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Alcohol support

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Original poster

Has anyone ever just decided they are fed up of drinking one day?

49 replies

runforyourdog · 21/08/2022 10:02

I feel like I've had a bit of a turn around in my attitude to alcohol all of a sudden. I used to drink heavily before children and then have been much better since but feel like thing are starting to get out of control again. I'm not a daily drinker but binge on weekends, holidays etc.

I just feel like it causes me so much anxiety, feel crap, guilt from doing stupid things, I'm just sick of it! It's early days but just wondered if anything he has just suddenly decided to stop drinking and it not be that difficult?

Not sure if I'm kidding myself and come the next Friday night or social event I'll be smashed again, making a fool of myself.,

OP posts:
eish · 21/08/2022 10:07

Yes and I gave up for a year. I drink now but not often.

Be prepared for some extreme reactions from people, it can make them uncomfortable. It also took me ages to work out what to order or drink but I am there now. You never want to drink endless glasses of anything (unlike wine) but I don't want the standard fizzy drink (like coke). I like lime and soda generally but there are some amazing grown up non alcoholic drinks now. It is becoming much more common to restrict drinking or abstain completely.

MadonnasKebab · 21/08/2022 11:40

I’d given up for 12 years because I hated who I was when drunk. A few months ago I had 2 g&ts with friends and I felt myself becoming more louder and less giving a shit about others, being over friendly!!!. I haven’t drank since, it reaffirmed that I’m not a nice drinker

went out a few nights ago and didn’t have alcohol and watched as my friend got more and more drink and saw her actions were exactly as I used to be.

RicherThanYew · 21/08/2022 11:43

Up until 6 years back I was abusing alcohol and being a dick, then I picked up crochet and realised I couldn't drink and crochet so I dropped booze and haven't looked back. It was a mercy for me because I come from at least 3 generations of alcoholics.

Itsonlyabiscuit · 21/08/2022 11:55

Yes! New Year's Day 2019. I was so sick,and so sick of being sick that I decided that was that. I drank a few times after that, never enough to get drunk. I found that each time I had any alcohol, I reacted badly to it. Eventually it got to the point where I couldn't drink even 1 drink without feeling unwell afterwards. So, now I don't drink at all and it's the best thing I ever did! I had been drinking in an unhealthy way for about 20 years until that New Year's Day. I now see alcohol as a poison and the thought of it makes me sick.

justwanttorelax · 21/08/2022 11:57

I managed to give up for a year, but made the stupid decision to start again and now back to square one.
Hate the person I become when I drink.
Full of anxiety afterwards....wish I could stop

Original poster
runforyourdog · 21/08/2022 16:51

Well done everyone. I just feel like I'd be so much happier and more at peace if I didn't drink. Hoping it's not just a flash in the pan!

OP posts:
Unorthofox · 21/08/2022 18:40

I feel exactly like this today after the past 2 days of drinking. I'm tired, grumpy, sweaty, bloated and anxious. Ugh.

I definitely need at least a month off.

LovinglifeAF · 22/08/2022 00:00

I was a heavy drinker over a bottle a day of wine. Had a few half arsed attempts at stopping for a few weeks/cutting down. Decided I was done with it, started on the quit lit and I’ll be a year sober this week. It’s been easy really, I have no desire to drink any more. This time last year I couldn’t go more than a day without it. It’s doable xx

InRoseBlush · 22/08/2022 00:14

Me! My hangovers have always been hellish but I would always forget how bad they were when the next night out came round but over time I stopped forgetting and found that I'd be drunk and thinking "I'm going to be ill tomorrow" and dreading the hangover. So I massively cut back after that, not consciously really, more I just didn't fancy it so didn't bother.

Then about a year and a half ago I got absolutely steaming drunk for the first time in ages and started a horrible argument with my lovely boyfriend over nothing - there was genuinely no issues between us, no underlying problems bothering me etc. And when I woke up I could only remember snippets (and the snippets were horrendous). I really hurt his feelings and it totally scunnered me - I felt so ashamed. So I decided I wouldn't get drunk again and I haven't. Very rarely I will have one or two drinks to be social but no more and I don't miss it at all. Its a big change for me because I used to be the type of drunk that once I hit that nice two drink buzz I would be chasing that all night and end up out my face.

CoverYourselfInChocolateGlory · 22/08/2022 07:27

OP, I'm in a similar boat now - I've been feeling for a while that I don't like how alcohol makes me feel anymore (also used to be a regular drinker and it's been a big part of my social life). I had a holiday recently and drank almost every day - not to excess - mostly just a glass or two, but by the end of two weeks I felt terrible - my digestion was all over the place, felt exhausted, anxious, not how you want to feel at the end of a holiday!

It's only been a week, but I'm seriously considering just stopping. It's my birthday soon, so I'm sure I will fail at that, but I think I'm going to try it literally one day at a time so the pressure doesn't feel too much - thinking, "I'm just not going to drink anything today" and see how that goes. The older I get the more it feels like the poison it really is.

KangarooKenny · 22/08/2022 07:28

Forever is a long time, take it a day or a week at a time.

brightspice · 22/08/2022 07:51

Yep, I have kept a diary entry from a time when I woke for the hundredth time at 3am and was googling 'am I an alcoholic' (even though I knew I wasn't) and 'how to stop drinking'. I had had enough. I was sick and tired of starting strong then weakening when someone would say "go on, just one" and I'd be right back in with the white wine. None of the techniques (like counting sober days perfectly) worked. But I did figure it out (and these days help others get this freedom) and will say it was just such a relief to know it could be done. I haven't had anything to drink for about 3 years now and don't spend any time ever thinking about alcohol (apart from conversations with clients of course!) So it can be done if you decide. And commit. And learn from yourself through the process. I've achieved lots of things in my life but getting free from alcohol was, and still does, feel like a miracle.

ppleasebob · 22/08/2022 08:02

Yes, I decided last week to give it up. I don't really go out, more drinking at home in the evening to wind down. Can't just have a glass though, it was a bottle 4-5 times a week. Then on the days I didn't have one, I started to crave it. To be honest it scares me - my mum and mum in law are both functioning alcoholics and don't want to end up like that. My sleep was crap and anxiety through the roof after a drink, plus I'd have no patience for my children.
It's early days but I feel really positive about it .

SaintHelena · 22/08/2022 08:51

Unfortunately not me but being diagnosed with cancer helped my decision makingShock

ShirleyJackson · 22/08/2022 08:53

I stopped drinking out of the blue, yes.

I’m now two years sober, and my life is immeasurably better.

GCAcademic · 22/08/2022 08:57

Yes. One New Year’s Day I stopped and didn’t drink for four years. I recently started having a glass of wine with a meal on a Friday or Saturday night, but I can take it or leave it now, whereas I was pretty dependent on wine previously.

KosherDill · 22/08/2022 08:57

LovinglifeAF · 22/08/2022 00:00

I was a heavy drinker over a bottle a day of wine. Had a few half arsed attempts at stopping for a few weeks/cutting down. Decided I was done with it, started on the quit lit and I’ll be a year sober this week. It’s been easy really, I have no desire to drink any more. This time last year I couldn’t go more than a day without it. It’s doable xx

Loving, what did you do to get through the first few days/weeks?

ShirleyJackson · 22/08/2022 09:08

@brightspice I’m interested in what you said about helping others be alcohol-free.

It’s something I’m really interested in doing - can I ask what you do and how you got there?

brightspice · 22/08/2022 09:42

Hi @ShirleyJackson I took what I learned about unwinding my drinking, put structure around it and now offer 1-1 coaching under 90 Days Later, customising what I offer to everyone's unique situation. I'm at 90dayslater.co I haven't ever regretted leaving my job to do this. It's fulfilling work. Every day I wake up and help others to achieve the miracle that is having total and utter freedom around alcohol (whether to drink occasionally or never). What could be better than that!?

ShirleyJackson · 22/08/2022 11:01

That looks great - good for you! I assumed I’d have to go and do a course or something, but it looks as if that might not be a necessity?

LovinglifeAF · 22/08/2022 12:28

KosherDill · 22/08/2022 08:57

Loving, what did you do to get through the first few days/weeks?

Show quote history

Quit lit
podcasts
Instagram
fb groups or you could use threads on here.

to be honest, just playing it forward was enough. How shit physically and mentally I’d feel if I drank and how good it was to have that removed from my life.

because that will never change. Alcohol will never change so how you react to it will never change.

LovinglifeAF · 22/08/2022 12:29

KangarooKenny · 22/08/2022 07:28

Forever is a long time, take it a day or a week at a time.

It is, but also I identified as a non drinker very early on and it helped me.

ivfbabymomma1 · 22/08/2022 12:40

I think I'm going through similar right now OP! Through no choice of my own, I'm just going off alcohol. And before my child was born I was a big social drinker! I have no explanation for it! Just going off the taste, how it makes me feel etc etc! No advice but I know what you mean

brightspice · 22/08/2022 14:45

@ShirleyJackson I have had training too, for sure, but in terms of what I coach on, it's really what worked for me, but in a structured manner. Essentially it's what I would have wanted had I had an Anna there to guide me. It's a simple, certain, non-perfectionist way of constantly showing up and taking action. On repeat.

brightspice · 22/08/2022 14:49

@LovinglifeAF I agree - playing it forward is very powerful.