Day 1 of.... I'm not sure

[onelife22]

I've successfully stopped for almost 3 months before. The wine slowly creeps back in though and amounts increase with the stresses of life.

So I'm here again after a few weeks of being fed up with drinking and how it makes me feel.

Day 1 of I'm not sure what to be honest. Definitely 4 whole weeks off. I'll listen to some podcasts and read what I can in that time and then hopefully manage a dry bank holiday away...

Good luck!

When I started I had no idea where I was going with it. At Day 31 I decided to carry on to 79 days to beat DH's longest sober streak and by the time I got there, sobriety had pretty much become a way of life.

I had always said that Dry January didn't make any difference to me and to be honest it has taken me pretty much until now to see any positive change in sleep, complexion etc.

Day at a time, go with the flow, find what works for you.

May Day 1 was 90 days ago.

@DeedIDo thank you for the message. I saw a podcast recommended on here and it's a 90 day one so I'm hoping I will continue on to then too. And then who knows 🥰

Hi @onelife22
You sound exactly like I was. Able to stop for weeks/months at a time but the would go right back to it. The reason for that is that even if you can willpower yourself to not drink, your DESIRE for it is still there, lurking. In fact, the more you try to not drink by being strong or resisting or all those other techniques, all you end up doing is creating MORE desire because you make the alcohol seem even more irresistible. (Much like when parents try to stop a child seeing their boyfriend/girlfriend - you end up pushing them together.)

The good news is that this is totally reversible. You are the one who taught yourself to desire alcohol - and you can teach yourself to 'undesire' it too.

Think of something you don't like to eat. Even if it's something that loads of people like (eg I loathe ice cream). But if you don't like it, it's EASY to not consume it. It's totally possible to achieve this with alcohol too. Really.

The 90 Days Later podcast is by me - it covers all sorts of topics related to drinking less. I recommend you start with episodes 1-3: why we drink; why willpower isn't the answer and Desire.

Happy to answer questions here.

Oh and if you want to receive weekly tips and motivations and drinking less strategies, I send these out via email. You can sign up at 90dayslater.co/list

Thanks so much @brightspice I listened to number 1 yesterday so going to listen to number 2 tonight.

@onelife22 that's so great that you're taking action. Onwards and upwards as they say! I'm also happy to answer questions. Have a great evening