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!

Thanks for that emmetgirl

Morning - have had a couple of blips this last week but hopefully back on the straight and narrow this week. I’m getting better at identifying the triggers I hope so each time I can look at how to offset. No alcohol last night so slept better than I have in a week or so but really struggling to motivate myself today to do anything.

Hi everyone just checking in.

Congrats on 50 days @BunniesBunniesBunnies that's amazing you should be so prud of yourself.

Well done to everyone else whether you're on day one or 151. We can do this 🙌

Love the toddler advice @Drybird2020 gave, it helped me a lot in the early days. Im sticking with the sweets now too😂

Day 90 for me today.
Have a lovely day all.

Unfortunately I’m still the tired, irritable, miserable sod that I was before going AF 🤷🏻‍♀️ But my blood pressure has come down so I can now start HRT. So that could be really positive... 🤞🏽

That is massive in itself, @SparklingLime. I hope it's the start of a whole world of feeling better.

I was reflecting today on how this is a great time for people to begin a sober life. As someone said upthread, who is going to know that your socially distant glass contains tonic or Ribena?! And by the time social normality resumes we'll all be settled into sobriety and it won't feel like such a big deal to tell people about the change.

Starting day 5 here. Meeting a friend for a coffee instead of a wine then more surfing this afternoon. We're trying to go for a couple of hours every day to wear me out enough that I sleep. Everything hurts! Have a good day everyone. I'll share something really helpful a stop smoking councillor shared with me that I found very empowering for the early days - cravings only last minutes - when one hits it won't go on forever, grit your teeth, breath, distract yourself and in a few minutes it'll die down.

Have a lovely day hangingover it's funny you mention that craving analogy, I used this yesterday I was having a really bad day home schooling, the sun was out I was so tempted to go to the shop for wine. I didn't I had a lovely af drink with ice/lemon/cucumber. Previously when that thought was in my head I would have to follow it through.

Have a lovely day everyone.

Hurrah! Good for you. I've developed a taste for Kombucha, it's delicious!

Just checking in.... day 10!

Have food and positive sober days everyone x

I assume that was an autocorrect for good but I'm going to go ahead and take that as a sign from the universe that I should have a third bowl of ice cream.

Nearing witching hour of day 5 here and have just had a nap. I can’t remember every feeling this utterly exhausted. @Hangingover you’re the second person I’ve seen mention kombucha! I’m definitely going to try as don’t have a very sweet tooth so that might hit the spot. Am also enjoying angostura tonic with ice and lime.

Cyllie I love ginger cordial with ginger beer and fresh lime. It has a heck of a bite.

My evening... Downton abbey, shower, then bed.

One of our dogs is waking up at 4 am because it is getting light then. She is 'Morning!!!! Bounce bounce bnounce. Morning!!! Bounce.'

She's clearly never had a hangover. And praise the Lord neither do I. :)

I didn't know ginger cordial existed! I'll definitely give that a try. I'm loving Pukka three ginger tea at the moment because it has a bit of a kick, so ginger cordial with ginger beer and lime sounds perfect!

@Hangingover - yes good but food works too!!! 😂

Hey all, just checking in. Well done everyone for doing so well!!!

I have saved nearly £250 in 53 days😱 and bought myself 2 pairs of new trainers to cheer me up🤩🤩🤩

You should all treat yourselves too😃

Belvoir ginger cordial Teetoallyimperfect :)

It is amazing. Just make sure you keep it in the fridge after opening (or drink it quickly!). They use very few additives and so forth so it has to be treated almost like fresh.

www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk/our-drinks/type/cordials/ginger-cordial/

I LOVE sober treats bunnies. A few years ago I started up a separate 'not drinking' account. I LOVED transferring what I would have spent on alcohol into that account. We would go to the pub and I would have a lemonade and look at the wine list and work out what I would have drunk. It kept my focus off drinking itself and made me feel very smug. (And when you realise you have saved £30 odd quid on a night out that feels good too!). I might re-activate that account...... ........ it is always a shcok to me when I see how much money I was literally pissing away and damaging my health over.

Thank you for the gingery drink idea, @GreenTeaMug! I had some ginger ale in the fridge and mixed it with elderflower and ginger cordial with some frozen lime slices. Delicious.

The elder is just coming into bloom here so I think today's home school will involve making cordial.

Ooh I will definitely try that @GreenTeaMug I love ginger. And the bank account too!

I have so much more energy this morning and am off for a run to welcome in day 6. Giving a virtual look of admiration to your new trainers @BunniesBunniesBunnies

@GreenTeaMug - ginger cordial exists?! I've been chugging down ginger beer😂 I'm off to the shop to buy some! I love it with a kick.
It's my 3 month mile stone today and I've saved 415 pounds🙈

Checking in on the evening of day 6 with my alcohol-free beer. Feel the sledgehammer tiredness again but in a nice way. DP and me are getting into a habit of driving to the beach every day while listening to Naked Mind and surfing for a few hours to tucker me out so I sleep. So far so good. Well done on your savings everyone!

Got another tip today; you can change your Facebook settings so it doesn't show you any promotional content about alcohol 👍🏻

@Hangingover that is a brilliant tip! I hate hate hate seeing it all on my Facebook. How do I do that😂

I think you have to wait til one appears then click the drop-down and go to Hide Ad. When it asks you why select sensitive topic. Then go to Settings > Ad Settings > Hide As Topics and you can choose how long to hide it for

Hi all,
I’m a long time lurker but never had the guts to get involved. I’m usually lurking while full of wine and hating myself.
I’ve been “off the drink” since July 2019, I lasted 3 months and have been sneakily drinking ever since.
I hide it from my husband and family who think I’m doing great.
I have two small boys and work full time, although I am working from home at the minute so my drinking has spiralled out of control.
I usually start drinking in the morning so I will be sober when hubby gets home.
I’m so ashamed of what I’ve become. I look awful and have piled on the weight! I used to take such good care of myself when it came to fitness etc.
Now I just look how I feel.
I’m determined to do it this time and I cAn relate to so many of you, Blonde, the post about texting exes is so me! Men I don’t give a shit about. I don’t understand drunk me. My husband adores me and when I’m sober I’m so in love with him.
I become a completely different person when I’ve been drinking.

Hi jebus well done for posting! When's your Day 1 going to be do you think? It took me ages to write the first post too x