I've been fighting my way out of my drinking problem for a few months now. I had been getting drunk every single evening, every day without exception, beginning sometime around the end of January in 2015; I remember it was in and around Super Bowl week that year, so for a little over 2 years now. Prior to that I was drinking heavily three or four times a week, and it just kept growing until it was every day. Of the past 15 days, I've only drank on 6 of those days. It's the weekends that are tough to shake this habit, but I've just about gotten my work week sober. I went to the doctor this past Tuesday for the 40-year old physical check-up and he told me something that I wasn't aware of. I had taken a CT scan last year for some abdominal pain that turned out to be nothing, but it revealed that my liver was 'fatty' due to my drinking problem. They never told me about this last year, but he read it to me from the file this week.

I've been wanting to quit drinking for years, even when it was a weekend-only thing. I always just took it a little too far, never could be satisfied with a light or heavy buzz, but instead always got as hammered as possible. I've got a wonderful wife, a terrific career, three great kids and a fourth on the way. So I want to turn straight away from this thing and be done with it. I wish I could just go cold turkey, but the weekend drinking gets in my mind come about Thursday of every week.

But I'm seeing improvement. It's hard, I won't lie. I hate this thing. By the grace of God, I'll kill it. I believe Jesus is Lord of all. He is bigger than this addiction and all things are possible to Him. A good man once told me that, "The highest point that any man can ascend to is the foot of the cross". So I yield myself to my Lord. May He rescue me from this sin.

One day at a time OP.  With the help of the man upstairs, there's nothing you cannot beat.  But, it will not be easy.  He will not do it for you, but he will make sure you're never fighting alone.

Prayers out WELD. I will put you on my daily list to pray for. Consider going to an AA meeting. 

I love the determination in your quote.  

You can't top that!  

Prayers for your sobriety, I've known many who let the bottle defeat them. It gets real ugly at the end, a few I've known have died waay before they're time because of alcohol abuse.

Pray for the guidance & strength to get thru this.

It killed my ex before she was 50.

She never took getting clean seriously enough.

I wish you all the good fortune you can stand to carry.

Good luck to you, my advice would be to take it as serious as you can.  I know many people who have tried what you are attempting to, the ones who took it the most serious actually followed through with success

One day at a time.  Or one hour at a time.

Every sober day is a day closer to being sober all the time.

Don't think that you can "have just one drink".

Think of all the cool shit you can do with the money you will save.

It is a tough battle. My dad had the local Schlitz distributor deliver cases of beer to our house when I was a kid.

He smoked too.

Then one day I mentioned that I noticed he wasn't smoking anymore... he said he hadn't smoked or drank in over 5 years.

30 years later he still hasn't.

He told no one and just did it.

Once he made the decision he said he never gave it another thought.

In social situations he would drink a tonic water on the rocks with a slice of lime and half a salt rim.

I hope in some way this is helpful.

Prayin' for you.  Not gonna be easy.  Look to your faith and be strong.  Meetings may help and remember you are not alone.  Long hard road ahead of you so as the cliche goes "it starts with the first step".  Hobbies can help occupy your time.  Quality time with wife/kids can help put priorities in perspective.  For your family and yourself, don't let the jug define you.  Thrive.
Good luck and be well. Godspeed.

Thanks to all of you. I'm holding strong and just praying that I can withstand the weekend.
These two posts stuck in my head this week, thanks to you guys. I repeated the second one a few times since first reading it, just to remind myself that it is the pure truth.

I have an especially hard time to stand against the temptation when I'm home alone. If my wife is going to be gone in the evening, I can hardly hold back the urge to drink. So, she texted me right as I was leaving the office on Monday, texted me that she had an event she was going to be at that night, and here comes the temptation to drive straight to the liquor store. Except, in my head was  statement, "you gotta take this as serious as you can". That got me through, it really did. I was able to go home without buying alcohol.

For anyone reading this that is struggling with alcoholism, I want to say that you have to talk about it if you ever hope to get free. I've been posting on a few different forums about my drinking problem, and it has been helping. The most important thing is to find people who pray. In posting to the forums I've been posting, I've obviously found people whom the Lord hears from because I've been doing better and better ever since.

One day at a time.





How did you do this weekend?

Prayers to you OP stay focused on where you want to be.

Lost my best friend to addiction-  know that everyone is behind you

God bless you, brother.

Be strong and continue to ask for Jesus' help.

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." Psalm 55:22

Prayers for strength, OP!

Hey! Get to work on my holster. Hahaha.

Prayers for you OP.  For what it's worth both my parents were alcoholics and I remember a lot of fights and down right abuse toward one another.  My mom got sober first followed very quickly by my dad.  That was 29 years ago and they've been sober ever since.  I often thank my parents for making that choice and I thank God for helping them.  Your kids will thank you one day too.

Thank you all again. I'm still fighting and enjoying every sober day.

Thanks especially to those of you who've reached out privately to me via IM. Of the three forums that I decided to post prayer requests on, this is the only one that anyone took the time to privately message me. I won't ever forget it. The other two forums were Christian specific discussion forums entirely as opposed to this subforum of a gun board.

I've been finding strength in listening to sermons during my work days. The prayers and these teachings really are the tools that God has used to give me strength each day. So, I wanted to post the path I came upon some teachings. God works for each of us, in ways that are designed specifically to capture our attention and draw our heart.

Here is a Yeager video I watched over a month ago... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUOECIy7jkg


Yeager is as Yeager does, but the pastor that he is interviewing is Brian Norris. He's a lot younger than I am, but he's a gun guy and shares my first name. After watching that video, I started listening to his sermons. They can be found here: http://www.citylightcharlotte.org/media/sermons/

He's got a good message. I've enjoyed his teaching through Hebrews.

I hope someone reading this that is struggling with sin might also receive the Word from this young pastor.

Thanks again everyone. I'm sober another day today because of prayerful folks like you.

Hey man, ask God to give your heart new desires. Ask repeatedly, continually. He will put new longings inside.  
Not a different habit, but better, more purposeful desires.

Prayer sent weld.  good luck and God bless.

The blood of Christ can break all chains.  All you have to do is trust and believe, seek him.

How's it going Weld?  If you give us an update perhaps folks can help.

Still fighting brother. Thank you for posting. I check back here almost every day to see if anyone has posted or to see if I've received any PM's.

I don't care how hard this struggle is, I'm not going to give in and go back to being a drunk day in and day out. Even though I feel like a loser, I refuse to lie to you guys; I have stumbled now and then. But I abstain most days, so I've cut down by more than half. It's still not good enough, but I'm thankful for every sober day.

Oh how I love waking up in the morning after a sober evening. I sleep better and feel truly rested. Then those stupid nights I drink, yeah I pass out and sleep, but it ain't good sleep. I wake up in the morning and feel dead tired and sleepy all morning.

My wife and I are doing a little better too. I broke this chain of drinking for the first time on May 1st; that was the first time I'd gone sober for two days in a row in these years, and I went four days in fact. I went four days the next week too, and then five days the next week. I know she had to notice that I didn't drink for several days, I was sober for most of the month of May, but she never said a word. I don't know why it bugged me, but we've been talking about it and I've been able to say things to her that I should have said long ago. I feel like it's gonna be alright, but like plinker8 posted, it all comes down to how serious I'm going to be about this.

Our baby is due in the next few weeks, she could have this baby any day in fact because each of our kids were anywhere from two weeks early to a month early. I absolutely do NOT want to be drunk, passed out, or anything the moment she starts going into labor. I've been thinking about this for weeks now. I have to just stop drinking, period. Being drunk or passed out when she goes into labor would be horrible. I wouldn't be able to drive her to the hospital or she might not be able to wake me up, who knows. I'd regret that for the rest of my life.

It has gotten easier to abstain during the work week. Friday and Saturday night are what get me. I haven't been able to break that cycle, but the time is now. With this baby coming, this will be the first weekend that I go sober all the way through. And going sober straight through the work week next week, that'll be the longest sober streak yet. The plan is to just keep marching on and not slip up even for a day.

For anyone reading that shares my affliction, and you also have a drinking problem, be encouraged that the struggle is in small moments. It's certainly not easy, but it's also not a long, tough battle all day every day... once you make that first break to the cycle. You have to plan the fight. Here are some examples of my own; I gave all my credit cards to my wife and told her to put them away and not give them back. This made it harder for me to so easily stop by the store on the way home and buy a case of beer. But then, I got to where I'd run out and withdraw some cash at the bank and go buy beer. Well, my plan to break that was to leave my driver's license at home every morning because you can't withdraw money without ID. Yeah, it might be dumb or something for me to leave everyday and I have no wallet, cards, ID, nothing, but it's been useful in keeping me from having any way to acquire alcohol. The first week or two that I begin to abstain, going to sleep at night was real hard because my body was used to passing out. I laid awake most of the night for many days, only getting like 3 hours of sleep. It frustrated me and I wanted to gripe to my wife about it as if it were her fault. I had to keep reminding myself that this is my fault and that my body will return to normal sleep cycles. It did, the struggle to sleep was temporary, you get through that and you face the next thing.

One thing you have to face is being embarrassed and exposing your failure and weakness. You have to walk up to humiliation and take it like a grown up. Get it over with. I started posting my situation online, on three different discussion boards. People started praying for me, giving me advice, and sharing their story. Some of the best advice I've read from my threads are, "You have to take this as serious as you can. Addiction is nothing to play around with. You aren't the only one who's gone through this. I was where you were and I beat it, and you can too." It is the honest truth folks, posting in these threads of mine, talking about this and getting feedback from you all, REALLY DOES HELP ME GET THROUGH THE DAY.

I'll keep coming back here. I'm not going away. I'm not turning back to the way things were. It's better on this side by far!

Keep it up.  You have a lot of reasons to.

Hey Weld,

How's it going man?  Still thinking and praying about your situation.  I hope you are finding peace.

Keep fighting. You CAN turn your life around. 

This above.
It sounds like you may be in a battle for your life so understand that and act accordingly.

My MIL is about as hard core an alcoholic as any can be, to the point she turned yellow from liver failure.  Dr told her straight up she had to quit or die.  She quit, with some medical help due to her liver issues, but she literally quit that day and has been sober since.  I honestly don't know how she has pulled it off, but she has.

Because she made and stuck with that fateful decision that day, she is now enjoying the wonders of 3 grandchildren.  She doesn't remember raising her own kids, but she does remember this....right now.

That's what it's all about.  Right now.

Hopefully not too preachy, but she's been an inspiration to me and an example of how people can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

If you really want to do this, you can.  You will.

All the best to you and yours.

I'll pray for you op.

I was there 25 years ago.


Praise be to God.

You guys really do keep me going. Thanks for stopping by to post, thanks for thinking about me, and thanks to anyone who would say a prayer on my behalf. It is the only reason that I'm able to enjoy sobriety today.

The good news is that I'm still pressing on, I'm determined to leave this behavior in the past. I don't drink most days. But unfortunately, I keep fiddling with this addiction, drinking on the weekend that is, and I'll confess it. This is how my whole addiction started too; weekend partying. It's really just simply rebellion, that's what it is; I know I shouldn't do it, I know it's bad for me, it's death, it's so wrong, but I do it anyway and then I hate that I did it. I'm glad that I go the week long sober, and it's easy now to do this, but when the weekend comes around, I think as though I'm entitled to party, but what I really need to do is grow up and let this thing die. This addiction is a war of the mind, between two completely different desires; I wake up in the morning and I don't want to ever touch another drop of alcohol, but when I get home in the evening, I'm all the way at the other end of the spectrum where I want to get buzzed. I have a hard time understanding why I would change positions so easily, but I'm very grateful that I don't drink every day like I used to. That really was a dark time in my life and it was hard on our marriage. I hated that life and I never want to go back to that. I love being sober.
Well, the little guy has arrived! Him and my wife are now home and doing fine. We've been to the hospital, back and forth over the past seven days because she began labor last Wednesday, but it subsided, which was weird. Our first three kids popped out quick and predictably, but this guy was different. Anyway, we went in Sunday night and he was born Monday around 1am. I was in the hospital room when I pulled up this thread on my phone and saw that bob had bumped the thread and people were posting. Thanks guys. Baby and mom are both feeling good, happy and healthy. Last night when the whole town was shooting off fireworks, there was an incident that reminded me that being under the influence of alcohol can put you in a situation where you can't step up and handle what you need to. A neighbor was having a bunch of friends over and having a good time, but their big dog was freaking out from the fireworks, so they locked her up in a kennel. Well, one of the kids goes and lets her out and she immediately goes berserk and latches onto a little girl by the face. Then all heck breaks loose and the grown ups are trying to get the dog off her, she ends up with multiple lacerations on the face and head, bleeding badly and they rush her off to the ER. I went over to talk to the kids and adults because they were all falling apart. It's just like the situation with my wife that was ready to have this baby at any moment, you just can't afford to be getting tanked because you never know when you are going to be in a spot where you will need to help someone out or be the one to step up.

There are some things that are going to be difficult to adjust to, or to do without. I really like to take the family camping in the mountains, but it's always been a beer bonanza while doing so. We go out in the wild, set up camp, start a fire, and crack open the beer. It feels like it's going to be hard to go camping without having beer to chug around the campfire. We'll likely skip all camping this summer since the baby just came and would be too little to deal with out there, so maybe by the next time we do go camping, I've totally dropped this habit and that won't be such a temptation. I did skip the beer on one camping trip a few years ago in Wyoming. I hated it. It was just a bunch of hard work, it was hot, and I didn't want to be doing any of it if I couldn't enjoy some beer while I was at it. So camping will be an adjustment for sure.

I'm sure that most everyone who has broken a bad drinking habit must have then dealt with replacing the drinking with over-eating. I'm in that right now. When I get home tonight, or any night, I'll start stuffing my face with food. My wife's a good cook too. But this is not the answer. What it is, is that I'm still trying to medicate, still trying to fill the empty hole inside me with something; if not alcohol, then food. Some preacher long ago said that we all have a God-shaped hole in our heart and we constantly try and fill it with everything else except Him, He's the only thing that will fill us and satisfy. I think I can relate to that. I guess I'd certainly rather over-eat each evening than to get drunk, but in God's eyes they are still the same thing; seeking peace in something other than Him.

I'm not giving up. I'm not going to drink today. I'm not going to be the way I used to be.

Hey Weld,

Congratulations on the new baby!  Wow, you have a lot going on in your life -- and a lot to live for.  4 kids, man that sounds like a lot of work.  

Stay strong.  Even if you stumble, just keep working at it.  Every day of victory will make the next day a little easier.  Still praying for you and your family.  You can do this.

prayers and 2 likes coming your way....good luck

Congratulations on the addition to your family.  Change for them. 

What you are, they become.

Prayers sent.

AA helps. fixing an addiction  on your own is like s computer fixing itself.  Your thoughts are what make your drink. so you are relying on your thoughts to save you from drinking?
AA works. i know for a fact

Prayers sent OP...

This.

May God bless you and keep you.

Amen.  Weld, we're still thinking about you and praying for you.

I have dealt with addicts professionally for going on 20 years. It literally is a by the second/minute/hour/day/month kind of thing.


You will always fight it but a little less so with each passing day hopefully.

God bless you and your family. Keep fighting.

I wish you the best in your struggle with alcoholism

Man, reading this brings back not so distant memories. My father was a heavy drinker and smoker. It ruined 3 of his marriages and left him alone to his own devices. I was putting him in the ground when I was 25 he was 60.

Last time I seen him alive he looked terrible I was young I didn't completly understand what was going on. At the time I was working out of town so I wasn't around much. When I read the cause of death on the death certificate alcoholism reality rushed in, I was drinking and following into his footstep. I couldn't deal with it.

After his death I slid into bad depression  drinking then my company had a lay off so that didn't help. You would think my father's death would have set me strait but it didn't. Then for some reason I decided how about I save this drinking for just the weekend. Did that for a few years then at around 32  and  my third child. I just stopped for the most part.

Looking back on that time it was all mental for me it's strange I still don't understand it all. I don't really have any cravings anymore. I may tie one on once a year and might have a few beers on the weekend working in the yard or if friends come over and it's not a problem. It no longer brings me the joy I once thought it did. I believe Jesus delivered me from my own hands. I was saved at age 6, I knew my drinking like that was wrong and was never comfortable with it. The Lord help me grow to feel the same and eventually learn to dislike drunkenness and all the negatives that it brings.

So hang in when you feel tempted reach for the Bible not the Brew. Maybe my father's death was not in vain. Plus you will have more $$ for guns and cool stuff. Hang in there.

Prayers sent.

Every member who sees this regardless of their religion should  post something positive in way of support to weld.

Hey Weld,

Haven't heard from you in a while.  I hope things are going well.  We're here for you man.

As others have said "one day at a time ".

May your past addiction to alcohol lead to a positive relationship with our Father in Heaven. When tempted take a moment and pray about it. Praying is great medicine for the soul and is something that is best done daily.


There is power in prayer and I'll be praying for you and hope that you will pray for all of us too.

If you know of any actively that triggers your reaction to want to drink, then that activity must be stopped.


Hang in there!

Hang tough, think about where you are and where you have been.  You can do this.  Best wishes for you.  Prayers for you and your family.

I don't deserve the support you guys have been giving me, but I am very appreciative for it. Thank you to those who keep checking on me here, those who would take my need in prayer to God, and thanks to those who have sent private messages; all of this overwhelms me every single time. I can't help but break down emotionally every time I come around and see new posts or a PM. I don't deserve this at all, but it feels like someone actually cares. It's so humbling to receive the support that you guys have given. I used to drink myself very drunk every single night, but I don't do that anymore. I made the first break to my addiction just a few days before this thread started.

I have a hard time asking for help.

I don't have any real friends at all, and it's on purpose.

I think God is working to fix both of those things. He's sort of dragging me kicking and screaming out of those things.

Even though I've long been the loner type that's never interested in relationships outside of family, I think I'm going to have to stop being like this. I avoid getting to know people and letting them get to know me, but going through this fight over the past few months has caused me to think that I'm going to have to change. So here in a couple weeks, our church starts up the men's group on Wednesday nights again, and I'm going to go back and join the group. I was a part of it several years ago, but I never told anyone there about my drinking problem even though I was sitting right there at the table with other guys who were sharing about their own addiction issues and how they got free. I missed my chance I suppose, but I think I need to go back and open up to them like I should have back then.

I'm glad that I can go sober during the week. I really enjoy my mornings because it's such a blessing to wake up rested and not have a hint of hangover in me. But after five or so days of abstaining, I get to the weekend and I'm itching bad for a buzz. It seems uncontrollable. I know that if I go to the men's group at church and open up about this, it'll probably fall away and die almost right away. That's what I believe it means to 'live in the light'; you are open and transparent with others close to you about the sin you are struggling with. If you bring these things out into the open light and confess to one another, it loses its power over you. It's frustrating because I feel like I'm letting everyone here down when I sneak off and drink some beer on Friday night. I'm sorry guys. I want to apologize to all of you for not holding strong like I ought, but instead I give in every Friday night and return to this foolishness. It's scary because I know it's flat-out rebellion for me to willingly make the decision to get drunk on the weekend, like shaking my fist to heaven and turning my back on God because I want to do what I want to do.

I hope I can get the strength it'll take to open up to the guys at church so that I can put this thing to death. Posting on the three discussion boards, beginning back in April/May was the first step, and it really was what broke the cycle. Immediately after posting the first thread on another forum, things changed for me. But the next step is going to have to be engaging face to face with other believers in a transparent and honest way. I need to swallow my pride, suck it up and face the music. I know that's what will set me free, that's what God has been trying to get me to do for many years and I need to surrender to it.

So I'm doing alright today. I'm sober and I have a plan for the next chapter of this fight. I'm not going back to the way things were. Although one of the first characteristics of the addict is to lie, I have been and will be 100% honest with you guys. I'll promise you this; those of you who read this thread will be the first ones to know when I find total freedom. I can't wait for someday soon to post the last day of my addiction, and I'll rejoice everyday afterward. I'm committed to make sure that this thread will not fade away until I am set free.

Weld,

Your post just made my evening.  You have a good head on your shoulders and for what its worth I really like the way you are thinking.  Opening up to your church brothers will be a positive.

The good news is that you are making great strides.  I know you feel like you are failing on the weekends but the other side of the coin is that you are winning during the week!

It feels kind of funny to say this on a message board but I have prayed for you every night since your first post -- and will continue to do so.  I really have confidence that you can beat this thing with the Lord's help.

Take care,

Bob

Keep it up, Weld. I am praying for you and your family.

Even if you fall, there is no failure if you keep fighting.