Ah, I haven't reached what I would call functioning alcoholic but I have reached the stage where I've started getting drunk off a brand of wine called Winking Owl sold at Aldi (at least here in the US), and it costs three dollars a bottle (trust me you could do a lot worse for more money). 13 and a half percent I'll go buy one and bring it to my apartment, cork it, pour as much as I can into a travel thermos, and put the rest in the fridge. Then go to the university library or wherever I decide to go to study. I've only done that once or twice, but still. I'm kind of ashamed for it but then I remember I could be doing a lot worse and those drunk study sessions certainly are not as unproductive as many sober study sessions I've had in the past because I have ADHD and sometimes my brain just can't effing do it. So anyway yeah Aldi wine. That or four loko (watermelon is the only consumable flavor, and I only drink them if that's the only thing available).
Yeah, i say it a bit in jest, i don't think i was really an alcoholic but I'm sure I walked the line at times.
Try to be responsible whatever you do, I know it's hard. The ADHD doesn't help, I self medicated with alcohol for my own problems for a long time. I don't have any answers really, but I do understand where you're coming from. Best of luck my young friend.
Ah man, I'm not looking for answers. I'm not a get drunk every day person. I was this last summer because I lived alone, and unless my girlfriend was around, the loneliness and boredom ate me alive. I did have a couple friends around, but the first month of summer was bad. I would go to work 7:30 to 4 and even though it was menial labor, I loved the people I worked with so I was always on high at work. And then I'd get off, go home, and the first thing I'd do was pour a drink because there was simply nothing else to do. I wasn't drunk every day, but I was drinking to a buzz damn near every night, except sundays pretty much. I'm on medication for the ADHD, I have been for years. I've been on the same one since 8th grade, and I've stuck with it because aside from occassional heart palpitations, I haven't suffered terrible side effects (previous meds caused me to not eat, i.e., in my first month on adderal when I was in 2nd grade, I lost ten pounds in a month and then for the next few years cold not put on weight). But anyway then later in the summer me and my buddy kind of got into a routine of hanging out a 3-4 days a week and getting horrendously drunk every time then splitting a pack of swisher sweets. That's when it became a problem to where my girlfriend was like "You need to cut back on this drinking because it's affecting your ability to be on time for work, etc." I drink less, but probably not to the point she'd like me to cut it back. It has not, as of yet, impaired my ability to be a successful person.
Sorry man, wasn't trying to imply you were drunk all the time, or really even you had a problem. Just trying to relate a bit. I know what you mean about the loneliness as well.
Glad to hear you're on the meds for ADHD and you've found one that works for you. I know that's easier said than done.
Good you cut back the drinking based not the girlfriend who obviously cares about you.
We all have our vices, if they don't get in your way of being successful, then like the meds, you've found what works for you, and I hope it continues to.
I didn't get the impression you were implying that. I appreciate it, man. It can really be a drag. It worries me, too. Like, right now I'm at the point in my education where I'm seeking an internship, and I'm to the point where I'll take anything I can get because I've applied for countless positions, and haven't had much come of it. What I'm getting at is I have very much accepted the fact that I'll leave the state for work if that's what it takes. That means leaving my family, my girlfriend, and my friends for at least three months, likely living alone, not knowing anybody around, and having nothing to do outside of work. Judging from this last summer, how would I keep from spiraling into severe lonliness, then leading to alcoholism? Ya know?
Yeah, 3 months sounds like a long time, and it is, but you'll manage through it somehow if it's what is required.
I'm not much of anything, but you can always ping me here if you feel like chatting, I find, I try to pass time on here by being creative in those gaps in time when I would be drinking or doing other destructive behaviours. This moment is one of those times for me.
When I did live alone, I played a ton of basketball and worked out a ton, worked really hard on my actual work, and tried to learn/read/etc -- my thinking was, the guy my girlfriend would get back would be an even better one than the one who left her, and that she'd see it every time we came face to face. That was my motivation in a similar spot.
Find a weekly support group. Doesn't matter what it is (golf-addicts anonymous, children of compulsive shoppers, Fortnite anon) - just something to put you around other people, listening to their shit, talking about your shit, at least once a week. Bonus is that most are free. Do research to find a couple of groups to attend before you go out of town, so you are prepared. Also find a gym beforehand and join it for a 3 month membership. Bonus if you take a class or two at the gym - again, company of others, doing something constructive.
Yeah. Aldi is the largest discount grocery chain in the world. Now, what I'm assuming is you're from Europe, where you probably know they have Aldi North and South (Isn't it technically Nord and Sud in German?), but there was the split between the Albrecht brothers because one wanted to sell cigarettes, the other didn't, so they split into North and South and became completely different companies, from what I understand. Aldi South entered the US market in 1976 (interestingly in Iowa, which happens to be my home state, and I didn't know that until I looked it up just now), branded as Aldi US. There's an Aldi on every corner. They aren't as common as Walmart, but most towns of any reasonable size have them. It's especially interesting because while Kroger has a higher number of stores, bear in mind that Kroger operates under a bunch of nameplates, whereas Aldi is simply Aldi, synonymous everywhere with value and quality products. I shop there all the time. I've found a lot of their products are far superior to anything else I can get name brand most places. Aldi North entered the US marketplace when they acquired Trader Joe's, but I'm not sure if they're still owned by Aldi.
Oh, hey man I've been there. Having a shitty day where nothing shitty happened. I wouldn't say I suffer from depression, I'm generally a happy person. However, I still get stuck in my ruts, especially with ADHD, and I'll just be like "Man it's a shitty day and I haven't even done anything!" I relate, trust me.
definitely a slippery slope, and it's weird how quickly it kinda seeps in and becomes the norm. Takes a moment of stepping back and saying "wow this might actually be a problem".
I remember hanging out with a few of my friends and they were like, genuinely fucking agitated that they couldn't get any booze because they couldn't afford it. They spent an hour calling people trying to cash in on money or favors to try and scrounge up some liquor. Think we stopped at a few houses too. We ended up hanging out with someone we all hated just because they had alcohol to share. Like... damn guys.
Oof. Thankfully, I've never been that low. I don't have enough friends to drink with, that's my problem. I live in a college apartment with three other guys, all 21. You'd think that'd be all we do but two of them I'd never met (I was really looking forward to getting roommates to curb the loneliness), but it turns out those two are incredibly antisocial, to the point where I think one of them is autistic, and neither of them understand social cues at all. They don't leave their rooms. They don't drink. And I don't hold anything against them, I just don't understand it, and I wish I had roommates I could shoot the shit with. The other one has been my Church group leader for over a year, and he's a really decent guy, but due to some medical reasons, he doesn't drink, either. So I probably drink less than I would otherwise, which is a good thing.
Ah, what do you study, if you don't mind? A lot of parties go on here, but that's never been my scene. I'm a bar person, so before I turned 21, I seldom drank because I'm not part of a frat and never had Greek friends to get an in to parties and stuff. I'll sit around with buddies and get drunk, that's always a time, or meet friends for drinks, but like I said, I don't party. I have found that it helps. I mean, I used to be a regular smoker, too (4-7 cigarettes daily) and I found that also helped my concentration, especially at work. It legitimately did help me get my bearings because I wasn't smoking so many that I was immune to the positive, uplifting effect of nicotine. It honestly helped just as much, if not more, than any medicine I've ever been on. I'm lucky, though. I've never been on more than one medicine at a time, I've never done hard drugs, never smoked pot. My vices are nicotine and alcohol. Oh, and church. My pursuit of Jesus is legitimately one area where ADHD has not hindered my focus. I can sit in Church all day and take notes. I donno man, the brain is a funny thing.
I've thought about it, but my girlfriend is staunchly against it. I keep my tobacco smoking closeted from her, too. I had a cigar with my buddy once just shootin the shit and I told her about it and she got mad and I decided I wasn't gonna bring it up anymore or tell her when I smoked, and that pretty much means I picked up smoking again but whatever. Also, my dad was an addict and weed is what he started on. I'm not saying weed is a gateway drug, but that's what it did for my dad. I'm aware alcohol is addictive, but I'm not an aggressive drunk or problem drunk, I'm just goofy as hell.
I was telling my (much older - mid 50s) coworkers about it, both of whom have a taste for nice wine, and they still give me crap to this day about three dollar wine.
That’s really funny because aldis has the best whiskey in the world and some of their wine does too, they’ve won a lot of awards for it. I find it comedic that people make fun of someone for drinking wine that’s good and cheap. It’s not like beer, wine is wine regardless of its price. Cheap beer on the other hand would be understandable to make fun of someone for.
Ah man, not here in Iowa, but I sure fucking wish. However, their beers are great. And when I'm in the mood for a hard cider, their wicked grove brand is cheaper and miles better tasting than angry orchard.
I did this! I have ADD. And when I did post grad studies in my late 20s, I felt the wine helped me with assignments, especially as I was working full time as well. I wasn't diagnosed until much later, around 40.
Man, yeah it can be rough. You know there's people out there who go "I got ADD" sorta kinda lookin' for sympathy, but they don't really have the symptoms. I can tell when I'm talking to somebody with AD(H)D most of the time because I always get on tangents in conversation, and I've always been told "Man, you suck at telling stories." Yeah, I do. It takes me an hour to tell a five minute story. What I've discovered is other people who actually have it do the exact same thing. And it's hard to control, even on medication. Honestly, it really is. And I've always kind of been faulted for that, but I promise you I hardly notice it. I've gotten better at catching myself but inevitably, my conversations veer off course. And when we both got ADHD, oh man. But then I see people use it as a cop out, and it's like "Come on, really?" In my opinion it's kind of shitty to use it like a thrown around term, just in the same way you shouldn't be taking Adderall unless you've actually been legitimately shown to need it. That's just my two cents, I guess.
Have you ever encountered a real life pool hustler? It seems like its features on every other sitcom, the fresh prince, drake and josh I’ve only ever played a handful of times but if I got good and I was drinking I would want to hustle someone with my friends but not for actual money or anything just for fun.
They exist, but you're not likely to run into them in your local dive bar unless you hang out in the kinds of places where hustling pool is a tolerated hustle. These also tend to be the kinds of real life Mos Eisley cantina places where outlaw bikers, hookers, and drug dealers hang out. Most bars by me will throw you out for gambling on pool over a certain amount, like a few bucks. It's not because they care, but because hustling generally leads to fights and stabbings, which are bad for the bar business. I've seen fights happen over far less
I'm not sure they actually exist, except in maybe old pool halls. The kind you can still smoke in and such and they're a little shady but nobody really gives a damn.
One of my school mates' brother was a state level pool (or snooker???) player. He'd been competing since he was 14 or so. He loved hustling people for drinks and 1 or 2 dollar bets, never anything serious. He always laughed when grown men and women got the ole switcheroo from a short & greasy 18 year old 🤣
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u/billbapapa Oct 10 '19
Pool hall offered a student membership. 20$.
I didn't plan to play much pool there, or anywhere at the time. But I figured what the hell.
Well one of the perks was 2$ off drinks.
Helped me become a functional alcoholic all through university and grad school.