Alcohol problem advice

[hurryhome]

Had a talk with my DH today, he told he was worried about my drinking habits and a weight genuinely felt like it had been lifted from my shoulders because it echoed everything I'd been thinking but denying.

I don't drink everyday, but I 100% have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol including weekly binges, drinking to the point of blacking out, suffering extreme anxiety following this.

I won't be cutting down, I've never been able to moderate so I'll be quitting all together. There's no issue with dependency, so stopping all together won't effect my physical health.

Honestly it's as though a light switch has been flipped in my brain. DH is very understanding, willing to help however he can.

Does anyone have any recommendations of any apps or helpful books or tips?

I know I can do this, I just need ways to seek support if needed.

My habits where binge drinking to the point of a blackout, using it as a mechanism and for boredom. I need to work on those but one step at a time

Thank you for reading x

I would look on Instagram for sober instagramers and also for podcasts. It sounds very 'millennial' of me (I'm not a millennial actually 😂) but I've found they were really beneficial to changing my relationship with alcohol. I'd just pop my headphones on and listen to one while doing stuff like cooking, etc. where I would often have also been drinking. There is one called One for the Road and also I really enjoy Sober Awkward. You might look for online groups as well. Bee Bober is a good one and they often have local sober meet ups for brunch/walks/swims with other sober people.

Thank you! This has been creeping up on me for years but it's started to become a massive issue and I'm anxious that if I don't do this now, I'll never do it at all

I think for a time you have to make your life all about this. Nothing else matters as much as being sober right now.

Any other worries you face in your life do not think "I need a drink" think "at least I'm not drinking!" When you drink to drown out life's shite, you are only borrowing contentment from the next day. And as a binge drinker you rack up one hell of a debt.

Channel your money, your time, your hangover free mornings into something positive. Join a gym or take up yoga for example.

There are lots of supportive threads on here so browse away!

Very best of luck to you.

Thanks so much. I've always had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol but this is coming to a point where I'm drinking on a Thursday night for no apparent reason. Alone.

I'm almost finished my degree, my children are small (they haven't seen me drunk and DH is always sober) but I can't do this anymore I need to be the best version of myself for them

In my opinion it will be harder than you think, and you will need to focus on sobriety, work, kids and nothing else in the early days.

A book that really helped me (and many others) is the unexpected joy of being sober, I would definitely give that a go. Unlike other books I've read it offers practical advice and tactics on navigating sobriety, as well as being a support manual. And it's written in a really approachable and relatable way.

Good luck, you can do this xx

There are loads of tips in the health topic - alcohol support. Best of luck OP

Re. your kids, I believe you that they haven't seen you drunk. But as you will already know, the crippling anxiety, horror and everything else that follows a drinking binge means that at those times they won't have had the best of you. And drinking to blackout regularly means you're drinking enough that you're not 100% present the rest of the time. Spoken without judgement as someone that has done that too x

Hi, I stopped cold turkey on news years day and hopefully will never go back.

My mind definitely clicked, like yours. Take a photo today and see the improvements in your skin/eyes. Keep focusing on the positives and not what you think you are missing out on, but instead all the gains to your physical and mental health

I keep an anonymous Instagram account and remind myself why I don't drink anymore because rose tinted glasses are a threat to sobriety.

Also follow others on Instagram and there's a huge sober community there. Sober podcasts are really helpful too. Listen to them most days.

After drinking daily to nothing in over 50days, I truly don't miss alcohol, I don't think about it and feel much better. I still have a lot of progress to make yet though and I do feel flat/sad sometimes but that's life

Good luck in your journey

Thanks so much for the supportive replies, my kids not having the best of me brings me the most horrific guilt. I'd been thinking it for a while but justifying it, I can't do it anymore

Hi @hurryhome just wondering how you’re getting on? I found your thread as I’m planning on taking the plunge myself and your post really resonated with me. I also found all the advice from everyone so heartening and helpful x