100 days

[GreySkySummer]

I’m going to aim for no booze for 100 days which will take me to early December, would anyone like to join me?

This will be a massive challenge for me- I’ve been drinking a lot every day. I failed at dry Jan this year, and have had another couple of attempts which have gone south. I’m taking it very seriously this time and going to really do all the other things to try and make it work.

My drinking has slowly crept up over the last 5 years and I’m now really scaring myself and I feel so ashamed. I drink over a bottle of wine a day and keep a lot of it secret from my dp- I just feel totally disgusted with myself.

Anyway enough of the pity party- I’m hoping this will be a really positive experience and would love some company!

@GreySkySummer I have also slipped - popped to the shop for a couple of bits last night and lost the plot, adding a bottle of wine. Likewise I'm realising that I must focus on getting - and staying - alcohol free. We can do this 💪

Chin up to those who have slipped up. It’s bound to be hard. Be kind to yourself and think of all the time you went without. It was still an improvement on before. I hope that you’re not feeling too bad.

I’ve managed day 16 today. Today was such a busy day at work I didn’t have my lunch until 3:50 and by the time I’d ferried the kids around and everyone was fed it was 7:30. Then I had to return a parcel to one of those shop drop offs and it was a bargain booze! Rapdily in and out to avoid temptation!

already in bed- so tired. Hoping the really refreshing sleep I remember from my last sober stint (77 days in 2023) comes to me tonight.

well done everyone x

@Swimfreak indeed we can! In the interests of keeping going I’ve decided to not count it- I’m counting today as day 8 -1. If I go back to zero I think I’m much more likely to give up.

I’m trying to be kind to myself but not too kind! Don’t want to give myself permission to do it again! I could come up with a million excuses about why I did it but really it boils down to being totally addicted to alcohol and really wanting to drink.

@BackToBasics1808 welcome- sounds like a sensible plan, I needed to just quit and couldn’t taper as one glass always led to another but I think I’ve demonstrated I have absolutely no self control.

well done for resisting the bargain booze @Namewitheldagain

Hope everyone has a great sleep tonight!

Thank you all for the kind welcome - I did good last night
I had one glass (think 3rd wine, 2/3 lemonade and ice) i did pour another but only had half of it as wasn't feeling it so threw it down the sink
Didn't sleep great - more of napping all night and woke up with a very upset stomach this morning - think that is just a coincidence though
I know the next 48 hours are going to be the hardest as I can do the odd night without anything but by night 2 I'm like 'see i can do it' and "reward" myself with a drink
Hope everyone else has slept ok!
@GreySkySummer that's a great way to look at it - just a small deviation off of a long road - you aren't back to day one simply had to take a detour!

@BackToBasics1808 I think the first 48 hours are the hardest…they were for me as I thought if I had wine it’d help the anxiety and then I’d just start the cycle all over again with nothing ever changing! I listened to sober podcasts and read sober posts on fb and insta that kept me motivated…you can do this though!!!

@GreySkySummer @Swimfreak I think you’re right not to count your blip…how are you both feeling today?

im now on day 10 and a third of the way through the month! It’s the longest I’ve done since I failed at dry Jan at 13 days last year. My energy is definitely better today after feeling a bit meh on and off for a few days, I’m much more present with my kids. I slept so deeply last night despite the weird dreams but I think there’s an eclipse or something making everything feel a bit extra!!

how’s everyone else doing? X

Thanks all for the encouragement. I felt really down last night but didn't drink, and today is another day, and I'm feeling more positive. I'll follow your advice and just count as a blip. I'm looks g forward to having a decent row of no drinks days on the Trydry app 🤞. Have a good day all x

@GreySkySummer i think counting it as 8-1 is a great idea. You should celebrate all the days you HAVE done!

day 17 nearly over here. Worked a longish day today and feeling pretty tired. Feeling guilty I’m not exercising but I can’t stop feeling exhausted!!!

The days are really mounting up for lots of people 🤩🤩 well done!
@Swimfreak ive even lied to my trydry app and not told it about my blip, find the runs of teacups very reinforcing! I knows it’s a massive cheat but think it’s for the best in the long run!
The fatigue is difficult to deal with isn’t it? One of the reasons I was drinking so frequently was tge little energetic boost the first couple of drinks gave me, just need to remember it utterly wrecked the rest of the night and next morning.

Morning All, How is everyone doing?
I'm on day 3 now - had 1.5 glasses (very small wine, lemonade and ice) Monday night and only half a glass last night - have been pouring half a glass away each night as i really have not wanted it
Was feeling so much better until I decided to Dr google day 3 symptoms 😱and it said this is when the withdrawals peak between 48 - 72 hours and now health anxiety has kicked in and i am a mess!

I'm overthinking every niggle i get and to be honest i feel like i should have a drink (not at this time of the morning but later on) just to keep those withdrawals at bay - please tell me I'm not the only one who's felt this way??
At the minute the 'withdrawals' if you can call them that is anxiety (which is standard for me anyway) and a upset stomach - I'm not shaking or sweating or at the minute craving a drink - its more the 'what's if.....'
Counting down to 9pm tonight as that will have been 72 hours from my last 'big' drink 😰and think mind over matter will kick in then as i know i will have reached 72 hours x

@BackToBasics1808 sorry you’re feeling so anxious, you’re doing really well and I’m impressed with your ability to moderate. I wonder if you might be prolonging the anxiety though?
How much were you drinking? I wouldn’t have thought you need to worry about serious withdrawals if you stopped totally from
today

@GreySkySummer yeah thinking that from tonight it may be worth just cutting it out. I was drinking minimum a bottle a night (sometimes more) and probably more than 2 bottles on a weekend day 😞its embarrassing to actually write that down
I'm clearly not enjoying it now as the last 2 nights i have thrown half a drink away - more a habit to pour something i guess
Got friends over this weekend which would normally end up being a lost weekend - but got some 0% gin in so will keep to that and some nozecco - nothing like trying to test myself so soon but didn't want to wait another week to start cutting back
Hoping after today the anxiety will reduce - and will stop reading google!

@BackToBasics1808sounds like you have a good plan for the weekend but I’d definitely try to get a couple dry days under your belt before you try alcohol free socialising. It’s bloody hard.

i also encourage you to think past the short term pain of withdrawal and focus on the long term benefits of not drinking so much or abstaining completely. I often google things like how bodies recover from alcohol over 12-24 months. It focuses my mind towards what I’m really trying to achieve. The truth is I’m 44 days in and there’s plenty of days I feel like crap, I don’t have as good a sleep, etc and I certainly haven’t lost 5lbs or experienced some sort of uplifting clarity that makes it all worth it just yet. sometimes it does make me question what I’m doing this for- particularly in social situations it’s much easier to take cues from others than resolutely remain sober.

what I’m trying to say is don’t let niggles or fears stop you from doing what you really want to do (if that’s what you want). There will still be bad days, anxiety and feeling crap but you’ll be able to cope with it better than if you didn’t make the change.

@CheeseNcrackerz thank you!
At lot of the videos, podcasts etc focus on getting through the minute, hour, day etc its difficult to see the long term aspirations that being sober can bring - I never thought of it in that way
As with diet, exercise etc it needs to be though more of a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix to make everything fall into place
You've certainly make me think of it from another angle! 😊Thank you

Morning, it certainly is by the minute, hour and day for me currently, I'm constantly thinking of how I'm going to 'not drink' each day, I hope that eventually it won't take up so much headspace! @GreySkySummer I have recorded blips on the app as I think if I lie to myself it might be a slippery slope to pretending they didn't happen. I need to be accountable somehow. Checking in here really helps x

Hi everyone, @BackToBasics1808 i echo what others have said and I know the anxiety properly sucks and is horrible but it will fade.

I’m in such a bad mood today, I feel like stamping my feet and having a tantrum as I really want wine tonight and/or at the weekend. As I feel physically better and I’m no longer as anxious it’s gas lighting me that life would be better with wine, when I know the reality is different, I’m playing the tape forward in terms of if I had wine tonight and how rubbish I’d feel in the morning and I’m trying to not get think about the weekend and stay in the moment and getting my (sober!) head on the pillow tonight!
stay strong everyone! It helps me posting on here too and hearing how you guys are doing

Hi all, hope you’re doing okay. You should give yourself a pat on the back @Swimfreak and @GreySkySummer for coming back to the thread and getting support. Onwards and upwards…

I went out on Saturday to a party where I didn’t know anyone that well and left to be on my own whilst my DP partied on. This has happened before and I find not drinking is bringing me up against my social anxiety. Or maybe my social batteries just run out; I don’t know. Anyway I can see I use alcohol to ride out social occasions and I’m worried if I don’t drink I’ll become a hermit… still trying to work it out. Good luck everyone; you are not aloneX

Hi everyone. Just checking in as I’ve not posted for a couple of days.

how is everyone doing? What are people planning for the weekend?

Im in a bit of a fog. Today is day 19 (albeit first thing in the morning). I feel tired and lethargic. I’m getting home from work, putting my pjs on and asleep by 9:30. I’m waking up still tired. I remember feeling so refreshed last time I had a sober stint so I’m getting frustrated I don’t feel great! Then that little voice says well you might as well have a little drink then. I’ve ignored it so far but panicking about the weekend!

Im trying to tell myself it will get better. In good news I have saved £110 I would otherwise have spent on Prosecco.

sending love to you all.

Morning all,

Sorry you’ve been feeling down @Flowersareblue i can definitely identify with that, I was in such a bad mood on Saturday, thibk it definitely contributed to me drinking.

@dotdotdotdash its so good you went to the party and I don’t blame you at all for leaving early. Ive been thinking about this too, I’m quite shy but really enjoy social connection so used alcohol a lot to get me going. Feels hard to imagine how socialising will pan out in the future.

@Namewitheldagain day 19 is so good! My dp has been sober for over 18 months now, he keeps telling me he started to really feel the benefit around 6 months. I’m finding @CheeseNcrackerz post up thread really useful.

It feels like a real balance between taking each day/hour/minute as it comes but also keeping an eye on the long term prize. Either way it’s taking up masses of head space which is quite annoying!

Morning everyone!
I feel a bit less grumpy and down today and @GreySkySummer Im the same with it taking up too much head space, I feel like my brain is constantly recalibrating with ‘I’d love wine tonight’ to ‘no I’m not going to drink as it makes me feel awful’ just going round in circles!
im worried about the weekend as we don’t have much on and the weather looks awful! Maybe we could all do a Friday and Saturday night check in here to encourage each other?!

@Namewitheldagain i thought I’d be feeling more energetic too! My anxiety is way less though so that is a big positive!

sending positive and good day vibes to everyone today! X

Good morning all. Hope everyone has a good day - the moodiness and tiredness seems to be part of the whole process, doesn't it! I think I'm going to start a diary to track how I'm feeling, in an attempt to avoid the trap of treating those feelings with wine. And maybe quell some of the endless thoughts.....

@Namewitheldagainalso feeling crap. I’ve vaguely been feeling hungover off and on for about 2 weeks. Headaches, muscle soreness. Took a Covid test on Friday to rule that out. May be feeling like I’m on the edge of the flu but no actual cold symptoms and it’s been dragging out now for a while. I quit for 3 months about 7 years ago and I was feeling much more alive than I am at the moment but on I go.

Hello. I am new on the thread. Hello to everyone. I stopped alcohol on 30th August after a terrible 2 day hangover. I was drinking 1 - 2 bottles of wine per night. So, I am doing 3 things now: no drinking, hrt, and exercise. Needed a lifestyle change because I wasn’t functioning.

@Flowersareblue I agree with you on the anxiety thing. For all my moaning I’ve seen a big improvement there.

Starting to think about weekend strategies. Husband is out Saturday night at an evening reception of a colleague’s wedding. This would usually be the perfect time to drink lots and hide the bottles. I can’t honestly say I feel like drinking at the moment but I do worry about that little voice that pipes up every now and then.

what are everyone’s plans this weekend.

Morning All,
Just checking in today
Wednesday I did good - had nothing at all to drink and the anxiety from the 1st 72 hours seemed to have calmed down so yesterday I felt great - clearly too over enthusiastic! Went to my son's sport hobby last night and everyone decided to go for a drink - after my positivity thought 1 wouldn't hurt, 😔that turned into 2 - I did stop there so that is a bonus as in the past I would have 3/4 there then walk home via the shop and buy another bottle en route and drink all that! (By this stage in the week I worked it out I would have normally have drank at least 6 bottles - so far, this week its been 1 bottle split over 4 nights - that includes last night)
I feel ok this morning - bit thirsty and my sleep wasn't as good last night - it got me thinking (at 3am this morning) maybe I should look at full sobriety rather than the moderation I was hoping for - when you drink a lot is there ever a way to moderate?
That's quite deep for 7am I know and I have only been on this journey a week so have a LONG way to go but would be interested to hear your thoughts or if it can only ever be all or nothing!
I'm hoping you all have a great day 😀