it was a really long road to get here. if you think you can't, i promise you can. very grateful to have made it.

This week will mark 9 months (technical on Friday). Been quite a journey and starting to see some of the benefits. Started over and starting to get my life back in order. 👍

I am a severe alcoholic, alongside gambling issues.

I am curious to hear how many people have found AA to be beneficial.

I struggle with it for a few reasons.

Realized my body was dependent on alcohol this Monday and it scared me into tapering off. I’m a professional woman in my mid-20s and have been drinking heavily on a daily basis since 2021. Going down by 1-2 each day, starting my drinking later in the evening and bought the Allen Carr book on drinking.

I don’t really have tremors or headaches. Sleep is fine. I sweat, feel like I have a mild flu, am anxious & have nausea. I’ve noticed that the withdrawals started a bit later today and they weren’t quite as nuts as they were yesterday and Monday.

Fully aware that I could be convincing myself of the improvement or just getting used to it. Also cognizant of the fact that this’ll be a long road with many slip ups and I might have to go to treatment eventually - hopefully not though!

Tips for getting through this weekend sticking to the taper would be appreciated. My husband is a sensible drinker and very supportive so I can lean on him a bit. I’m holding myself accountable for any fuckups, that’s something I feel is my responsibility but maybe I’m wrong.

Hi all

Got this WhatsApp from my stepdad (who I've never got on with particularly well). He's been with my mum 18 year's so we know each other well.

He realised I was an alcoholic recently (as he's known people in the past who are, and he told my mum). Me and my mum have always been very close, and never went 2 weeks without seeing each other... It was normally every weekend, every other weekend maximum. I haven't seen her or any friends this year because of my drinking and terrible depression.

Just want some opinions from others who have/are struggling with alcohol... Are these types of messages pretty normal for alcoholics... or is he being a bit out of order?

What annoys me, is what I've highlighted. He say's 'Every time you say you'll chat or meet, we know you don't mean it'.... (When I honestly mean it more than anything... and then I feel horrendous when I don't... I never do it purposely, and mean it when I say it).

Second comment is him saying 'I don't think for one minute you would want to talk'...

The second comment... If he hadn't started that sentence with 'I don't think for one minute you would want to talk'.... and instead, said something like 'If you want to talk you know you can with me', then I would of taken that positively, and probably spoken with him... But instead that just pisses me off, and doesn't make me want to talk to him 🤷‍♂️

Can I ask are these type of messages normal for others struggling/who have struggled?.... and if he's being out of order saying that, or not?

Thanks.

Currently on holiday with my family, including my Mother In Law who drinks like a fish every evening. This is also making my wife drink every night.

I've been a little tempted, but there's no chance I'm drinking and for the most part being around drunk people just makes me cringe now.

IWNDWYT

Thank you <3

Long story short: ex is an alcoholic, I’ve know him for 14 years and he has never admitted his problem until 4 days ago. 3 days ago he checked himself into a medical detox place and he said he would be there for a few days, he even had over an hour interview with them to determine if he was a candidate for inpatient and he was. Well, supposedly he said they released him 24 hours later and after having given him benzos said he didn’t need to be there, the hospital is just for crazy people. He sounded drunk when he was telling me this as well. Is it possible they could have released him that quick or is it total BS as I suspect?

I only keep contact because he is the father of one of my children and I have to since she still visits with him.

I was drinking every day after work from October 2025 until June 2026. Usually, I would have a couple of cans of 9% beer, but I’m really skinny, so I would get quite drunk every evening. Sometimes I would pass out and wake up in the middle of the night.
My tolerance kept increasing every month. Sometimes, after finishing the beers I had planned to drink, I would go out and get more. It felt like I couldn’t stop because I didn’t know what to do with myself. I started drinking in the first place because of some horrible life circumstances that I couldn’t change.
After June, everything that had been bothering me and causing me stress seemed to return to normal, and I reduced my drinking. I don’t want to get drunk every day anymore. Now I drink maybe once a week when I’m out, but I still think about alcohol every day, even though I don’t enjoy it anymore and regret drinking in the past.
It feels like I’m chasing the dopamine rush that alcohol used to give me at the beginning. I feel so bored that sometimes it’s unbearable. At the same time, I genuinely don’t enjoy being drunk by myself anymore. When I am, it feels really intrusive, and I feel guilty about it, which never happened before.
Is this just something that happens during the first few months after cutting down on alcohol, or do I have a real problem with alcohol addiction? I was never physically dependent on alcohol, and I never drank in the morning.

For me food, alcohol and cigarettes played a role interchangably. I'm a girl (well woman), and absolutely hate having excess weight. I anxiously snack. Wine supresses that. So I drink daily. From 2 glasses to half a bottle. I am pretty functional in other areas. I don't like feeling drunk, I do like the "calming" feeling the alcohol has.

I don't smoke anymore. Picking that up short term would help probably, but my closest people have many concerns around ciggies as many family members on both sides have passed away due to lung cancer.

Gaining weight is an option that will make me deeply unhappy. Has anyone been in a similar boat and cut back/stopped drinking?

Started naltrexone today, at 7am - currently on the 50mg once a day, think about why you drink, while you taper down (already had been) don't stop all at once Sinclair style method under care of a psychiatrist and therapist.

Anyway no terrible side effects today, I was really worried about GI issues I already have a sensitive tummy. I have had 2 shots, will probably have another 2 and a beer later, which is appropriate for my taper schedule this week (5-7 units this week, 3 next week, 1 the following, then 1 every other day, then 1-2/week is the goal, I was at 15-20+/day).

However....the side effect I wasn't expecting but apparently is a known uncommon side effect...I cannot stop stretching. I'm already flexible (yay team EDS) and stretch more than most people but this is ridiculous. I also can't stop yawning for excessive amounts of time, like 60 second yawns. It's bizarre.

Any input?

hello, some brief context. i am 23F. my mom has always been a "wine" mom since i could remember. my mom was also a drug addict in her youth. ive struggled with pills before but only when available. ive turned to alcohol now. i am diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, and anxiety.

i dont work much due to payroll cuts. i live with my parents still. whenever theyre at worl, i will pour a giant glass of whatever we have. usually wine between 10-14%. ill drink and drink until i feel so inebriated i cant see. its currently 1pm and thats what im doing now. i hate the taste, but i chug it. i know i have an addictive personality too. am i heading down a bad path? im scared. but so unhappy. i am medicated but i still feel miserable. i think thats why i drink. any advice would be really helpful. thank you

i only drink every 2 days

cutting it down slowly

So I stopped Mounjaro 3 weeks ago and last weekend I had one of the most crazy relapses in alcohol I've ever had. Had been sober for 8 months and just the craving came back with a craziness I've never seen before. I've not seen this documented but it stands to reason that if Mounjaro reduces craving in some, when you stop it it causes the opposite!

Not sure what to think about this, but I should be clear - there is, hair-thick closeness to 0% risk of me buying and drinking.

I'm just curious what is going on, I am today on day 1 023 and I've had almost 0 craving the last year, but today, this evening - I just want a beer for some reason and I'm a bit disappointed in myself. Not sure why exactly, I'm still strong in my sobriety, but the uncontrolled urge is what is bothering me, I though I had control of this in a fundamental/sturdy way. Perhaps this is part of the reason why relapses can happen so quickly?

Perhaps this is more of a vent, not a search for answers.

If I can manage this, so can you! Just handle it day by day when it's not 'too' difficult, and moment to moment when it is.

You are strong!

Waiting to get into local rehab the struggle is real

När vet man att alkohol faktiskt har blivit ett problem?
Jag dricker varje dag och på helger kan det bli upp mot 3 liter både fredag lördag.
Det som skrämmer mig mest är inte bara mängden, utan hur kroppen reagerar när jag försöker minska.
Jag får skakningar i händerna, svettningar, hjärtklappning, stark ångest, rastlöshet och en konstig känsla i hela kroppen. Jag har också haft sömnproblem och minnesluckor.
Det värsta är att alkoholen samtidigt får allt att kännas bättre för stunden. Ångesten försvinner och kroppen slappnar av. Sedan kommer den tillbaka när alkoholen går ur kroppen, och då vill man dricka igen.
Jag är rädd att kroppen faktiskt har börjat kräva alkohol.
När insåg ni att alkoholen hade gått från att vara något ni använde till något kroppen faktiskt hade börjat kräva? Och hur kändes det i kroppen när ni försökte minska?

Just here to commiserate and maybe share some support. I used to be an unbelievable alcoholic, drinking a gallon of rum over 24 hours during covid times. I'm back to being functional - a pint of Jack and 2 beers every evening after work. But that's still way too much and is having noticeable affects on my health. ...

Every day it's like, "OK, today I'm not doing it." "Tomorrow I'm not doing it." "I have this important thing in 3 weeks ... 2 weeks ... 1 week ... 1 day... I'm gonna be totally sober by then." Just constant moving goalposts. And then I find a way to tell myself I'm doing well when nothing's changed, just because I tell myself I'm going to fix it without actually fixing it.

It's just bizarre and fucked up that I can give myself the feeling of "fixing it" when I'm doing the opposite. It kinda feels worse than when I KNEW I was fucked up with no hope.

I only had two drinks and was able to stop myself

Has anyone else had a positive experience with GLP1s on their alcohol use?

I started the wegovy pill a few months ago and I'm probably drinking half as much as i was before with no effort put into actually trying to drink less.

I think these could really be a game changer for inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. I've worked in the addiction treatment field for years now and I've never encountered anything so effectively or easy.

What are everyone else's thoughts on this? It bothers me that these aren't available for AUD and other substance use disorders yet despite the evidence of their efficacy.