Only A Few (Drinks) What Harm Can It Do! ... Or At Least So I Thought!

by M
(West Midlands)

I have been growing increasingly concerned about my own drinking. Its got to the stage where its not normal now and need to find a way of cutting down.

For years I have been habitually drinking 1 or 2 cans of larger an evening. I like beer and always find it relaxing to have one at the end of the day, the problem is over the past 6 - 12 months its more like 6-8 cans of larger an evening and its every evening.

I don't crave a drink as such, sometimes I'll have my first beer at about 11 o'clock at night but still end up drinking 4 and fall asleep on the sofa.

I've always been telling myself its only lager, I'm not an alcoholic because I don't drink spirits or wine, I don't drink in the morning and I don't crave drinks during the day, it doesn't affect my career or my family.

I'm a great dad, never drink in front of the kids and my career is flourishing. However other things I do are tell-tale signs when I think about it.

I drink alone after my wife and kids are in bed, I hide the amount I'm drinking from my wife by putting empty cans in the outside bin, I buy beer even when we have no money, I wake up every day thinking "that's it I'm not drinking for a couple of days" but sure enough that night I'll be cracking open another 4 or 5 cans.

I don't want to stop drinking all together but I need to be at the point where I never drink in the week and maybe just have a couple of beers on a Saturday night or socially. But getting to that point is going to be hard, I don't want my wife to find out how far its got, she has enough on her plate and as she doesn't drink so can't relate to what drinking alcohol is like.

I don't think groups will be my thing and I would rather go about this with the fewest amount of people knowing as possible if any! I also wonder how I could go about doing it, if I just quit I can see it affecting me physically because I am surely dependent on alcohol considering how long I've been drinking habitually.

Any advice would be much appreciated.