My husband used to drink quite a bit until the last time he saw his therapist (psychiatrist). His drinking came up in the context of how our reconciliation was going. The only fight we have gotten into occured when I came home from work about a half hour after he had gotten home and he was already relatively drunk-but happy drunk. Anyway, to make a long story short I ended up getting mad that he was so drunk so early and told him so and we continued to fight about it for the rest of the night (except for when I left to go out to dinner). He ended up calling me a b----- which totally infuriated me. He also started making comments that reverted back to old problem areas that we had (like him wanting me in a more domestic, wifely type of role, etc).
Anyway, his drinking came up in his therapy and he was worried that his therapist was going to make him totally stop drinking. However, interestingly enough the doctor tells him that he shouldn't stop drinking completely because that wouldn't prove anything-alcoholics can stop completely but cannot take only one drink, etc. He bargains him down to one beer every week day plus three beers every weekend night. This, he said, would keep him under "heavy drinking" which he said was 14 drinks/week. He said that if he can drink only that amount (and only really occasionally more than that) then he wasn't an alcoholic and if he could not limit it than he would be an alcoholic and have to go to AA and things like that. He said he thought there was a 50/50 chance either way.
So far my husband is sticking to the drinking limit. It has been about 2.5 weeks. But I was just posting this because I was curious as to what people thought about this approach. I thought it was interesting and I was kind of surpirsed but it seems to be working....
Anyway, his drinking came up in his therapy and he was worried that his therapist was going to make him totally stop drinking. However, interestingly enough the doctor tells him that he shouldn't stop drinking completely because that wouldn't prove anything-alcoholics can stop completely but cannot take only one drink, etc. He bargains him down to one beer every week day plus three beers every weekend night. This, he said, would keep him under "heavy drinking" which he said was 14 drinks/week. He said that if he can drink only that amount (and only really occasionally more than that) then he wasn't an alcoholic and if he could not limit it than he would be an alcoholic and have to go to AA and things like that. He said he thought there was a 50/50 chance either way.
So far my husband is sticking to the drinking limit. It has been about 2.5 weeks. But I was just posting this because I was curious as to what people thought about this approach. I thought it was interesting and I was kind of surpirsed but it seems to be working....
