If you have given up alcohol, do you feel better?

[MeltingWax]

I am thinking about giving up alcohol altogether as I find just cutting down too difficult.

Over the last 20 years I have had 2 alcohol-free pregnancies and have done dry January twice but other than that no long periods without booze. I have started to get to the point where I think a proper break would probably be good for me for both mental and physical reasons.

I think am also probably peri menopausal with the associated mild anxiety which accompanies that.

So, I have been 10 days alcohol free now which yes, I know is not much. But I was kind of expecting to be feeling, I don't know, different somehow by now. Maybe am expecting too much. On good weeks previously I would drink the recommended weekly number of units but many many weeks it would be, um, significantly more than that.

So, anyone who has gone permanently alcohol free was there some tipping point when you suddenly felt much better?

Feeling upset this evening as DH drank today. He said he was going out on his bike but I knew it was the pub.
He drove drunk with me and the children in the back 10 days ago and afterwards admitted he needed to stop. I stopped drinking in support of his sobriety. He hasn't sought out professional help.

Sorry as this isn't the point of this thread but I'm gutted.

Definitely feel better for no alcohol. Quite different mentally and physically.

Have been alcohol-free for over a year. Best decision I ever made. I had a mental hurdle of 100 days but by the time that passed, I was feeling great.

It turned around my anxiety and insomnia. I have so much energy, physically and mentally. I've gained time too- I get up at 5.30am on weekdays, often 6am on weekends.

Some encouraging posts here.

One thing I have noticed over the past few days (and during my previous dry spells) was very vivid dreams. Sometimes this is fun, other times just plain weird!

I'm on day 15 . I could have written the op it is so similar to me. Skin not so dry and red, mornings are easier and my app recons I've saved nearly £100! Am aiming to keep going till Xmas.

I've got a night out soon with some boozy friends and I think I'm going to say I'm on antibiotics just to avoid the whole peer pressure thing. They would ususally expect me to drink. A lot. I'll tell them I've given up the demon drink when I'm feeling a bit more secure with it.

On a side note, and I know the dangers of 'replacement ' drinks, Becks blue is ok and Aldi do a zero alcohol prosecco. That's helped with the weekends, and lots of tea!

Jemmy I've heard Becks blue is nice, but is the prosecco really sweet?

That's the problem I have with non alcoholic drinks, they're all so sweet!

I enjoy Becks blue because it isn't sweet. It was brilliant this summer. Guilt free ice cold glass any time time of the day 😁

Funny I was lying in bed last night thinking about alcohol and the role it plays in my life. I kind of drink as a habit so I need to break that. And I really don't enjoy alcohol like I used to.

I switched to Becks Blue this summer as a start and it's really nice.

I'm 95% AF now but I still struggle with sober socialising. I'm shy! If anyone has any tips on that, I'd love to hear them as I have a very social month coming up. I think I worry I'm really dull without a drink.

The positives of a mostly booze-free lifestyle: flatter tummy, fewer regrets, don't wake up with The Fear, calmer, more fun around the kids, and no rows with DH. 😆

I have been alcohol free for a few months now and have really started to feel the difference recently. I feel far happier in general and my moods are much less erratic.

I think it was hard to socialise and date without having a few glasses of wine at first. However, now when I enjoy an evening or people say I was on 'great form', it's a huge confidence boost that they are describing the real me rather than a disinhibited chattier version of myself.

Another plus, I have lost around 5kg weight since I stopped drinking and that has helped boost my confidence too.

If you don't feel a difference at first, stick it out and an overall sense of satisfaction and confidence grows over the coming weeks.

I don't drink much really, a small glass before dinner three nights a week.

I'd say I feel generally good most of the time, but I eat well, go to bed early, exercise etc all the good, boring stuff. Not drinking to excess probably helps too.

I know one thing tho, I feel bloody awful after too much 🍻 !

I don't drink very often at all bit when I do I go overboard and can't move out my bed the next day, it takes me about 4 days to recover properly. I get paranioa and depression. It's just not worth it. I have decided to give up completely.

We moved to a dry country a few years ago so we very rarely drink now. I don't miss it at all and feel a lot better for it. When we do come home we realise how much seems to revolve around drinking - I will still have a drink but I can't stand being mortal drunk any more

Following this thread with interest.

I've just had 2 nights alcohol free. I'm ashamed that I am proud of this. I feel better in terms of not tired and hungover and not eating crap. I don't feel any "joy" other than a relief that maybe I can break this drink-cycle. Making the decision to "not drink tonight" for that first time was both a bit scary and a bit liberating. Now that's all I'm going to say to myself for now - I'm going to try not to drink on a school night.

I nearly lost my job earlier this week and I realised it was because I had lost the ball because I was so tired and hungover all the time. I can't let that happen.

to all of us.

I always feel better when I stop drinking. I definitely drink more than I should. I got into a habit of wine after a busy day with the DC and work. Then more at the weekend and I have to say I am a guzzler too. (hangover of wild 90s excesses) I recognise it and I know it affects my sleep. So I stop Monday- Thursday. I always sleep better and feel bright in the morning. I enjoy a glass of wine and don't plan to stop for good. I have signed up for Go Sober in October and have done it before. However that is just because I like a challenge not because of big plans to not drink again.

It’s been so long, I can’t remember what I felt like when I did drink!

I stopped last September and don't intend to ever have another one, but sometimes the temptation is there. I took vitamin B complex for the first few days to help with my nerves and recommend it. I don't go to AA as I just don't have the time at the moment, but I do think a good AA group would enhance the experience a lot.

I'm just glad not to be a slave to an addiction anymore.

My last drink was 31 December 2016 - so heading for two years. DH and I decided to do dry January 2017, and when we realised how much we were missing alcohol, we thought, ‘blimey, we’d better keep going a bit longer’. We set a goal of 100 days which coincidently was also our DDs 21st birthday. We fully expected to have a drink then, but by that time we were over missing it, and just thought it was daft to start again. Since then we’ve had several holidays, a big birthday each, a big wedding anniversary, couple of weddings etc etc. Neither of us says we will never drink again, but we’ve certainly lost interest in it. I think we both look better, and I certainly feel better. I wouldn’t say we’d been heavy drinkers by societal norms, but by health guidance we probably drank too much - we generously had our 14 units a week - probably nearer 18-20. The only downside is it’s killed our social life a bit. We are fine if it’s just us - we’re happy to go for coffee in the evening, or have a meal out without wine, but friends don’t like it. Even my GP asked me ‘good god, how do you manage that?’

Whatsgoingon If it's any reassurance I've always found drunk people incredibly boring. YOUR thoughts, YOUR experiences, YOUR beliefs about the world are far more complex and interesting than the stuff people tend to produce when under the influence.

tired pony

You can do it.

In perods of not drinking, ive found the benefits take 3-4 weeks to kick in. Bit more energy, and a bit sharper mentally. Probs a bit healthier too.
But the benefits are subtle, and would think that would always be the case unless one was drinking v heavily.
No doubt about it though - nights out wihout a drink are not as enjoyable. Nice cold glass of white wine or a diet coke? It is a no brainer, no point pretending otherwise.

I have been tee total since Jan 1st 2017.

I was finding that as I got older alcohol would leave me feeling sluggish and irritable the next day, plus the 'down' feeling which I hated. And I work full time so time at the weekends with the DC is precious. I was also marathon training so had no time to feel rough from any booze!

I then never started drinking again since. I like being tee-total however I do find some people have a social aversion to me not drinking. It definitely isn't very socially acceptable amongst some of my friends and I feel a bit isolated at times because of it.

@TiredPony I hear you sister. I’m right where you are. Well done for going two days

You’re very welcome to join us over on the Sober September thread in 30 days only, and I’d highly recommend reading The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, it’s really changing my outlook.

It takes me around 3 weeks to notice the difference. I sleep better and feel so much better in the morning.

Thanks for starting this thread OP. It's very interesting. I haven't drunk in the week (expect special occasions) for a long time.
But I suffer from random insomnia regardless of whether I have drunk alcohol or not. I think I'll try cutting out alcohol for 3 weeks+ to see if it makes a difference.