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 enjoyed listening to Hooked - The Unexpected Addicts
Its a very real portrayal of addiction, and I learned a lot.

I also want to say that I don't go out much, but when I do, I always have such a good time. The last two times I went out with friends, I cried with laughter so much that all of my eyeliner came off and my ribs were a bit sore the next day!

Apart from Naked Mind - I also really liked 'Drink - A love Story'. I've given up twice before - for a year when pg, and couple of years due to health issues & treatment. Then couple of years ago - started again and now I'm almost back where I started. Dinking almost every day and sometimes really too much. And then like you I think - this has to stop. But it goes on. It's especially crazy given my health issues - it's like part of me just doesn't care enough.

Like pps I have also found that sheer vanity is quite a good motivator where my actual health fails. I'd like to lose weight and look healthier. I'd like more productive down time. I'm going to make a board representing my key motivators and pin it up in my home office. It's very hard to fight your own brain and easy to be resolute at 10 am - 6 pm I just don't seem to care. But let's do it op.

If you are drinking most nights, just add up the alcohol units and compare it to the recommended female limit especially if you are short like me. It may surprise you.

Final straw was probably just accepting that I was either going to carry on drinking heavily for the rest of my (shortened) life. Or I was going to stop and be healthy and live longer.

The thought of drinking as much as I was forever just filled me with dread.

Honestly, do it. It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done. I thought I needed to drink to make things fun. Or to enjoy my kids. Actually it turns out that everything is more enjoyable without it. I really enjoy my kids now. I enjoy holidays so much more. I enjoy the weekends so much more. I missed out on so much all those years.

Just do it. If you stop for 3 months and decide you don’t want to stop anymore, you can always have a drink again. But you won’t know until you try! I’m a year alcohol free next month and truly can’t imagine drinking again. It just doesn’t appeal to me at all.

I gave up alcohol in my mid twenties, almost 20 years ago. I couldn't control my drinking and it was problematic which might not be the case for everyone.

I love:

• no hangover
• I never think about drinking or wish I was drinking again
• remembering everything that happens on a night out
• not having to pretend I'd have enough booze or that I hadn't been drinking
• not putting myself in dangerous situations/making bad decisions whilst drunk
• having better, healthier coping mechanisms
• going and doing more interesting things than just going to the pub or drinking alone every night
• It made it easier for me to stop smoking too (15yrs now)

I'm sure there are loads more too.

Forgot to say the final straw for me was another night out ending in disaster and putting myself into a bad situation and making myself vulnerable.

It wasn't the worst thing that happened to me - I had been trying to stop for a while and had been hospitalised for suicide attempt due to drinking and was a black out drinker.

I think people must be drinking an awful lot for it to have such an impact on your life. I do drink and I look forward to my glass or three of wine on a Friday night and a couple of gins on a Saturday. I extremely rarely drink on a week night. I might have a glass of wine while cooking on a Sunday afternoon or if we go out to eat for an occasion (e.g. Mothers day last week) but not Monday to Thursday.

I tried sober for October a few years ago and was expecting great things but I didn't really notice anything.

I don't fret about trying to moderate or when to order the next bottle of wine. I just go with the flow and stop when I know I've had enough (mostly!)

I wasn’t drinking a lot so wasn’t a biggie for me to give up but let’s say I would go out every couple
of months I’d binge drink. Now I just don’t drink at all.

Listen to this:

open.spotify.com/episode/2ebY3WNejLNbK47emgjd1E?si=DQxcTz-dR-WnCNdcRn8zUQ&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A79CkJF3UJTHFV8Dse3Oy0P

How are you feeling today?

Funny that this is the first post I see today. I'm in bed feeling awful. I'm fed up of it. They've started to hit me particularly badly but I'm not sure if it's the late night and not enough food that is more the issue.

I had

a bottle of wine
A 187ml bottle of wine
2 cans of shot and mixer from Tesco
3 shots of vodka
Somewhere between 2 and 5 cocktails

I woke up with stomach cramps, sickness but nothing to be sick and my heart is 106bpm just lying here.

I went to bed at 3 and woke up at 5 and then 6 feeling too rough to sleep more.

I'm 36 and this now happens every time we are up late and I feel bad for 2/3 days. It simply isn't worth it. We used to go for breakfast the morning after and it was a lovely treat. Now we can't

I don't know what the answer is. I don't enjoy social situations where others drink so much anymore without a drink but I can't do this.

This is my thought when reading the thread - that posters were drinking a lot more than I do when they gave up alcohol.

I am coming up to 3 months with no alcohol (extended Dry January ahead of a medical procedure) and other than saving money, I haven’t noticed any major difference in my life. I normally average 2-3 glasses of wine a week, however.

I was drinking heavily ( 2 bottles of wine most days plus spirits sometimes) so the difference for me is huge.

@TesticularHeft I am feeling much better today, especially now. I still didn’t feel that amazing this morning. Also I left the house and felt very anxious. How are you feeling now?

I think the problem is is that drinking and going out is so normalised and part of our culture that doing the opposite is not what we’ve been told to do. I do think being sober and not drinking is becoming more and more common now but there is still a stigma attached to not drinking especially in social situations.

Everytime I say to my very good friend that I am going to try and give up alcohol she says “no don’t, that’s a silly idea”. And actually, I don’t think it is. Even if it’s just for a bit but I can’t control my emotions when I am drunk.

I became intolerant which helped, but I’d started to hate the feeling of being drunk and how shit I felt the next day.

I drank a lot when I was younger, definitely a binge drinker and although I had fun I did put myself in some dangerous situations. I’m almost 40 now and I just don’t like it anymore, it stopped being fun and I was sick of being bloated, puffy faced and wasting my weekends.

Today is my day one (hence my shiny new username)

I think it has been coming for a while now. I've just not been enjoying drinking. It isn't the fun it used to be.

I also hate smelling of booze which I feel as if I do even after one or two drinks. I hate the things which traditionally have to involve drink too (eg nights out). There are so many better ways to spend my time.

I don't feel healthy at the minute and I do get hangxiety too. I want to feel less tired and honestly look better too - I just look really unhealthy when I've been drinking regularly.

That's the logic at the minute anyway!

I stopped at New Year. I did go out for lunch in mid-January and had a couple of glasses of wine with my meal but that made me feel awful the next day. I've not touched any booze since then. I am a bit of a binge drinker and always hated myself after a session.

I'm not sure I'll never drink again, but at the moment I'm happy not to feel awful after drinking. We're off on a weekend city break abroad in a couple of weeks and usually that would be a booze filled break, but I'm not sure I'll bother this time.

This is a lovely thread with so many positive stories - I hope it inspires lots of people!

I have done lots of fucking stupid things when drunk. Argued with people I shouldn't have. Slept with people I shouldn't have. Put myself in danger. Taken things I shouldn't have. Spent insane amounts of money. The list goes on.

There is definitely less chaos in my life now I am sober. And there are unexpected benefits too. I can focus more on work and on my family and friends. I'm a much better mother. I have started to have a lot more money so I can use it to do fun things and still save more than I used to for emergencies. My overall mood is a lot better. I sleep much better. I enjoy hobbies like cooking and reading much more.

I think it's true what they say - you can have alcohol, or you can have everything else. You can't have both.

I know so many lovely people who are largely ruled by the need to drink. Every night out has to involve drinking. It is there go to passtime. It's a shame.

I have found it relatively easy to quit once my husband quit too. Respect to people who stop drinking with a partner who still drinks, but that was beyond me.....

My closest school friend of 35 years, would come to my city for work and we'd have long nights with loads of beers and plenty of chat and good times. I got a phone call, four months after our last meetup, from his wife to tell me that he was in hospital and he wanted me to see him. I learned that he was a functioning alcoholic and that he had advanced liver cancer. He had symptoms but he always brushed it off until he no longer ignore it. When I went to see him, it was to say goodbye. He died the day after I saw him. He was 47.

It made me really look at my own drinking habits and how much drinking was a part of my life. It was huge! For starters, I worked in the wine business as a representative for a winery. I had sales targets and was rewarded with lots of wine. I had to attend wine tasting trainings and drinking events were quite prevalent. I sat down and realized how much I was drinking and it was a substantial amount. I had some kind of alcohol daily and I was proud of my tolerance.

My friend's death changed me for the better. I quit in 2021.

It's a nice feeling to wake up without feeling like hell after a night out and having total recall of events. I had a check-up and I was happy to fill out the form regarding the amount of alcohol I consume during the week and putting "none" instead of lying about it. Admittedly, I've put on weight because I replaced the sugar from alcohol with chocolate and cake but I'll eventually sort it out. I did also quit my wine sales job because it was too hard to be around it. I do other sales and attend events and still have a good time. I've discovered non-alcoholic drinks so I'm hoping to find a specialist brewery and maybe an opportunity will present itself there.

Good luck 🍀 on your non-alcohol journey @Whatslovegottodowithit123

@Ilovelurchers I couldn’t resonate anymore with your second paragraph about doing stupid things when drunk. That is basically all I do when I am past a limit. All of my boundaries just go flying out of the window. On Friday I know I got really upset with this guy not just because he’s an arsehole but because I was so drunk. If I wasn’t drinking in the first place I probably wouldn’t have been with him.

I gave up when i was 35 so ive not had a drink for 7 years now. I was just done with it all. I started considering a life without alcohol a couple of years before and i really honed in on -why do i do it if it makes me feel ill? Hangovers/time stealer/cba all the time. Waking up at 3am hating myself. I didnt really like the taste. Giving up first year was pretty hellish but i joined one year no beer and joined their wonderful supportive community on Facebook. Now it honestly doesn’t bother me. Ive lost friends/dont get invited to things like before but ive been present with my children and trained up to get more qualified. I much prefer my life now.

i wouldnt have said i was a raging alcoholic but i do think it was more of a habit. Im an all or nothing person so one drink was never enough. Its easier just to say no!

I've been teetotal for over 7 years now and it's brilliant! I get told I have glowy skin, I feel great and have lots of energy. I always have a clear head. Do it!

I'm not and never have been a heavy drinker, but even a few glasses of wine give me a racing heart and stop me sleeping.

So initially I changed to only drinking 1 bottle of wine max and only at weekends, and then to only drinking occasionally.

These days I don't really drink unless I'm going out, and even then I drink minimally (2-3 glassea of wine and maybe a cocktail). I also prefer day drinking, so I'm done by 6pm and move on to cups of tea and pepsi. Means I don't risk feeling rough..

I was on holiday last week at a paradise resort. I didn’t touch a drop. I drank coke when we went out in the evenings and I loved it. My husband is a recovering alcoholic who hasn’t drunk for 22 years. I thought why would we pay all that money to go somewhere so nice just for him to watch me get half cut. Plus I think a big part of it was the fact that I was out of my normal routine. Usually at home I’d think ooo it’s nearly half 4, I’ll open my bar. To lay off the booze for that week was fabulous. Was up and in the pool at 6.30am. No groggy feeling. No rotten taste in my mouth. A lot of it for me is habit. I thrive on habit and routine. For now I’m going to stick to a few beers at the weekends and take it from there x

@BlueEyesBrownHair I have just found their Facebook page. Looks great. Do you have a link to the group?