I think your intentions are good, and you've said you were a previous addict, but I'm not quite sure i believe you.

Lisnaholic advice seemed genuine because it captured the mindset pretty good. When your an addict it's always going to be in your mind, at least his advice had a structure and a way of making improvements in a obtainable way.

Saying you should replace alchohol with exercise sounds great, but it really isn't a practical step, unless he's drinking because of serious self-esteem issues, trying to appeal to the opposite gender isn't really the primary concern right now.

From expireance i've actually done what lisnaholic did, though with my own routines, and it did work out for me. Quitting doesn't always take the giant steps people assume, it's just a matter of organizing your thoughts.

AA and other programs have an incredibly high failure rate, something like 90% your honestly better off trying to find a solution that works for you

i've never actually had any problems with alcohol

i can binge or abstain entirely

there's no addiction whatsoever

:beer:
Alcoholism isn't a disease. For all the alcoholics out there you can just quit. Pretty easy stuff, stop drinking. I've been dependent on it once and some of my close friends have it's easy to realize when you start to rely on it and it becomes a problem like all substances. As for alcohol I consider it a drug. It affects your consciousness just like any other legal/illegal intoxicant. Its always bugged me how my peers and teachers put alcohol seperate to drugs such as "drugs and alcohol are bad." I have nothing against alcohol it's just an acceptable way of getting intoxicated instead of smoking a joint or tripping off some fungus which are deemed BAD ways of getting intoxicated and worse ILLEGAL! Unfortunatley there's plenty of less harmful substances out there that are demed illegal as mentioned.

I think I understand where she's coming from. Maybe I misunderstood I don't wanna speak for anyone else here. But personally, I think if you replace one habit with another, you're solving the symptom and not the problem.

You should excercise to stay healthy. You should not exercise to escape your problems.


You really just need to face your problems. Or stfu about them. But the moment you start ignoring them is the moment you've ****ed yourself in the brain

People dont's just pick a bottle and chug it for the hell of it, on a regular basis. There's always a reason. Teens do it to look cool fair enough, but when someone is using it to blow themselves up, metaphorically speaking, it wont help to replace the bottle. Replace it with a weight, they'll kill themselves weight lifting.

You have to address the central problem of self-destruction. Or dont, and just stfu, like I said.

Drink, who cares. I don't. But if you wanna stop, just stop. There's no middle ground. There's no magic solution. You just stop picking up the bottle, You deal with the pain and the cravings, and you show that you still have some element of control of yourself, and show that that willpower will come up trumps against your addiction.

There are no magic solutions in life. Either balls up and do something. or stfu about it and keep drinking. No middle ground. You're either at one end or the other, there are just varying degrees of people deluding themselves thinking they're being proactive.

****ing...20p in the donation box every month and a brisk walk around the block is not proactive. It's a ****ing rat in a maze.

A lot of great ideas and ive read through them all. I apperciate all the different views and opinions from everyone. Im not a part of a support program as of yet but I plan on joining one. Right now its been purely self motivation and just knowing the consequences of what will happen if I dont quit. Which I know will get easier with time but so far hasnt been to bad either. Ive heard the phrase "dry drunk" which maybe what I am at the moment. Which from what I understand is someone who isnt drinking but isnt really getting help either. The want to is truly there for me though and I hope maybe anyone else struggling with this problem. Upon reading this thread will join in on the discussion as well. Even though its a forum of complete strangers...it seems to be somewhat therapeutic for me.

Now a lil over two weeks and staying sober. I think as cruckster pointed out if the want to is there than the ability is also. Its either do or dont there is no middle ground. Again maybe its just finally clicked and im the one back in control of my life again and without reservations. Just to add.... ciggarettes have ceased to appeal to me as well. I had one cigg all of last week so I may as well give those up as well while im at it.