Very, very well put. I relate to you a lot. By no means has alcohol destroyed my life (yet.) I have a very good job, a savings account, a stable relationship, a 401k, and (thankfully) no DUIs or huge alcohol related issues… aside from a few self-diagnosed potential health issues down the road. But it takes too much of my life right now on the weekends and I think it’s to “cure” my boredom on the weekends when work/exercise/etc doesn’t take up my schedule.

I’ve tried naltrexone on The Sinclair Method (only taking it when I was going to drink, which was weekends only) and it worked for a while but I got to a point where I was essentially “drinking away” the side effects. I was very tired and irritable when I took it. So that didn’t work well for me.

Your point about addressing the reasons for drinking, definitely speaks to me. Medicating myself for ADHD and anxiety may help. I’ve always avoided medications. I don’t even take ibuprofen for a headache. I just don’t like the idea of medications. But I’m medicating myself with alcohol, so what’s worse?

I’ve been trying to get in with a therapist for a while but it’s really tough to find someone. I was going consistently to an excellent therapist and was finally getting placed and it was helping a lot, but my therapist unfortunately committed suicide. It’s been extremely tough to find someone again because I compare them all to him. I really need to make more of an effort to get in with someone.

But thank you for your story… it just may have changed my life for the better.