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As I continued to age, I didn't really drink for another 2 years or so. At that point, I was drinking pints of Southern Comfort when I was around my friends. I don't know how I did it. It tasted so nasty and I usually ended up puking once I was inebriated. After a few pints of that stuff when I was younger, I almost get sick thinking about drinking it again. The Alcohol Addiction Real Problem......started when I was 21 and able to legally drink. I started going out to the bar every single weekend. I of course had just one bar I would go to, you would rarely see me anywhere else. I have had a pretty bad case of social anxiety my whole life and I started using alcohol to get myself to open up around people and be more social. The thing I did not realize was how ridiculous this was.My favorite drink for the first few years of my alcohol addiction was White Russians. If you don't know what's in them, it's a great mixture of Kahlua, Vodka, and cream or milk. I would go to the bar and lose count of how many I had. I had my favorite bartenders who I considered my friends, but were they? They would always give me what I wanted, and they weren't drinks for the weak hearted. I would have anywhere from 5 to 10 White Russians every Friday and Saturday night. This continued non stop for several years. Almost the worst part of drinking these high calorie beverages was weight gain. I started gaining when I was 21. I went from about 175 pounds to 262 pounds during the time of my alcohol addiction. With the gain of weight and continuing to drink every weekend, I finally came to the realization of how fat I was getting about the time I was 26. I stopped drinking the White Russians and switched to Bud Light. If you have never drank beer, it is something to get used to, but really did not take that long. The same happened with Bud Light, I would drink until I was inebriated, almost every time. Most of those years, I would drive home from the bar never knowing how I got home. The fear finally caught up with me over New Years of 2006 when I came home and noticed that there was a HUGE dent in the passenger side of my car. The scary thing was, I don' t know how it got there. I could just picture myself doing a hit and run the night before, but I don't really remember doing it. Everyone that has seen the dent says it looks like someone had hit me in the parking lot. Unfortunately, I'll never really know for sure. The Alcohol Addiction ResolutionFinally, after years of going through these situations of drinking and not knowing what happened and then feeling like hell the next day, along with the weight gain, it was time to stop. I was also on antidepressants several of those years. They don't help when you are an alcoholic.Finally, on June 22nd of 2007, I made a decision. I told myself that this was my last night to get drunk, and it was, my alcohol addiction is over. I have drank ONCE since that time. I had one pitcher of beer, and one of my friends saved me from drinking anymore. At this point, I don't miss alcohol. I have pretty much stopped going out to the bars altogether. I've decided over the last year, that it was time to quit screwing around and get my life on track. How did I handle alcohol cravings over the last year? Honestly, I haven't had too many, but every time I do, all I have to do is use my horrible memories of drinking and passing out every time I drank. Over my drinking years, I could not tell you the number of times I would come home and get online and then pass out in front of my computer. I never truly wanted a life like that. I blame it all on my OCD and wish I would've been diagnosed with it a lot sooner. In my opinion, the easiest way to overcome any alcohol addiction is look at the negative aspects of that addiction and how they negatively affect your life right now. Like smoking for example. I know if I continue to smoke, I'll eventually have lung cancer or emphysema. I'm prepared for that to happen... but if I caught a pneumonia or bronchitis from it, it might get me to stop smoking right now. I hope this makes sense, it's hard to express in words. My life after being an alcoholic has been so much different. The medications I take for my OCD have helped. They have given me a chance to really live life to the fullest that I can again. On the weekends now, it's not hard to get out of bed and do work in the yard or work on my websites, or even do something to relax and just blow off the day. I don't wake up groggy like I used to every weekend during my alcohol addiction period. With staying home from the bar, I have a lot more time to work on my websites also. This is why I have so many I am currently working on. Working online is like an addiction and it can be fulfilling and rewarding in some cases. If you are a weekend alcoholic, or any type of alcoholic for that matter. I might suggest to take a look and see how it is affecting your life. If you don't like it just tell yourself that you are going to stop and actually do it. Remind yourself of all the negative aspects of drinking and what it has caused to happen in your life. I can honestly say now and never imagined I would say that there is nothing better than an alcohol free life. Feedback And CommentsDiederik From The Netherlands Writes: I am now alcohol free for almost six months (My excessive drinking was mostly 4 days a week). Yeah, is has positive consequences. On the other hand, it did not help me to get rid of negative ideas (really obsessions) about myself although i am on medication (SSRI's) and quitting alcohol should make the medication more effective. In effect, alcohol enables you to forget negative emotions and obsessions, although temporarely.
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