Is wanting a drink a bad thing?

DRZ

DRZ

DRZ

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For some background, I will start with this:

When I was in my mid-teens I used to drink. In fact, I was reknowned for my drinking in my circle of friends. One fateful night in my late teens I got ridiculously drunk (unusual for me to get totally hammered, despite how much I drank) and would up with alcohol poisoning. Thankfully I made it through that pretty much fine!

I decided from that morning that I wasnt ever going to drink again. Obviously that didnt happen but in the 2.5 years that followed that incident I had no more than roughly 6 pints and one or two bottles of wine. After that I started to drink again. In the past year I have probably had about 20 pints in total and a couple of bottles of wine plus the champagne I had on my 21st. The most I have drank in one "session" actually happens to be at the OcUK meets I have attended. BBQ people might remember I didnt drink much (if at all) there and I dont think I had more than a pint at the swansea meet. The Liverpool meet was the most I have drunk in one go in 3 years or so I think!

I am pretty much out of the habit of drinking at all. I havnt had a pint in a pub in absolutely ages (since the Swansea meet, I think!). I simply havnt had the desire to do so!

Recently (past 2-3 weeks) I have been really wanting to have a drink. Its not so much a case of "ooh I fancy a pint" but "I want some alcohol".

Clearly, its not an addiction but I found it a bit strange that I am wanting the alcohol as opposed to wanting a beer or whatever.

Is this a bad thing? I have so far resisted the temptation but I have found myself almost going for the car keys to go grab a drink from the shop on more than one occasion now :/

Tbh, I dont even know why I am posting this, maybe its just to write it down and get some feedback - I dont know.
 
Maybe you're sub-conciously trying to fill a kinda of craving?

Is it just alcohol you're craving just for the effects? This is merging on a medical thread - but i'd suggest giving it a try - see if it helps. But only buy as little as possible :)
 
There's nothing wrong with enjoying a drink IMO. There's far too much stigma nowadays.

If you want it, have it, even do it to excess at times. Unless it starts to affect your state of mind, your health or your life in general, it's all good :).
 
Oliver said:
Would everyone be saying the same thing if it was a cocaine habit he had an he ODed on that...;)
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Rofl!

Its not a habit :p Look how much I drink! Its just more of a slight craving thats worried me rather than anything else, because its something that I have never, ever felt.

Maybe I am no different to the millions of people that hit the town every weekend?
 
I used to crave alcohol, so I would go and buy some in tesco and sit at home and drink it. However I was also severely depressed. Once I stopped being depressed I stopped wanting to drink.

Is there anything in your private life that may be the catalyst for wanting to be drunk?
 
Nope, I dont want to be drunk though ;) Im fairly contented at the moment, going out with the lovely Blackstar, things are going alright :)

I have just spoken to someone else and they likened it to wanting a chocolate bar and that kinda sums it up. It just seems strange to me to be like that with alcohol, having gone so long avoiding it :)
 
I have just recently decided I am stopping drinking... I went at it pretty hard last week after arriving back from my trip to Oz after 6 months. I personally dont see the need for it any more, and I was getting comments behind my back about how drunk I used to get. It wasnt that I purposefully went out to get wasted, its just more that it happened to me quickly because of a previous brain injury! I think wanting a drink isnt necessarily bad, but its something you want to keep an eye on. My stepdad is an alcoholic, and my mother isnt that far off it, so I especially dont want to turn out that way. My father the person I respect more than anyone is pretty much teetotal except for the odd glass of wine or a beer with a meal! That is pretty much the way I consider myself going, and I think that is a good way to be. Just having the alcohol to complement something else! I work at a pub and its a pretty negative enviroment to try and be in if you dont want to drink, but I am pretty proud of myself. When offered drinks I only take soft drinks now (well this was my first shift and my first opportunity) and when I sat down for a drink after work I just had a j2o. Much more refreshing, and satisfying.
 
I don't think that wanting a drink is in itself a problem as long as it is something that you are in control of(and it sounds like you are). I quite enjoy having a drink to relax after being at uni/work all day and don't see it as being an issue so if you drink on an occasional basis then I don't see it as being odd.

I've never smoked but from speaking to people who have and subsequently quit they often say that the craving never totally goes away but it diminishes somewhat and it sounds a little bit the same for you. Maybe it has something to do with the associations, I always associate drinking with my mates back home and good times which I miss sometimes but it is always the company more than the alcohol I miss.
 
I wouldn't say that wanting a drink is in itself bad. The fact that you can resist the temptation is a good sign - it's when the desire to drink alcohol becomes irresistable that shows signs of a problem.

When I'm on the last week of my trip (like now - 3 days to go :cool: ), I start thinking about getting ashore and having a drink. This doesn't mean I have a problem, it just means that I enjoy a drink and I'm looking forward to having one.

I would say have a drink if you want one but keep an eye on things and if the desire becomes more frequent, or more importantly, becomes difficult to resist then you may have a problem.

I was a very heavy drinker between the ages of about 16 and 20 and then again between about 25 and 30 but I never felt that I needed a drink - in my opinion, that is the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic - a drinker likes a drink, an alcoholic needs a drink.
 
I am like that with Cigarettes. Gave up years ago but still get the odd intense craving from time to time but I keep saying no. As long as your positive and you stay in control be that having a drink every week or just once a year then thats the main thing. You set the rules
 
I must drink about 20 pints a week don't worry about it, after a stressful day its nice to have a pint and chill out!

You've done good not drinking much so dont look into it to much :)

Anyway hows wanting to have that amazing taste of beer bad?

Hybrids
 
I drink every day - not a lot, usually just a pint, maybe two, or half a bottle of wine, but every single day.

Does that count as alcoholism?

Never used to drink at home at all, but nowadays it's just become habit - get in from work, stick the dinner on and relax with a beer or glass of wine.

I never get drunk though. I've not been out of control or sick from drinking for 13 years (funnily enough since my 21st!). :)
 
I'm the same having more or less given up (until recently) since my wife became pregnant the first time 2 years ago.

Once you start up again it's a slippery slope though, we now have to make ourselves not drink in the week and limit it to a couple of bottles of wine at the weekend. I daren't buy vodka anymore because I'd automatically slosh it in anything I drank in the evening. Don't get me wrong, I don't get drunk, I just get an urge to slip a vodka into my juice in a covert fashion.

It's worrying and I personally would recommend not giving in while you feel you can resist it.

I went through a strange phase a few years ago and decided I didn't believe in alcoholism and part curiosity and part bet led me to try to create alcoholism. Yes, very stupid. When I started finishing the drinks I'd poured the night before, before work the following morning I realised how stupid it was and stopped it. I had also started finishing other peoples drinks which makes me feel sick now.

Hey ho, addictive personalities for the win.
 
Von Luck said:
I drink every day - not a lot, usually just a pint, maybe two, or half a bottle of wine, but every single day.

Does that count as alcoholism?
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Yes, it does as it is a regular habit, but IMO it's not that bad.
 
DRZ said:
....
Recently (past 2-3 weeks) I have been really wanting to have a drink. Its not so much a case of "ooh I fancy a pint" but "I want some alcohol".

Clearly, its not an addiction but I found it a bit strange that I am wanting the alcohol as opposed to wanting a beer or whatever.

Is this a bad thing? I have so far resisted the temptation but I have found myself almost going for the car keys to go grab a drink from the shop on more than one occasion now :/
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To be honest, my view is ... yes, it is a problem. At least, potentially so.

It's one you currently clearly have under control, but it's a problem, because it sounds, despite what you said there, like a mild addiction. And if so, it's the start of a very slippery slope and, to mix metaphors, a very slippery slope that is the thin end of the wedge where the journey to hell begins with the first step.

I'm not suggesting you give up alcohol for the rest of your life, or that you check yourself in to the asylum for detox, ..... not quite yet. :) But, DRZ, from what you've said, I'd treat it as a warning sign if I were you. I've seen the results of alcohol addiction and it is NOT nice. Don't even risk going there. Fancying a pint is one thing. Craving alcohol is another entirely.

PS. I'd better nail my colours to the mast. I've been teetotal (or very near to it anyway) for quite some years, but that is NOT because I've ever had any problem with alcohol. I'll still have the occasional snort of a good brandy or Scotch or, on a very rare day, a decent pint.

But I did get a very severe jolt, health-wise, some years ago when a very close (and young) friend dropped dead in front of me. It was a severe heart attack, and the paramedics reckoned he was dead, and unhelpable, by the time he hit the ground. He was 32.

Since then, I've taken my own health pretty seriously. I'm not a fanatic, but I do look after myself, and alcohol just doesn't play much of a role in my life. So, perhaps I'm not the best judge of what you said, and asked.
 
DRZ said:
Nope, I dont want to be drunk though ;) Im fairly contented at the moment, going out with the lovely Blackstar, things are going alright :)

I have just spoken to someone else and they likened it to wanting a chocolate bar and that kinda sums it up. It just seems strange to me to be like that with alcohol, having gone so long avoiding it :)
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Did I say that? If not that's what I would say. I gave up chocolate about 4 years ago due to migraines but quite often I will get a craving for M&M's or a Mars bar. I manage to keep it under control because I know that one bar could cause me a week of the worst pain imaginable. Its a bit odd that you're craving alcohol rather than a specific drink. I guess that could lead to a bad place. Kill it with pringles :) That's how I fixed my chocolate problem, pringles \o/ Yes I now have a pringle problem.
 
I gave up alcohol in a similar way to the OP, after a lot of heavy drinking and several disastrous nights. These days I barely drink, but every once in a while I really fancy it. It's invariably a let down. I've not been riotously drunk or vomitatious since I gave up, so that's good, but it's just not much fun for me any more.

Try it, carefully, but you may find you don't get much out of it.
 
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