Confessions of an Ex-Functioning Alcoholic - How 67 Year Old Quit After 48 Years

I’m so glad they got their lives back together.

I agree with you both. I would never have got married if I was sober.

Fair play mate. Some of us haven't been so lucky with heavy boozing for years. Stage 4 Kidney disease here but trying to fight it. Been sober for years now but still having mega high blood pressure.

Well done giving it up. My mum was a chronic alcoholic and had her kids taken off her, we ended up in care and she still couldn't give the alcohol up to have us back

Stated drinking heavy 14. My family were drinkers. Loved the local pub scene. But damn did it end up self destructive. Ended up a right mess on many occasions. Threat to life and liberty many times. Only just gave it up a year 55 now. Evil old muck.

So over drinking ! Not going to lie have had some good times back in the day , also had some horrible and very regretful life events and experiences over time it’s a slippery slope . At 46 I’m done I don’t even enjoy that feeling anymore. The anxiety it causes is just not worth it anymore

These stories are helpful to keep on track. Alcohol is widely accepted but kills and injures so many.

Enjoyed that, Paul’s car crash story was epic. I think something we both share is a wariness towards alcohol. I can really enjoy, even look forward to a few but after 4 or 5 I have the self awareness to realize it’s heading nowhere good and probably not worth the hangover the next day, and I don’t consider myself to be a bad drunk at all. We all know some people who the more they drink the happier they feel, I’ve never been that way

I’m 10 years younger from America and I grew up in a culture where I was exposed to alcohol on a regular basis from day one. Mostly moderate drinkers but everyone drank and sometimes got drunk. Most of my friends started drinking around 14-16 and a few of us became alcoholics-that I know of but it was kind of obvious at a young age who was going to have a real problem with it. AA helped me but I drank too much for most of my life and it’s the worst thing that ever happened to me. I wasn’t a daily drinker and never did the hair of the dog but alcohol changed my life-and definitely not for the better. I’m grateful to be in recovery and I don’t need substances to be social anymore. I have more fun as a sober person.

Completely agree, the culture in the UK is soaked in booze. From binge drinking nightlife, people drinking a bottle of wine every night at home - but even a social event at your local church is going to feature alcohol! My old man was an alcoholic and it nearly killed him, he got sober and never drank again but our childhood was ruined by his drinking. I wasn't a huge drinker, but had plenty of benders like most people - i woke up one day and I don't really know why but just decided I'm not going to drink anymore and that was 10 years ago. Life immediately got better, now i see around me and I'm positive that at least about 10 people I know and am friends with if for some reason they could not have a drink - say they ended up on a desert island they would go into withdrawal probably full on DTs. They would not think they have a problem, they have jobs and a family but they drink every single day of the week and have done for years - 2 or 3 pints or a bottle of wine. But certainly in the UK its almost impossible to not be anywhere where there is not alcohol or somebody doesn't offer you a drink. I'm pretty sure the UK is full of functioning alcoholics but they just don't know it. Re Kratom - yes i have heard about people getting off opiates via Kratom, and it does have benefits, but be careful with it and respect it. But speaking from experience it is addictive and the withdrawals are on a par with opiate withdrawals. We had a weird little scene about 5 years ago when it was legal in the UK, started buying it online as powder - and i liked it, before long using everyday throughout the day, spending more and more money. When it came to stopping it was hard, going through about 14 days of withdrawals - so be careful.

Alcohol, booze, drink.... we're told from a young age in the UK that we absolutely need it to have a good time... but do we? Addiction is no laughing matter, especially thousands of miles from 'home' and particularly when your 'tipple' of choice is alcohol. Bangkok, Thailand can be a lonely place for some expats and many have been drawn to excess drinking or drug taking over the years, often with devastating results. Today, we have an uncut and frank discussion with Paul Wallis about his 40 plus year addiction to alcohol, why he started and why he stopped. Please help to support the channel, and I will head of for some more adventures soon: www.buymeacoffee.com/jimmybyrne Paul's books: The Essential Guide To Living In Thailand: amzn.to/3kpmkCQ A Wanderer's Words: amzn.to/3vrQTy7 Paul's media: www.facebook.com/paul.wallis.... twitter.com/paulinbkkxx

I drink a little too often for opposite reason - it did do good things for my life. Helped me de-stress after work, I'm quite serious and it makes me non serious, i'm more chatty. I also like to go to social events if I can drink but stay in if i want to be sober. Only reason I want to cut back is because of the money and its hard to lose weight drinking 3 times a week

Enjoyed this a lot. It’s always interesting to hear people’s attitudes and experiences round alcohol. I like drinking, personally: I love the taste of beer, wine and whiskey especially. I also love the ‘2 pints in’ fee, but not so much the being drunk. Hangovers, however, suck big time, so I’m careful to avoid them. Booze has destroyed some friends of mine’s health and relationships and our attitude to it in the UK and Ireland can be utterly bonkers. I’d rather have 1 or 2 nice drinks than 10 average ones any day!

Paul made an interesting comment, without alcohol , you can't have fun. Alcoholism has never led anything positive in his life. That is truly a sad time to live thru. Alcoholism, it's a terrible addiction. Eating hash and 5 days of withdrawal, what a crazy story.😭. Bless you both for sharing such an interesting subject on drugs and alcohol. Kratom, would be interesting to watch you both after having a drink of it. I hope there are not adverse effects of Kratom , which he says is liver damage

Not drinking is an art, but not drinking is an art.

Great video. What vlog camera please. Great image quality.

Agree...beer 🍺= great times was handed down as a given where i grew up in Australia and part of the surf culture!

Alcohol just takes credit for fun times when actually it's the company you are with, children have the most fun when together without a drop of alcohol present it's all social conditioning & bullshit from alcohol companies

I just lost a desire for it too. I have a beer or two a couple times a month maybe but it was every day for a decade or so before.

brilliant! love the frank stories and brute honesty. hey you should interview scooby next time! there would be some good stories there lol