25^th Aug 2014_2

I’m thinking about beer. Does beer think about me? Of course not. Everywhere I look at the moment, I’m thinking about it. It’s been four days since I had a beer. Oh, wait! I had two bottles of lager, and six pints of 0.5% beer over the weekend. I would have had more lager, but after my racing efforts, I wasn’t in a drinking mood. That along with the headache and shortness of breath.

I have given up drink before. Of course, this is ridiculous. I just stopped for a little while. The last time was a two years ago. And I managed three months, if I remember correctly. But as I have pointed out, my estimations of the last drink may be slightly inaccurate.

What I do remember is the feelings of withdrawal. That’s exactly what is was. The problem with using that word is that it is associated with addiction. And addiction to alcohol is called alcoholism. Now that can’t be me, surely. Or I may be a pre-alcoholic. That must be nonsense too. I never go over 21 units in a week. Anyway, the alcohol limits are generic, and don’t apply to me. I’m fit and can work it off. Then I can have a beer as a reward for being so good!

All this writing about beer isn’t helping. But I don’t really want one. I just have a craving. Wine may be a option. No, that’s not helping. What I do know is that I have to stop. I also knew that I needed to avoid drink when I started working away from home recently. That failed on the first day, and for every day in the following three weeks.

I had realised years ago, that I would never be a beer/booze free zone. Drink is everywhere I go. I was hooked in my mid teens, and it was part of growing up. It may even be an essential part of the process of making young people feel something other than the pain of growing up.

However, once drinking to excess has started, it is always with you. Even if you’re the type of person who says they only drink a little, but talk about how much they used to party. Normally, in the same breath as saying how many birds they shagged during those times.

But for adults, what else is there to do. Exercise?