How coincidental this appears on my timeline today, it's my 12th year sober today. I started drinking heavily when I turned 21 and it spiraled until an all day, every day thing. I even had pancreatitis when I was 28 and even when it was obvious why I just refused to see it. One night when I was 30, a drunk family member got into a physical altercation with me and I asked a friend to pick me up so I could leave. On that trip, he simply said "have you ever considered that you might be an alcoholic?" I don't know what was different about this time, but I immediately realized it -- holy shit. I never drank again after that.

Once I quit I immediately was "my old self" again. I got back into playing video games, listening to MY music instead of whatever was palatable to whomever I was drinking with, dedicating all my time and energy into my kids and my nerdy hobbies.

It might come across as silly but, if you have someone close to you who has a drinking problem, it might be worth asking them about it. They probably won't be receptive to it until the time is right, but who knows? Maybe that time is when they ask for a ride from you at 2AM.

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btables 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Congrats on 12 years and sharing that story. More people should hear about these moments.

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Gareth321 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Well done! It’s so great you were able to quit cold turkey. You’ll live much longer, are likely to experience far fewer health issues, and have many more healthy years at the end of your life.

Sadly many (or maybe most) addicts cannot. Through some combination of compulsive temperament, impulsivity, mental health problems, or unresolved issues, they are unable to stop. Even when they know they’re addicts. My mother is one such person. She’s been seeking the answer her whole life. Religion. AA. Therapy. Exercise. Cold turkey. Multiple divorces. Medications. Moving country several times. Nothing sticks. She knows it’s killing her and can’t stop. I’m trying to convince her to take Wegovy as it’s shown to help with addiction.

I’m grateful that whatever combination of genes I inherited, I’m also able to go cold turkey. Maybe one day we have vaccines for it.

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mattbettinson 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I heard GLP-1s reduce the desire for alcohol (among other things)

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nazgulsenpai 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Thank you :) I did go to AA for 3 months when I first quit. I was encouraged by all of the stories, even the horrible and negative ones. I do realize I am lucky. My ex-spouse was not so lucky. It took damn near the destruction of her life to finally stop but she's been going for about 2 years now with lots of ups and downs. I never considered it something that could be vaccinated against but now I share your hope for it someday!

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KellyCriterion 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Honestly, I will tell you one thing: For sure there have been some drunks forever, since the "invention" of alcohol - though, the drunks of today are a result of capitalism, if you dig deep down enough. Anf if you do, you will see that its mostly money & material issues which brings people into extremes, in which then they will take the bottle. For mens in society (which is the by far bigger parts of drunks), these things are usually around losing the job, losing the partnership etc. The classic ones.

Regarding OP: Thanks for sharing your story! And you can be very VERY proud that you managed this that specific way - great!

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wildzzz 5 hours ago | parent [-]

I've known plenty of alcoholics that are happily married and have great jobs. From an outside perspective, their life looks nice but they have an uncontrollable urge to drink constantly.

I'm pretty sure there are plenty of alcoholics that have lived under socialism too.

	▲	KellyCriterion 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		They are called "functioning alcoholics", a coined term in psy&addiction research

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muslimrooftoppa 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Cool story techbro.