Originally Posted by
nycphotography
I notice that "address the drinking" has been mentioned a few times in the thread, but the OP has not responded to that particular aspect.
The drinking is probably tightly bound to some boiling personal issues which taken together as a whole are likely the real problem that destabilizes your other efforts in life.
Getting professional help and addressing those issues in your life will empower you to stop drinking to excess, find peace, find resolve, and more or less keep your life on track.
If you don't manage the drinking now, you may eventually get to a place where you have to stop completely. Assuming it's not too late already.
Are you an angry drunk? Do you get blackouts / memory loss when drinking?
yeah I think the drinking is just an outlet, it lets me shut off. I used to live in CO and at the time I used to turn to other legal alternatives, but since moving back to NY and quitting the green stuff, my other option for self medication has increased . . . not sure what it means, just being honest.
the interesting thing is that I'm not at all an angry drunk, I don't blackout, actually I'd say I rarely get "drunk," I just have several drinks over the course of several hours maintaining a buzz. then the next thing you know it's after midnight, sleep suffers, then work suffers, then the cycle continues.
I read an interesting article about how alcohol treatment in the US is often seen as binary, either you're an alcoholic or not. if your drinking doesn't cause immediate issues in your life, like getting a DUI or getting arrested for public indecency or going broke or losing your job or having physical withdrawal, then you aren't seen as having an alcohol problem and are therefore not treated. I can't remember the last time I "blacked out drunk" but it's been a while since I went say 3 days without a single drink. the funny/sad part is that buffalo is a very thirsty town, and my level of drinking is only excessive in it's relative frequency (say 5 days a week) when I actually drink MUCH less at a time than most people I know. Just google "Bills Pregame" and grab the popcorn. It's pretty pathetic actually.