Can someone help me to not drink tonight? Please

[CinnamonSwirlLatte]

I was doing really well. Drinking decaff tea in bed instead of wine, lost weight, gained money.

Then I went on a date about a month ago where I had some wine in a pub and I've gradually gone back to drinking at home every night.

I now have crippling anxiety and I have to go to work later and act normal.

Then home to deal with several children by myself, do some uni work, pack for my holiday tomorrow.

It's going to be so tempting. But I don't want this anymore.

Start reading the quit lit:
This Naked Mind
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober
The Sober Diaries

Listen to any podcast with Andy Ramage
Listen to One for the Road podcast

Thank you 😊

Play it forward-how will you feel tomorrow morning if you drink tonight?! You've got lots of stuff to get done.. you also need a good nights sleep. Find a good podcast to listen to, put some headphones on and zone in for half hour. I went through a phase of listening to sober stories - normal people talking about their experiences really helped! You've got this, you've done it before and can do it again!

Thank you so much. This has made me cry 🥹 I'm really hormonal and just hate myself so much, so at least drinking takes that away for a few hours. I know it's not worth it though

@CinnamonSwirlLatte - have a cinnamon swirl latte instead!

but seriously- search for my previous posts where I talk about how alcohol has almost destroyed me and my family. It’s a terrible drug. Dig deep - you will be feeling rough and yes, a drink will ease the hangover but it will also keep you drinking.

IWNDWYT

Proactively buy yourself something nice for once you have everything done - nice tea, cordial, chocolate, magazine, etc. Crack out the treats as soon as you feel the stress/"I need something to get me through this" feeling building. Put on some music that will lift your mood. Don't rely on willpower still going at 10 this evening, have all the little strategies in place earlier. If you have anything open in the house pour it down the sink as soon as you get home so you won't be tempted. Think of how good you will feel in the morning waking up with a clear head. You deserve to feel great tomorrow morning and it's a gift you can give yourself.

In early sobriety I found it helpful to keep putting off the first drink. Some days its easy to just say "I won't drink today" but some days I needed to say "I won't drink this hour" or "I won't drink in these five minutes" and keep repeating the delay. There will be easier days for sure. Changing context can be helpful by taking a positive step that helps. Join an online meeting? Call a sober friend?

This has good reviews. Some of the passages highlighted by kindle users are illuminating.

Empathy here, equally struggling.

Ask yourself why you don't want to drink alcohol, focus on the positives.

Nothing is set in stone, what's done is done and you can reset from now

@CinnamonSwirlLatte - how did you get on last night? Whatever happened- have a great holiday and don’t let the booze monster win 💐

Hope it went ok.
i find an NA cold beer is great, meets the ‘ritual’ part of drinking.