394
It's almost impossible to deny being an alcoholic without sounding like an alcoholic
(self.showerthoughts)
this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
394 points (94.6% liked)
Showerthoughts
28360 readers
618 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Posts must be original/unique
- Be good to others - no bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I mean, I am an alcoholic, so. I'm doing better though. I'm trying to only drink when offered one (from a trusted source) and that's been going ok so far. And since all of you are so very concerned, I have received over 300 hours of formal, licensed therapy which I have used to inform my selection of supporters and the mechanisms they use to support me. If you are licensed in one of the forms of therapy that have been invented in the past year and therefore one of the only ones I haven't tried yet, please PM me your number because I am very interested.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's a bad idea
Yeah I'm going to have to agree. I'm an alcoholic myself and this is a problematic way of living with it. Moderation seldom works for alcoholics as it is and by putting your choice to drink on someone else's offerings seems to just be a way to escape any blame should it end in full relapse.
Everybody's journey is different though so I'm not going to judge. But at no point was I able to stop drinking until I straight stopped drinking. As they say "one drink is too much and a hundred isn't enough."
You may be surprised at the spectrum of human experience. Among those for whom drinking becomes a problem at some point in their life, a substantial majority are actually able to moderate or regulate their drinking, either on their own or with limited support. There are a subset of problem drinkers who absolutely cannot do this though, and those for whom a single drink can send them spiralling.
I'm not saying what that other guy is doing is smart, but like you said, everybody's journey is different
Problem drinking and alcoholism aren't the same though. 9 out of 10 excessive drinkers aren't alcohol dependent. So yeah, while many people who at some point have a problem with drinking can learn to moderate without future issues, I don't know if most of them would fall into the alcohol dependency category.
That's kind of the issue though. There is no distinction in the eyes of the public, many in the medical field, and even those in recovery themselves.
According to one of the questionnaires about being an alcoholic I saw in college. Every single college student was an alcoholic if they ever took a drink.
Every single one of these concerns has already been addressed (for instance I have already received over 300 hours of formal therapy to date). Thank you for your time.
When I replied, you didn't have all of that info in there. Good for you though, if it works then great!
Therapy doesn't stop an addiction. Cessation does.
You've already admitted you can't control your drinking and have to rely on other people and random chance to do it for you.
You do you though.
Yeah that's not what S.M.A.R.T. therapy said, and it's both evidence-based and grounded in modern therapeutic practices. I'm sorry your only experience with addiction therapy has been the archaic hyperreligiosity of AA and that you were never taught any kind of coping skills for urges other than increased spirituality, which honestly explains a lot about why people who have only received that as their therapy are never capable of learning moderation, and why it doesn't work AT ALL for behaviorally based addictions like food or sex (how do you stop eating?). Anyway I'm going to keep drinking the single beverage my life partner brings me at parties like I have for a few years now. I very well might need to change my strategy in a few years. Fortunately that is something else I learned how to do in S.M.A.R.T..
Anyway I'm going to keep drinking the single beverage my life partner brings me at parties like I have for a few years now.I couldn't help but picture something like that 😂
https://i.etsystatic.com/18683762/r/il/66b5ce/2308457836/il_570xN.2308457836_ln5y.jpg
Honestly my first thought looking at that is literally just oh god how much would that bill be. The heights of alcoholism get really expensive. In multiple ways!
For sure, I had a friend that kept complaining about not having a cent, having to work overtime and not managing to fix problems he had (like his house needing work done in order to sell it) but the truth was he was spending his money on booze and wherever he had free time he could have spent getting his things in order, he would be drunk because that was the only time he had to satisfy his addiction...
Your "therapy" is SMART meetings? Remember when they had to shut down their 24/7 chat because of sexual predators?
But yeah, I know nothing about that, according to you. Also, I'm somehow religious because I think a self admitted alcoholic shouldn't drink?
There's also secular aa meetings where people openly bash religion, but what do I know, I am super religious after all /s
Have fun buddy.
yes, the one based on christian puritanism is doing muuuch better. And I've also done CBT, DBT, WRAP, and yes, even AA because there's something to learn from everyone. DBT is the one I'm professionally trained in, though.
Can I try to gently press that a little?
I would feel awful if I found out I had been enabling someone’s alcoholism, especially if they only allowed it because they trusted me and I offered them drinks. I have ADHD and autism, so I understand making yourself hard and fast rules to avoid having to make your own self control (I’m not saying that’s definitely what you’re doing).
Could you perhaps try gradually increasing the rules one by one so that in the end there’s basically no scenario in which you drink? I’m talking: a trusted person offers it to you; it’s a weekend; it’s nice weather out; your whole house is clean; you’ve got extra cash; you ate healthy that day; you are already in a good mood; your beloved (hopefully incapable, for this situation) sports team has won; you talked to two relatives that day, etc. I’m not a therapist, but that works for me. The problem is when I mess up- my rules are great for keeping me out of trouble, but they make me spiral if/when I do break them. You might have to figure out a combination of zero tolerance for “mistakes” and allowing yourself to make actual mistakes without spiraling.
Every single one of these concerns has already been addressed (for instance I have already received over 300 hours of formal therapy to date). Thank you for your time.