Drying

RE: Nothing But The Night - Aug 2, 2022, 11:54 PM

So, this is not a happy email and I figured I’d get all out at the same time. I have been struggling with an alcohol problem and it is getting acute. Since you are the closest people in my life I figured I would let you know, otherwise it will only get worse. I am not sure I am committed to sobriety for my whole life but I don’t want to drink indefinitely. I am really terribly ashamed and would have been more honest earlier but my pride has gotten in my way. I apologize that I have to send this but otherwise really bad shit might happen. I am very vulnerable right now and have been feeling very isolated and don’t want to feel that way ever again.

Drying up ain’t so easy. When I went to the doctors because I had been on a ten day bender (though the time varies in my own and other’s recollections) and getting out of bed required a few beers to be manageable, I was actually instructed by my doctor to keep drinking. My decisive decision to stop drinking was met my doctor with a very measured caution that to do so categorically might be too dangerous. Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome is in part the result of the residual compensatory behaviors of the human neurological system. Alcohol, a natural depressant, depresses the activity of the Central Nervous System, which then accommodates the depression by over-firing. Once alcohol is removed, and the CNS is no longer depressed by it, the compensatory hyperactivity becomes excessive and causes a variety of symptoms. In those that are infrequent and typically modest users of alcohol, the withdrawal symptoms are mild and pass quickly, while frequent and excessive users experience more severe symptoms.