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Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby
Yeah, you're right. I think when folks think of dependency, they go what they feel is deep deep destruction addiction. When in reality there are A LOT more high functioning alcoholics than many realize. To be honest this question is why I wanted to slow down and likely cut it out nearly completely. Over the pandemic, before I started on antidepressants, it made me realize how much I was self-medicating, and it became a routine. I'm happy to be on this side of it, but yeah, I agree. I genearlly agree most folks don't realize they've crossed the threshold into having a problem.
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So true. People tend to associate alcoholics or alcohol addiction with movie characters like Nic Cage from Leaving Las Vegas or William H Macy in Shameless but those are the extreme cases.
Or they think of extreme drug addicts like Bubbles in the Wire.
But like most things on movies and tv, the nuance of addiction and dependency is totally lost. So often it’s more related to other issues and self medicating but doesn’t become fully destructive the way media has conditioned us to think. There’s such a wide spectrum.
As for quitting, OP there are no shortage of non alcoholic beers available and more places carry them all the time. They’re about as expensive as regular beer but it may help you avoid feeling like the odd man out if all your friends are drinking.
If motivation is a factor, I used an app when I quit smoking that tracked the number of days since I last smoked and gave me little tidbits about the health benefits. I imagine you could find something similar for booze if you were so inclined.
Good luck!