Stressed out/ Drinking etc.

[Brewster]

Has anyone dealt with this problem before. but maybe its not a problem..

It has to do with drinking. Even though sometimes I feel like it I am definitely not an alcoholic. I can go without drinking if I must and do quite often.

Lately I have been very stressed out at work and the only thing that takes my mind off of things is to kick back at the end of the day and throw a couple drinks back. (this is how my father did it, his a father and his father and on and on and on).

I feel like I have been conditioned through this site, media etc to frown upon this and make myself feel like this is bad.

Its hard to stop this because work pisses me off and if I don't have a couple drinks to relax then I will not sleep because all I think about is work and wake up pissed for this reason if I am lucky enough to sleep/ I don't know if anyone sees where I am going with this but I am not in a bad place just in a bit of a rut and wanted to hear some real opinions on how people are dealing in the real world. Everyone has there own way of dealing with shit. Is mine actually that bad

[GearHeaded]

it may not be a problem right now, but it eventually will be. drinking to deal with stress (or life problems/issues) is going to lead to a downward spiral that will be very very difficult to get out of. years down the road you may end up looking back to today and wished you'd never of drank in the first place. wither cause of health reasons, social problems, relationship problems, legal problems etc.
I've seen it time and time again with others as well as with myself.

couple of interesting points -
- a friend of mine who was a head ER nurse at a busy hospital once told me "if it wasn't for alcohol, there would be no need for an ER in the first place"
- 80% of violent crimes are committed under the influence
- 70% of people locked up in jail had alcohol and substance abuse problems

the legal system considers people that have a reliance on drugs or alcohol (to relieve stress or anxiety or cope with life) as a societal "problem" and your much more likely to be prosecuted and be seen as a criminal in their eyes (even if your not guilty of a crime.. all it takes is being intoxicated and thats reason enough for them to lock you up for something. and then force you to under go mental evaluation and anything else they demand).
alcohol consumption is perfectly legal. but the criminal justice system will use any of your use of alcohol against you.
if you develop a habit where you use alcohol multiple times a week to deal with your stress. your odds of ending up in prison for one thing or another (even if its the pettiest of crimes) is multiplied a hundred fold.

thats just one aspect.

personally, I used to enjoy a bit of whisky at night before bed to unwind and help me fall asleep. however, I found myself in a position where now, under court order, I'm not allowed to consume alcohol at all and have to take a piss test every other week for the court to make sure I'm not drinking.
I'm in this position because I relied on alcohol to deal with my stress. I did this in the privacy of my home in the evenings. yet even in the privacy of your own home, drinking alcohol can be turned against you.
IF I was never in a position where drinking to unwind at night became a habit for me, I'd never of had the legal issues that arose from that.

one small perspective on the matter. theres a lot more that can be said

[GearHeaded]

just to put a legal issue in perspective here..

lets say you were at home drinking to relax for the evening like you always do. and you decide you want to wash your car in your driveway. now lets say you pull your car out of the driveway so you can back it back up to wash it, but as your backing out you hit the fire hydrant thats on the edge of your property. ok no biggy.
but the fire dept gets called by a neighbor. then ultimately the cops come to because of the property damage. well the cops smell alcohol on your breath. YOU are NOW automatically a criminal in their eyes. you get arrested and put in jail. you speak with a lawyer and find out you may be facing up to 5 years in prison. why? thats nuts.. well because you had alcohol in your system, and operated your vehicle, and ended up destroying public property you are now faced with a major felony.

^ you see.. its "alcohol" that turned a very simple situation into something major. heck if it wasn't for the alcohol, you may of just got a ticket and paid a fine for the hydrant damage. but because of alcohol, you now just ruined your entire life and your families life.
this type of stuff happens all the time.

your odds of something this horrible happening (even though backing your car into a fire hydrant isn't a horrible thing) are magnified hundreds of fold, simply by the fact that you chose to be a steady drinker of alcohol to deal with stress multiple times per week.

just something to think about.

[Old Duffer]

Gift or curse

I now consider myself lucky that because of my pussified stomach I've never gotten into alcohol. Way too many negatives

Not judging. Just not my thing

[GearHeaded]

Gift or curse

I now consider myself lucky that because of my pussified stomach I've never gotten into alcohol. Way too many negatives

Not judging. Just not my thing

well the good thing for you Old Duffer is if you ever back into a fire hydrant you'll like get a small ticket rather then going to prison, simply because you don't drink.

Alcohol is perfectly legal to purchase. heck its encouraged to be purchased. BUT consuming alcohol can be heavily criminalized.
our corrupt system wants you to buy it so they can collect the tax revenue, then when you consume it they have justifiable cause to turn you into a criminal and heavily fine and penalize you so they can collect more revenue. and all the judges, cops, lawyers, etc.. and everyone else involved in your criminalization in consuming it makes a paycheck off of you as well.
its all a corrupt system to get money out of you or turn you into a criminal so they can further own your ass.

[Obs]

My father drank for years.
Aided in depression after many years that basically made him defeated. He has no drive and finally got a DUI that cost him his liscense and livelyhood.

It took years but it caught upvwith him.

I lectured him a million times on how to stop possing his life away but the beer tasted better I guess. The habit increased until it took away damn near everything.

My advice would be to trade it in for something else.
When I am feeling weak, tired, and stressed I like to punish myself by doing productive thing I had otherwise put off.

I tie one on once in a while but that is rare.
I spent enough time drunk doing dumb things that I get severe anxiety for days after I get drunk. A hangover puts me in the "oh fuck what did I do!?" Frame of mind.

Its a lot of trouble.
I had a pastor early on in my marriage tell me he didn't have any problem with drinking or see it as wrong, but he said we all have seen budweiser destroy a lot more families than it ever put together.

I really agreed.
I really thought man... Thats some seriously true shit there.

Then I remembered how fucked up I was at the night club where I met the mother of my children lmao

[Proximal]

Brewster, good luck negotiating a very slippery slope.

To me personally, it depends upon what counterbalances in life that you have for the drinking (or any chemical far that matter).

It’s not a problem, unless it controls you, versus the opposite.

Have been “throwing a few drinks back” EVERY night for about 41 years now.

Have been fortunate, life’s counterbalances have been stronger - but then, I made sure I put myself in that position. Guess I have my shit handled in that respect.

Once again, good luck to you - don’t slip & fall.

[BG]

Time to start looking for a new job.

[Capebuffalo]

It’s a slippery slope. I started out doing the same. A couple of drinks to relax. Then one more until it was half a 1/5 of vodka a night. Then I was hiding it from my family. Finding creative was to drink. Waking up feeling like shit telling myself if you can make it to 5 pm you can start drinking again. Almost lost my family. Thanks to God I pulled out of it. But it went on for years. Find another way to deal. You think you control it until you realize it’s controlling you.

[diesel101]

I have never been a drinker to relieve stress and I very seldom drink anymore other than 1 or 2 socially every couple of months.
There is a thousand ways to deal with every day stress in my opinion but alcohol seems to be the one that people go to.

A lot of my days are very stressful between employees, business, building projects,contractors etc.
Yes the gym is my #1 stress reliever but I have many other things to help relieve stress when I get home.
I will go out and run a few magazines through a pistol target shooting to calm myself.
I love to fish and hunt I will go out and sit in my boat in my shop and tie lures or just mess around organizing things(The boat is my happy place)
I always have a couple of mechanics projects going, currently restoring a tractor that my grandpa bought in 1951. I have been working on this for 2 years and it will probably take me another 6 to finish it but it takes things off my mind when working on it.
Jump on the bike and set the cruise at 85 crank up Hollywood undead and just drive for an hour.

Like I mentioned there are many ways to deal with stress just find one that will not cause you problems in the long run.

[David LoPan]

I stopped drinking hard liquor but I love beer. I like to make it, try new ones and sometimes have too many watching a game. Seldom do I drink a beer to relieve stress. There are too many calories in alcohol to drink daily. You will find this out more and more the older you get. It also will impack your training in a negitive way. If you are just drinking to relieve stress than you have a issue with stress and drinking will not help it. You need an alternitive way to deal with stress brother. Only drink when you will enjoy it.

You might want to pick up the book or audiobook called The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

[EDCG19]

I don't really drink alcohol when stress comes up so I can't comment on that but i think there's nothing wrong with drinking a few after work as long as you do control it and are not depending on it every time
I noticed I did have a "weed" problem some time ago when stress came up and it was my coping mechanism for some time to just get some weed. same thing as the alcohol you begin to develop this habit where you need it to cope

If its bothering you that much just go to the gym and move some weight around its more productive than alcohol anyway and best of all it can help take your mind off of things (not always but you get what im saying)

[Couchlockd]

Anything habitual that can cause dependancy is not good to do.

I been talking 2.5mg Valium to sleep for almost 3 months.

I used them all up last week.

Guess what? I was slightly physically dependant on them , I just now feel ok from not having them.

Food for thought.

[Brewster]

I appreciate all the responses. By no means am I looking for someone to say. Ya bro drink it’s good for you. Haha

Just wanted to open up a talk track because I feel like it is something I have been dealing with my whole life. I just like to drink. I am not an angry drunk by any means. The only trouble I have got in is doing something stupid. Flashing my dick, throwing a can of gasoline into a campfire when no one was watching and when it exploded acting like everyone else being like I have no idea what happened. (No one was near the fire)

I just know everyone here has a similar outlook on life because we are all obviously in the same game.

[Proximal]

I appreciate all the responses. The only trouble I have got in is doing something stupid. Flashing my dick, throwing a can of gasoline into a campfire when no one was watching and when it exploded acting like everyone else being like I have no idea what happened.

Yeah, you’re slipping down the slippery slope, sorry to inform you.

You’ve involved others in your “habit”. If you keep your shit to yourself & can function in life; cool. You’re not, get help kid.

[Fiskevatten]

I also have generations of alcohol issues in the family.
Each and everyone of my family and relatives except my sisters use alcohol or anti-dep or both.
This has broken the family to pieces sloooowly and messed up all the kids (incl myself) because with alcohol comes actions sooner or later, or the opposite - no action at all and become extremely distant.

Alcohol causes depression and/ or aggression in the longrun, so I truly recommend you to not go down that path.
Have you ever heard "if alcohol was invented today it would be illegal"? It's for a good reason.

You gotta remove the negatives, no matter what it takes!
Loose the damn job if that is the source, if you don't have the money to do so, then ask around for help.
Hell, move to another country if you have to.
Because if alcohol is the main source for your short escape or happiness, then I reccon you don't have that much of a quality life and need changes.

We are here buddy! Just lay it out and ask and we will do our best to give you our opinions on the matter.

[teejey]

I used to drink everyday because of stress then i realized it killed my natural testosterone levels and was counterproductive to my goals.

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[Proximal]

I used to drink everyday because of stress then i realized it killed my natural testosterone levels and was counterproductive to my goals.

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Then inject more to balance the deficit. Isn't this a forum for steroids ?