Relapse Party?

[dr. klopek]

I do not drink anymore. I spent the last 2-3 years of my life drinking every day and night. I never really had a problem with drinking alone (problem being the key word), and I didn't have withdrawals (serious, anyway) when I quit. I used to have this job where my shift started at 5am, and they were pretty strict about attendance. These three factors combined got me into a little trouble. On the night before my last "occurence" I blacked out and woke up about 4 hours after I had been taken off the payroll. It was then that I decided that me drinking is -EV.

I have a friend who was way worse than me. Before he quit drinking about 2 years ago, he got several DUIs, arrested a few times, and is on probation still for starting a riot.

The other night we were talking about how we are both constantly fighting the urge to have an isolated drinking incident (a sure sign of addiction, you'd think). We discussed our favorite beers (a topic that makes my mouth water uncontrollably), how well they are complimented by cigarettes, and the general sense of well being that alcohol gives you that we both miss so much. We lamented the beers that are yet a twinkle in the brewer's eye, the sweet libations that will never again pass our lips. So, we came to the only conclusion that two rational adults in this situation can come to: a Relapse Party. One time only!!!! Tonight, after I get off work, we are going to the store to get all the beers that our hearts desire, we will drink them all. However, since this seems like the kind of thing that can potentially backfire with rather messy results, I thought I'd ask:

[YourFoxyGrandma]

Bad idea. I think you probably know it too.

[Stingy]

take it from me. It sounds like a good idea at first. But it doesn't take to long until you start blackout i was in a similar quandry and found myself wet and cold in the front seat of a cadillac in Eugene Or. with puke on my shoe. It sounds like fun, and probably was, but man is it a bad idea.
Wapown

[BusterStacks]

Maybe you have a problem with alcohol. I think you should reevaluate the role you want alcohol to play in your life. Here is a poem you might find inspiring:

WE DRANK FOR

We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank to be outgoing and became self-centered.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became crude and obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank for sex drive and lost our potency.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank for warmth and lost our cool.
We drank for coolness and lost our warmth.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank for power and were powerless.
We drank to soften sorrow and wallowed in self-pity.
We drank medicinally and acquired health problems.
We drank because the job called for it and lost the job.
We drank to make conversation and slurred our words.
We drank to feel heavenly and knew hell.
We drank to forget and were haunted.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.

[balkii]

There is no reason to decide to have a relaps party. you will find once you drink againg that you were better off not drinking at all. If you have a problem and you know it you cant quit drinking and come back without the problem. Once you have developed the problem it will stay with you forever. When you quit drinking you didnt just change a habbit your are changing the way you think. IF you know drinking causes you problems then the answer is very clear that there is no logical reason to ever drink again.

[elwoodblues]

That you are even trying to "rationally" think about it is just sad.

[Stingy]

[ QUOTE ]
Once you have developed the problem it will stay with you forever. When you quit drinking you didnt just change a habbit your are changing the way you think. IF you know drinking causes you problems then the answer is very clear that there is no logical reason to ever drink again.

[/ QUOTE ]
Word. Balki sums it up well. Having a "relapse Party" is one of the worst ideas i think i'v ever heard. Isolated incidents do not exist with problem drinkers.
Wapown

[beerbandit]

i voted no because it sounds like drinking might not be for you. some people can handle it and no when to quit and managed themselves properly in those situations.

if your goal is to be sober for the rest of your ife i do not see the party necessary. if you are taking a break until you feel that you can handle the responsibilities again then i do not see the harm in it. i would be worried that after you started drinking that one of you may decide to drive which would definetely not be a good idea.

someone close to me was once a heavy drinker and got in some severe trouble because of it. (thankfully noone was every injured) he quit drinking for almost a year. he then played in golf scramble and got absolutely wasted, amking a complete ass of himself. he hasnt drank since and stil regrets drinking that time, he realized that drinking + himself do not mix well and he cannot handle the situation.

i drink -- im sure ill drink until i die


i hope everything goes well

cheers

[namknils]

Instead of talking with you're other now sober friend about how good the alchohol was and how much you miss it, why don't you two talk about how many problems it caused and how much better you are without it?

[Stingy]

[ QUOTE ]
Instead of talking with you're other now sober friend about how good the alchohol was and how much you miss it, why don't you two talk about how many problems it caused and how much better you are without it?

[/ QUOTE ]
This is absolutely right.
Wapown

[SomethingClever]

Does the other person's name rhyme with "Grady"?

I don't think you should do this; it sounds like a bad idea.

Do you think you can get to the point where you can indulge every now and then without going to the extreme and blacking out?

[Leo99]

Wow, you and your friend had sort of a reverse AA meeting and decided to drink? My ex is a drunk. She was sober for a few years, went to rehab, all that crap. Now she's back in the bottle again. Probably the worse thing that can happen is you drink and nothing bad happens. Cause then you'll try it again. The sad thing is that you still think like a drunk. I mean us non-alcoholic people, for want of a better word, would buy beer for a drinking session but we would never think that we're gonna finish them all. The disease gets worse and worse as time progresses. The disease is talking to you now. Fight it off. One is too many, a thousand not enough. This time of year is hard. Don't pick it up.

[Tyler Durden]

I voted no b/c you probably have zero tolerance.

[Blarg]

One reason to go back to an addiction is as good as another. Don't kid yourself that your decision to get some drinking in was the result of this discussion with your friend. It's just the excuse that came in handy at the time.

The problem is, you would have found another one, and found some way to justify it. This is what you're going to have to be dealng with the for the rest of your life. It doesn't matter how "good" the reason to drink is; the problem is the desire to find reasons, and then explain them to yourself, as a rationale for your surrendering to your demons. It shows you're still kidding yourself about who you really are and what your problem is all about. It's degenerate enough to bulls*** others, but until you at least get honest with yourself, you'll never make any progress. You'll still be a drunk and a slave even when you're sober.

One more thing. Think very seriously about the friends you hang around. You may have to give some friends and activities up, or meet them only in circumstances where you know there will be little or no drinking. Stopping an addiction is very hard to do if you keep the same routines in which the addiction is a natural by-product(going to bars or nightclubs is an obvious example) or is encouraged or expected of you. Giving up friends and what you're used to doing to socialize can be extremely hard. Life's hard; too bad. You have to decide how much you really want your goals.

I'd say good luck, but luck isn't really much of a part of it.

[dr. klopek]

Okay,
I have quit drinking because it is bad for me. The only reason to consciously decide to do something that is bad for you is a lapse of reason and control, a moment of weakness. This moment of weakness is caused by addiction which is the reason drinking is bad for me. Therefore, the very desire to relapse is a result of the reason not to.

That poem is awesome Buster. Thanks for being my online sponsors everyone. I swear though, If I live to be 70, I'm goin on the bender to end all benders.

[lapoker17]

I would think about how fortunate I am to have a friend struggling with the same thing, and what an opportunity that affords - One that many people trying to get sober don't have - That's why they go to AA - Strength in numbers. Why don't the two of you go to a meeting together instead of getting hammered.

[eggzz]

It is very important to find something that fills the void created by no longer drinking. It is likely that many waking hours were spent by drinking. Since you no longer drink, you must find other activities to occupy your mind instead of drinking. I'm sure once you do some soul searching, you will find many things that are even more enjoyable. If you don't fill that void, the temptation will continue to return.

[dr. klopek]

[ QUOTE ]
One reason to go back to an addiction is as good as another. Don't kid yourself that your decision to get some drinking in was the result of this discussion with your friend. It's just the excuse that came in handy at the time.

The problem is, you would have found another one, and found some way to justify it. This is what you're going to have to be dealng with the for the rest of your life. It doesn't matter how "good" the reason to drink is; the problem is the desire to find reasons, and then explain them to yourself, as a rationale for your surrendering to your demons. It shows you're still kidding yourself about who you really are and what your problem is all about. It's degenerate enough to bulls*** others, but until you at least get honest with yourself, you'll never make any progress. You'll still be a drunk and a slave even when you're sober.

One more thing. Think very seriously about the friends you hang around. You may have to give some friends and activities up, or meet them only in circumstances where you know there will be little or no drinking. Stopping an addiction is very hard to do if you keep the same routines in which the addiction is a natural by-product(going to bars or nightclubs is an obvious example) or is encouraged or expected of you. Giving up friends and what you're used to doing to socialize can be extremely hard. Life's hard; too bad. You have to decide how much you really want your goals.

I'd say good luck, but luck isn't really much of a part of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jesus dude.

[BusterStacks]

Alchohol addiction, ha! I refuse to believe it.

[River2Pair]

Alcoholism is a disease. Three charactaristics of this disease:

It is incurable.
It is progressive.
It is deadly.

For more info: go here (http://www.recovery.org/aa/bigbook/ww/)

[BusterStacks]

You know what? Polio is a disease, alcoholism is a crutch. It's not a disease if it's up to you how much it progresses. If it is a disease, here's the cure, put the bottle down and deal with your damn life. I legally have to attend these AA meetings, and they are a [censored] joke. The only redeeming quality is the help they provide others, but I swear to god, the world needs to grow up. That's really funny you can call alcoholism a disease. That makes it so much easier to place the blame elsewhere. "I have a disease".. "It's the disease's fault". No, it's your own goddamn fault for drinking, ya moron. And for the record, I come from a long line of alcoholics and have zero sympathy for people who willingly destroy their lives.

[River2Pair]

Perhaps you misunderstood my point. I agree that people are 100% accountable for their actions.

Personally, I don't drink because I have a disease which is incurable, progressive, and deadly. Incurable, but treatable. Treatable by complete abstinence and a program of spiritual action.

My friend Chris was a charming, funny, and loving man, and a father of a beautiful eleven year old girl. He had been in and out of treatment facilities, hospitals and the like for his most of his adult life. He decided that he needed to stay sober, so he could be a better father and live a healtier, more productive life. After about nine months of sobriety he decided he could drink and use drugs again. Within a few weeks, he died, having choked on his own vomit, face down on his couch.

I see this as a disease which is both physical and mental. Physical because of how alcoholics react differently to alcohol than non-alcoholics, and mental because knowing the horrific consequences drinking has in their lives, somehow they always rationalize that somehow this time it is going to be different, when it never is.

But if you want to disagree with the vast majority of the medical community, saying that alcoholism is a choice, that people choose to drink themselves into prisons, insane asylums and graveyards, be my guest.