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?

Seeing what it did to a close friend.

I had reduced alcohol consumption anyway because it gave me insomnia but I hadn’t ever really realised just how horrific & traumatic alcoholism can be.

If you are thinking of doing it I recommend the book the naked mind. I listened to it on audiobook and honestly didn’t have any cravings. It just changes your mind set from I can’t drink to I don’t want to.

Vanity 😊my face was so bloated and blotchy after drinking I looked really unwell. This only kicked in during peri menopause. My skin/ eyes are so much clearer and I look much more like myself. I actually stopped smoking at 22 and never went back as I thought it’d give me wrinkles / awful teeth so vanity is apparently a big motivator for me.

Weirdly I’m very low maintenance. I’m clean and I’ve brushed hair and teeth and that’s my morning routine.

After 35+ years of binge drinking, feeling like crap in the morning, eating crap along with the booze, wasting money on it, losing hours lying in bed nursing a hangover, and always saying "never again", me and DH finally decided to have a try at "one year no beer" just after last Christmas. So far, we've not touched a drop, sleep tons better, saving money, clearer skin, getting more stuff done in the mornings and generally feeling alive again. It's certainly made me realise just how abnormal our drinking was.

It makes life so much simpler. No hanxiety, no fretting about when to order next bottle of wine at dinner, no making plans to moderate, no losing days to hangover or not being able to deal with kids.

Ive been sober 8 years - so cant quite remember but think first 100 days are tough and all consuming - 'not drinking' takes up all your headspace. And the suddenly having acres more time takes a bit of adjusting to - although having clarity and energy in the morning is great from the start.

@Darkdiamond that was me yesterday. I was still throwing up after 7pm after spending all day in a pit of my own self inflicted pain and misery. I have always started to feel better by about 6ish when hungover so it was a total shock.

I’ve woken up today and do feel better but I am still feeling the effects of having such a brutal hangover. My body just hurts.

It doesn’t help either that on Friday night I was out on a “date” (not sure it was a date as we met up late and more of a booty call) and we ended up having a big argument which led to lots of tears and then just regret and feeling stupid and anxious yesterday.

I do still drink but a lot less, and what I have managed (not easy for everyone and it took a while) is to develop a pretty effective stop button. So I quite quickly stop enjoying alcohol and usually stop half way through the second drink because as they say 'the fun stops".

Big fan of af beer as I like a nonsweet fizzy drink i can guzzle to match my thirst not my "unit allowance"

As well as all the drawbacks listed above, I remind myself that alcohol is a carcinogenic neurotoxin, and my family is no stranger to breast cancer.

Been there OP. Many times. The self loathing, shame, the slow recovery from thr physical effects. You name it, I've done it. If alcohol was a boyfriend or a best friend you wouldn't keep going back to it. I started to see it as my enemy, and enemy that I'd been brainwashed to welcome into my life since I was young.

I saw a meme yesterday that said 'you're too good for alcohol' and I thought, 'bingo!'. I am. So are you.

Think about it. Alcohol probably served a short term purpose in your life (probably teens/uni years). The social awkwardness and party lifestyle have passed, but that habit and its entrenched thinking have long outstayed their welcome.

Why not see your most recent hangover as your last ever hangover? It doesn't have to be like this. There is a world of freshness and peace waiting for you!

Tbh, watching my dbro dying of liver failure. He was "a social drinker" but drank probably half a bottle of wine a day during the week. 3 or 4 pints of beer at the weekend. He died within 3 weeks of being diagnosed with liver failure.
I've never been a big drinker but that stopped me immediately. He wasn't a secret drinker, he wasn't a huge drinker but it was the every day that caused all the damage.

Never been a heavy drinker as I had a miserable childhood caused by a binge drinking parent.

But it was witnessing death due to alcoholism.
It cannot be described as it was horrific, just horrific.

Never touched alcohol since. 20 years since witnessing the first of many.
Seared into my brain.

I agree with this! I listened to it at the start of Dry January and I can still hear her voice! This Naked Mind by Annie Grace (if anyone wanted to look it up) well worth a read/listen.

That's frightening. I'm sorry you lost your brother, very sad.

It wasn’t a final straw as such for me but somehow all my thoughts about the negative side of drinking came together - I wasn’t allowed alcohol before a recent operation & I decided to carry on abstaining. I’d had a lot of people telling me I needed to at least cut down & folks were worried about my long term health but in the end, it had to be my decision to quit. I knew I couldn’t keep pressing the self destruct button. It’s been almost 2 months now & I feel so much better, plus have lost a stone without trying. The financial side is a massive deal as DH worked out I was spending about £1K a year on alcohol & that only accounted for what I bought in shops, not in pubs where wine can be crazy expensive! I’m sleeping much better & find I’m dealing with DD15, who can be extremely challenging, with much more patience. My drinking obviously impacted on her - I remember when she was younger, she would be very vocal in shops & ask me to please not buy another bottle 😢

I used to be a very heavy drinker. Drinking cider most nights. Then I met my partner and moved to the countryside which meant I couldn't have those drinks after work as I was driving.

Obviously I'm not telling you to move to the countryside lol but what about a change in habits? When are you most likely to drink, after work? Why not try a hobbie?

Tbh I do still drink but very rarely. Since having my son, the thought of a hangover with a toddler kills me.

I love being able to drive home after an evening out with no fear that I've embarrassed myself or said something I shouldn't have. Waking up the next day with the same feeling. Whilst I'm having a fresh walk on the beach with my family, my whatsapp group chat is full of friends complaining how sick they feel

I'm 70. There a few things I regret in life but alcohol is one. I get drunk very easily. I don't like myself when I reflect on the stupid things I have said to family and friends. I gave up when I was 63. It wasn't easy as I love the taste of chilled white wine. But it was 10000% worth it. The improvement in my sleep, no 3 a.m. awakening with racing brain, my improved self respect are 2 particular benefits. Alcohol is ingrained in our society, just watch any TV prog. Alcohol is a pernicious drug that unfortunately tastes nice.

Can I ask to everyone who experienced these benefits - how much were you drinking? I don’t drink enough to have a hangover or feel anxiety most of the time. I feel as if I need to cut down (and will!) as recently it’s been creeping up on me and seem to drink most nights, but it’s only a couple of glasses of wine or a couple of gins (large 🙈)…I’m really looking forward to seeing the benefits in terms of skin and weight hopefully!

@Mythnames mostly just at weekends, sharing a bottle with DH but with periods of a couple of glasses each night. Hangovers rarely, but I clocked that I was using wine to de stress from my life, and that as it stopped helping I was turning to it more.

Even after a few glasses I slept badly and felt crap the next morning. Headache, bit knackered. And anxious.

@CabinetofMonstrosities that’s what I’m like, I’m starting to feel that I use it as a crutch to relax, and destress and will be thinking about it all day…so that’s why I need to nip it in the bud now. My DH made a comment (kind of light hearted but it hit home) about how quickly I’d got through a bottle of gin that he’d bought me - and he was right so I’ve said as a starting point I will only drink on the nights when he drinks, which is twice a week.

An incident with a family member I wasn't drunk, they were and it was dangerous. I just thought that's it I can't drink anymore.

I feel like I used to have great times drinking but the next day felt horrendous. I do miss the fun though!!

@CabinetofMonstrosities on Friday night from what I can remember, I drank (from 6.30pm to about 2.30am with some food in the middle):

1 bottle of white wine
2 large (I think) more glasses of white wine
2 tequila rose shots
maybe 1 shot of tequila?

I am not proud of myself. That was a particularly heavy night of drinking. I’ve come to the conclusion I use alcohol to mask my problems. The guy I was with made me so upset as well which didn’t help.

Other nights I go out with my friends I might drink perhaps a bottle of Prosecco max for the whole evening and generally I’ll feel ok the next day.

Oh sorry I meant to tag @Mythnames

@Darkdiamond

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

Could recommend some please? I could use the help too

Final straw was how awful I always felt the day after and the realisation that it brought nothing to my life.
And weirdly when I imagined my fantasy life, I was a non drinker.

I initially have up when I was pregnant with my first and realised that I didn't miss it when I could drink again. On the occasion when I did, the not feeling myself and taking days to feel "ok" after just made me realise, why do this to yourself. I'm happier without it! Also, I think the general fear of "missing out" when socialising is a big hurdle but honestly, I enjoy myself just as much am just as "fun" and am very happy to leave once the drunken level of my friend's gets to a certain point

The first one thay comes to mind is 'my kind of sweet'. She is a mum who shows how much you can enjoy life without alcohol.