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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TexasChic on July 30, 2009, at 20:16:11
I find myself compulsively consuming alcohol. I'm pretty sure it's in response to my anxiety. Is that the same as being an alcoholic? Maybe I am an alcoholic. Maybe I'm stupid for even questioning it.
-T
Posted by TexasChic on July 30, 2009, at 20:24:14
In reply to Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic?, posted by TexasChic on July 30, 2009, at 20:16:11
Should I try going to an AA meeting when I'm an agnostic? Would it help maybe just to be around others with the same problem. I'm not sure I could quit drinking without starting smoking again. I'm not sure I won't start smoking again anyway.
-T
Posted by Sigismund on July 31, 2009, at 17:17:06
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic?, posted by TexasChic on July 30, 2009, at 20:24:14
AA?
My name is Sigismund and I am a alcoholic?
How much are you drinking?
I think the standards at Babble for drinking are so much more stringent than the standards for any other substance.
I have this thing with spirits.
(My doctor told me I could not drink wine or beer, so I took to spirits.
At my time of life it doesn't take much in the way of spirit drinking to drink too much.)If you can keep under the half bottle of wine a night, that's not too bad.
Going to AA would drive me to drink. In fact that's the way I deal with myself. I say to myself 'If you can't drink in moderation you won't be able to drink at all'.
Posted by Deneb on August 10, 2009, at 13:10:59
In reply to Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic?, posted by TexasChic on July 30, 2009, at 20:16:11
How much are you drinking TexasChic?
I agree the standards here at Babble seem much more strict. I was drinking a maximum of 2 large cans of beer a night and that was frowned upon. I usually drank 1 large can.
I haven't bought beer in a while now and I have no urge to drink so I'm pretty sure I don't have a problem.
Posted by Partlycloudy on August 11, 2009, at 17:20:55
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic? » TexasChic, posted by Deneb on August 10, 2009, at 13:10:59
As far as I know.
Posted by Sigismund on August 13, 2009, at 3:21:23
In reply to There are no standards here, posted by Partlycloudy on August 11, 2009, at 17:20:55
As you have been informed, reasonable people can differ.
I had in mind people on high doses of several drugs, and the way that is treated as against some excessive drinking, as expressed in the responses of many posters.
I have never seen a poster suggest that someone on meds go to AA or NA. (That sounds faintly heretical. Is that a good sign?)
Not that I want to sing the praises of excessive drinking.
I drink too much but not much, and would like to drink less, but it never seems like much until halfway through the night and until the next afternoon, but only on occasion.As a conservative, I believe in the wisdom of the ages:
A (stiff?) drink at the cocktail hour (but only one).How pleasant it is to see you here briefly.
Posted by Partlycloudy on August 14, 2009, at 16:15:48
In reply to Re: There are no standards here » Partlycloudy, posted by Sigismund on August 13, 2009, at 3:21:23
> As you have been informed, reasonable people can differ.
>
Sigh.
>
> How pleasant it is to see you here briefly.Yeah, well it doesn't seem to be lasting for long :-( My tears are streaming and I'm ready to bolt because of another board where you and I are posting at the moment. Stupid triggers.
Posted by Sigismund on August 14, 2009, at 21:39:21
In reply to Re: There are no standards here » Sigismund, posted by Partlycloudy on August 14, 2009, at 16:15:48
You didn't look that bad from the back, and besides, there was no backside (as I understand the word) on display at all.
Posted by Sigismund on August 15, 2009, at 2:03:00
In reply to Re: There are no standards here » Partlycloudy, posted by Sigismund on August 14, 2009, at 21:39:21
Intellectual ones?
I'm bored, my back aches, I'm off to read "The Politics of Hysteria".
Posted by Partlycloudy on August 15, 2009, at 13:44:01
In reply to Re: There are no standards here, posted by Sigismund on August 15, 2009, at 2:03:00
Ha ha ha.
You must have a great local library.
pc - still here.
Posted by Sigismund on August 15, 2009, at 16:19:13
In reply to Re: There are no standards here, posted by Partlycloudy on August 15, 2009, at 13:44:01
>You must have a great local library.
No, not at all. Somewhere along the line all the cash for a new library was embezzled, so the accommodation is basic. This had to be ordered from the National Library ($17.20). Still, they need all the encouragement they can get.
Posted by Partlycloudy on August 15, 2009, at 17:03:58
In reply to Re: There are no standards here » Partlycloudy, posted by Sigismund on August 15, 2009, at 16:19:13
> >You must have a great local library.
>
> No, not at all. Somewhere along the line all the cash for a new library was embezzled, so the accommodation is basic. This had to be ordered from the National Library ($17.20). Still, they need all the encouragement they can get.Strangely, our local library had an embezzlement of funds problem too. (Must be an international get-rich slowly and stealthily scheme we didn't know about?)
I'm impressed with your reading materials. I've been keeping my reading very light lately, as I tend to become overly absorbed, to the expense of other living conditions like eating and bathing. Unless I can do those whilst reading.
Posted by TexasChic on August 19, 2009, at 18:58:32
In reply to Re: There are no standards here » Sigismund, posted by Partlycloudy on August 15, 2009, at 17:03:58
Hey! People posted back to me, what do you know? Sorry I'm just now checking in here.
I don't always drink until I'm drunk, but I do often enough to be concerned. But the bigger concern is this feeling of dependency. I start feeling panic when I don't have alcohol in the house. But I don't know if that's a comfort zone thing, or if I'm really jonesing for the alcohol. I don't drink every day, but I can easily drink for several days in a row (only in the evenings though). I also have a problem knowing when to say when. The more I drink, the less I realize when its time to stop. Anyway, I guess I know I do have a problem, whether it is actually alcoholism or if alcohol is just my crutch for the moment. Thanks for your thoughts!
-T
Posted by Partlycloudy on August 19, 2009, at 19:11:52
In reply to Re: There are no standards here, posted by TexasChic on August 19, 2009, at 18:58:32
Four years today, my friends, and who could ever believe it? A miracle of its own making, no credit due any where.
Love
PartlyCloudy
Posted by Sigismund on August 20, 2009, at 2:50:33
In reply to No standards - but one of my one, posted by Partlycloudy on August 19, 2009, at 19:11:52
>A miracle of its own making, no credit due any where.
That's a lovely way of looking at it, but very strange too, as it must have taken a lot of effort.
Posted by Sigismund on August 20, 2009, at 2:54:08
In reply to Re: There are no standards here, posted by TexasChic on August 19, 2009, at 18:58:32
>I don't always drink until I'm drunk,
Any person who drinks perhaps spends more time than he should thinking about what constitutes drunkeness and reasonable drinking.
An old friend, now dead, who had been an alcoholic, won my heart when he said to me a long time ago
'But you don't drink too much, do you? You don't fall down?'
Posted by Fred23 on August 23, 2009, at 16:17:07
In reply to Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic?, posted by TexasChic on July 30, 2009, at 20:16:11
> I find myself compulsively consuming alcohol. I'm pretty sure it's in response to my anxiety.
Have you talked to a doctor about the anxiety?
Posted by TexasChic on September 14, 2009, at 22:14:11
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic? » TexasChic, posted by Fred23 on August 23, 2009, at 16:17:07
> > I find myself compulsively consuming alcohol. I'm pretty sure it's in response to my anxiety.
>
> Have you talked to a doctor about the anxiety?
>
Yes, in the past, but currently I don't have insurance, which makes things difficult. I'm pretty sure I also drink out of loneliness and to avoid facing things I don't like about my life. I find myself feeling extreme anxiety at the end of the day and this intense need to get alcohol on the way home from work. I've been doing good for the last few weeks, but the last couple of days I've fallen off the wagon.Sigh, thanks for listening.
-T
Posted by Fred23 on September 25, 2009, at 18:39:51
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anxiety = alcoholic?, posted by TexasChic on September 14, 2009, at 22:14:11
> I find myself feeling extreme anxiety at the end of the day and this intense need to get alcohol on the way home from work.
It may be that you are self-medicating, using alcohol where a benzodiazepine would be the better way to regulate your GABA system.
(That's how it was with me.)
This is the end of the thread.
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