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[mummy23121]

How old were you when you finally had enough !! Tell me it's not too late to quit , I can't keep going on like this . Wat was the final thing that made the decision last ! Thanks x

I was 46 when I decided enough was enough.
We had been on holiday in the Cotswolds a couple of years earlier and I’d watched a little old man shuffle down the street and put his wine bottles in the bin on the street, presumably to hide how much he was drinking so the empties weren’t at his house.
I’d reached the point where I was so embarrassed about the amount in our recycling bin that I had been putting the odd wine bottle in the black bin bag at the bottom of the rubbish to lessen my embarrassment on recycling day. I didn’t want to one day be like that old man.

I ordered The Unexpected Joy Of Being Sober and read a little each day. It kept me on track, and I’d read somewhere ’no one ever wakes up and regrets not drinking the night before’. I just kept repeating that to myself.
5 years AF next month!

It’s never too late to quit.

@Oldhabitsarehardtobreak thanks so much for your reply and well done on 5 years that's fantastic . I'm 40 but feel like I'm just so tired of drinking . It's just really not worth it . I read the unexpected joy of being sober , it's actually a really good one. Maybe I'll reread and refresh my memory on it . Thanks again x here's to another day one . Maybe this is the one that sticks .

I stopped drinking when I was 40 and I'm just over five years sober.
My turning point was getting very drunk at a family gathering, being embarrassed the next day, and spending the day in bed and not with my young daughter. I realised how much I was missing out and how much I didn't want to be that mum drinking herself to oblivion every night and being irritable and hung over every day.
It was very difficult and I read all of the quit lit (loved the unexpected joy of being sober!), listen to all the podcasts and now my life is a million times better.

Thanks @theyoungishman and well done on 5 years sober . Ya I'm sick of being hungover and irritable too ! Going to sink myself into a lot of quit lit today .

I was 42. I’m 14 months sober now. 40 is absolutely not too late! Most sober women I know didn’t get sober til their 40s, 50s, 60s. My MIL is newly sober and she just turned 70!

What did it for me was accepting that if I kept drinking, things weren’t going to get better. I was drinking 3 bottles of wine a day. I didn’t really want to ‘drink normally’ or ‘only on special occasions’. There is no going back to moderating once you have a drinking problem.

So for me, it was accepting either I was going to carry on drinking 2-3 bottles a day until I died, probably earlier than expected. Or I was going to stop. There was no middle option. I was miserable drinking that much every day, so I thought the option of stopping couldn’t possibly be worse and might be better. Spoiler: it is.

I'm 44 and 22 days AF. It finally hit home for me after a night drinking far too much one night with ILs and telling some home truths that caused a lot of pain and potentially damaged our relationships irreparably.

Initially I was stopping for 90 days but then I listened to This Naked Mind and realised I had had enough and that alcohol is not serving me, and in fact I was on a road to drinking ever increasing amounts, and feeling like a total failure in life.

Thanks for replying @mindutopia well done on 14 months and thanks for your story , it helps a lot .

@EastCoastDamsel the naked mind definitely does hit home.. it's like I have all the info just hopefully I cop on and use it to get my life in a better place! Fair play 22 days, I would love to be at that stage , I think if I got that many days under my belt I could not go back ! You are doing amazing ! Hope I won't be too far behind you x did you drink daily for a few years like me ?

I was about 40. I realised one day that my body had become physically addicted and I needed a glass of alcohol in the morning after a night of shakes, vomiting and pure hell. I'm now 3 years sober and will not drink again, have no desire for alcohol. It's a revelation and makes things so much simpler!

I was 45 and I am 8 years sober now. I had been trying to moderate unsuccessfully for a couple of years. One morning on holiday in the Lake District with friends I decided I couldn’t do it anymore and I needed to stop. I didn’t even have a particularly bad hangover that day. I just felt I was done.

I referred myself to my local drugs and alcohol service, joined the Dry board on here and put all my time and energy into staying sober. I immersed myself in sober lit, podcasts and blogs. It was hard, sometimes I took things minute by minute but it was so worth it. It scares me to think where I might have been if I hadn’t stopped. It is never too late.

Thanks for your story @DetoxedAlcoholic , glad your doing so much better now

@vxa2 thanks for sharing . Wow 8 years is fantastic , if I could even do 8 days at this stage I'd be happy . Ya moderation clearly dosent work for me either! It has to be all or nothing .

Look for a sober community online. I joined Bee Sober but there are others. You may find some local ones on Facebook. Set up an instagram just for following sober accounts. Listen to some sober podcasts. I started with One for the Road, but there are lots of them.

Good advice @mindutopia . I've just started one for the road while walking this evening

I'm 40 too. I'm fucking my life up. I'm trying to quit, I make it through the day but get to about 5pm and cave. I hate myself.

@YouJustDoYou I feel the same way. It's 5pm is my downfall !!! Started listening to sober podcasts a good while ago , but sometimes just don't have the time . The house is mayhem and now with the kids on school holidays it's full on , hard to find time ! How much were you drinking ? I'm a bottle of red wine a day and it's just making me so bloated and wrecked looking I think .

I listened to 90 Days Later podcast by Anna Charles and loved it so much I took the plunge to work with her (she does coaching with me one on one which I was really scared about to start with). Couldn't have done it on my own even though I thought I should be able to! If you want to know what kind of things we do in coaching I'm happy to answer your questions if it will help you take the plunge as it's been a lifesaver. I know it sounds corny but really if I can do it anyone can.I'm about half way through with her program and my drinking is way way down.

Thanks @Verraten , I'll definitely check out that podcast . Day 4 for me today so hopefully day 5 will go as smoothly tomorrow.

I am coming up to six months sober. I was more of a binge drinker although I would have a few drinks most days. Alcohol has caused me a lot of problems in my life.

my rock bottom moment was when I tried to walk home from the pub after an argument with OH, I tripped fell down on the pavement and passed out. It could have been much worse.

I have good days and bad days re the cravings.

Well done on Day 4, @mummy23121 - that's fantastic.

There are lots of us on this thread if you fancy some support. I'm on day 60-something and this has been a big part of it.

The support thread for anyone trying to lead an alcohol free life. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/alcohol_support/5108490-the-support-thread-for-anyone-trying-to-lead-an-alcohol-free-life

@mummy23121 you can do it!

Forgot to say I was 50 when I stopped drinking.

37 YO, on day 22. I was drinking a bottle of wine a night, which crept sneakily to 2 bottles a night (easily), my excuses were:- I’m cooking tea, I’ll have a glass of wine 5pm, or I’m having a bath, or kids are stressing me out, or just closed laptop from work stressful day. So basically drinking for any happy or stressful moment to award myself. Loved the feeling and taste of 1st glass, then went downhill from 2nd glass, chasing the dopamine hit. Caused petty arguments between me and OH (he’s in same boat as me, however, still continuing to drink). Had trouble remembering what happened last in the Netflix series we were watching. Ended up getting takeaway as we couldn’t be bothered cooking after a couple. Staying up too late watching shows (so we could purposely have another drink).
NOW, I sleep better/deeper, food choices are better, more money, bloating gone down, face not as red and puffy, anxiety fully gone, patience with kids, (although they do still test me lol, and eldest said my attitude hasn’t changed the bugger 😂).
The pros weigh out the cons for sure, as the only good thing I find about drinking, is the 1st sip. The rest is negative after that! All your inhibitions go out the window.
Stay strong. Watch pod casts on YouTube. Drink light hot chocolate in bed until the cravings subsides. This helps with the habit of having a drink in hand too. Turn TV off early. X