No money for the month. I have to stop now

[Meezer2]

So it would appear I've hit my rock bottom.
Got paid on Wednesday and have drank my way through my wages since then.
Bills are paid but I have nothing left for anything else that occurs.
I've tried to give up for years to no avail.
I sadly just love drinking. I'm 55 and in a 'professional job' which is very stressful.
How do you change a lifetime of heavy binge drinking? I feel so ashamed that it's got to this.

How do I start and maintain an alcohol free life?

Thanks in advance for any help

I guarantee even now you don't realise how much those binges affect your everyday health and mental wellbeing.

I think you're incredibly brave. My poison is food. I find if I listen to this every few weeks it has a dramatic effect. Apparently food, sex, gambling, alcohol is all the same symptom. I wish you the absolute best of luck x

Working through your trauma is important. I think the moment I realised I was 'good enough' was a tipping point for me.

I'd already gone for help, but understanding myself and forgiving myself was huge. I like who I am now. Sober me is great! And I am still fun, still funny, still enjoy social occasions, more so, no fear ever!

@typos

What a great talk - thanks for sharing.

I don’t think there always has to be an unresolved trauma. For a lot of people there is, yes but this is one of the things I would beat myself up over. I had a good childhood, adult life, no major difficulties…. I started drinking really to fit in and to relieve boredom and then due to it being an addictive substance…. I got addicted.

Thank you so much for sharing this typos

Hi, Not sure if any of you will pick this up. But I'm happy to announce I've not drank alcohol for a week. Not achieved this for years.

Ah OP that's incredible - you should be so proud of yourself, what a fucking milestone!

Can you plan something nice to celebrate?

Congratulations OP! Well done. Now on to two weeks sober!
One day at a time.

Fantastic, that’s brilliant. How do you feel?

@Meezer2 that is brilliant news! Thank you for the update

Hey monstermunch.

I've had a lovely weekend. Worked yesterday and super lazy Sunday including food with family. Feeling very content. 😊

Thank you musings. I'm taking teeny baby steps. 😊

Hi freaky. Yesterday was bizarre!
Waking up without a hangover and thinking 'ooh this is nice, is this how most people feel at the weekend without a binge the night before?'
No anxiety which is so good. I feel so differently to this time last week.
Very calm and relaxed. And pleased with myself

Well done Meezer2 that is such an achievement. I can recommend clear minds hypno therapy you can buy sessions and download them. Also yoga is a good way to fill the time and AA do online sessions still.

Great news @Meezer2 come and join the penguin huddle for sober October if you haven’t already? Lots of support for a binge and booze free month!

Just to recommend vitamin B complex to deal with the stress of work, replace the vitamin B that alcohol removes from your system and the stress of abstention. Take twice the recommended for a few days. Personally I find Berocca effervescent has a more instant effect

If you’ve got feminist leanings, I recommend quit like a woman. A lot of food for thought re Big alcohol and how it came to be that alcohol was so heavily marketed towards women. Also why AA can actually be harmful for a lot of women. I’ve struggled for years with dreadful binge drinking, blackouts etc and almost lost everything. I’m just coming up to 6 months sober and loving life. Good luck - there is nothing bad about not drinking!!

This is bloody brilliant!! That's massive!

Awesome!!!!
im NINE years sober and every day I am thankful for that.

do everything in your power to keep going… my journey involved…

aa
doctor, blood tests
community alcohol and drug educational group
individual therapy
eating a shit load of seeets
knitting
yoga
telling everybody so I was accountable
spent my alcohol money on self care and clothes
inread everything, watched everything, joined every online group going

keep at it, keep posting here. You have supporters everywhere!

Well done @Meezer2 , that's fantastic! I'm really pleased for you

I've just read the thread and wonder how you're doing, @Meezer2. One thing I was wondering, was that you say you drink in the pub rather than at home. Who do you go to the pub with? Are they big drinkers, so that your drinking is normalised? What about at home? What stops you having a drink there?

It seems obvious that you'd have to replace the nights out at the pub if there's a high chance you'll be drawn back into it. Is that your main social life? It can seem very boring when you're sober and everyone else is drunk.

I hope you're still doing well - just take it a day or an hour at time.