Staying Stopped - Alcohol Free, permanently.

[Drybird2020]

This thread is a kind and supportive environment for anyone committing to an alcohol free life.

From Day 1 onwards, you are welcome here for support, encouragement, tips and chat. There are many of us, at different points on the journey some have been sober for years, months, or weeks, others are just starting out, but all are
committed to an alcohol free life and the freedoms it brings...

Freedom from the tyranny of booze and the effort of figuring out how much to drink, and how and when to procure and drink it.

Freedom from guilt, self loathing, and 3am wake ups, and the fear of what might have been said and done the night before.

Freedom from the pervasive sense of dread and shame.

Freedom to embrace life with energy, and to face challenges with an uncluttered head, a lighter heart, and a lighter recycling bin.

If you've not yet decided whether total abstinence is for you, do feel free to hang out and ask questions but please be aware that discussion of drinking can be triggering, especially for those in the early stages of sobriety.

If you are still drinking, or planning on moderating (and this includes occasional or once in a blue moon drinking) have a look at the moderation threads, which might be a better fit for you.

I check in here every day as part of my recovery. It has kept me accountable, and the wonderful posters who contribute have helped me more than they could possibly know. This is day 137, and I'll be here for a long time!

I'm well thanks! Apart from the crippling sunburn on the back of my legs. Which stoopid redhead completely forgot to sun cream the legs today!!

Ouch!

I hope you feel better soon!

My ridiculous cat has just walked out of one open window to the closed one that is right next to the open one and is meowing to be let in.

@Catonaroof what are you doing with your evening? I hope you are enjoying it.

I am exhausted today. Dog walk in about 10 minutes then I think i shall wind down. I have a shitty crap day ahead tomorrow. I am really not looking forward to it. We are all back to work and socially distancing in our offices. I'm over the whole concept of 'work' really.

@Drybird2020 your post really struck a chord. A few years ago I was getting awful palpitations all the time for seemingly 'no reason'. They really frightened me and I convinced myself there was something wrong with my heart, so every evening i would drink so that I could stop worrying about my heart for a bit. So ridiculous.

@jess3817 your trip sounds like such a fun adventure. I'm jealous!

@BunniesBunniesBunnies Hope your mood lifts soon. Its bloody hard work feeling EVERYTHING all the time without numbing it out.

Welcome @Catonaroof

Oh there we go.... The cat has figured the whole window-is-open out now. She is telling me off though - I think for not chauffering her through the window on a velvet cushion I suspect.

Sorry for my random musings. The DCs are playing bloody roblox and DH is in the garden. I'm feeling a bit lonely actually!

Welcome to the thread Catonaroof
Teetotallyimperfect @Drybird2020 your post really struck a chord. A few years ago I was getting awful palpitations all the time for seemingly 'no reason'
My goodness, last September I was getting weird symptoms like palpitations, dizziness and a hot face. I was worried about it and thought I’d need to go to the GP if it didn’t stop. It was actually the thought of the appointment that was one of my triggers for deciding to stop/drastically cut back on alcohol. I reckoned the GP would ask me how much I drank, and I would be embarrassed telling her. It made me realize that I would have a cheek asking her to help me with my health if I wasn’t even trying to get the basics right myself. It’s been a slow journey, admittedly!

Have a lovely trip Hanging Your life sounds amazing: sun, beach, surfing, road trips, never having to drive (not sure you work at the moment either?) and you get apple pie and haircuts! I’d murder for a haircut at the moment..actually I’d murder for apple pie at the moment .

@OrlandoInTheWilderness Ouch, hope you've got some aloe or something to hand!

@GreenTeaMug I'm still a bit hungover, so I'm procrastinating a bit and texting some random from tinder. I'm glad I'm not going to be feeling this rough tomorrow!!

GreenAfternoonTeaMug did you bake a cake in the end? Do tell!

No- I decided I could not be bothered! I ended up buying a Victoria sponge. And chocolate milk.

I am a terrible baker.

Ha I'm okay! Aloe Vera, wet cold towels, frozen peas and painkillers!! I'm so cross with myself, I'm normally so careful (I've had 2 family members with skin cancer) but was so busy sorting child out I forgot to do me!

GreenAfternoonTeaMug No- I decided I could not be bothered! Quite right. Baking isn’t for everyone. Night all. Hope you can sleep through the sunburn Orlando. Chance would be a fine thing of getting burnt up here - the sun hasn’t been out since Saturday!

Yeah we're really lucky to be "stuck". I gave up work is Feb with the intention of traveling til end of April and going home to try and get a new job but the whole industry I work in has completely fallen over. We could get home now if we wanted to but we were locked down in on (admittedly very lovely) spot for most of our allotted holiday so we want to go to some of the places we had earmarked - especially since it seems West Aus won't be letting foreigners in again for a LONG time. Steaming through my savings of course but life is for living I guess! I'll post while I'm away - camo WiFi if usually pretty good!

Well done on day one Catonaroof post here if you're feeling tempted even if it's late at night because I'll be up to chat to you.

The haircut felt blissful equal you'll feel amazing when you're finally allowed to get one. You know like when you get a haircut after a breakup? It felt a bit like that. Like sober me has fekkin good hair!

Starting day 26 here with a cuppa and a few chapter of Annie's book. Can't believe I've made it 26 days - I haven't done that in five years! Have a good day everyone, when you all wake up 💕

Thanks, hangingover! Day two begins early here. It is 4AM and I don't think I've slept at all, so I gave up when the dawn chorus started. Mulling over stuff that I've not previously needed to deal with, but also maybe some mild withdrawal symptoms like palpitations. I'm not tempted though, and there's nothing in the house worth drinking anyway!

I'm in a slightly different situation to you, but not burning through savings as I'm not going anywhere. I decided to take a bit of a sabbatical because I was unhappy with the direction my career was taking. And that sabbatical turned out to be pretty awful timing! I'm applying for lots of random jobs now, just to give my life a bit of structure again!

It's a good time to have a pause and reassess things. I don't know about you but not going back to my old job will be a godsend in terms of not being tempted to go to the pub! If I were you I'd try and stay up all day and get some bits done then have a nice mint tea of something in bed about 9pm and you might find you drop off and sleep all the way through.

Morning all.

It is a good time to pause and reassess. I'be been almost brought to my knees by the past 3 months. I know something needs to change but not sure what.

I hope everyone has a good day. :)

What's that lovely quote? "sometimes you don't need to be able to see the big picture, all you need to know if what you're going to do next"

may be from a Sophie Kinsella book

why aren't my strikeouts working

Oh that is a BRILLIANT quote. And very apt actually for me today.

Morning all!

Well done on 36 days @Hangingover!!!

I found yesterday really hard. I did smoke a few cigarettes🙁 but it made me feel shitty so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. I did also have a glorious open water swim and I didn’t drink🤩, so I guess it could be worse.

Feeling more positive today despite being up since 4am (the toddler woke and then went back to sleep, but I couldn’t).

Hope you have a good day all

Is anyone from January or the first few months still around? Apart from our wonderful @Drybird2020 ofc! As we come up to six months since we started it would be lovely to hear from anyone still going, hiccuping or whatever

Urgh, floored by cravings this afternoon.

We went to the bottle shop to buy some booze for friends who very kindly put us up during lockdown.

Just the ritual of going to the bottle shop, buying the bottles, the familiar shape of the wine bottle in my hands as I got back in the van...it's sets the dopamine off....my brain is demanding alcohol now. So hard. I had some Vegemite on bread and a few squares of chocolate to try and confuse brain with salt and sugar. We're going round to give it to them later and I'm sure they'll offer us some. Give me strength

Morning all. I feel for those of you stuggling to sleep, it must be torture to be up at 4am.
Hi *Sparkling’ I was on the thread from Near Year. I managed Dry January then tried moderation (failed!) then sober in March but took a wobbly at lockdown and started drinking. Rather too much. I’m committed now to AF and on day 24. Have you been AF all this time like Drybird?

please may i join? Im so fed up with my life. I cant go two days without reaching for the bottle. Its a horrible cycle and I so want to be free.
Its costing us a fortune.
I have a really high tolerance to alcohol so can drink beer and harder spirits without much effects. I also start smoking when drinking
Yesterday I had 4 beers, 2 glasses of wine (and that's a slow day) and smoked almost 20 cigarettes.
I'm so beyond it. Ive been living this way (and worse) for about 4 years now.
Its aged me beyond belief and I just cannot afford to be living this way.
I would love to be free of alcohol and smoking. J just don't know how. A couple of years ago I did do dry January, I dont know how I managed but I did. I wish i had stayed sober.

@Hangingover Hang in there, you've got this and it would be a shame to have to start over. No advice on what to do when you're offered a drink, maybe claim you feel a did dehydrated and ask for water instead?

@littlebyerockerboo I just started out yesterday having had only a few dry days this entire year. Sometimes you just hit that wall and know something has to change. It is one day at a time for me, I'm not going to worry about getting to day 30 until I'm on day 29.