I’m drinking two bottles of win a day and scared to stop, but desperately want to

[Sop1234]

Hi, i need some help and advice, without judgement please.

For the last 6-8 months I’ve been drinking a minimum of 1.5 bottles of red wine a night, sometimes 2. There have been a few times however where I’ve only drank a bottle. I desperately want to stop but I’m so paranoid about withdrawals (I have serious health anxiety), and for me its become such a habit. I have terrible willpower and always struggle to quit any type of habit. I don’t think I’m physically dependent because I haven’t really had any signs of withdrawal when I don’t drink for over 24 hours, for me it’s more of a mental addiction and being scared to break a habit.

Any advice for going sober? What vitamins should I be taking?

You should get medical advice on withdrawal as it can be dangerous to just stop.

You are worried about withdrawal ? What about what you are doing to your body an brain now ?

If that's your deciding factor whether to stop or not it's daft .

My dad was an alcoholic but when he was in hospital and couldn't drink he had no side effects from that ( unwell for other reasons ) so I've seen first hand you don't always have a reaction or fit etc ..I'd honestly be more worried about the effects the drink is having than stopping!

Hi @mindutopia no I live alone, I haven’t really told anyone the extent of my problem to be honest!

Thank you for your advice and kind words! I really resonated with your roundabout analogy! How bad were your withdrawals? This is honestly what scares me, I suffer from massive health anxiety, and have had panic attacks in the past (to the point i ended up in A&E thinking i was dying) so I’m really anxious and worried that I’m going to have really bad withdrawals and panic attacks, and I just cant take myself back to the panic attacks.

I know someone posted on this that said I was being “daft” for not quitting because I was worried about withdrawal symptoms when I should be thinking about what alcohol is doing to my body. Of course I know what its doing to my body hence wanting to quit, but I’m held back by fear!

I’ve just looked up Sober Bee, will join the community so thanks again for your advice.

Do you, or anyone else on this thread, have any advice on how to deal with the boredom of not drinking in the evenings? Every time I try to stop I get bored so quickly and find it so hard to concentrate on tv.

This is amazing and very encouraging for me! Thank you for your advice

Hey @Sop1234 how are you getting on? I found your thread as I think I'm in a similar place to where you were. I've been reading and watching all sorts and it's time for me to act. I too am scared of withdrawal symptoms and I realise how ridiculous it sounds but I'm fairly certain that's been one of the biggest barriers to helping myself for a long time. I've failed before at tapering, but I definitely need to do it.

Don't be scared. If you really think you might get symptoms, ask your GP for some Librium which will help. Alternatively, cut down gradually. Switch to beer if you drink wine, or wine if you drink spirits, but cut down, and do it now. The longer you leave it the worse it will get, and the greater the chance of symptoms when you do stop.

Get some Thiamine (Vitamin B1) and take plenty of it whilst you are stopping - it is dangerous not to, as deficiency can cause 'wet brain'.

Be kind to yourself, and spend the money you are saving on something to make your life more comfortable whilst you are feeling deprived. Fancy bath oil, or new bedding and pyjamas, or whatever will make you feel good. Try to set up a routine, particularly around bed time, whether that's a hot bath, listening to soothing music, aromatherapy oils in the bedroom - again, you know you best - but make it into something you look forward to and can enjoy, even if sleep doesn't come easily at first.

The important thing is to do it, though. Telling yourself that you can't do it because (of anything) will just delay the inevitable. You are in a good position when you can still control the reason for getting sober - if you carry on it will be taken out of your hands. It will be just as difficult, but you'll be ill, too, and maybe permanently.

It’s horrendous. I never thought I could stop drinking but i did and I can tell you it’s fantastic on the other side. I still have addiction problems but not alcohol. Got to kick the rest of course.

basically AA is a lifesaver. And you can’t pick up a drink. You do a day at a time. Even an hour at a time

It’s a vicious circle you are in. You are scared to stop because of possible physical withdrawal. In practice for most people physical withdrawal symptoms may last a few days and be similar to a cold/flu type illness. Your underlying fear is the fear you feel of living without alcohol. It it’s alcohol itself that is causing your anxiety, like all addictions. Like others I’d strongly recommend William Porter’s Alcohol Explained, or Allen Carr’s Stop Alcohol Now. They pull back the curtain on alcohol and show how the addiction causes the fear you feel. Good luck, you can make the change you need .