The freedom thread ( continued ) Riding the rollercoaster of an alcohol free life! Alcohol support for those wanting to give up drinking.

[SavBbunny]

Hello all
This is a thread for people who have decided that life is much better without alcohol!🤩 These threads were started by @Drybird, and they have changed the lives of many people.
Some posters on these threads have been sober for a long time, and some are only just starting. We are a very friendly and inclusive bunch and we are always excited when someone new joins the thread. The only thing we ask is that our posters have given up alcohol completely. Talk of moderation can be triggering for some people, so this thread is not the right place for that (there are other moderation threads🙂).
We are a supportive welcoming bunch. No question is ever to “ silly “ and their is generally someone around if you are struggling
So just come here to chat or vent or check in . Whatever you need as you ride the rollercoaster of an alcohol free life smile
Thank you to @fortheloveofgodwhy for hosting the last thread 💜
And here’s to the next 40 pages grin

@Breathmiller you should absolutely mark the occasion tomorrow! Buy or arrange something nice for yourself for sure. Doesn’t have to be expensive.
@LovinglifeAF same goes for you🙂

@SportsBra and @thepurplepenguin welcome!!!

@thepurplepenguin I used to be very similar - an otherwise healthy person sabotising myself with booze. Now without the booze I’m fitter and more energetic than ever! For sure I still have my vices but I can honestly say this is the strongest I’ve ever felt despite having several small kids. Since quitting I’ve also started going to bed much earlier which has improved my life in so many ways. Good luck to you!

@SavBbunny hope things work out with the house!

Welcome @thepurplepenguin

good to see you @SportsBra, and yes to the relief! It’s so settling to know that if I do something, it's really me doing it, not the booze

Morning all.

Lovely day here.
DH said the Marks spice and coke (orange can 0%) tasted like rum.

Big party next to us last night. Singing until early hours (I loved a karaoke when I was a boozer). Read a book instead!

Thanks savbbunny. I'll* *keep an eye out for it.

Welcome thepurplepenguin you're* *in grand company here.

Hi all,

Hope everyone is ok. Also thanks @SavBbunny re m and S orange can, other half is popping out so I had said about the 0% bottle of golden spiced which I think is the same thing.

Morning all.

Hi all, can I join please ? I'm 37 and have two small and very demanding kids. I don't drink a huge amount but have been drinking for 20 years and I've finally had enough! I definitely drink to self medicate and to reward myself after a relentless and challenging day... and have been drinking more in the summer hols. I have to get up early every day with my kids and drinking means I get insomnia. I had a drink on Friday night and still feel rotten, and it ruined my whole weekend. I probably only drink 1.5 bottles of wine a week but it's enough to affect my quality of life.

• what do you guy do to relax if not having a drink? Due to my young kids and husband working away a lot, and no help from extended family, I can't go out in the evenings and participate in hobbies as I would like. Wine is so readily available... I need to think of other ways to treat myself and relax!

-What do you have as a "special" drink that feels like a treat but is AF? I only really drink wine and G&T, and I don't really want to drink alcohol free wine. I'm thinking a nice bottle of elderflower tonic with ice?

Thanks for having me!

Hi all, hope everyone is having a nice Monday so far!

@hassletassle good morning and welcome.

You will find lots of support here. Funnily enough I see a lot of twenty year drinkers. We seem to reach a point where we are fed up with the effects/consequences of excess alcohol.

Lots of 'the lads' (we are manly women but this makes me laugh from @hangingover) like af beer, Nozeco, Gordon's 0% gin. I have just discovered the marks green tins of pre mixed faux gin and tonic. They also do a mock rum and coke. £1.50.
The Asda fizzy sav blanc is good too.

I don't have a sweet tooth but lots of peeps feel they need extra sugar in the early days.
Good luck. It takes a few weeks but you will sleep so much better.

Morning savb et al.

I did it !! 2 years today!! And I am so proud of myself.

I can't think how to celebrate, I'm not sure I need to really.

it's* *a beautiful day, I'm not working but have a few bits and bobs to be getting on with. The fact I have had a birthday weekend (not mine) and do not have a monumental hangover is celebration enough.

The last two years have been transformative for me in many ways. I have addressed and continue to address a few other issues and I don't think I would in any way be able to do that if I was still drinking.

It has done wonders for my health, physically but most of all my mental health.

And although it was time and I started before I found this thread and i had done a long period of abstinence in the past, I really don't think I could have kept going as long as I have this time without you lot here. You made me realise that forever was possible.

It really feels like a friendship group. I really hope that one day I can meet up with some of you in real life. I can't thank you enough, to those who were here before me who supported me at the beginning when I was on daily needing constant support. To the ones who have been here continuing to support and just generally chatting too. And all those newbies and people who pop in, you don't realise how valuable your input is to help others.

For anyone lurking who thinks an AF life might be for them, I say do it!! Start today. One day at a time. It really is wonderful, hard to begin with, scary even bit so so worth it.

Life still has it's ups and downs, of course it does but everything feels so much easier, even the hard things.

It's genuinely like a fog has been lifted and I can see more clearly. An AF life is sweet AF.

Go well today my friends.

woop woop @Breathmiller ! Many congratulations, and thank you for your beautiful post.

welcome @hassletassle - I tend to do physical stuff to relax these days - but my kids are a lot older than yours so that’s easier for me. Putting on loud music and dancing round the kitchen also works for me! I used to get through the early days by thinking how good it would be to get into bed sober with a camomile tea and a book! If your DH is away you can do that as early as you like. What did you used to enjoy as a kid?

Huge congrats @Breathmiller! What a beautiful post. Thank you for your continued support on this thread xxx

@Breathmiller omg, two years. Well done. Buy lipstick, shoes, an expensive property porn book!
Or how about a rose for the garden? I think there is a congratulations rose or peace?

Congratulations @Breathmiller.

Day 100 here. Will celebrate by changing my library books and finishing (hopefully) my jigsaw. I also have to sack the accountant. First time I've had to do anything like that completely sober.

Interesting times

Congratulations @DeedIDo !

Thanks @Onewildandpreciouslife and @SavBbunny. I was just thinking about reading in bed - I haven't done that in years ! Something to look forward to. I'll try those drinks suggestions - particularly interested in the AF gin x

Awww, I’m re-reading Sober Diaries and just read this, and thought of you lot. Thanks for being there, lads

“What I miss by doing this all by myself, by not doing AA, is a new posse. And ex-drinkers are, in many ways, the best posse of all. People of extremes. People who’ve lived a little. People with tales to tell. And that’s me, me and my online crew.”

— The Sober Diaries: How one woman stopped drinking and started living. by Clare Pooley
amzn.eu/774w0vM

@Breathmiller That is fantastic! I also echo the thoughts of others, your post was great thank you.

Well lads I am 7 months today (forgot to say earlier) and bloody hell I never thought I would say that. One binge due to losing my new job. I won't be doing that again, I thought I was going to die.

I don't see rabbits yet but I am grateful for every sober morning. It does feel great. I was even gardening last night which wouldn't have been impossible last year.
Onwards and upwards my friends.

deedido massive congratulations on day 100. And 7 months savbbunny. Fantastic achievement!! Celebrations all round.

I am a bit short on funds at the moment as all my money is going into my kitchen and we had a lovely celebration for my daughters birthday yesterday. So, I'm not sure I feel the need to buy anything really.

I did celebrate by standing on my head this morning 😄🙃. I'll go with that for now.

Massive congrats to @SavBbunny and @DeedIDo. How brilliant to see all these milestones today including @Breathmiller’s, what strong people we are.

@hassletassle you need a toolbox🙂 Just a bunch of coping mechanisms to help you get through the day/relax/unwind etc. I only ever had awful coping mechanisms when I still drank so I had to come up with new ones. Now I run, swim, cycle, listen to podcasts, have bath and enjoy audio books. I also bake sometimes - badly!

It’s hard with small kids and a husband who works away a lot but there are many things that can be done from home as well, like yoga, exercise videos, Netflix & chill with a nice snack, reading etc. What did you enjoy doing before kids? I find being outdoors (with or without kids) also helps a lot.

I used to struggle sooo much with the early mornings with kids when I was still drinking. Now they are a lot more calm!

Congratulations @SavBbunny on your milestone and for holding the thread so beautifully. I always enjoy your posts.

@Breathmiller, it really is like a friendship group on here! And these friends know only the alcohol free version of you. Congratulations on your 2 years.

Welcome to the newbies. If I can do it, you certainly can. There are so many tangible benefits to a life without booze but the one I enjoy most is the hardest to describe. It's a kind of lightness of spirit - calm and joyful.

I'm not sure why this made me laugh so much! I think it's the juxtaposition of the gentle, self-nurturing activities, with the ruthless sacking of accountant 😁

Congratulations on your 100 days, and I hope the sacking went OK.

@Drybird2020 @DeedIDo
I had to sack someone last year for being drunk on duty. Luckily I wasn't ever but I suspect I went home and partook. Post confrontation nerves.
I don't know about others but I had a need to be liked. I still do but I have also been able to say no, stone cold sober!