Really struggling

[SansEthanol]

How do you deal with cravings? I want to stop 99% of the time.
But that 1% will tell me anything to get me to have a drink.
Life feels boring and flat sober, but my mind is so mashed by the drink I NEED to stop, no moderating, just stop. Can anyone relate? How did you deal with it?

Hey, well done for acknowledging you need to quit. When you say life feels boring and flat sober, how long have you given sobriety a try? I was very worried about life being boring sober, but it is most definitely not. I have just as much of not more than before😂😂😂 The first bit can be tough though as you’re having to break those habits. Am about 11 months in now and bloody love it, there is nothing boring about it! In fact I now often think what a predictable bore I must have been when drunk...

Have you read The Naked Mind by Annie Grace. That will help you I think. It explores the conscious and subconscious mind - why you so want to not do it but then do anyway.

I'm the same op. I think we have something missing in our lives that we're trying to fill with alcohol.

I find it's that and trying to block/numb/deaden the boredom and general slog and mundanity of life. It's an escape.

I'm getting to the point where I can't handle the hangovers though, they're so bad. I've just about manages to get it down to twice a week but they often end up being full on binges.

The cravings were so strong for me in the early days, I was really antsy and uncomfortable in my skin. My brain would also say literally any ridiculous thing to get me to have a drink, so I had this constant internal argument going on in my head, it was exhausting. You have to just learn to sit with those feelings and the anxiety, and then it does pass. I took a lot of baths, went for walks, tried deep breathing and counting to ten, yoga, writing my feelings down, eating cake (you can deal with the sugar addiction later!), anything to distract myself until the cravings had gone. The gaps between them start to get longer and they pass more quickly once you get through that initial bit. It's hard, you just have to white knuckle and hang on I think until it gets easier.

I've been sober 18 years now. I just stopped Cold turkey from a bottle of whisky a day to zero overnight. It's years since I have wanted/felt like I needed a drink.

The craving do go.

In the early days I gave myself licence to eat whatever I wanted whenever I felt the urge. Chocolate. Sweets. Cake. Anything. As @sallyanne33 implies, coming off sugar is a lot easier.

Work out how much you DON'T spend on booze in a day and then buy yourself something special you wouldn't otherwise buy with the money. Or save it up for a big treat.

Find another way of rewarding yourself.

You can do it.

My head is still too chaotic to respond directly, but thank you to those who have commented on this thread. I continue to fight knowing it's for the best