I’m 30 y/o. I never knew that my drinking was a problem because that’s what I was raised around. I mean like my grandmothers house is literally decorated with empty and some full liquor bottles. Her alcohol bottles are like curtains and furniture to other people. I started drinking at 15…I always had access to it, whether it was grandma house or dad’s house. I grew up in a small town in Louisiana and everyone knew everyone…I could easily walk into the store and get someone I knew to buy me alcohol or buy it myself depending on who’s working & I didn’t start off with beer or MD 20/20 or Boones Farm or any kind of wine, I started off with Seagrams Gin. I would see everyone get together every Friday and get pissy drunk…it was normal. So since the age of 15, I’ve never had a drink just because, I drank to get drunk. I’ve never drank 1 drink. NEVER! I drink to get drunk. When I was 19 y/o I had my first DWI, then I started looking at things differently, didn’t consider myself an alcoholic because of the YETS. Well I haven’t lost my job yet, I haven’t lost my house yet, I haven’t lost my car yet, I’m not broke yet. People would tell me i had a problem and I would continue drinking to “show them” “how dare you call me an alcoholic?” Kept drinking and kept diggin myself in bigger and bigger holes. I’ve known I had a problem since around the age of 20-21, but definitely couldn’t admit it, didn’t want to admit it.
Hey! I’m 27. But I joined here two years ago so I was the same age as you. I’ve been trying to get sober from alcohol ever since. I started partying young, I saw a tiktok today that said you’re actually 4 times more likely to become an alcoholic if you started drinking as a teen 
I did a lot of drugs too as a teenager I was highly addicted to abusing adderall, was addicted to weed until I developed CHS so I’ve been off it for 4.5 months, did ecstasy, acid…alllll that stuff but then I had my son at 19 and outgrew the drugs the drinking just never left me. I’m lucky I even survived my teen years and I know I did a lot of longterm damage. My body actually always kind of hated coke thankfully 
I’ve done it multiple times but I would way rather put crushed adderall up my nose. I’m diagnosed with adhd and it sucks because I know how much the medication would help me but I don’t wanna get addicted again. I guess I could look for a different medication but I still feel like I’d get a high feeling and it’s a slippery slope.
Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. 🫶🏻 it’s helped me a ton.
I’m 22 (turning 23 in 2 days). I am 10 days clean from cocaine. This is the longest stretch of being clean since I started and I’m happy about it. I found this community today. I wanted to go to NA meetings in town, but I’m nervous about attending alone. If I ever do relapse, I have promised myself to go. I agree that our drug of choice is becoming way more prominent. Almost everyone I know is doing it, but they aren’t concerned about sobriety. I grew up without a mom because she was constantly going to jail for drug related charges. I saw firsthand how drug addiction destroys lives and I don’t ever want to hurt my family or myself the way she hurt us and herself. I’m proud of you and glad I found this community.
I will be 40 on may 9th.
wow it’s really interesting reading everyone’s stories, i appreciate you all sharing and getting to know a little about you 
i’ll be 37 this year, i have a 2 year old and i’m 7 months sober - started drinking around 16 and it was a toxic relationship from the start. (from 21-23 i was a straight-edge punk bandleader touring the USA so i was completely sober and it was the most productive and exciting time of my life 
) - but once that ended i’ve been binging ever since. so about 13 years of delusion, passion, obsession, addiction, adventure, dark magic, danger, lust, disgust and general all-around f**kery.
i stopped drinking for my pregnancy - but when my son was 6 months old i had to quickly leave his sons father and relocate to another state. it was then i began to drink most nights again, for about a year. heavily. it was last October when i said “okay no, absolutely not, no, this nightmare ends here, i am not going this way, not with my son, this madness ends now” and i’ve been sober ever since.
over the decade+ of my active addiction i attempted sobriety for various reasons, none lasting longer than a few months. i attribute that in part to engaging superficially with the “recovery” part of sobriety. i never really reached deep enough into the brokenness of my spirit to begin the healing process, so i stayed in the trap of shame and self-destruction. now, this is the first time i’m in true, deep recovery. devoted to transforming my vision beyond the cruel and persuasive bondage of fear and misery. im learning about the true nature of the mind. im learning how to let go and trust life’s unfolding. the courage it takes to be vulnerable. i’m really grateful to be recovering through sobriety and very grateful for and inspired by our community here and all the amazing folks who make this incredible experience possible 
Congrats on the 10 days homie 
Yeah definitely, that drug is everywhere it’s so fucked. Im glad you found this place, you’re around good people now 
What country are you from just out of curiosity? Here in Canada our drug of choice is everywhere, sometimes I hear random people on the street talking about it even.
Oh also btw hit me up if you need a Cocaine Anonymous meeting, we can join one together if it helps. Or a NA meeting, up to you
There are online NA and CA meetings btw so u don’t need to join in person if u don’t want
This was really cool to read! I also know what it’s like to have to relocate with a baby from his father and how bad the drinking can get in a situation like that. I also think that I never truly dug deep enough to get out of the vicious cycle and dig myself out of that hole to truly heal. You inspire me to fully lean into my power and heal by being my most healthy self. Thank you 🫶🏻
Also, congratulations on 7 months sober! What a blessing
I’m 38 will be 39 come mid July
I get the adderall dilemma. My brother was prescribed it and didn’t take it on the weekends or summers so there was always extra laying around. I started stealing/selling it in highschool but I also realized how much it helped me. Later in life I started buying it again and went from 20mgs a day to 140. At that point all it does is put you in psychosis. I know taking it as prescribed would improve my life immensely but I don’t trust myself enough. It’s tough living like this but hey, I’m not drinking!
I been clean and sober over 25 years
I just turned 40 about 6 months ago.
Thank you so much! Congrats to you, too. I’m from the USA. I’m on the East Coast in a town with a major food and bev industry. I also hear it being talked about quite a lot, even at work. It’s an extremely toxic environment but I’m doing my best haha.
That would actually be amazing. Thank you! That’s so nice. I didn’t know those existed.
No worries homie, let me know when you wanna join a CA or a NA meeting together
Hey all. Late to the party.
64 here.
I managed my booze since I was 15. Or maybe my booze managed me 
did all the common regular drugs in the late 70’s and 80’s. Got married started a family gave up everything but the pot and booze. Eventually gave up the pot too. You guys don’t call it pot anymore do ya 
Anyway…… My first post here on my sober date, 01/02/2020, that I will protect at all cost said. “Fat drunk and hungover is no way to go through my bronze years.” I’ve never had just one in my whole life. There is no reason to think I ever can.
After 4 years of sobriety I’m finally going to AA meetings. Not because I might drink. Because “I’m not drinking today. And I’m probably not drinking tomorrow.” But because I’m afraid of a lot of things now. I have a lot of fears. I need to learn how to act without my liquid courage. And I can’t think of a better place with a better bunch of people to learn than an AA meeting where I know I’m not alone.
That’s for reading me.
When it comes to substance abuse, 18-year-olds are met with less surprise from society and more reinforcement from their peers. 80-year-olds experience a much different social effect. Both may realize the problem, but the latter tends to be more alienated, stigmatized, and under more pressure to address the problem.
But there’s a ton of other factors other than just who is seeking help, it’s impossible to really glean anything other than an amorphous blob of correlations. Younger people may look for help in different places. Their support networks in real life tend to look different. Maybe they are here but less vocal, or tend not to reveal their age.
Anyways, I think the more you get used to bonding with and having peers of different ages, the less you’ll find age makes much of a difference. A workout at the gym, a relative’s birthday, a stressful job, a good meal, a bad memory — most life experiences are pretty relatable across age.
On the partner thing specifically: it’s such a diverse relationship, there are often aspects to relate to even if the situation on a whole cannot be.
Maybe the part that is most relevant to the conversation in one particular post is that they are a roommate that the poster has history with. Or maybe the most relevant part is that they have a romantic relationship. Or a sexual one. Or maybe they’re best friends, or maybe they don’t actually feel like they know each other very well. Or maybe one of coworkers, either literally or metaphorically in the sense of running a household together. My point is, when someone mentions a partner, it doesn’t necessarily tell me anything about whether or not I can relate to that person.
Tangent reply to your tangent: this is visibility, not prevalence. Porn is more popular than cocaine, but you don’t see it at every party.
(I’ve also never seen cocaine at a party. It varies more by social circle than by decade)
Aaannywho… I’m in my early 30’s. I was barely 27 when I joined TS so not that different from your situation 
That’s some big 
insight, thanks homie I haven’t read it all just yet cuz I’m waiting for my sponsor to call me right now, but I’ll make sure to really read it shortly.
You always have really great insight, thanks
Shit man you’re kinda up there…