Damp Feb! For DJ survivors and Feb drink moderation fans!

[Fordian]

Hi Everyone who might be interested, a thread for anyone who wants an accountability check-in for their moderate Feb drinking!

@Whatthefork20 I have found this to be such a supportive, honest and non judgemental thread there is.

@Addictforanex we had a roast today as well. I have to admit I really really struggled to resist the red wine.

I am going to be honest, I've had a really busy weekend (why I thought teenagers/young adults would be more hands off, I don't know!)

I've had two glorious glasses of red wine tonight. I've batch cooked, sorted various offspring calamities, shopped, and generally navigated yet another weekend as a solo parent. I've made enough food to see us through for about 2 weeks. I've made enough fancied wine. I've had wine.

I now feel warm and fuzzy. I don't want to finish the bottle. But it's made an otherwise functional weekend less boring.

To me, this is what moderation looks like. A couple of glasses and then stopping.

I'm so thankful for this thread. As a pp said it's been a v non judgmental space to work out what works!

hello everyone, sorry for being quiet for a bit. It's been a horribly busy & stressful week for various reasons and I admit I fell off the wagon in a big way as a result apart from Sat night when I was occupied preparing for an unpleasant medical procedure on Sun (yes, where I am they work Sundays, woo-hoo!). Thankfully that went well and I'm not seriously ill. Hurrah. But then we celebrated last night and ended up staying up far too late so I've felt like crap today. So I am firstly v cross with myself but also have been nodding along with others who are finding Feb wetter than they expected and wondering whether moderation is worth the bluddy faff of bargaining all the time. Sigh. So, back on the wagon for this week and possibly the weekend. Or at least drink gin not wine. Like others, I love the taste of wine but I do find it difficult to stop at one. But less difficult not to pick up that first glass, weirdly. Gah!

Hope you're on the mend @TonstantWeader .
I went to see a comedian last night DH and I went for a drink beforehand. I was only planning on having 1 (large) glass of wine, but the barman said if you're both having a large glass each a bottle is cheaper. So we guzzled a bottle between us in about 45 mins. Not feeling great today. On the upside I had my bloods done and my liver and kidney function is fine. I'm not taking it as an excuse to continue drinking regardless but as an opportunity to stay healthy. I am wondering if sobriety might be easier as I'm constantly thinking about which day to drink/ not to drink.

I had a heavy Saturday - had a family gathering and not sure how much I drank but it was a lot. I woke up feeling rough on Sunday. I then had last night dry and am determined not to drink again until Friday.

I’ve done 42/55 days dry so far this year. If I can make it to Friday without a drink I’ll have been 80% dry in 2025 so far.

Whoops - not 80%, 75%. My maths is crap.

Struggling tonight - so want a drink. I’ve a stressful week at work so know that it’s not a good idea. But still craving a glass or three.

Try not to! It won't make you feel any better!

Be kind to yourself @newme2025 - whatever you choose, know that it’s you that is in control of that decision.

Stick with the dry days if you can @newme2025 ! And thank you for a new way of looking at the dry vs wet days. I like that methodology a lot, ha ha ha. And thanks, @ThePoshUns , yes all fine. I know what you mean though about the 'but a bottle is cheaper' rationale. DH and I have done the same calculation re those mini-bottles sometimes and ended up getting a full sized bottle instead by the same logic.

Anyway, slept much better last night and woke up early but feeling fine this morning. I'm not even thinking of another drink until the weekend after last week's performance - I'm looking at it as being back in DJ again!

Thanks for the encouragement. Am safely upstairs in bed. Pleased I didn’t cave.

Well done @newme2025 . Another dry day in the bank.

When I wake up after an alcohol free night I think I feel really good then I tell myself “well, you would because you didn’t poison yourself last night”. It’s helping me to look at it all in a different way

Love that! And yes, a v good way of looking at it. Congrats, @newme2025 ! I have also on occasion gone to bed when the wine witch is singing louder than I want her to. Another day done, so chalk that one up too on the total.

It's all gone to shit here. For various reasons I'm having the most stressful time I can ever remember having in my life, so I'm not going to beat myself up over a glass of cheapo Prosecco.

Maybe I'll try a March reset.

Ahh @Castlerigg , it's a blip. Recognising your triggers is good. The thing is about falling off the wagon is you can get back on again!
I am pleased with myself went out with friends last night, they had wine with food and I had lemonade. That would never have happened previously.
One day at a time.

Well done @ThePoshUns - that is impressive will power.

I stupidly drank last night - got to 7.30 but then DH cracked open a bottle of red and I couldn’t resist. Will now need to have today and tomorrow off to make my 50% dry February goal. I’d much rather have had a drink on a Friday than a Wednesday, but it’s my own fault.

@Castlerigg so sorry things are so stressful 😥.

Another dry day done. Just got to get through tomorrow to achieve 50% dry February. Not sure what my target for March will be yet. I know it would be better and more long term thinking to address the root cause of why I drink, but for now (and with very little time) I’m finding setting targets is the best way to cut down.

I was out for at an event yesterday afternoon where it’s typical to drink many large glasses - but I had one 175 and one 250, drank water and called it a night at 8 - still have quite a thick head this morning after a disturbed sleep.

For the month of February this brings me to 20 days dry and a total of 63.9 units according to the app - still not great on units but better than the estimated 120 units/mnth I was drinking last year!

What’s everyone’s plan for next month? Any one up for a a ‘Less Merry March’ 🤭

Morning all! Spring seems to be coming!
After a shaky start February ended ok, with 50% dry, and 70 units, which I am ok with- turned out a little high after a planned eve out with friends, which turned into a, non - planned binge, which I am not ok with. But it happens and I move on.
Considering lent...

Damp Feb has been hard. 10 drinking days and 18 AF. Not great, but had two visits with my sister who I usually don't see for months on end,which was a contributing factor. Hoping for better in Moist March!

I didn't do too well in Feb.
16 dry days and 68 units so far.
I am going out for lunch today so will likely have a bottle of wine. I will aim for a dry Saturday though.
At least with this thread and the app I am more mindful of my drinking and it is less than last month.
I would like to be within the healthy weekly guidelines though and that has never happened.

I’m on the home stretch if dry February. Tonight I break the drought. I have only really found Friday nights really hard. But being in this thread has shown me that moderation is harder than abstinence for a lot of people so I’m going to try and go Back to the 5 dry nights a week regime that I had in January.

@Fordian do you think we could have a March thread? I have found this to be such a useful and honest space.

It sounds like you’ve all done better than me! Really cursing myself for drinking on Wednesday now as I would very much like some wine tonight. Determined to achieve 50% dry this month though at the very least - and I have to have tonight dry to do that.