Alcohol ruined my life.

[dan27]

I can't even share all it stole from me...
Now, I've been SOBER since August 1992 !
What a wicked ride it was.

 

[Abstamyous]

Congratulations on your sobriety! 2022 will be my fourth year of sobriety. I can't imagine where alcohol would have me right now, with where I left it.

 

[Finished]

Alcohol was my best friend. Alcohol made me feel so wonderful and free. Unfortunately I abused it because I couldn't control it and it retaliated against me. I decided to turn my back on my best friend a few years over a decade ago. I was actually much happier before. I could also deal better with people. But, when alcohol was out of my life so were nearly all my troubles.

 

[Colster]

Alcohol is something that plagues society. There are many people who have serious issues with it, yet don't realise, acknowledge or accept that it might simply be a issue at all.

I applaud anyone who can acknowledge their issue, yet alone find the strength and determination to overcome it.

Seeing as more areas are are moving towards banning smoking, either publicly or in the privacy of your own home. I wonder whether within our lifetime, we will see a similar shift in attitudes toward alcohol ?

 

[ewomack]

Congrats on overcoming and sobriety!! That's a great accomplishment!

Having come from parents who both witnessed the problems of alcohol with their own parents, they raised me to heavily distrust the stuff. So I never touched it. This had social consequences earlier on - people assumed that I was overly religious or relentlessly dogmatic and avoided me - but I've grown to appreciate the almost complete lack of alcohol in my life. The last beer I had was over 5 years ago in Philadelphia. A restaurant that served historic recipes had Ben Franklin's formula for lager on the menu, so I tried it. I hated it, honestly, and it made me feel awful for the rest of that hot summer day. Prior to that, I can't remember ever finishing a bottle or a can of any alcoholic beverage. I have never understood the appeal, but I think peer pressure plays an immense role in many people getting submerged in that vortex.

I hope that we move against alcohol as a civilization. It appears to do more harm than other banned substances. But some people do like their drinks, so it's a sticky wicket.

 

[Colster]

Admittedly, I am, or was, a great supporter of the Great British Pub. There is something wonderful about being able to sit in a cosy place, preferably with a fireplace roaring, with friends to chat about the news, whilst laughing about the mundane things in life.

Unfortunately, this is the rose tinted view. Yes, it does really happen, and I have frequently enjoyed it. But you begin to notice that very few people want to do anything outside of that safe space, and certainly not without alcohol.

Certainly within my former circle of friends, there were those who drank before the pub. Those who drank after the pub. And those that did both. Our social scene was Thursday through to Monday, often with folks drinking at home Tues and Wed.

Please don't think that I am choosing extreme examples, no, this is fairly commonplace around my community. It often worries me, just when was the last time some of these people were truly sober.

Speaking only of England, we have far too much reliance on alcohol. Yet, we mock other nations for their alcohol consumption and habits. We particularly do not like those who choose not to drink. Yet internationally, we are typically the one's causing the drunken brawl.

Surprisingly to me, during my 48 years, I do not recall ever having had any alcohol education. We do not reach anything about uses, effects, affects, and the smorgasbord items inbetween. Yet, in any town centre, in any given weekend, how many fights erupt due to alcohol.

 

[ardour]

Unfortunately, this is the rose tinted view. Yes, it does really happen, and I have frequently enjoyed it. But you begin to notice that very few people want to do anything outside of that safe space, and certainly not without alcohol.

This was my experience after joining a group that revolved around craft beer. I wonder now if these people would have anything to say to each other if they met sober outside of their 'natural habitat'.

Certainly within my former circle of friends, there were those who drank before the pub. Those who drank after the pub. And those that did both. Our social scene was Thursday through to Monday, often with folks drinking at home Tues and Wed.

Sounds familiar. I'd walk past the regular drinking hole after work and see the same faces there every night.

We have a binge drinking youth culture here, meaning we associate heavy drinking with the uninhibited good times in youth, but as people get older it seems to be more about self-medicating depression.

 

[Mr_Dunne_Poetry]

"Alcohol"
(Royce da 5'9 'Cocaine' Remix)

Mumma loved alcohol, more than she loved me/
So my heart it turned cold, cause I felt so ugly
I wish she would hug me, like she can hold her drink/
Inside I'm always lonely, but my ship will never sink,
Like those who've turned to drink.
Alcohol, Alcohol, Alcoholllllll!!!

It was eighteen years, before I got to meet my mum/
Everyday I was crying tears, cause that woman was a drunk
I was in love with my mother, but she never loved her son/
I was angry at my daddy, cause this is what my daddy done
Alcohol, Alcohol, Alcoholllllll!!!

Nearly forty years of drinking, and my mummy got ill/
All the while got me thinking, what am I supposed to feel
They got her at the doctors, and the hospital for pills/
I just hope she finds peace, like I did with Hip-hop & these skills
Thanks to Alcohol, Alcohol, Alcoholllllll!!!

Copyright 2020 The Elusive Mr Dunne (All rights reserved)

 

[theablekingathelstan]

I can't even share all it stole from me...
Now, I've been SOBER since August 1992 !
What a wicked ride it was.

i'm glad you're recovering and feeling better about yourself.