On the wagon... Any tips?

[dfmacliam]

as for the Jones thing.... hmmmm I believe its not so much the beer, but the comfort factor you been engrained too... its what you done, your dad has done.. its what you find comfortable... more physcological than the desire/need for alcohol.. I do not believe my reasons for not drinking would match yours... my biological father was an alcoholic.. and I had vowed to be completely different from him.. its that desire that keeps me from drinking.. but don't get me wrong.. I have had to deal with my addictions.. food was mine.. and it can be just as dangerous to your body as anything else.. I turned to my own spirituality, and my Native American traditions.. to focus my energy on.. my brother has chosen to direct his energy into his martial arts.. whatever someone finds that helps bring out that inner peace... everyone is different.. but the end result is the same...

[CDNSushi]

as for the Jones thing.... hmmmm I believe its not so much the beer, but the comfort factor you been engrained too... its what you done, your dad has done.. its what you find comfortable... more physcological than the desire/need for alcohol..

I think that there's a lot to think about in that sentence. I've never even thought about it like that before... It would certainly explain why I enjoy the taste but not the effects of alcohol... It's as I've said -- I really dislike being drunk. I haven't been drunk many times in my life, but each time I have, it's really been awful. And what Riverkilt said about 4 drinks did shock me, but not because that is considered binge drinking, but because I just can't imagine having 4 drinks at one sitting.

I think that what I'm facing is almost like a family/cultural expectation of what I should be rather than a dependence on alcohol. But It's been another 2 days since I put up this post, I'm still on the wagon, and I'm finding that the jones from when I first wrote this post is almost not there anymore. My wife has been in Canada for about a week now, so I've been in the house alone, and literally ALL my friends are away on holidays, and with no one around but me, it seems that I've had no desire to drink either. Maybe it is more social than anything.

Anyway, I was at the doctor today and he gave me more medication so it looks like I'll be on the wagon for a while longer... It's really not so bad. The only thing I have a craving for right now is a spicy hot-as-blazes Indian curry! hehehe

Thanks for all the support though, everyone. Good stuff!