When does it get easier ?

[Timeandthymeagain]

I'm a pretty regular drinker, I drink as a coping mechanism for my stressful job and other stressful elements of my life. I've gone for a few months having a glass or two of wine a night more at the weekends more nights than not and I need to reset. I've noticed after the weekend I'm often really anxious, don't feel as sharp at work and it takes me longer to 'get going' in the morning. But if I stop for a few days the headaches are horrendous, first few night of sleep are terrible, night sweats, lucid dreams and insomnia. After a max of 4 days I often go back to having a drink to take the edge off! It's been months since I've had a dry weekend. When do the physical symptoms stop and when do you start to feel better? I don't want to stop entirely at the moment just have more dry days than wet !

Stop drinking during the week. Allow Saturday and Friday

initially you might allow a Wednesday

but you’ll soon get in the swing

Monday and Tuesday might feel boring! Eat something hearty so your full

drink Diet Coke

you’ll soon get the hang of it

Day 2 the headaches are the worst !

I'm on day 2 sober, barely slept a wink last night and have had a blinding headache all morning 😩
Just got to push through it, I found after a week of no alcohol sleep gets easier, headaches and anxiety start to subside and energy levels improve.
It's about sticking to it, alcohol is terrible for you in so many ways. And so damn easy to just give in to 'feel better' I do it too often

Day 3 sober*

Also wine, especially white wine can be highly addictive and seductive! however it gives the hangover from hell - have you considered that you are craving the sugar hit it gives you each night too?

drink plenty water as you are probably dehydrated too

well done for realising change needs to occur

Not dehydrated, I'm obsessional about water intake. Thought it might be the sugar, as don't have a lot of it in my diet, bar booze!

Hi there, well done for recognising the problem and addressing it!
I watch my partner going through this same cycle that you are. I myself had to give up totally because I became allergic. I don't think you will like my opinion but I think the problem isn't when you don't drink, it is that you are still drinking.
If you quit completely you would eventually recover. Your body would get over the alcohol which is a toxin. By continuing to drink sometimes you are maintaining your connection so when you stop your body and brain want more and let you know.
Only you can decide if drinking is worth all this hassle. But this is my observation for what it is worth.

I very much agree with this. If you read blogs and support boards etc a lot of people find days 5-7 hardest. Once you get over that it gets much easier. I did crave sugar a lot and ate loads of Skittles and Haribo in the first 2 weeks but now I am eating normally. Find some good replacement adult non alcoholic drinks - I found this necessary to break my evening association with wine to unwind at the end of the day.

@Notgoodatpoetrybutgreatatlit happy to be your buddy if you like? I am going for full abstinence.

I am most interested in your description about going back to alcohol to ‘take the edge off’.

To make permanent change (whether to just cut back or even to fully quit), understanding why you drink in the first place is essential. Drinking is a habit, yes, but it’s fuelled by our emotions. Either by an emotion we have in the moment that we don’t want (eg frustration, stress) or an emotion that we don’t have which we want (eg calm). So being able to manage the ‘negative’ emotions and get ourselves to the place where we can feel the emotions we want to feel on purpose (such as calm) is a sure-fire way to removing the need for alcohol in your life.

So an exercise I have my clients do, if you’re up for it, is to identify WHY you drink.
When you understand that then you can start building from that point in a way that makes any change sustainable.

Happy to answer questions or help you analyse any ‘why’s that you come up with.