Well, how y'all doin?

I drink Monday night, Wednesday and Thursday night real hard. I don't drink beer, just the hard stuff. On those three nights I have about 15 to 20 drinks. Are any of you like me?

Hoover

The question is if you have to work the next day and if you have a family to support?

No family to support. I work for myself, I make ends meet and do a pretty good job. I just wonder if I have a problem

Hoover

Depends on why you do it and if you believe you have to do it.

I'm drinking a lot lately myself. Have to be ever-vigilant.

I do it to take my mind off of things. Its not like I "have" to go out each of those nights. I like being with my friends and not thinking about my trobles. My life is going good. I have a great woman, good family. I need to find a steady job and stop working for myself but I am making a living.

Hoover

FTR, I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs.

My Mom has never did that stuff either, but my dad has, he and his friends used to go out when they were younger (before he met my Mom) and get smashed! Him and his friends used to ride Harley Davidsons together. He quit drinking. The reason he told me he quit drinking was because, in his words, and I quote, "family and alcohol don't mix, whether it be getting drunk or just drinking alittle on occasion, its not good to drink, PERIOD" I asked him why he don't even drink a little, and he said, "its a bad influence on kids, and it leads to trouble." Thats what he said, maybe not the exact words, but thats what he mean't. And IMO, he's right. And after he gave me this lecture, he said, "you understand, son" And I said, "you could learn alot from a dummy"

CG

Why didn't he give me a lecture on drugs and ect.? Because he knows I'm smarter than that!

Been there done that. Was a stock broker for most of my life. Got off work or saw a client, always booze, mostly the preferred drink, martini. Never thought I was a drunk. Second wife left me. Still I wasn't a drunk, I just worked hard. Played hard. Got real sick. Doc said I was a drunk. Didn't believe him until the emergency room deal. Quit smoking, quit drinking, quit the markets, and started my computer life. Since then I can drink and quit, yet sometimes instead of a couple of beers the six- is gone then I quit for long time again. Pretty soon its not worth the trouble of quiting so you don't do it at all. Good luck. Once you ask the question you know the answer.

I just wanted to say that this is my opinion, and thats all its is, an opinion. I was brought up in a religious family and raised not to drink, do drugs, or smoke. But, once again, thats me. I'm not trying to TELL anyone not to drink, hey, if you want, go right ahead, I'm just giving my opinion and sharing what my Dad had told me and that I BELIEVE what he told me. And its not that I want to drink, etc., and can't, because of that was the way I was raised, but because I have NO desire to drink, or etc.

CG

although I give my parents major props for raising me the way they did and feel they did a great job.

In post #7, I was not referring to anyone praticular, just saying that what I said in post5, was me.

CG

I wasn't being rude or anything like that. I just expected to get flamed, but then I forgot, that this is not the KCstar BB! LOL!

GO CHIEFS!

And one more thing before I get some Zs, we are all on the same team here!

CG

Much respect to everyone on this great BB!!! And I mean that, honestly!!!!!!

GO CHIEFS!!!

Everyone have a great night!

CG

goodnight to all!!! I'm going to bed!!


GO CHIEFS!!!!!

Cody,
You're a good man....Joe

Bob Dole is too drunk to respond...

Do you have a problem, Hoover? I don't think it matters what any of us says - you have to figure it out for yourself.

If I got bombed every Mon, Wed, & Thur on 15-20 hard liquor drinks, I know that would be a problem for me. I'd either quit or seek help if I couldn't on my own.

You seem to think you could be doing much better for yourself if you took a fulltime job and you also inferred that your current lifestyle was preventing you from doing so. I'm not going to point that finger at you, Hoover. I don't know if this was meant to be a cry for help or a joke but I used to be in your shoes.

Personal opinion Hoov, you have got a problem. I'm speaking on behalf of the experience of putting my best friend into a clinic. Could not have just one beer. Had to have 15. Could not go a couple of days without the juice. He drank, and drank hard. You have the classic symptoms of a burgeoning alcoholic. Drinking to solve/avoid problems.

While you recognize that there may be a problem, go see a psychiatrist and spill your problems to a specialist. It's the best way to get help, especially when you are drinking to solve problems. They will undoubtedly get you involved with AA or something similar to help you get thru this.

Go Luck,

Chi

Hoov - a little test: try going out with your friends - but don't drink any alcoholic beverages. If you can't do it, perhaps you should seek the advice of a professional.

Hoover,

It may be a problem or it could just be a bad habit...Everyone in the "Professional" field will tell you without question that it is a problem...They have to create problems even if they don't exist in order to help their job security...

It is a problem if you can't stop or control it...But it could just be a bad habit as a result of your environment (i.e. friends)...Change your Monday, Wednesday and Thursday ritual for a month and see if it is a problem...

Through most college and my first job out of college I drank like a fish nearly every night...Every professional in the world would have said I had a serious problem...It was not a problem, it was just a habit that came from going out with buddies and clients nearly every night...When my wife and I started dating and I changed jobs my drinking changed to the occasional social drink over dinner about once a week...No shakes, no withdrawal, no sneaking drinks in the mid-day...It was no different than playing a video game, it was something that I enjoyed doing but not something that I needed...

So don't buy into the "you definitely have a problem" song and dance...The reality is you might have a problem but you might just be involved in a bad habit...Only you can figure that out by changing your environment.

Thanks for all the help. I feel that I can control my drinking, but I think the problem is who I'm handing around. If I'm alone I never drink, I only do so around my friends. My "friends have been around more as of late, maybe I should not be so willing to go out on the town.

Thanks for all the help.

Hoover

i like my beer...but i've had to cut back big time lately for safety. doc's got me doing treadmill time, and after a few brewskis, i kept falling off the damn thing. so i decided to run first, then have a couple. problem is, i dont feel like drinking a beer after running for 35 minutes! so i'm getting up early and getting it out of the way.
hell...i think i got a drinking problem too!!!
sec

and i cant quit...what would i pour on my wheaties?
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Hoover,

I agree with #15 and #16. Only you can find out if there is a problem. And IMO, trying to do without alcohol will let you know quickly enough.

Good luck.

This solution does not involve the self-exploration as the others stated but its a method that I try to follow to prevent drinking from damaging my body.

1. Stay busy- whenever I drank for no reason it was because I was bored. I find technology amazing so I spend alot of time doing harmless hacking and tinkering with my computer. I've screwed so many things on it and was too stubborn to call tech support. I stayed busy some weekends just trying to get my PC back up and running and always came away learning somthing. Moutain biking, hiking, canoeing, sking - all kinds of stuff to do.

2. Realize the harm drinking does. Take your blood pressure after a 15-20 drink night and then imagine your blood being forced through your organs at that rate. Not good. Alcohol also turn liver cells to fat, a horrible way to die.

3. If all your looking for is a buzz - smoke a doobie. At the very least, it will be a break for your body from alcohol.

A more superficial solution but if it promotes long-term health then what the heck. I know first hand how easy it can be to use alcohol to fill free time.

I drank a lot for a couple of years in my early 20's, until a friend mentioned that it seemed I always would use bars as meeting places for friends. That sounded to me like one of those things that get said to alcoholics, so I gave up the alcohol, which was actually pretty easy, from what I remember. I think I've had 3 drinks in the last 10 years, each at a celebration of some sort or another. I'm the geek at the sports bar who thinks 15-20 Diet Cokes watching my beloved Chiefs.

Anyway, Hoover, though I don't know much about alcohol abuse, I think 30 drinks a week pretty much indicates a problem, especially if all that is concentrated into 3 nights. The only advice I have is that, if you do end up getting help in cutting back, don't trip too much off that whole backsliding theory that says that if a single drop of alcohol touches your lips you're doomed to a month-long bender, vomitting in the gutter and losing your eighth or ninth wife. Moderation might well be the answer for you. (I've only been doing the wholesale abstinence thing because it's a habit that started in a fit of youthful idealism and I'm just not that interested in going back to booze.)

Here's a good link if you wonder if you might be drinking too much. It has a quiz and links to resources for moderating your drinking behavior. It does a good job of avoiding all the hype that anti-drinking fanatics foment, focussing instead on useful info:

http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol-info...nkTooMuch.html

[Edited by DanT on 02-22-2001 at 08:12 PM]

DAN T,

Cool sight, but I am not telling how many times I said yes.

BIG DADDY

Loves drinking.

As a recovering addict I can't say if you have a problem or not...too me, from my experience, 15 to 20 drinks of any kind, 2 or 3 times a week indicates a potential problem...there are a lot of functional addicts and alcholics out there...I was one for 8 years before everyting finally caught up to me and I had to get help...but for me a problem is one drink or one drug..for you it may be 30...

Regardless of the socio/economic problems drinking and druggin cause...think about your health...that much booze is not exactly recommended in many nutrition books...

Some one said it earlier...if you think you have a problem, you probably do...there are alot of simple tests you can do...tests that ask you certain questions and if you answer yes to them...you may have a problem...contact your local AA HQs...they can send info that may shed some light...

One thing I learned...no matter how bad your problem, or how much you admit it...you will never solve it unless you really want too...

I spent the first 5 years of my "recovery" trying to substitute my drug of choice with liquor and other drugs...I just got worse...

As they say, it is a process and not an event...

Good luck...feel free to e-mail me if you want more info about AA or NA...if nothing else, go to a meeting and talk to the members...you might get some answers...