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I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

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Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#181

Post by mightymouse07 »

mason55 wrote: post #134
seanccox wrote: post #65

Have you sought help? Alcohol is an addictive chemical, and if you have a dependency, you don't have to overcome it alone. If, on the other hand, you are like me an you simply drink too much, I can share how I got the situation under control. First, I threw out a lot of the liquor in the house (I kept the good whiskey that I was already saving for a special occasion). Then, I stopped going out to bars as often and, t…

> I also took up yoga in the mornings. I like yoga, but if I drink the night before, I won't feel like waking up for it. So, I remind myself before I go out to a pub or meet friends that if I drink, I'm screwing up my routine Fitness did it for me as well. Lifting weights, running, krav maga, all of it sucks when I'm hungover. Plus it's easy to tell that my performance suffers which devalues the time in the gym. I ha…

This is Great advice! I think op and myself can handle a single day and maybe 2 with the third being the hardest. I know for a fact that exercise helps a lot but taking these three days to really get it in and leave the weekend for the fun is super. Once I start seeing results from the exercise I know I'll want to get in more workouts over time. A great way to slowly wind down the drinking without the anxiety and other symptoms of withdraw.

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#182

Post by mightymouse07 »

mason55 wrote: post #134
seanccox wrote: post #65

Have you sought help? Alcohol is an addictive chemical, and if you have a dependency, you don't have to overcome it alone. If, on the other hand, you are like me an you simply drink too much, I can share how I got the situation under control. First, I threw out a lot of the liquor in the house (I kept the good whiskey that I was already saving for a special occasion). Then, I stopped going out to bars as often and, t…

> I also took up yoga in the mornings. I like yoga, but if I drink the night before, I won't feel like waking up for it. So, I remind myself before I go out to a pub or meet friends that if I drink, I'm screwing up my routine Fitness did it for me as well. Lifting weights, running, krav maga, all of it sucks when I'm hungover. Plus it's easy to tell that my performance suffers which devalues the time in the gym. I ha…

This is Great advice! I think op and myself can handle a single day and maybe 2 with the third being the hardest. I know for a fact that exercise helps a lot but taking these three days to really get it in and leave the weekend for the fun is super. Once I start seeing results from the exercise I know I'll want to get in more workouts over time. A great way to slowly wind down the drinking without the anxiety and other symptoms of withdraw.

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#183

Post by mightymouse07 »

mason55 wrote: post #134
seanccox wrote: post #65

Have you sought help? Alcohol is an addictive chemical, and if you have a dependency, you don't have to overcome it alone. If, on the other hand, you are like me an you simply drink too much, I can share how I got the situation under control. First, I threw out a lot of the liquor in the house (I kept the good whiskey that I was already saving for a special occasion). Then, I stopped going out to bars as often and, t…

> I also took up yoga in the mornings. I like yoga, but if I drink the night before, I won't feel like waking up for it. So, I remind myself before I go out to a pub or meet friends that if I drink, I'm screwing up my routine Fitness did it for me as well. Lifting weights, running, krav maga, all of it sucks when I'm hungover. Plus it's easy to tell that my performance suffers which devalues the time in the gym. I ha…

This is Great advice! I think op and myself can handle a single day and maybe 2 with the third being the hardest. I know for a fact that exercise helps a lot but taking these three days to really get it in and leave the weekend for the fun is super. Once I start seeing results from the exercise I know I'll want to get in more workouts over time. A great way to slowly wind down the drinking without the anxiety and other symptoms of withdraw.

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#184

Post by nijo108 »

resdirector wrote: post #55
subversively wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all. You can take Ritalin and Adderall, but that will give you the personality of an accountant and take away your creative problem solving skills.

I'll bite. This hasn't been my experience nor the experience of anyone I know who uses Ritalin or Aderall (or Dexedrine). YMMV

I agree, amphetamine/methamphetamine really boost my creativity and productivity, however it was too much for me to handle. I have experienced some of the most intense mental breakthroughs and produced some of my most creative works with speed, but it takes it's toll in a heavy way, atleast if you go at it like I did. I am just now starting to feel normal again 6-months later after recovering from a 3-month speed fueled intellectual adventure that landed me in the mental hospital twice due to psychosis. I think there is a reason our minds are calibrated with particular dopamine and neurotransmitter levels, when we alter these levels we see the amazing potential of the human mind, but the brain hardware can't handle it unfortunately. Addiction is hard, now I am back to coding (sober) and I find myself thinking about having a bump whenever I feel unmotivated, which is often.

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#185

Post by yoodenvranx »

mkhattab wrote: post #40

I'm an escapist. Whether it's movies, youtube, video games, literally anything that is unproductive, I'll spend an inordinate time doing. Luckily, I don't drink or do any drugs, but I might as well since I'm pissing my life away. It is as if I'm stuck in neutral. However, I do make just enough money to get by. The odd thing is that I can't pinpoint why I'm this way. It wasn't always like this. I guess reason doesn't…

You are describing the last 15 years of my life... And i am only 30...

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#186

Post by negativity »

Snail_Commando wrote: post #178
negativity wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He means drinking doesn't get better, so stop drinking. He doesn't mean "life itself."

> He means drinking doesn't get better, so stop drinking. He doesn't mean "life itself." I feel like you either didn't read my comment or you didn't read OP's comment history. It's not as easy as "...so stop drinking." Someone who has gotten to OP's stage in their addiction has a tough road ahead. It's a road that takes more than rote Hacker News pedantry to traverse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens It…

Okay, fair enough. I can't claim to know his precise meaning, unless he personally clarifies. That's my interpretation of his words, in the form of: {

  var it = "drinking";
  corollary(it, "stop ${it}, because ${it}, doesn't get better");
} ...but you certainly could be equally right, given his reference to Phil Katz.

My hopes are biased towards OP trying to make the statement: "do stop drinking", but hopefully not living in such a state where he believes, and proclaims a statement such as: "life is not worth living"

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#187

Post by aestra »

stan_rogers wrote: post #69
marlin wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Religion is no better substitute to alcoholism!

The vocabulary of AA is unfortunate. It has a historical underpinning (AA is essentially a single-purpose offshoot of an oddball "first century Christianity" feel-good movement) and it is incredibly difficult to find a way clear of the "AA cult" within AA. While I don't like it, I can (to a limited extent) understand it - people who have recovered are highly reluctant to mess with the program as they understand it. T…

>can be divorced from the idea of the supernatural, and actually boil down to an effective cognitive/behavioural therapy.

So lets stop it with all the mumbo jumbo crap and go to real CBT.

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#188

Post by caymaness »

The thing that helped me the most was to simply accept that I was not alone in my pain/struggles. For far too long did I imagine that my pain was unique. Once I opened up to friends I found, to my surprise, that many people were going through a very similar type of strife. Accepting that you are not alone is a major first step towards recovery.

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#189

Post by dave_sullivan »

aestra wrote: post #167
dave_sullivan wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that Penn and Teller thing is horrible. About 3:30 when they're reading from the AA book -- "I admit that I am powerless over alcohol" as Teller makes fun like it's the stupidest idea ever. A lot of the people you'll find in AA really do need to admit they're powerless over alcohol. That's no joke. But Penn and Teller readily admit they've never had a drink in their lives (it was a choice we made, a path we neve…

>And for all the people bitching about how AA is religious -- it's not! The "higher power" thing is more of a philosophy than a religion. Bull-fucking-shit. I've read the AA "big book" (enough of it that I could stand). It is a religious book. The part about non-believers is especially offensive - to me. It quotes from the Bible, it explicitly refers to the Judeo-Christian God. Many court have ruled people can't be f…

Try going to an AA meeting and saying you're an atheist--you'll find plenty others present.

Your friend avoids getting help because he's an addict, not because he's offended by the 12 step program.

You would suggest doing nothing in the absence of a perfect solution? That is awfully convenient if you're a fan of getting high...

Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem

#190

Post by [deleted] »

aestra wrote: post #145
Snail_Commando wrote: post #139

I don't know if you'll see this, but I hope you do. I've struggled with addiction and I've made decisions that I'm ashamed of and disgusted with. There was a period of my life when I was also hopeless. I thought that I had lost everything. In a sense, it was true. (Rather, I destroyed most of what I had and subsequently lost the remaining pieces.) Despite all of that, it does get better. It took me far too long to ac…

>Alcohol withdrawal can kill late stage addicts This is correct and very very important. Your brain is physically changed. Alcohol's primary effect is the increase in stimulation of the GABAA receptor, promoting central nervous system depression. With repeated heavy consumption of alcohol, these receptors are desensitized and reduced in number, resulting in tolerance and physical dependence. When alcohol consumption…

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