If you gave up alcohol, what was the final straw that made you do it?

[Whatslovegottodowithit123]

Today I think has been my worst ever hangover (I am early 30s). I have felt so terrible all day, both mentally and physically.

I have considered giving up alcohol for a while and now I think today has just confirmed my position.

If you’ve given up alcohol what other benefits have you noticed apart from the awful hangovers?

i have my evenings back
Always feel chipper the morning after
Don’t get that awful hangziety
dont make an arse of myself
Saved a shitload of money
more present for my kids
Sleep better
skin better
lost weight

Oh yeah I don't miss it, being hungover makes me too anxious it's not worth it. It's been years since I was a regular drinker, now I can have two glasses of bubbles max and enjoy the night - probably drink once every couple of months if that? The thing that worked for me was total abstinence for a period of time. If you arrive slightly late, or feign a headache and have a soft drink for your first drink people won't have noticed you aren't drinking by the time they have had one or two

My final straw was the feeling I had inside - like the sickest I had ever felt - like my insides were dirty and dead.
My entire life has improved in every single way. I could write a book. I never feel guilt shame or worry over the night before. I am FREE. I was completely trapped by it.

Lost belly fat
skin amazing
less anxiety
relationship improved
more patient
more able to appreciate the small pleasures in life
not having to spend time thinking about whether to drink and how much to have

Apart from the kids (I don't have any), this is exactly it! I'm not teetotal but I don't drink very often, and when I do it's a max of two glasses of wine or a couple of pints of beer.

My weekends are so important to me (busy, stressful job), I don't want to waste them feeling like shit. I also couldn't deal with the lack of sleep.

Granted, the hangxiety has now been replaced with perimenopause anxiety at 4am...

Deep sleep
Present for children
No trying to plan how I'll moderate
More time
Can do weekday nights out eg concerts and still start work at 7 the next day no problem
Absence of chaos

The fact that I weighed 11 stone. I weighed myself the morning my heaviest baby was born and I wasn't that weight. I'm only 5 ft 5, so vanity won over alcohol.

Weight loss
Clearer skin
Feeling happy
Better memory
Good sleep

I'm 49 and gave up alcohol at 46. It was making perimenopause symptoms much worse. After 2 months of no alcohol, the symptoms disappeared. I can do my job better, mainly because I sleep better and have zero anxiety.

Definitely think I’m going to do it. I’ve been so sick today my windpipe feels burnt and feels like I’ve got acid reflux / heartburn now. Just horrible.

You can totally do it OP, think of your plan - avoid completely etc etc, depending how often you drink the first couple weeks might be the hardest but you can do this you'll feel great so much more in control and so much less anxious. (No judgement on those who enjoy a drink it's the the anxiety I am talking about)

Head space. I no longer spend hours or days thinking about alcohol. Whether I'm going to have another one, whether I need to stop for a Friday bottle on the way home, whether I should have gin on Saturday after I had wine on Friday and if Sundays are good for bloody Mary's.
Spending time thinking about pounding bubbles at a bottomless brunch, whether if I stop early enough I can get ahead of a hangover, whether if had a bad enough day that I can justify drinking on a Thursday..... it goes on and on and on.

I was not a heavy drinker, but it took over my life in an entirely insidious way and I can't moderate. Not in the way that I drink myself into a stupor, but in the way that I can't just have 2 glasses of wine once a week. I start that way, but then it becomes sundowners on Friday, after work drinks on Thursdays, drinks with friends on Sundays.

So I kicked it in May 2023 and have been happy sober ever since. The biggest win was not having to think about it anymore, it's freeing!

I do occasionally still have a drink but rarely (1 - 2 times a year) and often not in situations where everyone else is. I was never a regular drinker but would drink a lot when I did. Similar to you my hangovers got worse in my early 30s, both physically and in terms of crippling anxiety, and I also started to dislike the feeling of being out of control when drunk.

Tonight we met up with several friends at a pub. There was live music and everyone was drinking including DH. I didn't, because the kids were being babysat at home and I don't drink around them. But I also didn't want to, I know it'll make me feel low for a few days and I'm moving into the part of my menstrual cycle where I feel low too. So it's just not worth it.

BUT I had a great time, had a really good laugh with everyone and enjoyed the company. When I got home I just felt so, so glad I hadn't had anything to drink. I've felt that before so it's also got that the benefit of not drinking is so great I don't miss it.

I got into fitness and always felt so hungover and anxious for says and low and would be sick and years later found out intolerant to gluten so that is why was so ill as used to feel as if I was poisoned. Got bored with drinking and had moved to a new city with so much to do so had odd drink here or there but not like before when would go out on a saturday night and be in bits for days then. Rarely drink now but if you do drink again have a cider or clear spirits and won't be so hungover. Good to take a break from it for a bit and see if you miss it in your life. Hope you feel better soon.

After 20 years of binge drinking and being a bit of a lush, one day 5 years ago I was so hungover that I was vomiting until 7pm that night. My husband had to look after the kids all day as I couldn't move. To be honest, this wasn't that unusual as I always had bad hangovers. This tine was different though and I thought 'this has to stop'

I stopped drinking for a few months and then when I tried to drink again, I would start feeling sick, or I would feel hungover after one drink. I actually couldn't drink anymore!

Stopping drinking has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. One of the best things I've ever done. I absolutely LOVE always waking up feeling fresh, never having a hangover, never having the anxiety, the self hatred, the blackouts. Not drinking feels like a breath of fresh air in my life. No party feels as good as not having a hangover!

Stopping drinking is really about rejecting a lot of the cultural messaging that we have all been absorbing since we were teens. That drinking is the norm and mot drinking is weird, that you need it to loosen up, to relax, to unwind. You need to look at the situation with fresh eyes and look at the other side of the story.

Alcohol is a toxin which I always reger to as a false friend. It pretends to comfort you, give you confidence, help you unwind and chill you out but it always comes with a catch. There's always a condition, which sometimes feels like a knife in the back.

There are some good sober/teetotal Instagram posts which celebrate life without alcohol.

Stopping drinking was one of the best things I've ever done, up there with getting married and having my children. In fact I think it's one of the greatest forms of self care there is, as there are zero downsides. Pm me if you want!

I haven't stopped entirely, but I stopped for a couple of months and now only drink very occasionally socially. I feel so much better for it. The trigger for me was that my liver enzyme levels were elevated. This is due to either having too much alcohol, or being overweight. So I just stopped drinking for a while. I had asked to have my liver enzymes checked when I had a blood test anyway as I have a family history of elevated liver enzymes. I also knew that I was regularly drinking twice the recommended units a week. I was a little and often drinker, never drank to excess, never got drunk.

Loads of energy in the evenings. Much better recall. I get to shout out answers when Uni Challenge is on instead of thinking blurrily: I know that, I'm sure I do Less bloating and water retention. Skin is better.

I do still drink, just not as regularly.

There were a few things. The realization that the tiredness and the way it made me feel physically were not worth it. I became so aware of the sensation that alcohol causes inflammation in my body, upset stomached, headaches. I just didn’t have the bandwidth to get in that state and then adequately recover.

The second thing was realizing the effects on my mood. Fine when I only myself to contend with but I noticed how much it affected my my patience with the kids and my ability to enjoy their company. That was just not acceptable.

I also now (in mid 40s) feel very aware of health.i had my children late and i want to be healthy. Not just alcohol but diet and exercise.

I do still drink but rarely and only one or two. Often only when I’m away with work.
DH still seems to think the weekend is marked by a drink on Friday/Saturday/Sunday but I’ve completely lost interest in that kind of incidental drinking whilst at home.

-Drinking it before bed made me need to get up for several wees

-I need to lose weight

-Ultimately, it was moving to a town with a shit public transport, and very expensive taxis, so I preferred to stay sober while out for dinner or a work do so I could drive home

We did Dry January and at the end of that I had lost weight, skin improved, no bloating, no nightmares, sleep improved a LOT - no insomnia! we snap at each other far far less so we just continued. We're not saying we'll never drink again but at the moment I just don't fancy alcohol so am happy with my Coke Zero and tea!

Alcohol is a substance that we've found we don't need.

I got so drunk I was sick. We spent 150e in the bar. My hangover was awful. Haven't drunk since.

Honestly?

Seeing how many people need it. Most of my colleagues can’t go a few days without ‘a quick pint at the pub’, they can’t have a meal out without alcohol. It’s not just they want a drink - but it appears many people don’t enjoy themselves unless they drink.

The smell is another reason. People who drink a lot smell like alcohol after a while. Like smokers.

I just think it’s really sad and quite frankly, I have more important things to spend my money on.

In terms of benefits; more money, less sadness, more ‘life’ and energy.

i still drink but moderate and tend to do only on social occasions, with a couple at the weekend, like last night I had two glasses of wine.

for me, I started getting a blood pressure problem and gaining weight, and realised if I drank, the next day was a write off,

I think it’s fine to drink but moderate it so you lose the hangovers, and on,y drink like one or two nights a week. I also make sure if I’m socialising I drink lots of water, and I have every second drink a non alcoholic one.

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I have been sober since July 2022. I was experiencing uncontrollable anxiety and panic attacks after drinking alcohol and it was really affecting my ability to function. The last hangover I had was so wretched I physically recoil at the memory of it. No amount of alcohol will ever be safe for me and I will never drink again. I don’t miss it, being sober has completely changed my life.