i was just saying that 3 or 4 drinks isn't THAT strong of a dependancy and that he shouldn't have a problem breaking it
you'd be suprised. i typically have 2-3 beers a night...sometimes a little more. sometimes cheap beer, sometimes good beer. i quit last summer and it was physically annoying. it was like all the nerves in the arms went into over drive.
3 or 4 drinks is nothing, you shouldn't have a problem
The Australian Government's healthy alcohol consumption advice for a man is 2 standard drinks per day....and I believe they recommend having 2 alcohol free days a week too.
He is double that....and has been for TEN years. That's not really "nothing". He's doing damage to his body....he may not be able to see it now but he is. People have to stop kidding themselves and thinking that their kidneys or liver or heart or whatever aren't going to be affected by the lifestyle they live. Look at Black Diamond. Heart attacks at 45. He's now been told no alcohol, no smoking and no red meat. I bet he thought his excess consumption was "nothing" at the time too. But it caught up with him. If you abuse shit for the long term, there will be effects. Everyone thinks it won't be them until it happens.
i was just saying that 3 or 4 drinks isn't THAT strong of a dependancy and that he shouldn't have a problem breaking it
You would be surprised, bud. I have a friend who never drank more than 3 or 4 drinks but had a hell of a time quitting even that. Alcohol dependency is probably the toughest thing to overcome. Even worse than heroine in some cases..
3 or 4 drinks is nothing, you shouldn't have a problem
The Australian Government's healthy alcohol consumption advice for a man is 2 standard drinks per day....and I believe they recommend having 2 alcohol free days a week too.
He is double that....and has been for TEN years. That's not really "nothing". He's doing damage to his body....he may not be able to see it now but he is. People have to stop kidding themselves and thinking that their kidneys or liver or heart or whatever aren't going to be affected by the lifestyle they live. Look at Black Diamond. Heart attacks at 45. He's now been told no alcohol, no smoking and no red meat. I bet he thought his excess consumption was "nothing" at the time too. But it caught up with him. If you abuse shit for the long term, there will be effects. Everyone thinks it won't be them until it happens.
i was just saying that 3 or 4 drinks isn't THAT strong of a dependancy and that he shouldn't have a problem breaking it
On one hand I agree with you 3 or 4 drinks isn't that much to break, on the other hand...He's been doing it for and extended period of time...10 years is it? ( hee hee hee TEN..get it?? ) A habit is a habit. Hell, I can take Nyquil for a week straight to fall asleep quicker and the night after that week I will have a tough time falling asleep if I don't take any. Your body gets used to a routine, good or bad.
Pavlov's dog ring a bell...(HAHAHA..bell..pavlovs dog..get it..I'M ON FIRE TODAY!!! ) its a habit, he's not an alcoholic but he has developed a habit of drinking a few before bed. That can be tough to break.
"...And I fight back in my mind. Never lets me be right.
I got memories. I got shit so much it don't show."
i was just saying that 3 or 4 drinks isn't THAT strong of a dependancy and that he shouldn't have a problem breaking it
I would say that 3/4 drinks at night in order to be able to sleep is a very strong dependency. He needs those drinks in order to function (in this instance, the 'functioning' is relaxing/sleeping) and he feels he can't function without the drinks. Addiction/dependency or what?
Alcoholism (yep... that word) comes in all forms and shape - not just the 'I'm was completely out of it and don't remember a thing about last night' type drinking but also social drinkers (those that need their drinks in order to 'fit in', dependency drinkers (perhaps the OP?), etc. They are all addictions.
This said, 'detoxing' the body is a progressive thing. Not knowing what the OP is drinking or how big the drinks are, one may be able to stop cold turkey. The first 3 days may be the most difficult as the body just doesn't know where it's at or where it's going but then things should get easier. The sleep won't for a while as all that really need to 'reboot' once the body and mind are healthy enough.
As others have pointed out, filling time constructively, exercise (more of!), maybe yoga or other relaxing techniques before bedtime. Get into 'proper' and regular bedtime routine, a relaxing environment where you sleep (room aired out, comfortable bed, etc.), even the hot bath (not a myth, does something with the heating then cooling of the body temperature that helps with sleep). At the moment, the alcohol helps you fall asleep but messes up your sleep pattern. Stopping will at first mess up the falling asleep bit but start working on the patterns and eventually (hopefully), both will come back to 'natural' levels (this is assuming you ever had good sleeping patterns as an adult!!!). Also, if worries, etc. race through your head when trying to sleep, get up and go to another room, write them down (clears your head) and then go back to bed.
There are so many ways you can help yourself and, I dare say, if not completely sorted within 10 days, you can make serious progress - enough to keep you going.
One thing to remember as well, your doctor is always a good person to speak to. 'Replacement' drugs are not necessary (even the joint or two as you are just replacing one issue with another). Give it a go, don't stress about it and just run with it....
But if the OP is serious about stopping, replacing it with any other type of drug is not the answer. You're depending on something to make you sleep. Sleep is something the body requires, getting dependent on something to help that isn't going to fix your problem. As someone else said, it's just replacing it with another.
I've read that getting yourself into a routine, going to bed at the same time every night, waking up the same time every morning, can really help you to adjust your body to the proper sleeping pattern
my example: I drink quite heavily on the weekends. during the week? barely a drop. Just because I don't drink every day doesn't mean I don't have a dependency. I DEPEND on getting blasted once a week to reset.
3 or 4 drinks a night for one person could be a dependency for one person, but it might not be for another. since he DEPENDS on those drinks for (as Mickerat said) some type of functionality, I'd say it's a dependency.
I haven't been a smoker for years. But I have one or two when I drink. So I'd say, in some small way, I'm also dependent on cigarettes, even if it's only one or two a week.
anyway, I'm not here to judge the OP, just to say that if you go to a doctor and tell him about your routine, don't be surprised if he prescribes some type of support group for the booze.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
I'm not trying to judge, but this is alcoholism. If you NEED to (which is what you describe) drink every day, it's alcoholism. On top of that, you are WONDERING if you can go 10 days without it. Sorry. It is what it is.
And his advice of seeing a doctor is a good start.
I hope you get better. Good luck.
Sorry. The world doesn't work the way you tell it to.
See a doctor. If you have that much trouble sleeping you may have something wrong with you that could be treated better by a doctor than alcohol. Even if there isn't anything physically wrong with you, I'm pretty sure your doctor will tell you that having 3-4 drinks every night isn't healthy. If you are truly addicted to the drinks (and it seems like you probably are based on what you said about not being able to make it one night the last time you tried), 10 days won't cure you but it will be a very good start. You'll have to do it much longer than 10 days if your body needs to adjust to this new way of shutting down for the night. I just set the sleep timer on my TV and find something watchable with the volume turned low enough that I can still hear it but it won't keep me from sleeping. By the time the TV shuts itself off I'm sound asleep.
Comments
you'd be suprised. i typically have 2-3 beers a night...sometimes a little more. sometimes cheap beer, sometimes good beer. i quit last summer and it was physically annoying. it was like all the nerves in the arms went into over drive.
You would be surprised, bud. I have a friend who never drank more than 3 or 4 drinks but had a hell of a time quitting even that. Alcohol dependency is probably the toughest thing to overcome. Even worse than heroine in some cases..
On one hand I agree with you 3 or 4 drinks isn't that much to break, on the other hand...He's been doing it for and extended period of time...10 years is it? ( hee hee hee TEN..get it??
Pavlov's dog ring a bell...(HAHAHA..bell..pavlovs dog..get it..I'M ON FIRE TODAY!!!
I got memories. I got shit so much it don't show."
I would say that 3/4 drinks at night in order to be able to sleep is a very strong dependency. He needs those drinks in order to function (in this instance, the 'functioning' is relaxing/sleeping) and he feels he can't function without the drinks. Addiction/dependency or what?
Alcoholism (yep... that word) comes in all forms and shape - not just the 'I'm was completely out of it and don't remember a thing about last night' type drinking but also social drinkers (those that need their drinks in order to 'fit in', dependency drinkers (perhaps the OP?), etc. They are all addictions.
This said, 'detoxing' the body is a progressive thing. Not knowing what the OP is drinking or how big the drinks are, one may be able to stop cold turkey. The first 3 days may be the most difficult as the body just doesn't know where it's at or where it's going but then things should get easier. The sleep won't for a while as all that really need to 'reboot' once the body and mind are healthy enough.
As others have pointed out, filling time constructively, exercise (more of!), maybe yoga or other relaxing techniques before bedtime. Get into 'proper' and regular bedtime routine, a relaxing environment where you sleep (room aired out, comfortable bed, etc.), even the hot bath (not a myth, does something with the heating then cooling of the body temperature that helps with sleep). At the moment, the alcohol helps you fall asleep but messes up your sleep pattern. Stopping will at first mess up the falling asleep bit but start working on the patterns and eventually (hopefully), both will come back to 'natural' levels (this is assuming you ever had good sleeping patterns as an adult!!!). Also, if worries, etc. race through your head when trying to sleep, get up and go to another room, write them down (clears your head) and then go back to bed.
There are so many ways you can help yourself and, I dare say, if not completely sorted within 10 days, you can make serious progress - enough to keep you going.
One thing to remember as well, your doctor is always a good person to speak to. 'Replacement' drugs are not necessary (even the joint or two as you are just replacing one issue with another). Give it a go, don't stress about it and just run with it....
Good luck.
ditto
But if the OP is serious about stopping, replacing it with any other type of drug is not the answer. You're depending on something to make you sleep. Sleep is something the body requires, getting dependent on something to help that isn't going to fix your problem. As someone else said, it's just replacing it with another.
I've read that getting yourself into a routine, going to bed at the same time every night, waking up the same time every morning, can really help you to adjust your body to the proper sleeping pattern
Actually, I should probably try it sometime. :oops:
my example: I drink quite heavily on the weekends. during the week? barely a drop. Just because I don't drink every day doesn't mean I don't have a dependency. I DEPEND on getting blasted once a week to reset.
3 or 4 drinks a night for one person could be a dependency for one person, but it might not be for another. since he DEPENDS on those drinks for (as Mickerat said) some type of functionality, I'd say it's a dependency.
I haven't been a smoker for years. But I have one or two when I drink. So I'd say, in some small way, I'm also dependent on cigarettes, even if it's only one or two a week.
anyway, I'm not here to judge the OP, just to say that if you go to a doctor and tell him about your routine, don't be surprised if he prescribes some type of support group for the booze.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
conman likeanocean
likeanocean conman
I'm not trying to judge, but this is alcoholism. If you NEED to (which is what you describe) drink every day, it's alcoholism. On top of that, you are WONDERING if you can go 10 days without it. Sorry. It is what it is.
And his advice of seeing a doctor is a good start.
I hope you get better. Good luck.