Should I be using the A word (alcoholic) when all I'm trying to do is manage depression?

[BluesRunTheGame]

My depression was at it's most severe in long-term abstinence (summer 2019 - summer 2020). It lessens when I drink cos I like drink. I've made a semi-career out of being a bartender; I really want to go back to it after this lockdown. It all makes me feel alive, you see. The alcohol, the power you feel being behind the bar and, frankly, the hot young barmaids you get to work with.

Does that make me a pig?

 

[WornOutLife]

No, it doesn't make you a pig at all.
Alcohol and "working out when I miraculously feel like doing it" are the only things helping me out to deal with this depression.

I mean, what other choice do we have? Be sober 100% and suffer and be even MORE SUICIDAL than usual? No way!

 

[Deathbydemo]

No, it doesn't make a pig at all. If that's what makes you happy and gives you a reason to stay, then so be it.

 

[awfullife]

I am an alcoholic and can attest that alcohol contributes to anxiety and also depression. Then again, I'm terribly depressed even with no alcohol but it is what it is. My life would be even worse with alcohol. Good luck mate.

 

[Spiral]

My depression was at it's most severe in long-term abstinence (summer 2019 - summer 2020). It lessens when I drink cos I like drink. I've made a semi-career out of being a bartender; I really want to go back to it after this lockdown. It all makes me feel alive, you see. The alcohol, the power you feel being behind the bar and, frankly, the hot young barmaids you get to work with.

Does that make me a pig?

I am struggling with the exact same issue. I was a cocktail bartender before lockdown, I was also an alcoholic for more than 18 years. During lockdown I got sober and quit smoking too I'm not going to lie, it sucks. My mental health has also got worse. Alcohol doesn't actually make it better though, it just makes me not care for the time while I am drunk, it also makes me do things I regret which leads to more guilt and self-loathing etc. it's a vicious cycle. I had a love-hate relationship with bartending, the creativity part was my fav but it does have serious negative effects on health and mental health. Just the drinking makes us not notice XD

I feel like i am the frog and bartending is the pot:
The boiling frog is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly.

Ps. no, it does not make you a pig.

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

Alcohol doesn't actually make it better though

I def feel both my creativity and lust for life go sky high when I drink though.

 

[Spiral]

I def feel both my creativity and lust for life go sky high when I drink though.

And how do you feel in the morning?

For me, I love the feeling of being half-cut and I miss it every day since I got sober, I just don't love the memories of the stupid/ embarrassing stuff I do when I'm really drunk. Recently I just knew I had gone too far. If you feel happy and if you feel like the pros of drinking outweigh the cons then why not?

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

And how do you feel in the morning?

For me, I love the feeling of being half-cut and I miss it every day since I got sober, I just don't love the memories of the stupid/ embarrassing stuff I do when I'm really drunk. Recently I just knew I had gone too far. If you feel happy and if you feel like the pros of drinking outweigh the cons then why not?

It might not be ideal but I almost love the next day as much as the binge. As long as there's no work (no issue now cos I'm unemployed), I make sure I've got the perfect junk food in, and will just leave the house to get a six pack to taper down that evening, watching goofy TV/films all night. After that the next day I tend to feel relatively sober and normal.

 

[Spiral]

I am also unemployed now, its always bartender jobs that get kicked in the gonads the hardest every time there is a disaster, the recession was awful and now covid *sighs* anyway, if I end up bartending again there is no way I will be able to stay sober, I don't have that kind of will power. I'm only sober now because I don't leave the house to buy any lol
6 pack of beers? beer is good that way, especially if you have food with it, the hangovers are not so bad or sometimes non-existant. Usually, I drink wine and spirits though and that usually leads to regret lol

 

[BluesRunTheGame]

I am also unemployed now, its always bartender jobs that get kicked in the gonads the hardest every time there is a disaster, the recession was awful and now covid *sighs* anyway, if I end up bartending again there is no way I will be able to stay sober, I don't have that kind of will power. I'm only sober now because I don't leave the house to buy any lol
6 pack of beers? beer is good that way, especially if you have food with it, the hangovers are not so bad or sometimes non-existant. Usually, I drink wine and spirits though and that usually leads to regret lol

I feel we have much life experience in common.

 

[Spiral]

Cheers!

Gif drinks are still allowed right? xD