Controlling Binge Drinking?

I am in my mid-late 20s and seem to have an issue with binge drinking. I think it’s primarily due to my social circle and the drinking habits of friends rubbing off on me.

I only drink occasionally. I don’t crave alcohol and never have a desire to drink unless it’s a social event where everyone else is drinking. I have gone 2-3 months before without drinking on multiple occasions just to focus on weight training.

But, when I do end up drinking around others who are drinking heavy, I seem to lack any sort of self-control, get completely wasted, and act like an idiot. This isn’t much different than the other guys, but I seem to be the only one who’s concerned about the risks.

I’ve recognized this problem in the past. I started drinking more moderately for a while which worked well, but I eventually find myself around the wrong crowd and I end up getting smashed out of peer pressure or just a desire to be on the same inebriation level as others.

Do I need to swear off alcohol for life? Or, do I need to change the people I surround myself with and become more mature around alcohol?

First, as an experiment, do NOT drink one time when you are out with your friends. Lie to them, tell them you’re sick, or on medicine or something.

I don’t think you should say you drink a lot because of peer pressure. That’s the beginning of a slippery slope I think. You may start blaming outside influences for any mistakes you make. Like my buddy that keeps trying to quit smoking, and says he went back because he could smell other people’s smoke etc. etc.

Heck, to show you’re independent, stay at home one night and drink by yourself. I’m not kidding…3 or 4 drinks to see if you can stick to a plan of not getting shit-faced.

[quote]ShakeWeight wrote:
Do I need to change the people I surround myself with?

[/quote]

Choose your friends wisely.

If you surround yourself with fuckups, odds are very high you’re going to become a fuckup too.

[quote]Nards wrote:
First, as an experiment, do NOT drink one time when you are out with your friends. Lie to them, tell them you’re sick, or on medicine or something.

I don’t think you should say you drink a lot because of peer pressure. That’s the beginning of a slippery slope I think. You may start blaming outside influences for any mistakes you make. Like my buddy that keeps trying to quit smoking, and says he went back because he could smell other people’s smoke etc. etc.

Heck, to show you’re independent, stay at home one night and drink by yourself. I’m not kidding…3 or 4 drinks to see if you can stick to a plan of not getting shit-faced.[/quote]

I’ve done this a few times when I’ve received beer as a gift or something. It’s really not difficult to stop when alone. It’s just when I find myself in a certain atmosphere that’s conducive to drinking. But, you have a point about finding excuses for it.

This says a lot about the strength of your character and your general attitude towards things. The sad thing is, we could all give you advice (which isn’t really that complicated) and you probably wouldn’t even think to act on it for 1 second when you’re in the situations you’ve described. Basically, it’s that old but glaringly true adage: how can you help a man who can’t help himself?

I bet you’ve seen like hardly any gains since you started lifting (making the HUGE assumption you even lift).

You need to be able to go out and have a few beers, and then call it a night. If you can’t, that’s called a drinking problem.

I’m probably about the same age as you, and I’ve been a hard drinker for a long time. I’m hitting the age now where that’s starting to change because other things are beginning to take priority over getting shitty. That, and I did the same thing you did - got too drunk on several occasions and really did some things I regret - and it made me begin to change my drinking habits.

Getting wild every once in a while isn’t going to kill you, but doing it too much is where the problems will start.

[quote]ShakeWeight wrote:
I am in my mid-late 20s and seem to have an issue with binge drinking. I think it’s primarily due to my social circle and the drinking habits of friends rubbing off on me.

I only drink occasionally. I don’t crave alcohol and never have a desire to drink unless it’s a social event where everyone else is drinking. I have gone 2-3 months before without drinking on multiple occasions just to focus on weight training.

But, when I do end up drinking around others who are drinking heavy, I seem to lack any sort of self-control, get completely wasted, and act like an idiot. This isn’t much different than the other guys, but I seem to be the only one who’s concerned about the risks.

I’ve recognized this problem in the past. I started drinking more moderately for a while which worked well, but I eventually find myself around the wrong crowd and I end up getting smashed out of peer pressure or just a desire to be on the same inebriation level as others.

Do I need to swear off alcohol for life? Or, do I need to change the people I surround myself with and become more mature around alcohol?
[/quote]

You need to gain some self-confidence. The problem isn’t with your social group or the alcohol, it’s you. You drink heavily because you feel inadequate without doing so. You aren’t comfortable being around people who are shitfaced all the time, but you lack the self-confidence to simply leave and so you drink like they do. It’s pretty normal to not enjoy hanging around a bunch of people who are on the oblivion train when you aren’t. There’s nothing wrong with being uncomfortable in that sort of situation.

But you deal with that social anxiety by drinking. It’s good that you seem to have the desire to grow out of that phase in your life. it’s unfortunate that your friends are not outgrowing that phase, but why subject yourself to that shit if you don’t want to. Find a new group of friends or hang out with your current group when they aren’t drinking. If they have a problem with you not drinking with them then they aren’t very good friends to begin with and you won’t be missing anything.

Ur willpower is pussy.

I used to be a pretty solid binge drinker (seem to have issues with addictive behaviours in general, part of the reason I’ll never start smoking or doing drugs, the potential end result scares the shit out of me). Though, unlike you, my friends didn’t necessarily need to be getting shittered as well for me to go over the top. And I really didn’t like the person I became when I started drinking, especially since it seemed like whenever I started drinking I lost control and went nuts. Thankfully didn’t drink too often, but when I did, well . . . you all know how it is.

So I quit outright. Gave myself one last chance to prove I could have some sort of self control (admittedly it wasn’t the best time to do it, it was a friend’s bachelor party) and failed that test miserably. Woke up the next morning feeling like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag and not remembering anything from the night before. Haven’t had a drink since. That was just over a year ago. I actually started a thread on here about quitting drinking, I could find it if you want.

[quote]ShakeWeight wrote:

I’ve recognized this problem in the past…

[/quote]

Problem?

OP, please delete your account. You dont belong in our community.

GTFO.

tweet

You need to shift your focus in your evening towards…girls. Girls fall in love with their ears and drunken idiots don’t make the cut. Change the focus of your nights to hitting on as many girls as possible and set some rules:

  1. The purpose of the night is girls.
  2. Drink can only be consumed in so far as it helps you obtain girls. You must be clear headed all night so you can work on your game. Maybe you should not drink so you can drive your conquests?
  3. You cannot have another drink unless you have chatted to another ‘group’ of girls at the very least.
  4. Just like sports, practice improves results.

Hangovers or blowjobs? You choose!

BTW, Yes I did this…

Unless it’s affecting your goals and relationships negatively, who cares. Have fun. If you feel the need to quit, quit. Including the boozing parties. Not that difficult.

[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
This says a lot about the strength of your character and your general attitude towards things. The sad thing is, we could all give you advice (which isn’t really that complicated) and you probably wouldn’t even think to act on it for 1 second when you’re in the situations you’ve described. Basically, it’s that old but glaringly true adage: how can you help a man who can’t help himself?

I bet you’ve seen like hardly any gains since you started lifting (making the HUGE assumption you even lift). [/quote]

X2

I’ve seen it countless times here and in real life. A person airs his issue out in the open, hoping for advice (attention grabber), when he hasn’t put his own balls to the wall significantly enough to fix his own problem.

You’re in your mid-late 20s. You’re an adult. If you want to stop binge drinking, just fucking STOP.

[quote]TheJonty wrote:
I used to be a pretty solid binge drinker (seem to have issues with addictive behaviours in general, part of the reason I’ll never start smoking or doing drugs, the potential end result scares the shit out of me). Though, unlike you, my friends didn’t necessarily need to be getting shittered as well for me to go over the top. And I really didn’t like the person I became when I started drinking, especially since it seemed like whenever I started drinking I lost control and went nuts. Thankfully didn’t drink too often, but when I did, well . . . you all know how it is.

So I quit outright. Gave myself one last chance to prove I could have some sort of self control (admittedly it wasn’t the best time to do it, it was a friend’s bachelor party) and failed that test miserably. Woke up the next morning feeling like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag and not remembering anything from the night before. Haven’t had a drink since. That was just over a year ago. I actually started a thread on here about quitting drinking, I could find it if you want.[/quote]

Hey buddy, that is really awesome to hear! I drank a lot when I was like 20ish and then when I got a bit older I drank maybe once every couple of months, nothing major.
Last June I decided that drinking has never done anything good for me in my entire life and I vowed to never drink again. Have not looked back since.
Feels good man.

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
This says a lot about the strength of your character and your general attitude towards things. The sad thing is, we could all give you advice (which isn’t really that complicated) and you probably wouldn’t even think to act on it for 1 second when you’re in the situations you’ve described. Basically, it’s that old but glaringly true adage: how can you help a man who can’t help himself?

I bet you’ve seen like hardly any gains since you started lifting (making the HUGE assumption you even lift). [/quote]

X2

I’ve seen it countless times here and in real life. A person airs his issue out in the open, hoping for advice (attention grabber), when he hasn’t put his own balls to the wall significantly enough to fix his own problem.

You’re in your mid-late 20s. You’re an adult. If you want to stop binge drinking, just fucking STOP.[/quote]

my friend who’s entire family has drinking problems, which first off would maybe wanna make my firend not go down the road of his dad and such… but no. Every time he would drink, say im going to just drink alittle, have 15-20 drinks, get blackout, piss everyone off. The next morning, it was the same shit everyime, oooo i need to stop drinking guys ooo i really need to change. EVERYONE listened, EVERYONE offered supoort. Still, kept drinking, being sorry doesnt mean shit if you dont plan to change.

It took him drinking so much he ended up in a pile of his own vomit, paid a cab driver 60$ for a 20$ ride, almost gettign arrested and ruining his stomach from alchohal for this kid to slow down.

So, OP, either fucking stop doing what you dont like or dont. But dont act like you cant.

Stop going out to bars/clubs, or only allow yourself to do so once a month-ish.

If you DO just wanna hook up with random chicks and that’s why you go to those places, well we can’t really help ya. If you go out just to hang with friends, maybe you should find friends that have greater goals in life than that.

My Mom always told me our family was genetically disposed to drinking problems, smoking, etc. I smoked pretty consistently on and off for a year or so, like 1-3 smokes a day. Then I decided to stop smoking. I drink usually once a week or so, 1-2 drinks, and that’s it. For a time I drank more, and to stop that, I stopped putting myself in social situations where that’s encouraged. Figure out where and when you are prone to said behaviour, and if you wanna eliminate that behaviour, get rid of the situation that encourages it. Done son.

Thanks, some good advice here. Considering that I don’t have uncontrollable alcohol cravings that would require serious treatment, it really is a matter of put up or shut up. I’ll leave it at that.

[quote]ShakeWeight wrote:
I am in my mid-late 20s and seem to have an issue with binge drinking. I think it’s primarily due to my social circle and the drinking habits of friends rubbing off on me.

I only drink occasionally. I don’t crave alcohol and never have a desire to drink unless it’s a social event where everyone else is drinking. I have gone 2-3 months before without drinking on multiple occasions just to focus on weight training.

But, when I do end up drinking around others who are drinking heavy, I seem to lack any sort of self-control, get completely wasted, and act like an idiot. This isn’t much different than the other guys, but I seem to be the only one who’s concerned about the risks.

I’ve recognized this problem in the past. I started drinking more moderately for a while which worked well, but I eventually find myself around the wrong crowd and I end up getting smashed out of peer pressure or just a desire to be on the same inebriation level as others.

Do I need to swear off alcohol for life? Or, do I need to change the people I surround myself with and become more mature around alcohol?

[/quote]

Ironic, as my last post was regarding hangovers. I, too, seldom drink because I have roaring alcoholics in my family. I generally have a “two drink” limit, and stick to it.

But, yeah, some social situations it’s difficult to avoid.

One approach I used in the Army was to drink Miller/Bud/Cors lite only. At my height/body weight, I literally can’t drink that swill fast enough to get a buzz.

[quote]BootScootBoogy wrote:
Unless it’s affecting your goals and relationships negatively, who cares. Have fun. If you feel the need to quit, quit. Including the boozing parties. Not that difficult.[/quote]

So HoustonGuy, why did you change your avatar and screen name?