Posted by paxvox on October 11, 2001, at 17:11:22
In reply to I'm drinking too much, anyone else with this prob?, posted by juliedealer on October 9, 2001, at 10:40:11
Jules, I'm posting this w/o reading the follow-ups so there may some repetition. But....here tis.
I used to drink fairly regularly to self medicate, as it were. I finally came to realize that I was really hurting myself as far as depression and OCD by my drinking. It's not that I was a drunk, but I did use a "few beers" as a stress reliever. I thought about stopping drinking for several years, finally, on July 3, 2000, I just quit cold turkey. I think that being on Wellbutrin made this a lot easier to do, as it is used as Zyban(same med) to help smokers quit smoking. I will admit, there are days that I would like a beer or two, but I also came to realize that if I went back to "a couple now and then" that I would eventually return to my old ways. So, for me, I made the decision to not drink at all. As a result, I have lost about 30 pounds (which I believe was aided by the WB). I am happy with the way I look, and have found that I am enjoying life in many ways now just as well as when I needed a drink to smooth the edges. Sometimes being numb makes one miss a lot of things. Learning alterantive ways of coping with life has been "fun", and I will not say I have a perfect emotional balance. But if you are serious about getting right mentally, alcohol use should be examined. I feel that it is an individual choice that each must consider on its own merit in their lives. Hope that helps.
PAX
still on the wagon
poster:paxvox
thread:12276
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011006/msgs/12408.html