Drinking to Fit In and Feel Better

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I don't drink, the loss of control bothers me.

Vanilla_Slice

I drink. I drink socially, I drink at home. I drink because I want to. Because I like the taste. And the alcohol. But I like food more. Yes, I love food. I am a glutton.

Don't drink too much and make an idiot of yourself or drink to the extent that it becomes a problem and you'll be fine.

Years ago, when I used to drink (sober 16 years now), I did so to fit in with other people my age who always seemed to be partying at the time. When drunk, it seemed easier for me to talk to people because all my usual defenses were down. Inevitably, however, I'd say something incredibly stupid and I'd either get in a fight or else the next day all my acquaintances would suddenly stop talking to me, and I'd have no idea why. I didn't get drunk often, but when I drank, it was only to get drunk. I never liked the taste of alcohol. Soda, coffee or tea does me just fine these days.

E333

I will agree, smoking, as bad as it is for your health, can really do wonders for anxiety and stress. I smoke when I'm at school, and if it weren't for those cigarettes I probably would have blown up at someone.

I smoke, it's one of the few things in life I truly enjoy. Drinking, I do on occassion to the point of a buzz or just over. I'm relaxed, more social, and laugh alot more.

I'm allergic to alcohol, so I know I won't ever be doing this.

I feel this way quite a bit...but in the sense that drinks make me very extroverted and outgoing, and I love having that feeling., I confess that I'm very addicted to the feeling of being drunk, not only because things are more open and relaxed, but oddly enough I feel more autistic after several shots. Colors are brighter, music moves me more, and I have less anxiety about what people think of me. I feel like I'm in a different universe when drunk, and it's a feeling that removes myself from responsibility and obligation, and I will admit that it is extremely addicting.

Currently, I am in the midst of trying to quit hard liquor, as the taste triggers the "I wanna get drunk" escapist mentality in me. If I'm drinking vodka or whiskey, I will often get to the point where I'm just chugging the bottle straight, like water. Last weekend, I slipped up...did a mickey each of whiskey and vodka and nearly blacked out....I couldn't even talk or stand up and I was puking non-stop. The hangover lasted into the evening the next day and I had to bail from my friend's party because of gut-rot. That was a wake up call and a reminder that I just can't tolerate those things at all...not even for a night.

Coolers and wine don't have this effect on me at all...they are things that I sip rather than chug. I've had weekends where I've just stuck with those two things and there was no drunkenness...just an overall nice time with no regrets or sickness in the days afterwards.

Strangely enough I feel that way too. It IS like entering another world and a happier one at that. I also notice that colors and sounds become magnified when I'm drunk. Sometimes that is irritating though.

I feel the same way. Two or three martinis dissolves my social inhibitions. I just have to use alcohol sparingly, for obvious reasons.

No offense intended, but how on earth could anyone drink alcohol, tea, coffee or smoke.
The smells of all of these are enough to make me feel ill.
EDIT: also, i have never drunk alcohol, tea or coffee, or smoked, unless you count the horrible second hand smoke that all those 'lovely' (sarcastic) smokers leave around almost every doorway to a public place.

Last edited by Blasterx343 on 02 Jun 2010, 12:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

Certain alcohol smells awful, as well as certain teas and coffees. I can't stand cig smoke and I get verbally b!tchy towards people who smoke near me (if they aren't close friends).

Yes alcohol tends to do that........knocks out the part of the brain that says "don't." Depending on the exact situation, it can be a great help or an embarrassing problem. Personally I think a lot of people have these impulses of warmth towards others, but when sober we keep it under control and don't voice or act out our (socially inappropriate) gut reactions. I guess that one of the reasons why people get drunk is because it can be quite a strain obeying the usual rules....."don't show affection even though you feel that way" can make people feel very lonely and repressed. And the UK is one of the worst places for it.

You have hit on the crux of the issue of recovery for the real alcoholic who can neither live with alcohol (because he or she has lost all control over how much he or she actually drinks) nor without it (because of "lonely and repressed").

People need people to feel/be okay in life, and there is nothing wrong with a couple of drinks while socializing. But when a drinker finds himself or herself drinking alone most of the time, and if a drinker then finds himself or herself ending up drunk most of the time, healthy interactions with others is ultimately the only real solution ...

"'I know I must get along without liquor (alcohol), but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?'
"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. ... fellowship ... There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Thus we find the fellowship [we share together], and so will you."

Caution: Today's AA does *not* offer that.

^
Yes the healing always does seem to come via the heart with this type of thing. I guess not many alcoholics have the patience and confidence to raise their sights tthat high, but if they did, they could get there.

I've found myself having a beer, at my niece's first Birthday party. I figured that I might as well have a beer. So I had one, and the result was, that I started talking to all the adults, there.

can't tolerate alcohol or any drug.
even a few sips of beer would make me warm, itchy, flush (reddish in the face) and generally disoriented.
i can't do any substances and am very surprised some can.

pot & alcohol make me feel dreadful. very high strung and nervous, paranoid & leaves me feeling dirty. as if i need to wash face/hands and shave & brush teeth.
most people use these "drugs" as relaxers/sedation, but they make me nervous.