I Have A Drink Problem

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Since mid to late 2008 i have had a problem with drink, this is a problem thats gone on for around 4 years so a fair while. What happened at first was i used to drink a lot before and during social events in order to relax and be more confident and sociable, i find that without drinking i am just tense and won't talk to people. So this went on a while with me drinking heavily before and during social events/nights out/parties etc. But then i began to like the high as well. So i started to drink some days indoors just to escape and feel happy for a while. Over time i have gone from drinking heavily once or occasionally twice a week to 3 or 4 times a week. Its at the stage now where i just drink to feel normal/happy and escape the misery of my life. Sober i feel bored, lonely,fed up, just totally miserable and the time drags because there is just nothing in my life right now, i get up of a morning and all i have is a long day of nothing stretched ahead and so the only way to escape i to drink. When i buy my drink i am truly excited about getting stuck into it and escaping. But i am worried because i know i am drinking way too much, i can easily put away a 70cl bottle of vodka in one night, thats about 26 units, its a lot!! ! i know its gonna do damage to my body over time and i know its not great to rely on drink to feel happy. You get a high but it never lasts and then you have to repeat it again and again, as we speak i am on my second can of cider and already i am feeling better and slightly high. I am addicted now, i don't believe to alcohol itself but to the effect it has on me. I am so different when drunk, sober is just a chore, life is a chore and i rarely get much pleasure from it, getting high and escaping thru alcohol is my realease...... but i am worried!

The biggest thing you need to realize with addiction is that you've reached a point where the thing you're taking isn't giving you the comfort, but the fact you are taking "something" is.
You've come so used to the routine that filling in the routine itself gives you the peace of mind rather than the actual affects of the drug. It's a mental thing because you're body has already come so accustomed to the drug that you don't feel the physical difference from it any more other than what's caused by your mind. You should look for things to do that make you feel happy and safe in the same way the mental release from taking alcohol would give you, and start doing those things whenever you get an urge "which your body thinks comes from lack of alcohol" but instead is just your mental side looking for structure.

I'm not saying it's easy, it's reaaally hard, but by posting here you've already shown you're on a path to weight the good vs the bad.
The only good you have is the peace of mind, but that no longer comes from the drink itself, but from your own idea of how you must be now at peace once you take that first sip.
Harness the power behind that idea, stop listening to your body, and put your mind at ease directly instead.

I have a drink problem too... Gatorade or PowerAde?
I just can't make up my mind.

OK, now back to the original topic: I think it speaks volumes to your character to be able to recognize that you may have a problem and to be concerned about relying on alcohol for "release." Many alcoholics I know/knew cannot/could not see this.

Find a 12-step program or some other type of rehab if it's getting out of control.

instead of just stopping try slowly scaling back your intake to a normal level. buy smaller bottles if you have to.

Yeah, I guess 12 step programs seem to help a lot of folks.

Stop for the sake of your liver.

Yeah, drinking don't solve your problems but action does.
If you continue to drink, your putting your life at risk and eventually cutting it short.
If you want life to be better, your either going to ask for the relevant help and make the change or you don't care and just continue.
At the end of the day, if you really don't want to drink, it's down to you.

It's not the answer for everybody, though. Some people don't benefit from them at all.

I highly recommend you find yourself a counselor. You've got a lot of the red-flags of an addiction right there, and you know it. What you need to do is find reasons for "sober" to be a good way to live your life, so that you don't have to escape. People do things for a reason--you're drinking for a reason, to fill some kind of need. Whatever that is, you have to find some other way, some healthier way that won't cause the damage that drinking too much does.

You have a lot of insight with the "I'm addicted to the effect" statement--that's what we call psychological addiction; it means that, while you may or may not have a physical tolerance, you've grown to depend on it much more than is healthy. Psychological addiction is the heart of an addiction; anybody can sober up (especially with a doctor's help, which is recommended if you're drinking heavily and have been for a while). But in the time you've been using alcohol to "solve" your problems, you've gained a lot of habits that will be hard to break--now you'll have to find new, better ways to solve your problems, and find things to do instead of drinking. It's a huge change for anyone, and that's what makes it tough.

Worth it, though. And doable. Plenty of people have done it; so can you. Having a sensible counselor to help you can give you a big advantage. Some people benefit from support groups; others not. The important thing is that you do whatever you have to do to solve your own problem with addiction. Your own lack of willpower is a problem that you can understand and solve. Even relapses can teach you things that you can add to your mental library of defenses.

I've never had a physical addiction, but I do tend to cope in unhealthy ways. I know it can be hard to learn to deal with your problems in a better, more constructive manner--but I also know it can be done. You're worth it; life is worth it. I'm probably not even telling you anything you don't know already--you know you've got a problem and that you've got to start working on it. Defining the problem is half the answer, really. Good luck.

[I've moved the posts from the original thread in General Autism Discussion to this one and removed the GAD thread]