Me!
I got sick of getting bladdered, not remembering the night before, crying, saying things Iregretted, the horrors, the anxiety and that wasn't even taking into account the horrendous hangovers!
One day 5 years ago I woke up with yet another horrendous vomiting hangover and decided I'd had enough. It was like I had a revelation and knew it couldn't go on. I decided that from that point on, I would drink moderately and stop at 4 (that was saintly compared to my previous consumption).
Except, every time I drank afterwards, I felt dreadful. Eventually, I couldn't even have one alcoholic drink without feeling unwell. One day I had been out for dinner the night before and had that weird tired, heavy, unrested feeling that I used to have the night after a bender. I realised I'd had a shot of limoncello in an Italian restaurant the night before but had forgotten.
The following Christmas, i had 2 small glasses of Baileys. That night the room was spinning and I felt like throwing up. That cemented it for me: my body was rejecting alcohol totally. For somebody who would down a bottle of wine before I even went to the pub, before going to a club, then onto the after party at someone's house where I would drink until 6am, this was a shock!
So, I decided to never drink again and my life had changed, immeasurably, for the better! Alcohol has nothing to offer except short term relaxation at best. That sense of release and relaxation are absolutely NOTHING compared to waking up feeling fresh and well rested on a Sunday morning. Having a clear head with no regrets is better than any bender I've ever be on. Being in full control of myself and what I say feels so emotionally healthy and responsible in a way being passed and starting arguments never did (obviously).
I always say that alcohol is a false friend. It pretends to have your back at any social event buy actually stabs you in the back and attacks your health, your relationships, your self esteem and self worth. If any living person led someone astray in the way alcohol destroys lives, we would rightfully describe that person as toxic, and it's the truth.
Alcohol is literally poison. It is insidious and gets into your life in the most disastrous and catastrophic ways, often gently, over time, gradually carrying coping mechanisms you learned as an insecure teenager into your adult years.
The words I want to use to describe a life without alcohol sabotaging every area of my life, are 'freedom' and 'liberation'.
The only people in my life who had any kind of problem with me stopping drinking were people who also have very dysfunctional relationships with alcohol. That's a them problem.
On another note, I had a friend who kept ruining every single night out with her behaviour when drunk. She wouldn't stop drinking and so I cut her out. She showed that her priorities lay with booze and not her friends. For some people, alcohol comes first, even when, on the face of it, their lives function as normal.
I once said to my friend, that if you ever question whether you have a problematic relationship with alcohol, you probably do. Don't let culture answer this question for you, because it will tell you that everyone does it and not to give it too much thought. Let the real consequences of your drinking settle the argument. If you think alcohol is having a negative effect on your life, listen to that thought. Your life is precious and anything you give access to it needs to be vetted very, very carefully.