List of all the negatives of drinking alcohol

[Ladybug14]

I'll start

Anxiety
Blood pressure
Dry skin
Poor sleep

I've not heard of rock shandy

I've just googled it. It looks great. I'll send her the link

Thank you

All the above. Add to that all occasions being exactly the same - be it wedding, gig, lunch out, theatre - you feel pissed, rather than fully in the moment.

Also itchy skin, restless legs, weight gain, arguments that you’re mortified by when you’ve sobered up, stories of things that you did when you were pissed that follow you around for decades, and dark circles under your eyes. And the constant, exhausting mental tug of war you have with yourself over whether you’ll drink today - that you always end up losing.

Drink kombucha, Everleaf and tonic, alcohol-free beer…there are loads of options.

I'm afraid that if your friend struggles to give it up then if she struggles to give up, this list of negatives will just make her feel more guilty, more of a failure, and more wanting to drink to block that pain (feeling like a waste of space). I know you mean well, but not sure this list is right way to help.

Thank you. Thats a really useful point

My personal list:
Night sweats causing soaking wet sheets (that stink)
Returning to a room I've been in, or smelling my clothes, and being hit with that sour, acrid booze smell
The shame and guilt. The person you are being a million miles away from the person you intend to be
Having to apologise and be contrite for things you genuinely don't remember doing, that sober you would never do. And the horror of that
Physical hangover symptoms - brain fog, sickness, weakness, tremors
Yeast overgrowth caused by alcohol resulting in flaky skin and chronic scaly dandruff
Constant UTIs from alcohol, regular thrush from yeast overgrowth again
Weight gain
Looking puffy, bloated, dark eyed and sick. A facial colour palette of white, red and grey
Never being present in the moment
Always feeling rageful, disappointed and disillusioned

Expensive taxis
Overeating the next day

I like a tonic water, a virgin mary or a non alcoholic beer if I'm 'out' or at the pub..
But at home I stick to herbal teas

Tomato juice! She loves tomatoes. That's a great reminder. Thank you 😊

It's massively carcinogenic, which the industry likes to keep as schtum as possible because ..profits.

Itchy skin
Rotten teeth
Bad breath from not eating
Nose bleeds
Falls
Stomach pains
Trouble swallowing
Being doubly incontinent
Malnutrition
Not having any money
Losing your driving licence, job, home, kids, wife, friends

That is an incomplete list of what drinking did to DH, who died last month, unable to speak, sit, stand for the last two weeks of his life.

Agree with a PP. Go for the positives not the negatives. There are so many! It's a wonderful life without alcohol, I have anxiety and other mental health issues but without alcohol I am so much happier, brighter and loving life. Alcohol is pointless, it just makes things blurry. Go for a sober, fun and happy life instead.

Bloating
Fuzzy head
Tiredness in the evening
Worse balance
Night sweats
Irritability

I'm so sorry @LawksaMercyMissus 🧡

This is how I feel if I drink and also why I’ve massively cut down:

Waking up with a red face
feeling anxious x 1000
Eat crap the next day and then feel even more guilty
Headaches
sick and diarrhoea
sweaty
can’t drive the next day
waste of a day or two because of all these things

I don’t even really enjoy the feeling of being drunk anymore, i think im just over it.

Gosh everything above, for me:

anxiety
weight gain
puffy face
blood sugar level
increased heart rate
feeling shit
acid reflux
cost
embarrassment after a session
munchies

I became an argumentative and shit version of myself
Impulsive
Weight gain
Sweating and flushing
Headache
Extreme in moods, happy to sad quickly
Anxious
Numb legs and arms (very heavy shit feeling)
How easily your body can crave it
I never liked the taste either
Lost productivity, now I read and do all sorts
Foggy thought, loss of focus
I love driving and not being able to feels horrid

I'm so grateful to you all. I don't think my friend is going to give up drinking (as PP wisely posted up thread). Your posts have certainly put me off, though 🤣

Dry, pasty skin
cost
weight gain
liver damage
kidney damage
headaches
tiredness
poor sleep
increased cancer risk
digestion issues
Bags under eyes
red eyes the next day
Puffy booze face
sweats