Alcohol

[eljimberino]

Hello.

I think I need help. Last night I got so drunk I can not remember the last hours of the night. Same thing happened last weekend. I wake up and wonder: how did I get home? Did I hurt or offend any one?

This factor combined with the hangover leads me to think very negatively about myself and my existence.

Holistically the drinking is related to cycling. I am quite anxious most of the time. Cycling and drinking relieve anxiety. Hangovers make it worse.

This year I have made a commitment to drink less: not during the week, may be once a week, but not normally. Last week was a concert and last night was a wedding, so out of the ordinary. I have stopped smoking too.

It feels like the harder I cycle the harder I drink. Once is see the demon I cannot stop chasing. This kind of personality I see in a Boonen character too.

The obvious answer is simply to stop drinking, which I feel like I have taken steps in the right direction. But these last two experiences are a real lapse. Memory loss is unusual too. To simply say STOP drinking does not help, because even when I start heading the wrong direction, I keep going regardless.

Does any one have any suggestions or anecdotes to share?

Thank you for your time.

 

[krebs303]

You need to get help. And soon. I wish you well you are fighting a terrible demon. I have battled with it since my first drink. Get online, get to Church, get to a 12 step, but get help.
sincerely
krebs

 

[mewmewmew13]

Hello.

I think I need help. Last night I got so drunk I can not remember the last hours of the night. Same thing happened last weekend. I wake up and wonder: how did I get home? Did I hurt or offend any one?

This factor combined with the hangover leads me to think very negatively about myself and my existence.

Holistically the drinking is related to cycling. I am quite anxious most of the time. Cycling and drinking relieve anxiety. Hangovers make it worse.

This year I have made a commitment to drink less: not during the week, may be once a week, but not normally. Last week was a concert and last night was a wedding, so out of the ordinary. I have stopped smoking too.

It feels like the harder I cycle the harder I drink. Once is see the demon I cannot stop chasing. This kind of personality I see in a Boonen character too.

The obvious answer is simply to stop drinking, which I feel like I have taken steps in the right direction. But these last two experiences are a real lapse. Memory loss is unusual too. To simply say STOP drinking does not help, because even when I start heading the wrong direction, I keep going regardless.

Does any one have any suggestions or anecdotes to share?

Thank you for your time.

You are taking a first step. Especially if you are young, don't let this steal years away. Life is too short and you don't want to look back when you are much older and wonder where those years disappeared.

There is too much to enjoy out there and things to do that you can look at and feel proud of your accomplishments.

good luck, find some friends that will support you and look for help.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I agree with Krebs and 3mew13. And I applaud you for recognizing you need help!

But you don't sound much different than I was as a young adult. There were a couple of times I remembered how I got home, but wondering how I made it home alive, since I passed out either before I got in the car or after I crawled through the front door.

What helped me was a different friend choice. All my friends partied hard. Once I made a choice to get a different set of friends, my old friends pressured me with all kinds of comments to try and keep me from drifting away. They even sat me down for a half hour 'heart to heart'. But in the end I stayed the course and kept them as close as I could. They are still my friends today. I just didn't party as often or as hard.

I don't know where you are from, but the police here don't take kindly to drunk drivers. You do NOT want an arrest and days spent in jail on your record. That would be tough to recover from. So if you get plastered, make sure someone you know and trust who's not drunk give you a ride home, call them up if need be, or take a taxi.

Good luck and best wishes!

 

[eljimberino]

Thank you for your replies.

I am getting help.

 

[Polyarmour]

I don't drink at all and haven't done so for more than 10 years.
Sounds to me like you need to do the same.
Moderation doesn't work with alcohol because drinking it lowers your resistance to it.
I love being a non drinker, you look at life from a different perspective.
Other things become important.
Your social interactions change.
Anyway, that's my take on it, good luck.

 

[DirtyWorks]

It feels like the harder I cycle the harder I drink. Once is see the demon I cannot stop chasing. This kind of personality I see in a Boonen character too.

Some people exchange an addiction like drinking with some kind of exercise, be it cycling, running or whatever. No more blackouts/hangovers, but some never address the addiction behaviour. That's possibly Boonen.

If you are dealing with that much anxiety, then it will help to get assessed by a psychologist too.

Dealing with your addiction is the right thing to do. I too recommend 12 step. I'm not a religious guy at all, but the basic process is incredibly successful.

Keep trying if it doesn't work the first time.

 

[Boeing]

Hello.

I think I need help. Last night I got so drunk I can not remember the last hours of the night. Same thing happened last weekend. I wake up and wonder: how did I get home? Did I hurt or offend any one?

This factor combined with the hangover leads me to think very negatively about myself and my existence.

Holistically the drinking is related to cycling. I am quite anxious most of the time. Cycling and drinking relieve anxiety. Hangovers make it worse.

This year I have made a commitment to drink less: not during the week, may be once a week, but not normally. Last week was a concert and last night was a wedding, so out of the ordinary. I have stopped smoking too.

It feels like the harder I cycle the harder I drink. Once is see the demon I cannot stop chasing. This kind of personality I see in a Boonen character too.

The obvious answer is simply to stop drinking, which I feel like I have taken steps in the right direction. But these last two experiences are a real lapse. Memory loss is unusual too. To simply say STOP drinking does not help, because even when I start heading the wrong direction, I keep going regardless.

Does any one have any suggestions or anecdotes to share?

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully, allow me to suggest that this question has nothing to do with cycling at all. And unless you have personal interaction with a guy like boonen it is dangerous to compare yourself let alone assume his circumstances and condition. It's almost an attempt to justify here and you should be looking for advice somewhere else

best of luck

 

[delbified]

eljimberino, i can share my experience, which probably has some similarities to yours. i started riding and racing many years ago as a younger guy. but after an injury that kept me off the bike, i slowly drifted into adopting vices - drinking, then eventually smoking and drugs. i gave up cycling altogether. many years later, after getting a bit out of control, i was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. i resisted medical help at first - the male tendency is that to accept it is weakness. after years of that, i've realised that i need help. i don't know what makes me different to others, but to function properly, i need medical assistance. now i'm back into cycling and racing and more importantly, have got my life back on track.

if i'd known then what i know now about how to help myself, my life would have been very different - and better.

i'm not a psychologist, but i can tell you this - drinking problems aren't caused by drink. you should get help. people waste 30 years - or more - of their lives in denial over these things. even if you don't have a serious problem - no harm in talking to someone.

 

[Boeing]

Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way, 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement

 

[durianrider]

Booze hounds just need more carbs. Alcohol is a refined sugar. Drink fruit juice and hammer that. Then wake up strong the next day and hammer on the bike.

I aint drank since July 2001. Not a drop. I smash the fruit juice. Smash in the low fat carbs.

Alcohol kills red blood cells. Look it up. Booze to a cyclist is like wearing a flappy XXXL jersey in a TT.

 

[Boeing]

Booze hounds just need more carbs. Alcohol is a refined sugar. Drink fruit juice and hammer that. Then wake up strong the next day and hammer on the bike.

I aint drank since July 2001. Not a drop. I smash the fruit juice. Smash in the low fat carbs.

Alcohol kills red blood cells. Look it up. Booze to a cyclist is like wearing a flappy XXXL jersey in a TT.

however to anyone who has come to know you it is quite clear you used to drink quite a bit mate just sayn

 

[tammywilson52]

Alcohol is a strict no no for athletes and sportsmen. And yes it hampers your cycling too. My cousin used to be a drinker but he was determined to quit it anyhow and he did that too.

 

[Boeing]

2 early crashes and my lack of desire to regain form knowing the pain gain trade off this season now after so much pain has me back on the grog and single malt. doesnt do much for wright loss. recovery. But allow me to suggest it captures the spirit of the ride and I am having a lot more fun on the bike again. for what that is worth. I'm just spinning on the road and cruising on the mtn bike. slow but aggressive and pounding beers after select rides. i've got nothing to prove. and my sponsor wont return my calls or me his.

 

[eljimberino]

Over a month without a drop.

The juice tip is a good one. For the price of one large bottle of beer, I can drink a gourmet juice/smoothie, know it's doing me good, and not feel like anymore afterwards.

was your last post after a few boeing? has that tipsy tinge

 

[hiero2]

Over a month without a drop.

. . .

Good on ya! Lots of good responses here. Getting people involved is a big step in the right direction. AA provides instant listeners - and there are other groups and people who can be there for ya. I've never had the blackout thingie - but I hear ya about the beer - it's like the ad "can't have just one". So, I have to do without.

Alcohol is a mood enhancer and pain killer. It chemically helps you feel happy, and reduces pain. If that is why you drink, finding friends, and taking good care of existing friends, can help with those things. If you can't leave the alcohol after 2 or 3 drinks, then you have to leave it entirely out.

Feeling happy is also something that bicycling helps with - exercise does the same thing as the alcohol - it changes physical things in your body that make you happier. It just takes a bit longer.

Be strong, say a prayer to whomever you are willing to pray to, and do it regularly. Some folks will feel strongly about the who - but I think it is important to just do it, just like the getting out and riding, and I don't think it matters who you pray to. Find ways to be with people who AREN'T drinking, and good luck.

 

[Polyarmour]

I work in the CBD. As I leave my building I pass a few bars and nightclubs that are usually starting to fill up with fat red faced people as I leave. I say to myself I couldn't think of anything worse than sitting in there drink'n the night away.

I ride through the beautiful botanical gardens, work my way along the river, sometimes take in the local mountain with views over the city and out to the bay and I am so appreciative to be fit and healthy enough to experience this. I pass a few more bars filled with people who can only enjoy themselves with a glass of alcohol welded to their hand and I really feel sorry for what they are missing out on.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Good on ya! Lots of good responses here. Getting people involved is a big step in the right direction. AA provides instant listeners - and there are other groups and people who can be there for ya.

+1000 to this. Doing it alone is possible, but the AA process is very successful partially because it's a community.

Best of luck any way you decide to manage the issue.

 

[rickshaw]

Wonderful

Over a month without a drop.

The juice tip is a good one. For the price of one large bottle of beer, I can drink a gourmet juice/smoothie, know it's doing me good, and not feel like anymore afterwards.

was your last post after a few boeing? has that tipsy tinge

remember: you don't stop being an alcoholic just because you stop drinking.