Sobriety

Narc.

The great disadvantage of sobriety is that when you wake up, it's the best you're going to feel all day.

You can quit drinking, but you will never be truly sober. Your brain will find another form of addiction to replace the already conditioned part of your brain that is craving alcohol.

Drinking doesn't mean you have to become incoherent or have a hang over. It's not an all or nothing activity.

+1, or so I hear...

I've tried it for almost six months now. Before that, I had at least one, often two, big nights out every weekend and sometimes a glass or two when dining out in the weekdays. Decided to try sobriety out, and I feel better than I have in many years, a whole new level of energy and clarity. I am also a lot more fun to hang out with I belive, than the drunk me, so my friends aren't missing anyting out. I join in on all activities but when they drink, I stick to non-alcoholic beverages.

That said, I miss beer a lot. I've stuck to non-alcoholic beer but the taste is not at all satisfying. I will probably start drinking beer again in the future, but not the same amounts I've consumed before. Then it will be just for the taste of it and I will stay at 1-2 beers at a time.

Overall, if I had to choose between total sobriety as I have now and my alcohol habits I had before only, I definately would never drink again. The downside is far bigger than the upside, at least for me. Hangovers that leads to sleeping away whole days, money spent in bars, gaining weight and getting less energy for excercise and less results from the gym and becoming an overall less interesting person to hang out with in my opinion.

I enjoy drinking too much to stop.

That's not true at all in the sense that people can be free of all addictions and be "truly sober".

I've got 25 years+ in a 12 step program.


This can be true or not. Through the 25 years it could be said that I was addicted to making money ( and losing it ) To screwing around with inappropriate young gals ( if that is an addiction ) and currently to helping others.

But through the 25 years I have literally known thousands of people that completely turned their lives around without the swings I've had. 12 step programs are anonymous and not "secret". Among the real old timers, up to and including the founders of AA there were differences.

Bill W. was a wild man and chased woman and windmills ( like his niacin and LSD experiments ) till he died. Dr. Bob returned to the mainstream and was as normal as possible. This all public knowledge and easily Googled.

At this point I would say that their actions resulted in something that has helped millions of people. A pretty good legacy! I am no Bill W. or Dr. Bob ( and I'm far, far, far from it )but friends have told me I am more of a Bill W. type than a Dr. Bob.


Right, but for a small amount of people it does.


Why?

BTW: One of my 3 commitments today is to go to a Thanksgiving Celebration at an AA club. If anyone is in Houston and interested please PM me and you are invited. Otherwise drive safely if you are drinking.

Also, I'm working on a benefit at The Houston Council on Alcoholism for a legendary Houston AA figure with 45 years of sobriety. He's hit a rough patch but has not drank. It is truly remarkable. I'm done naming names and telling stories but if the benefit comes off it will be taped and probably in the newspapers and certainly on Youtube. I will post links.

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving to all.

I'm not sure what your asking. Hombre stated that people can move from one addiction to another and never be "truly sober". While it's true that people can replace addictions, one can be sober from all addictions and not just replace one addiction with another.

It's quite common for addicts to need more than one 12 step program (if that's what they're choosing for support) but a sober life can be lived without any addictions (as it sounds like you may already know).

I think it does accomplish something for many people, it helps people loosen up and talk about interesting subjects.

I dont drink to excess, never have. I stick to 1-3 drinks.

Drinking something like red wine isnt terrible for your health in my understanding, unless its drank to excess.

I'm a teetotaler.

To the guy pointing out the likelihood of swapping one habit for another...

Your comment has an air of "Why bother, you will you just pick something else up" which is fairly nihilistic. While it is likely new habits will be picked up, a watchful eye will insure new habits are less destructive than old habits, and that if new habits become disruptive than they are nixed in turn. People who have worked hard to eliminate a major habit in their lives are more likely to deeply consider the individual effects of all habits in their lives as opposed to the guy who just rolls with the punches and never understands why things don't work out.

In a nutshell, since drinking was going to kill the average AA member in another 10 years, most people really don't give a fuck what replaced it.

I have new habits and some of them are a little weird (see SF), but in 6 years I've gone from a sexless drone flipping burgers barely making rent with roommates to re-educating myself in a new career, a house owned in a metropolitan area, a physique I've never before had, and a beautiful hipster girlfriend 7 years younger than myself who makes more money than I do.

One of my habits right now is fucking that girlfriend. I'm ok with this.

Tell that to Conne.

So am I supposed to be impressed by you?