On Tue, 4 Dec 2007 19:17:00 -0800 (PST), wewe@mailinator.com wrote:

>Please excuse any typos for have been drinking
>
>A year ago, I quit smoking. However in the place of a cigarette I have
>taken to alcoholic drinks as a substitute.
>
>From not long after quitting cigarettes, I've been aware that i was
>using alcohol more as a substitute. It hasn't concerned me too much
>because I'm so delighted that I'd quit smoking! However, now that a
>year has passed I think it's time to quit the alcohol habit,.

No one I have ever known uses alcohol as a substitute for cigarettes.

>
>I'm posting here mainly because I'd like some feedback from other
>alcoholics, especially if they've had a similar experiences to me.
>
>What I've found interesting, is that lately, I've very rarely been
>"drunk". I've been "needing" to drink lts of alcohol, but other than
>satisfying my cravings, it's not had the same sort of effect as before
>when I drank socially. In a typical evening, I'll drink 8 pints of
>cider and I'll feel normal, whereas in the past, that would definitely
>have got me drunk...

>It seems weird to me that in the days before I was an alcoholic, I'd
>frequently get drunk whilst drinking, whereas now, that never seems to
>happen.

You are building up a tolerance to alcohol. At the end of your
smoking, didn't you have to smoke more to feel OK / satisfy your
cravings? Isn't that the way all addictions work?
>
>In a way, at the moment, I'm not too concerned about my alcoholism. I
>never really believed that I'd be able to quit nicotine addiction, and
>now that I have, I feel a great sense of power about addiction. I felt
>helpless when I was a nicotine addict, I didn't believe it was
>possible to quit at all, and now that I have, I felt that I can beat
>any addiction, even alcoholism.

If you are an alcoholic / addict the sense of power that you feel over
addiction is delusional.
>
>From the moment that my alcohol consumption started to concern me, I
>decided that I'd quit heavy drinking on the 1st anniversary of my
>smoking cessation (December). however lately, I've decided to put that
>date back to January 1st. I've decided that it'd be too awkward to
>quit drinking over the Christmas period, and 1 month can't hurt!

>
>I'd be interested to hear other people's views on this. I'm concerned
>that my delaying might be a sign that my inner self might be trying to
>delay the quit date. However, I think I'm being fairly logical in my
>decision and it doesn't concern me too much. I quit smoking in
>probably the most stressful point in my life (i.e when I "needed" a
>cigarette most), so I don't doubt that I can quit drinking alcohol in
>the "drinking season". However, it does concern me to some extent that
>I'm delaying a date that I set myself, I'm concerned that I may be
>deluding myself somewhat.

>Another thing that I'd like feedback on is whether it's possible to
>reduce drinking, rather than quit completely. Early on, I thought I'd
>get to a point where I'd force myself to drink less. However the more
>I think about it, the more I realise that I'm going to have to quit
>completely, at least for a period of many months at first. I know from
>my nicotine addiction that trying to "cut down" is a fool's game. This
>is my main reason for shifting my quit date to January. Originally I
>planed on "cutting down" over Christmas, but now I realise I'm going
>to have to quit completely, I figure it'll be easier from January. I
>don't doubt that I won't be able to do it in December, but I figure a
>month doesn't make a huge difference. Am I deluding myself? I intend
>to keep posting here, so if I don't stick by what I say, I can be held
>accountable. hopefully that'll be enough to keep me on the straight
>and narrow!
>
>Another thing that concerns/interests me is that I've always believed
>an alcoholic to be someone that doesn't realise they're an alcoholic.
>Right from early after quitting smoking I'd realised what had happened
>to me, sure it's gotten worse over time but I never disbelieved that I
>was an alcoholic. Is this usual?
>
>I apologise if I seem arrogant. i honestly do believe i can beat this,
>quitting nicotine has given me an enormous feeling of power, maybe
>above what I'm entitled, after all, all I have done is jump from one
>addiction to another. My intention in this post is to be honest, even
>if that does reflect my over-inflated ego! I you are offended by this
>post then please take solace in the fact that I will continue to post,
>so if I fail you will be able to ridicule me for my failure then!
>
>Ayway, I'm really just asking for feedback at the moment. Please don't
>be reluctant to criticise me, I'm ready to take note of any words of
>advice that people cn offer me, and the more the better!
>
>WeWe

Of course your inner and outer self is trying to delay quitting. My
question for you is, WHY do you want to quit? If it was possible to
THINK our way out of addiction, we would have been in recovery years
ago.

If you are an addict / alcoholic, it is my opininon that you will not
be able to reduce your drinking to the point where you will be a
social drinker. Don't you drink to get drunk? Social drinkers don't.
What fun is having one or two drinks and stopping? Does that sound
like fun to you? I didn't think so.

If you are CRAVING drink and it does not have the same effect on you
that it once did (don't get drunk) AND you are drinking to relieve
physical / emotional discomfort - QUIT NOW and save yourself a lot of
grief!

Good luck.

>