Any alcohol addicts on /fit/? >tfw being drunk is the only

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>>36413199
>>tfw being drunk is the only time I don't feel depressed and I actually feel pretty good

alcohol causes depression, or better said the detoxification from alcohol (hangover). this also explains the following:

>tfw hate life when sober

essentially you're not drinking because you're depressed, but you're drinking because you're drinking. stop drinking. it'll help with stopping drinking.

Drink tea instead.

Seriously I used to drink heavy, but now I drink tea. Red bush to be exact.

>>36413199
alcohol is a depressant so give it up and you will feel much better, give it a couplr of weeks. it will be tough.

>>36413199
I found daily meditation helped me get a better hold of my drinking.

I'd normally just have a ton of repeating negative thoughts throughout the day and drinking would make me feel less anxious and at ease.

Started meditating and I found I'd go out and drink 1-3 drinks and be able to stop myself from binging.

>>36413199
How old are OP?

i used to be.

then one day, my therapist told me i might need rehab. i came home, looked at myself in the mirror and hated myself for what i'd become.

quit for several months and am now drinking moderately :)

>>36413375
Whats moderately? How many drinks?

>>36413403
5

>>36413249

the cyclical drinking problem is only one piece of it. very rarely will a mentally and emotionally stable individual get hooked on alcohol in the first place... there are issues that precipitated the addiction, and the addiction proceeds to perpetuate itself.

a series of articles i found interesting and personally, helpful:

http://www.bma-wellness.com/papers/addicts_dilemna.html

>>36413403

3-4, few nights a week. only when going out with friends. i had to cut out drinking at home and alone.

>>36413426

ALSO, this one

http://www.brucekalexander.com/articles-speeches/rat-park/148-addiction-the-view-from-rat-park

Former alchy here. Let me tell you what is in store for you. I drank hard from age 26-30 without exercise. It took me almost 6 months to quit. During those four years the following happened:

>gained 50 pounds
>lost many friends
>major mood swings
>single the entire time
>working job i absolutely hate
>think about suicide weekly
>notice my dick shrank by 2 inches because of fat, loss of blood flow
>have to pay 3 grand in therapy costs

Me now:
>losing weight
>have cute girlfriend
>moving on with my career
>things downstairs slowly improving

So yeah, alcoholism is no fucking joke and will ruin your life. Plus it increases the amount of estrogen your body produces, so your testosterone levels will drop. Don't make the same mistake I did.

6 months sober on Saturday, was doing heroin, meth and Xanax daily for close to 4 years, it's all the same disease though. Was 140 pounds at 6'2 when I first went to rehab, now I'm about 200. Started lifting the day I got out of rehab, it's been a huge part of my sobriety. Actually got a job at a gym the day I got
Out of my program. Don't know how anyone can lift and drink, shit is terrible for your gains. But to anyone who can drink/use normally, my hats off to ya. I know if i even try to drink or use moderately it's right back to sticking a needle in my arm

>>36413324
Sounds like me. How do you meditate?

>>36413199
you need help brah, dont be afraid to seek it

>>36413199
gains are positive, depression is shit.

this isn't a difficult ''choice''

the problem is you can not really choose when depresseion is involved, can you?

>>36413199
Hit an AA meeting, it works for me

>>36413199
A lot of times I'll wake up feeling shitty and be say I'm not going to drink tonight and by the time I'm off work I just want to drink and unwind.

>>36413679

I used to drink before I got to work and again at work, lol

I don't think that drinking on a nightly or near-nightly basis is too bad unless you binge drink every time and/or it actually negatively impacts your life

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>>36413426
i'm a little too lazy right now to google for sources and such, but alcohol fucks up way more than just your protein synthesis: hormone levels, neuro transmitters, nutrient status, neuron cell permeability, cell redox status, mitochondrial membrane potential, yada yada ...
(binge) drinking leaves you in a place far worse than where you started, and naturally this makes you depressed because your body is fucked up. just like you do not feel well when you have the flu you simply won't feel great when being poisoned every evening. most alcoholic do not realise this and wonder why they feel depressed all the time ... the answer is: duh, you're drinking.

why you started drinking in the first place doesn't matter as much because with time the true reason why you are falling apart is not your mothers ill behaviour when you was 6 but the fact that you're constantly pouring tox into your system - and the only way to at least mitigate the damage this is doing to you is to stop drinking and give yourself some time to repair.

>>36413714

i'm not talking about reasons like "my parents abused me" or some shit, i mean whatever hangups you've still got inside of you/the state of your environment that you will need to face once you're sober.

i had been depressed and neurotic long before i started drinking constantly, and still was/am even now that i moderate my use. i just don't use booze to deal with those issues anymore.

check out the rat park article though--i'm still prone to addictions of lesser varieties (not going into detail here), and despite being in so much better of a place than i was before... i know that i'm missing something, and i'm starting to really understand.

>>36413714
This incited chart clearly proves your point.

>measuring social harm

>>36413803

I am not too fond of those social rat studies from the 70s / 80s. there were quite some weird ones that bordered on political agitation like that one where they simulated societal collapse due to overpopulation with rats and described in a very anthropomorphising way how the females hid in towers with their offspring from the marauding male hordes in the street fighting their civil war - well duh, that's what rat's do when they have offspring: building nests - and well duh, rats do have territorial disputes between packs ... - I know the rat park thing wasn't about societal collapse and did indeed make a very good point about addiction and drug abuse, but ... well that overpopulation study tainted all rats from the 70s/80s for me.

also rat park, while intriguing, makes calling the modern world / society the perpetrator way too easy, because ... well duh, we're domesticated animals making our children our pets. But we can't just call it quits without looking at the details, and .. .there are quite a lot of them.

beginning with having lights at night, which fucks up our circadian rhythm (which then fucks up leptin resistance, which then makes you fat, which then ... look at shift workers, they're the prime example ...), then having not enough light at day (we're way too much indoors - leading to us not producing enough vitamin d, which then leads to us not utilising calcium, which then over decades leads to calcification of arteries, which then leads to hypertension, which then leads to your doctor giving you vitamin k inhibitors ...) ... then people do not eat right, like eating high caloric food, which would be ok if only they'd also get their vitamins which they don't. half of america doesn't get enough magnesium - it's in green stuff, for fucks sake and it's most likely the reason why you feel brain fog. then people do not move enough ... and so on. ... comment too long.

>>36413803
Self medicating seems to be the biggest reason for addiction.

>>36413585
I use an app called Calm, it does guided meditation. So I just hit play, sit down, and it guides you through what to do.

There should be just tons of apps like that if you search meditation on your app store

>>36414269

anyway, what I wanted to say is: while rat park indicates the reason for substance abuse is our environment, our conclusion should be to improve our environment - instead of resignation.

>>36413707
I have a big boy job though.

>>36413199
>what is everclear

I feel like not dying when I drink, and that is great.

>>36414337
I mean... of course. Pinpointing causation =/= using said causation as a crutch, although some people tend to do that. If i understand your point correctly.

Personally, i'm focused on the social bonding aspect of the experiment. Is it any coincidence that I've been prone to addiction all of my life, and that I also struggle to form meaningful bonds with others?

Hell, bonds with anything at all--anything that gives me a sense of purpose or makes me really feel alive, in a way. I noticed that my desire toengage inaddictive behavior dissipates when I'm around someone with whom I feel conected, or when I'm doing something I love. I'm a musician; when i first realized that I love to make music, I quit every destructive ritual and went into an obsessive music hyperfocus for months. Unfortunately, this was only sustainable for several months, and I relapsed on some stuff.


And the connections with people... are somehow throttled by something in me.

>>36415594
For the record, not resigning. Just trying to figure out what it is that keeps me from developing meaningful relationships with others, because i believe that to be a piece to the puzzle of my happiness. I have managed to chip away at a lot of other internal struggles like shame, guilt, despair... and I'm still struggling to fight what I finally recognize to be paranoid delusions.

>>36413714
anyone have experience with using psychedelics to break an alcohol addiction?
I'm pretty far from an alcoholic right now, but I did trip on LSD once and ever since then I haven't felt the need to drink much anymore

>>36413199
Yea i'm only 18, so I can only get alcohol everyonce in a while, but I feel like once I turn 19(i live in canada), which is in less than a month I'm going to turn into an alcoholic ...

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>>36415672
I find psychedelics helpful to cut down on hours spent meditating or pondering introspectively.
Everytime I trip I have a positive and permanent realisation.

>>36415672
I broke a weed addiction with LSD, my addiction wasn't really that serious though.

>>36413572

Fuck, man. Congrats.

I don't think many people make it out once they are in as deep as you were.

>>36413199
Ha yeah I remember when I thought drinking made the bad feelings go away. The thing is, it just makes it worse because you end up doing nothing but drinking and then bad shit starts to happen. You never want to go out and if you do, you end up getting drunk and making an ass of yourself. Bad cycle. You have to basically work to better yourself in some way every day, make a huge effort to think positive, and absolutely FORCE yourself to go outside and talk to people. I'm speaking from experience. Yes, it's really really hard, but your options are stay drunk and get more depressed or, you know, not... Depression is for life so you basically fight it in a healthy way or give in. Sucks but that's the lottery we lost so what're you gonna do? Just keep trying. You're gonna make it.

I struggle with alcohol. Sober for 2 months this week.

I think you will always choose what you desire most. For me, my desire to be healthy is greater than my desire to drink. Having goals with lifting helps because I know alcohol will interfere with those goals.

I quit on new years and have already lost 40 lbs (still a fat fuck though), going to a trade school now and I feel better then ever. If you think you have a problem with drinking, then you most likely do. Just quit anons, if a loser like me could quit then any one can.

>>36413276
Do you know what a depressant is?

Does anyone else struggle with sporadic binging?

My biggest problem is that I get super fucked up once a week some times more. I don't drink alone and happily go without drinking but when im around mates and we head out I get wasted and I hate it.

Anyone got any good ways to combat it?

>>36417457

I used to drink literally 5 times a week from 16 to 21. Then I got /fit/. I don't drink as much now but I still literally blackout every Saturday without exception (I'm 25). Never alone. Always with mates. But yeah.

Best tip obviously would be change friends, they aren't friends they're drinking buddies. But as you can tell I know how hard that is.

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>>36413199
Choose the gains. I'm 2 years sober, and while it was extremely difficult, it was the best choice I made. Even after all this time, I still don't think I have any real advice beyond staying the fuck away from alcohol. As many others have pointed out, it's a cyclical issue that won't begin to get better until you stop drinking. It sucks, it's painful, and it'll probably a tougher fight than any weight you will lift.

But it's worth it. Just like lifting and being fit. It's fucking worth it.

My advice is do what you have to do to abstain. Go to AA at least once (that one meeting where I admitted my alcoholism to the group was all I needed for the reality to hit me). Learn meditation, and start sorting your thinking out. Typically, the reason for uncontrollable drinking is that your stress and coping skills are severely lacking. Read up on how to handle that shit in a healthy way. Look up Les Brown and Eric Thomas, they're motivational speakers who helped change my perspective on things.

The biggest thing is to pace yourself. Keep your thoughts healthy and honest, and own up to the times when you want a drink by sharing it with a trustworthy friend/family who will keep you accountable. Just like how we train and strengthen our bodies, this is a strengthening of the mind.

And you can do it. I know you can, and I believe in you. I sincerely hope the best for you, because I'm sure you deserve the best by already making the steps you have to realizing these things about yourself. So pick yourself up, dust off the dirt, and keep fighting the good fight. This is a good, noble fight.

>>36417475
Thats my plan I was going to try and isolate myself and just hang out with my family and go on tinder dates. I'm 24 going on 25 this year and I'm just sick of it. Its dumb as shit and a massive waste of money. I feel you brah leaving old habits and old friends is tough.

>>36413714
YOUNG METRO DONT TRUST THIS GRAPH

>>36413199
just get on antidepressants like every other human bean. Tho you should first you should get professional help and deal with your addiction of course, cause they don't mix well.

Opiates here brah

I cannot use this weeks check on another sack i need to save in case my car breaks. I gotta work full time.

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>>36415969
>weed addiction

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>>36413502
I know that feel. It took me getting incredibly sick to finally realize my alcohol consumption was destroying my life inside and out.

>>36413199
OP, don't confuse being numb with being happy. If you want to get out of whatever rut you're in, you need to make actively make changes in you're life. Baby steps bro. Little progress is still progress, just don't let yourself fall back into that hole of pounding booze every night. It's going to be tough to fight that urge to grab beer on the way home after a shitty day a work, but you need to fight it and find an alternative if possible.

It's not impossible. You can do it. Just like "Making it" you just have to want instead of wish for it.

>>36415706
This is what happened to me when I turned 21, be careful anon.

I am recovering.

My own heartbeat was keeping me up at night and had constant nightmares. I realized I hadn't slept properly in over a year and was starting to get dizzy and feel like I would pass out randomly.

It was also the only thing left stopping me from losing weight.

Go to AA

I went for 2 months and then stopped

Ergo was sober for 2 months then stopped.

This got me out of habitual drinking and gave perspective on how much it can fuck up your life.

Went back to drinking again but no where near where I was before

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>>36417503
Lurker here and just wanted to say thanks for posting this.

>>36413249
>stop drinking. it'll help with stopping drinking

Lol'd