that I have some sitting on my kitchen counter that I bought in Kentucky years ago ... and since I don't like the taste, I had like one or two shots and there the bottle sits, untouched for about 10 years now. Ick ... it tastes like medicine! * shudders *

But yeah, find something better to replace the alcohol.

Take up a sport/exercise.

The effect from exercise is better than alcohol, just alcohol is the lazy way.
Just do it, man.

I was a bit of an alcoholic a few times in my life. I started to get sick from it so I simply quit. I exercize and eat healthy now and feel better because of it.

I dont see a problem with liking gay porn unless the addiction is interfering with your life.

I was once heading that way.
What changed was that I got distracted by other things to the point I forgot about drinking, like video games.
Gaming especially as it required me to be in more control of my faculties.
No addiction is good, but you can slowly ween yourself off of a bad one and move to a slightly less bad one.

Literature is a balm, and a doorway to the connections few of us find in the "real" world. Maybe this would help?



I'll also say a good walk is great for unwinding. Then to come home, rested, put on music and lie on the couch with a book? That is Heaven. Just add coffee.

I don't know if my problem was as great as yours, but I used to go through a couple bottles a week after graduating college, starting work, and going through a bad breakup. I didn't understand then, but looking back I can see that all these changes in routine and the consequent sensory overload drove me to drink, since I didn't know what was happening to me. I was trying too hard to create and regulate happiness, with booze. I could feel this running it's course, and once I finally quit, it was walking and jogging which really helped. That and a deep desire to return to childhood optimism and joy. Do you have a rails to trails system near your home? I find those ideal for going out and letting my mind wander, while getting necessary physical exercise.

I wish you resolution.

Heh
Yeah, they say you can get addicted to both your own chemicals and to the activities in the case of a "gym junkie."
There are worse addictions. At least you'd look awesome.
As to the alcohol - the only thing that worked for me was addressing the crap in my head that was pushing me into drowning it out in whiskey. No easy thing, but effective in proverbially crawling out of the bottle. And no it doesn't have to be therapy, which I have found useless. Just any way that lets you work yourself out.

I found it useful in rehab when they helped me pinpoint when I first started to drink, what it was connected to and what emotion I was feeling at that time.
They then went through a process of separating the emotion from the drinking.
If you can consciously say, "I'm feeling [insert emotion] and it's perfectly ok for me to be feeling this." it makes you realise you don't need to drown the emotion, just learn to float with it for awhile until the tide brings you back to shore.
Soppy?
Sure.