Alcohol problem
 

I seem to have some sort of problem with drinking responsibly. I don't get drunk very often (maybe once every two months) because I play a sport.

Anyway, when I do get drunk I generally take it too far. I was sent to the ER once after vomiting pretty hard for 10-15 minutes. I don't actually think that I needed to goto the hospital, but I was sent there. Regardless, I had blacked out at that point and had no recollection of the majority of the night.

After that incident, I had been doing pretty good. I had gotten drunk maybe 2-3 times and had no problems. I define drinking responsibly as not blacking out\vomiting.

However, the last few times I've been drunk (keep in mind that I drink once every two months or so, I've blacked out again. I know that one time I didn't vomit, but I'm not sure about the other time.

Anyway, the point of this post was to ask for help on what to do about this. I try to prep myself before I go out by reminding myself that I need to take it slow, be controlled, etc. However, whenever I start getting drunk I just keep drinking. My tolerance isn't amazing, and I'd imagine that I probably shouldn't be passing the 8-9 drink mark (5'10, 165 lbs).

Any advice?

Re: Alcohol problem
 

Drink more often. That way, you won;t feel the need to got o excess x 12 everytime.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

First let me say I have nothing against drinking in general. I drink, my friends drink, and we enjoy it. That said, I would suggest you think hard about stopping drinking entirely.

It sounds like you may have a predisposition to alcoholism. Seriously, you've had several experiences where, despite your best efforts, you drank way too much. That's one of the defining characteristics of addiction. Overdrinking like that doesn't happen to most people. When people first start drinking, they may have too much, but they quickly learn their lessons. You don't seem to be learning.

If you can't stop once you start, maybe you shouldn't start. Since you manage to avoid drinking at all most of the time, would it be that much of an imposition to avoid it altogether? You even have a great excuse, "I can't, I'm in training."

Plus, nobody likes a puker. Your friends would probably be glad they didn't have to deal with your drunk [censored] anymore.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

If you cant control yourself you should probably stop.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

Stopping is an unreasonable task for most people, so you sould consider yourself lucky drinking is such a small aspect of your life you still have stopping as a relatively easy option.

If you don't want to stop completely, set a low limit for yourself. I'm talking 3-4 drinks MAX, maybe lower. This way you'll never be 'drunk' although you'll be drinking along with your friends. It's very hard and frustrating when your friends all get drunk yet seem to suffer none of the negative effects you do. You try to enjoy alcohol the same way they do but something just doesn't work. This problem won't go away on its own.

I used to get too drunk pretty often, so for a long time I set strict limits for myself and stuck to them. Nowadays I rarely if ever drink uncontrollably because I'm used to and not afraid of being practically sober in a bar. If I get drunk one night, the next night I feel almost repulsed by the idea of getting drunk again. Plus if you DD a lot friends will suddenly appreciate you a LOT.

In conclusion, strongly consider quitting. If that's too much, then rethink why you drink. Don't make your goal for the night to get drunk, but to have a good time with your friends WITHOUT getting drunk.

Plus read the Jack Kerouac book "Big Sur." It might just scare you straight.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

Drink beer?

Re: Alcohol problem
 

haaa your problem is that you never had a freshman year that taught you the basics of drinking (through experience, of course).

don't drink shots.

don't drink hard alcohol (eg mixed drinks).

drink beer and you'll always be pleasantly drunk/rarely ever black out.

unfortunately for you, if you don't drink often you may never have acquired a taste for beer.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

I have this problem sometimes, but it almost exclusively happens when I drink hard alcohol. VERY RARELY when I only drink beer. This may be your problem. I basically just have to never drink liquor, or I go out of control and do insanely stupid things.

Of course, you might just have to quit altogether.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

Set a number of drinks you want to have before you go out that is a number you know you can handle. Bring a water bottle when you drink. When you decide to stop drinking booze switch to the water and keep refilling it (with water) throughout the night.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

You'll black out from time to time, it happens. No need to Quit drinking entirely... Foolish talk i tells you! foolish!

Re: Alcohol problem
 

Um, stop drinking?

Re: Alcohol problem
 

what are you doing when you drink? are you at a party, and how much are other people drinking? are people pressuring you into drinking more, or is that just what you want at the time?

i've had this problem too - i'd try to monitor your friends or the people around you and drink as much as they are.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

ya, i'd say stick to beer. If you do go with the hard stuff, keep it to a minimum and only drink one type. Last weekend is the only time I've ever puked from drinking and its because I did shots of bourbon and vodka. I felt fine until the vodka so I'm sure that's the reason

Re: Alcohol problem
 

[ QUOTE ]
what are you doing when you drink? are you at a party, and how much are other people drinking? are people pressuring you into drinking more, or is that just what you want at the time?

i've had this problem too - i'd try to monitor your friends or the people around you and drink as much as they are.

[/ QUOTE ]

Generally just at parties with friends, not huge parties, but like 12-15 people'ish.

I think that making myself stick to beer for a long time would be a decent solution, I'll try that.

I appreciate all of the advice. I do think that calling it anything close to alcoholism is a bit too far, but maybe I'm biased. To me, alcoholism relates much more to the frequency with which you drunk, but I could be wrong. Also, do note that I don't blackout everytime, just that its happened 4-5 times and I obviously think its bad.

Quitting drinking entirely is possible, but I'd like to think that I could avoid it. I don't blackout everytime I drink, just more often than I'd like. I also would like to point out that there are tons of college kids my age who have the same problem, but drink 2-3 times a week, and don't even consider it to be a problem.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

[ QUOTE ]
I also would like to point out that there are tons of college kids my age who have the same problem, but drink 2-3 times a week, and don't even consider it to be a problem.

[/ QUOTE ] Right...they're called alcoholics.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

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I think that making myself stick to beer for a long time would be a decent solution, I'll try that.


[/ QUOTE ]

That's a good idea. See how it goes and reassess.

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To me, alcoholism relates much more to the frequency with which you drunk, but I could be wrong.

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I'd start by reading this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism

and then start reading the numerous articles about alcohol abuse/dependence among college students.

[ QUOTE ]
I also would like to point out that there are tons of college kids my age who have the same problem, but drink 2-3 times a week, and don't even consider it to be a problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whether they consider it to be a problem or not is irrelevant. There's a reason that Step 1 is admitting that you have a problem ( -- most people that have a problem don't realize/admit/understand it).

A few things for you to try:
1) Go out and just drink beer. This will get you drunk more slowly, and fill you up more quickly (so that by the time you're hitting 8-10 beers, or fewer, you're stomach will want you to slow down for reasons other than the alcohol).

2) Go out, drink 3-4 drinks, and stop. If you don't/can't stop, you're at serious risk for alcohol addiction (or already there) [I hate saying things like this w/o a citation -- it's about all I remember from my alcohol class in college though [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]].

If your goal is to get better at drinking hard, I'd follow the other recommendations of drinking less alcohol more frequently (speaking from my own college experiences). On the other hand, this might not be the best idea for you (or anyone else for that matter).

GL

Re: Alcohol problem
 

[ QUOTE ]
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I appreciate all of the advice. I do think that calling it anything close to alcoholism is a bit too far, but maybe I'm biased. To me, alcoholism relates much more to the frequency with which you drunk, but I could be wrong. Also, do note that I don't blackout everytime, just that its happened 4-5 times and I obviously think its bad.


[/ QUOTE ]

One major part of alcoholism is not being able to drink without getting very drunk. You are a textbook example of this. My suggestion is learn to control it, (have a drink or two with dinner on a regular night and just stop) or quit drinking altogether.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

you seem to be doing fine. my only suggestion would be instead of drinking every few weeks do this around 3 nights a week.

Re: Alcohol problem
 

I don't agree with the "just drink beer" suggestion, and I've heard it a lot concerning potential alcoholics. It sounds to me like he's predisposed to alcoholism as well and he's lucky that other factors have kept drinking such a small part of his life. You have to be in control when you drink, consciously in control. If you find that after a few beers you can't make the same descions(to only drink 4-6 drinks tonite) you desired before you started drinking, then there's probably a problem.

Re: Alcohol problem