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

[Crunchymum]

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 @WendyWagon for hosting the last thread 💜

Here’s to the next 40 pages

@Onewildandpreciouslife Yes! Literally half way down the first glass and I drink FAST, so definitely not time for it to kick in at all! I'd never really considered that before now. So it's psychological rather than dependent on the alcohol...nice to realise that actually.

@SillyLittleMargaret nice to meet you and thank you for posting for advice and support because I’ve benefited from it too!

I’ve landed on hols full of reserve not to drink and been confronted with piazzas of tables with lots of folk sitting out sipping wine. The ‘just one glass’ whisper started but with the help of these posts I’m squashing it as we all know it’s never just one glass!

Good luck with your work event @Crayonpenny a bail out plan sounds very sensible!

onewildandpreciouslife jeezo - you are so right. I hadn't thought of that before. I used to get that relaxed "ahhh" breath out when I opened the bottle and sat at the table with the glass. So before I even poured it. What a revelation!
I get that feeling now when I sit down with a cup of tea. "Ahhhh" and relax.

We're with you crayonpenny and stircrazy.

Hi @Stircrazyschoolmum! You can do it! Our half term is the week after next and we're going away for a few days as I said. Really wishing you all the support and encouragement from my very precarious first few days!!!

What a wonderful inspiring thread - if I get to tomorrow night, it will be 28 days for me. Big work event tomorrow so there will be plenty of drinks, and I am just going to cling on to getting to a full 4 weeks. I am quite excited that I have got this far...I cannot go back. Just cannot. I don't want to. I can already feel physically better, more energy. My mind is still buzzing and heavy, and like a damn hamster wheel, and I need to face the issues that pushed me to drink (even if it was a glass or two to numb it, or a bottle to drown it), but physically I feel better.

@Stircrazyschoolmum Thanks for those recommendations. I'm just heading to bed and will have a look.

I went into work today to an invite to the Christmas night out 🤦🏼‍♀️ It involves a hotel. The flyer for the venue was talking about all the chrimbotastic cocktails. I think it'll be easier to decline, I'm not ready to announce to the world that I'm alcohol-free (or attempting to be at least!)

Good morning everyone,

Goodness this thread can move quickly!

So, all things good re night out. Getting my mindset focussed, having an escape strategy and of course the ongoing support from you all made me feel positive going into the night.
It was actually ok and didn't bother me that everyone else was drinking, in fact I felt good I wasn't - not in a smug way as such as I can't comment given my previous work nights out, but the fact that although I'm a bit tired -
(left about quarter to 11) - I don't feel rough and more chuffed in fact that I've got a clear head. I actually had a couple of the lads say they wish they had just stayed on AF and it was interesting having conversations with a few of them about their periods of abstinence. @Stircrazyschoolmum Hope your evening went ok.@junipermarten I was like that with the night last night, albeit smaller scale than a Christmas party probably, the most important thing to me was my sober journey.

@Onewildandpreciouslife Hope your holiday is going well and your body is still on the recovery path and it's going well. Your description of a walk on the beach with the dog sounded lovely! 😊

@SillyLittleMargaret Hello and completely concur with the advice of the toolbox, invaluable to me, the posters on here are invaluable with their support, posts and words.

Again, thanks for the support yesterday, I really appreciated it.Now... what to have from the hotel breakfast options!!!

Morning lads.

Amaze balls @Crayonpenny

I went to bed early with Morse. I love the city scenery, reminds me of the happier days of college life. (Lots of it was a bit sh*t tbh). I am planning to go back to do my PhD but need to work a few more years yet. I am going to be one of those ratty feminists who get told to 'calm down dear'. At least I won't be bladders the night before like I always was before a big conference. Nerves.

Off out to see bff today. Not stirred from my lair for 4 days due to RA but have got essential paperwork done. Estate Agent chasing on the house so all good. Defo the one for us. It is the kitchen (although I have tried to ignore the wine fridge). Daughter says she will fill it with pop to keep me on the straight and narrow. Bless.

Morning all

A quick one whilst DD is still snoring! Glad to say I kept to the lemonata last night. We had a good table and DD is too young to drink so there was no pressure from anyone bar the wine witch. I’m sure if I’d wanted to I could have had a glass, but then I’d have done the same again tonight and tomorrow, gone home from hols and continued.. back to square one.. so this way is better!

@Crayonpenny well done!!! You smashed it and you have a free pass to eat as much breakfast as possible!! @USSDefiant nice to meet you and good luck with your work event this eve, hopefully the advice on this thread will be helpful.

@WendyWagon your post about the school mum made me feel sad as I identify.. you are right about it being an elephant but there are also so many amazing support networks of enlightened women if you can find them (like here!) One of my triggers is deprivation.. I get all martyr like (learnt from my mum) and put everyone’s needs first, depriving myself of my wants and needs and binging on alcohol instead. This time round I’m going to learn from @Breathmiller and grow my life as opposed to shrink it. And on that note I must get in the shower!!

Brilliant @Crayonpenny ! Enjoy your breakfast- well deserved!

Welcome @USSDefiant , and well done on getting to 27 days. Good luck tonight!

Hope your holiday is going ok @Stircrazyschoolmum - it is challenging to be in situations which you associate with alcohol, but the more you do it the easier it becomes.

We went out to lunch to our favourite restaurant yesterday. It’s my second time there sober. First time was really hard - I felt resentful that I couldn’t drink wine, and generally grumpy that life wasn’t fair!

Yesterday was fab. The waitress went out of her way to find me an AF alternative and the food was amazing - and I tasted all of it (that sounds odd, but my focus for once was on the food not the wine). And I didn’t feel uncomfortably full (who realised all that sugar in wine was so filling?!), so there was plenty of room for pudding!

Announcing here first.
I have just registered my own beauty brand!
I wouldn't have down it without all the support I have received from The Lads here.
Now to raise some funding....

Yeehaa!! Well done wendywagon that's amazing. Wishing you all the luck in the world with it.

Welcome USSDefiant. You're absolutely right. No time like the present. The thing that finally made me do it today instead of tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow was the thought that what would be different tomorrow? If i couldn't do it today what magic wand would be waved that made it easier tomorrow. So I activated JFDI. Just Fucking Do It.

Onewildandpreciouslife Glad you really enjoyed your meal, it's amazing what you miss out on when your focus is the alcohol. I'm finding everything so much brighter and .... well...more!

crayonpenny fantastic!! Well done! Funny isn't it that we get all anxious about admitting we are not drinking then when we start the conversation, other people's thoughts are quite enlightening. I was surprised at how many people say to me that they don't drink much, people i thought were like me. But no, they don't touch a drop weekdays and not even every weekend. Just saw them at let hair down time and presumed they drank all the time. And, then the ones who say that they could do with drinking less or stopping and they are inspired by me stopping. A lot of the conversations are not what I thought they would be. I quite like that by having the conversation it may just invite someone else to look at their drinking habits and think that being sober is actually an option in life. I had never thought it was.

Morning everyone! I've woken up this morning feeling really positive and looking forward to getting the first few weeks under my belt. Have a Tesco order booked for tomorrow so I'm going to order some nice AF alternatives to try. I like Becks Blue and don't mind a good Ginger Beer, but I'm excited to try different things...who would've thought it!

Spoke to one of my oldest friends last night who is going through a rough time. We're supposed to be going away for a weekend in Feb with them and it was one of the things I was worried about - turns out she's been AF since June! So that's given me even more motivation!! I went for a sea swim first thing this morning too, which always feels very cleansing.

@Crayonpenny sounds like you aced the work night out! Our Christmas do is booked for 10th Dec, so hopefully I'll be a bit more sober-established by then.
@WendyWagon that's amazing!!

Wow sillylittlemargaret loving your morning sea swim. I love a river or Loch swim but im a bit of a fairweather wild swimmer.

How fascinating your friend has been sober since June. What a great support you can both be to each other. And now neither of you will have that extra worry on your trip.

I was up early and did a longer yoga and meditation practice. I love at this time of year when I sneak out of bed and start my practice by candlelight then finish after the sun has come up.
A friend was walking her dog this morning on the hill opposite ny farm and sent yhe most glorious photo of my house under a bright bkue sky and illuminated by sunlight. It's such a beautiful day.

Such a peaceful and tranquil post @Breathmiller you just ooze serenity.

My mornings are never quite as chilled but I have been appreciating the most amazing sunrises recently. No mean feat as I'm in very central London.

I saw this today, the colours of autumn make me feel so comforted.

@Breathmiller I love the idea of candlelit yoga. Sounds like such a serene start to the day.
I'm lucky, I literally live opposite the beach. There's a group of four of us who started swimming regularly last October and went all the way through the winter together. It's done me so much good! Feel so calm and centred after a swim.

Love that picture @Crunchymum I can almost hear the leaves on the floor crunching a bit!

Amazing news - well done you ❤

Oh I love that photo crunchymum Just says autumn. The front of my house is covered in creeping plants and one of them turns completely red at this time of year. It is glorious. Makes me smile every year.

I love a city centre sunrise and sunset. They can be really stunning. I used to live in the centre of a small city and loved them then.

Morning. Very early morning for me. I've got lots of work to do over the next few days but feeling positive.
Congratulations on your beauty range @WendyWagon. What type of products is it?

Morning all.

@Kindtomyself
Thanks for the congrats. I can't say what it is as I am the leading expert in my field. It will out me!
When I go on TV I will say. There will be a few with tall tails from my Sir Les days.
Up too early myself, turned down booze last night and hadn't realised the rat arsed 60+ year old man opposite me in the restaurant was my cousin! A complete knob and pillar of the local council. It was hysterical.

Well done @WendyWagon on no booze last night, I bet your cousin is feeling rough today. I'm always shocked when I see really pissed people and then I'm reminded that I was exactly like that!

Hi All,

Your post did give me a smile @WendyWagon re your cousin. Exciting re your new venture!

That is an early start @Kindtomyself !

I feel my tiredness has come and hit me again. Partly due to being away, up later than usual, plus lots of driving. However I think I'm ready to hibernate. Aim is to get to the gym this week, not perhaps just gym cafe.

Saw a nice quote the other day which made me think of us here..... 'Forget what's gone. Appreciate what still remains. Look forward to what's coming next'.

Great quote @Crayonpenny