What You Can Expect If You Drink For the Next, Say 5 to 15 Years

In my search for new sites dealing with alcoholism treatment and how to stop drinking, I came across this article by Samantha James. I think it is a good article dealing with expectations of long term drinking.  

By Samantha James

There is very little written that tells you what you can expect if you drink for the next, 5, 10, or 15 years. A few years in the life of an alcoholic.

Let’s get this straight for all of you doubters out there. Alcoholics do not plan to become alcoholics. It is not something they wanted to do. [tag-tec]Alcoholism[/tag-tec] is a disease recognized by the American Medical Association because it is chronic, and the progression of the disease is predictable.

So without preamble, here you are, addicted to alcohol. You have to have it, and you have to have it everyday. There is no question that it is the number one priority in your life, like it or not. So you drink every day as soon as your circumstances will allow it. This kind of drinking is not to achieve a warm, pleasant feeling. An alcoholic is unable to stop drinking after having the first one. So it’s a guaranteed drunk.

Let’s say you are in your 20′s or 30′s and you are drinking every day. Maybe you went to college, maybe you didn’t. Either way, if you aren’t there already, you are on your way to becoming unemployable.

So the days pass. Then the weeks, months, and years. And you are drinking everyday. You can’t afford to care too much about what people think or about how you’re spending your time. It’s just too painful. So you drink and function the best way you can. You try to feel good about the things you can still do, sometimes well. But you know you are way below par. Way below what you are capable of doing. But you just can’t stop drinking.

This is the part you will probably not notice. While you are spending your days drinking, everyone is getting on with their lives. They are making progress, and you don’t notice – at least not for a long time. Drinking is time consuming and all encompassing. And while others in your life are making strides, you just keep falling behind. How are you going to explain that big gap in your employment record to your next employer? Can you still fulfill the job duties you used to perform before the drinking took over, or have you kind of lost those skills over time?

How are your relationships? Do you have a significant other? Chances are the answer is probably not. Not too many men and women can tolerate that kind of behavior for long. And it’s hard to hide when it’s close up and personal. If you were married before the drinking really started, you may still be married, the relationship on a string.

We don’t realize when we are under the influence how boring we can be. That and sometimes belligerent. That doesn’t make for a lot of friends, that is unless they are in the same shape you are.

So the day comes that you are really able to sober up. Those big “voids” of time ex-alcoholics talk about (that used to be consumed with drinking) shouldn’t be a problem for you. You’ve got a lot of work to do to get back the life you left behind.

If you have a drinking problem: http://HowIStoppedDrinking.org

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