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Alcohol support
Getting the drinking under control!
hashbrownsandwich · 29/03/2021 12:05
Today is the day. I drink too much and it's not acceptable.
I tend to drink most days - maybe 2 alcohol free nights a week. During the week it's probably 2 large glasses in a session, at the weekends it's easily a bottle of red between DH and I, plus a glass or two of prosecco.
I only drink wine, any other alcohol doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.
My motivation is not only financial (easily £300 a month on alcohol) but also mainly health. I work in the medical sector with patients and I've seen how bad things can get even for 'moderate' drinkers.
I fully accept that I can't be entirely alcohol free. That's not what I want. I want to achieve balance. To me this is only being able to drink on a Friday and Saturday and to not drink anywhere near as much as we normally do!
Is anyone else similar?
fellrunner85 · 05/04/2021 19:44
Sorry to be the voice of doom, OP, but there's no point in just stopping for 3 weeks. You won't have broken the habit in that time, and will nost likely just hit the bottle harder on the May bank holiday.
If you honestly want to recalibrate your relationship with booze, it takes much longer.
I used to drink far too much - probably a glass of wine Weds and Thurs, then half a bottle each "weekend" night, and more if I went out.
I then stopped for 6 months, just to cut the habit, with the intention of resuming a more normal relationship with alcohol afterwards. After 3 weeks or 3 months I'd have happily picked up where I left off.
But now I haven't had a drop in almost 3 years and you couldn't pay me to start again. I'm healthier and happier and really embarrassed by how much I didn't realise alcohol was affecting me. I also have so much more time to do the things I love. After even one glass of wine, that was it before - I was comfy on the sofa for the night. But now I have my evenings back, I sleep better, and I'm fresher in the mornings too.
Realise I sound embarrassingly evangelical. But honestly, if you want to make a change, then you need to do it properly. A few weeks won't turn around decades of learned behaviours - as the number of people who get pissed after dry January proves.
Bigbus · 05/04/2021 22:28
Good luck everyone going AF. @CocoLady I’m also starting today after 5 days in a row on the wine. Actually it went better than expected because I managed to avoid the wine monster (basically if I have past a certain amount then the wine monster wakes up and drinks everything in sight!) so it could have been worse. I think tomorrow night will be the hardest. Aiming for AF until Thursday.
Hope everyone else is ok after the long weekend
CocoLady · 05/04/2021 22:37
I'm off to bed @Bigbus ! Which is totally not like me ! I am going to attempt a 10 day AF stint from next Monday after this weekend coming up drinking to try and reset some behaviours! It might seem minuscule to other but an achievement for me ! Me n dh actually had a nice chilled night ! Once 730pm I'm fine !
Also downloaded a drink app has anyone got any recommendations?
Good luck everyone and @Bigbus you got this xx
hashbrownsandwich · 06/04/2021 07:09
@CocoLady today is a new day, there will be ups and downs, let's focus on us all getting through the day without drinking.
@RuddyHellItsSoftCell I'm going to look that up in my lunch break today. I feel like I need some real life literature. I work for the NhS and obviously have lots of info at my disposal but I feel like further reading won't hurt at all.
Cheermonger · 09/04/2021 07:17
Can I join? I’ve recently halved the amount I drink because like someone said upthread, I was becoming a miserable and isolated drinker. I’ve been AF for various periods of time over the last year or so and do feel better for drinking less but want to drink even less than less! So this thread is great timing, thank you 🙏
CocoLady · 09/04/2021 20:07
Hello 👋🏻 everyone! How is everyone doing ? Thought I would check in, I have been AF since Sunday not v impressive to others but to me it's an achievement as I set out not to drink mon-fri at all and I have achieved that this week! I will be allowing myself a few tomorrow evening as promised but that's it's one day a week!
I will admit I have been eating soooo much I think to fill that deprivation I've felt, I hope it eases off ! I've enjoyed having my mornings back feeling more with it but I'm still so tired is this normal ? I've been waking up few times through the night my sleep has been rubbish and I thought It would be better !
Keep going everyone xxx 💪🏼
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