Still stopped in 2020; a thread for anyone abstaining from alcohol.

[Drybird2020]

Dry January is over and the next phase has begun! Wherever you are on your sobriety journey, you're welcome here for encouragement, advice and support.

We love hearing from people who have been dry for a long time, so if you've swung by to have a look, please post to inspire us!

Equally, if you've woken up hungover, regretful and ashamed, determined that it's the last time, we've all been there and we're here for you now.

Lurky-lurkers, we know you're there! I observed the alcohol support threads for years before I felt ready to take the plunge, I hope these threads help others; if and when you feel ready to post, you'll get a warm welcome.

Might I respectfully ask that if your aim is moderation, you join the long running moderation thread in this topic. I find moderation chat difficult; it weakens my resolve, and many others feel the same.

I'm Drybird, 31 days sober. In that time I have saved 183 units, £192, and 12600 calories! I intend to be sober for the rest of my life, and I use this thread to keep me accountable.

It would be great to know how everyone is getting on, so if you'd like to check in below, please do! No need to share stats unless you want to, just give us a wave.

Here's tae us!

[Drybird2020]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/alcohol_support/3910349-Staying-Stopped-Alcohol-Free-permanently

New thread! Hope to see you all there 😊

[Drybird2020]

@BunniesBunniesBunnies just stock is fine, but you might feel that something is lacking, so you could add the juice of half a lemon and some zest. I sometimes add a small glass of vermouth which gives the winey edge but I'd never be tempted to drink it. Depends how you feel about having booze in the house.

@ulysses the joy of not being given a bottle! One of those wins that makes you realise how far you've come.

[BunniesBunniesBunnies]

Urgent sober advice required!!!😂😂😂😂 risotto without the wine!!! Any good?!? Just use stock instead?
I usually pour half a bottle in mine (and drink the other half...)

[Ulysses]

Hello all! I've been lurking on the thread with not much to say but cheering you on from the sidelines. I feel a bit exhausted to be honest, with work and homeschooling and all the rest. But never tempted to drink at all.

My childminder brought round a card and flowers yesterday as thanks for continuing to pay her during the lockdown. She said she was going to give me some Prosecco at first but remembered I had stopped drinking and I was genuinely so thrilled for not getting gifted Prosecco for the first time in my life!

Enjoy the weekend guys.

[BunniesBunniesBunnies]

Hmmm tinned fruit!!! Just checking in. 33 days sober for me. I don’t really have any cravings anymore, though that’s about the only thing I’ve got going for me right now. My diet is crap and I still occasionally reach for the cigarettes! I’m also knackered!

My skin is better though. I was plagued last year with bad hormonal spots (in my mid thirties!!! FFS!!!) but they seem to have gone... phew.

Hope you’re all well. Well done on the running, I’ve been lazy as hell lately!

[jess3817]

On the subject of tinned fruit and custard, for the last couple of months we've been having that for dessert once of twice a week too! My kids don't generally snack as they eat so bliming much at meal times ( good i guess lol) anyway - their favourite is tinned peaches and custard or tinned manderines. Also I've started buying those little fruit jelly pots - they like the pear and pineapple ones, think it was lime jelly, they ask me to put a dollop of custard in it when there's a gap for it 😂
Meeting a friend for a socailly distanced run later wichbwill be lovely.
Hope you're all having a good day.

[GreenTeaMug]

morning. Happy Friday!!!!!!

last night was tinned pears and custard. I recall that I like tinned pears and do not like fresh. I recalled incorrectly.

Tonight will be tinned pineapple.

I am refusing to start work until 8.45 today. Boundaries. Boundaries.

[Drybird2020]

That's great, @myhandsareverycold, I'm so glad you are feeling it get easier already.

I've been for a run and it's the weekend in a few hours, so I'm feeling chipper. I no longer associate the weekend with drinking, so I look forward to it straightforwardly.

We will need a new thread soon, any ideas for a title? Should it have stopping/stopped in it again?

[myhandsareverycold]

Day 17, 71 days in total this year. It dies get easier. It's not all consuming in my thoughts now... anyone that's just starting out hang on in there.

[SparklingLime]

Good plan, @Drybird2020!

[Drybird2020]

Just have some, Sparkling. Or more likely, add some to your online shop and have it a week from now.

[SparklingLime]

Now I want tinned fruit and custard too...

[Drybird2020]

I love tinnned fruit too, @GreenTeaMug.

It's caffeine with me too. I make a huge pot in the morning and drink it all, and then usually have an after lunch cup too. It's certainly not good for me but I'm not quite ready to rein it in... One superpower at a time!

[GreenTeaMug]

morning. My wine gum consumption is mad. And have started a serious tinned fruit and custard habit.

[Drybird2020]

My sugar consumption is depressingly high. I never used to care about it at all and now I can't stay away from the stuff. It doesn't help that I'm doing a lot of baking with the kids. It's next on my list of self improvements.

[jess3817]

@Splendidsunrise I'm regularly eating sweets, eat a couple of bags of crisps a day and this week's evening snack of choice is ice cream - aldi now sell vegan magnums - so naturally I stocked up😂 thanks for the messages everyone. .
Hope you're all ok. X

[Splendidsunrise]

@Drybird2020 What changed my cause ? I argued with myself for a good few hours. I knew that I didn’t want to start back at day 1 but thought that everyone else is drinking so why shouldn’t I treat myself ?

I needed to treat myself to really indulge myself because I was feeling,me,me,me and who in the world thinks that eating a huge amount of chocolate etc is normal. I wanted to stick my fingers up at everything and have every kind of other treat I could think of that I wouldn’t normally have .
It worked for me. I’ve cut back now the crisis is over but I’ll go back to it in a heartbeat when (as I’m sure it will) happens again.

[EIsaCragg]

Morning everyone, this thread is filling up fast. We will need a new one soon!

It's good to see that everyone keeps posting and getting such tremendous support on here, so thank you again @Drybird2020.

@iamyourequal, don't set yourself targets too far ahead. Even thinking about the weekend can be a step too far. It really is one day at a time. Store up the resolve you get every day and you will find it helps when you are struggling.

Early on in these threads, we talked about not drinking being our super power. So true.

[Drybird2020]

Congrats to jess and bunnies on the impressive milestones. And @Splendidsunrise that's... Splendid! I find it very interesting that you made such detailed plans to drink and then abandoned them, do you know what it was that made you change course?

@iamyourequal do you notice the difference between "I'm trying not to drink today" and "I'm not drinking today"? I wonder if it would help to make this adjustment to your self talk.

@StillDumDeDumming, back at work! How is it? How is your DP while you're working?

[Splendidsunrise]

Well done @jess3817 for getting over that wall and past the wine witch, 70 days ( now 71) is fantastic.
I had the same sort of thing at 80 odd days ,was planning on how much wine I was going to buy and the different shops to go for it ,because I was going to buy a lot. The witches arch enemy must have stepped in because I went to lidle and spent over £30 on chocolate,sweets,crisps and ice cream.
You can probably tell that I’m not the running kind of person, but that worked for me . I probably will put on weight but that doesn’t matter, just now what matters is that I stay sober .

[StillDumDeDumming]

@BunniesBunniesBunnies and @jess3817 impressive breakthrough numbers - all power to you!

[BunniesBunniesBunnies]

Well done on 70 days @jess3817!!!

[StillDumDeDumming]

Hello- a flying visit as I’m back at work now. Just thought I’d mention that the alcohol experiment- Annie grace - are still doing free coaching.

‘We're still here and still helping with group coaching calls nightly. If you feel alone or need support right now while we navigate this new and sometimes scary world - please join us in the free TNM Connection every night from 7pm-9pm EDT’.
.
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tnmind.co/tnmconnection-fb

[iamyourequal]

Thanks for the link Drybird. It is always helpful to read it - it’s very clever and soo true. I’m feeling good about not drinking tonight but have no faith in my ability to stay AF at the weekends, especially in lockdown. I will try though! Have a good week everyone. Lovin’ hearing all the big AF day numbers!

[Rupertpenrysmistress]

Hi jess3817 thanks for the tips it is similar to what I was doing when I quit before. Did you say 70 days sober? That is fantastic you must feel great. I really want to start running again, another thing fallen by the way.

Anyway looking forward to waking up sober. Sleep well all.