Not sure where to turn?

[lonely]

Hello everyone, I am sitting here not sure if I should write this. I am 27 year old male and not sure if I have a drinking problem. I have been drinking fairly heavily since I was 14. My father drinks very heavily, im not sure if he still does, i havent seen or heard from him in 5 or 6 years. My parents are divorced and part of the reasons for the divorce were due to my fathers drinking. I honestly dont know where to turn, I am scared to talk to my family, and even my friends. I tell myself almost daily that I want to stop drinking completely but I always slip up. I think my life would be better if I did stop but I just dont know how and where to begin. I have read a little on alcoholism and know that it can be passed on from parents. Again i am not even sure that I have a problem I just dont want to end up like my father. I can remember visits with him and he would drink all day everyday he still functioned at work and home, but when he was married to my mom, he verbally and physically abused her. This is very hard for me to talk about and I still love him very much b/c he is my father but dont want to end up drinking like him for the rest of my life. I just cant seem to stay away from alcohol. I dated a wonderful girl for over 4 years we broke up and she recently got married to someone else. Since then my drinking seems to be getting worse. I will go night after night drinking beer after beer, then feel guilty for what i have done. I know this is long, but any response or help would be greatly appreciated my life is a wreck and alcohol the one thing I turn to seems to be making everything worse. Thank you for taking the time to read this. N

[ICNDonna]

I urge you to pick up your telephone and call alcoholics anonymous. Yes, I think you have a drinking problem --- and you will need help to overcome it.

Please make that call today. And remember that the person answering the call is someone just like you --- who got that help.

My step-father was an alcoholic and I absolutely know that you can't beat it without help.

Warm encouraging hugs,
Donna

[vm]

If you think you have a drinking problem AA can help. Calling your local hotline number will put you in touch with someone who has been where you are and someone who can direct you to some meetings. It is scary to walk in that first meeting, but remember that every single person in that room has been in your shoes - in terms of drinking and in terms of walking in that room for the first time.

I have been sober for 12 years and AA has been instrumental in giving me a new life. I am soooo much happier today than I was 12 years ago and you couldn't have convinced me back then that I would be happier NOT drinking and partying.

It is a tough road in the beginning, but it is so worth it and AA has so many good people who are willing to meet with you in your home even to carry the message of hope. You can stop - it is possible if you really want to stop. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, AA is the place to go.

[Teri]

If you 'think' you might have a drinking problem, it's pretty sure that you do. AA saved my life. Things got a whole lot worse before they got better but now, the thought of picking up a beer or a shot is the furthest thing from my mind. I've got too dang many problems to add booze to the mix again. There is no way, no way at all that I would ever want to go back to that kind of living. For me, I couldn't tell the difference in the truth or a lie anymore because I had to do so much lying to cover my tracks and geez....did that get hard to do <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[banghead]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[banghead]" /> For me drinking became a part of my career. I fit it in every chance I had. I was one of those people who didn't miss any work because of my drinking and it sure wasn't because I wasn't physically ill.....it was the fact that I didn't want to look in the mirror and see the drunk I had turned out to be, the exact same thing my mother was.

Find yourself some meetings. You don't even have to talk. Just sit and listen to the stories of the others.....

The journey will be hard, probably the hardest journey you will ever take. But the pay-off is unreal biggrin.gif biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

Wishing you the VERY BEST~