Sober October Challenge

[KK1983]

Good afternoon 😊

As the title suggests, I have decided to give 'Sober October' my all and go alcohol free for 31 days. This challenge might be a walk in the park for some but this is going to be HUGE for me. In the past 12yrs, I can't even remember the last time I have even gone a week sober, let alone a month!

So, I am a daily drinker. I have 1-2 bottles per day, sometimes more over the weekend. I have a successful job and a beautiful life but my drinking is becoming more of an issue that I ever thought it would be. I think about it more than I want, plan days around it and spend far too much money on it. Alcoholism runs in my family so i'm aware of the signs which is why I need to get a grip asap. I want to be able to moderate.

If you saw me in the street you'd look at me and think I have my shit together. I have the house, the kids, the marriage, the job - the lot! Drinking became a friend when I had none and when I was lonely after my daughter was born and my husband worked nights. Now drinking feels part of my personality, people know me as someone who loves a drink, the life and soul and I used to love that but now, I'm bored of myself.

I have tried to go sober several times but I get to day 4 and give in after finding any tiny excuse to reward myself. Night 1 always feels a bit rough. I role around the bed for hours on end and get a little anxious but nothing too bad. Day 2 I feel hungover without the fun the night before. Day 3 I cry a lot and become quite irritated. Day 4 - I quit! Not this time though, I NEED to do this and I WILL do this.

To help me along the way I have started taking the following vitamins:

• Vitamin B Complex high strength
• Live friendly gut bacteria
• Vitamin B1 500mg x2
• Iron
• Biotin & Zinc
• Vitamin D & K2

Can any recommend anything else or have any tips to help me along the way?

Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Kate x

Went to the off licence, wedding anniversary, thought I deserve a bottle or 2. Bought 00 wine. Feel like this is a big win for me

@dumplinggirlWell done love 👏🏻👏🏻

Winning al the way

Love wine gums.

Just made dinner - secret green spaghetti, broccoli and pan fried chicken with garlic bread. Listening to Storm Amy howl around the house and have put a Halloween movie on. Started putting up the Halloween decorations, which feels nice - I don’t normally decorate anymore as feel I can’t justify the cost.

I hope Friday night is going OK for everyone x

That sounds unreal! 😍

I got off work a few hours early and came home. Watching loads of people drink isn't fun but an early finish is so swings and round abouts as they say. I've put a layer of tan on and got a collagen mask on and going to find something to watch.

Bet your house is looking all cosy with the decorations up 🎃👻

Appletiser made a surprisingly acceptable accompaniment to my Deliveroo curry!

going to brush teeth soon and watch a movie in bed and that’s day 3 nicely done 😊

keep strong all ❤️

It’s getting there!

Enjoy the Film. I settled on Mr Harrigan’s Phone

Well done. Enjoy the rest of your evening

Poured one of my pricey botanical drinks into a wine glass to feel “fancy” and added chocolate to get my sugar fix. I might end up a dress size bigger this weekend but at least I won’t have a hangover!

Looks like a lovely little combo 😍

That’s an impressive lilac colour!

I want Reece’s now

Soft drink in a wine glass is a great plan! My sober friend always puts her drink in a wine glass so it feels like more of a treat.

Day 5 done and first Friday in yonks 🥳

i was worried about this eve - I had a relative over and I always get a nice bottle of red for us to share. I still got a bottle. He’s drunk half of it, I had an AF beer. I’ve now got half a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in my cupboard which I’ll have to pour away tomorrow as he could t take it with him and my DP won’t drink it. So glad I didn’t drink though 🥳

well done everyone who managed to stay AF and for anyone who didn’t make it, get straight back on the wagon tomorrow xx

👏👏👏👏

I think you are right - I think you get vivid dreams when you stop drinking because alcohol stops you having enough REM sleep (when you dream) so you’re body starts compensating and having more REM sleep when it’s able to.

here you go, chat gpt says it better than me;

When someone drinks heavily and regularly, alcohol suppresses REM sleep (the stage where most dreaming happens). Alcohol helps people fall asleep more quickly, but it fragments and lightens sleep later in the night, and in particular, it reduces the amount of REM sleep.

When a heavy drinker suddenly cuts back or stops:

• REM rebound occurs. The body “makes up for lost REM” by increasing both the duration and intensity of REM sleep.
• This rebound means dreams become more frequent, longer, and more vivid than normal.
• Some people also experience nightmares or disturbing dreams, which are part of this exaggerated REM effect.

This phase can last for days or even a couple of weeks after stopping drinking. It’s especially noticeable in the early stages of withdrawal, when the brain is adjusting to functioning without alcohol.

Well done to everyone who's done better than me. Out with mum friends tonight, had fully intended it to be AF (even managed a 6pm Tesco run without nabbing a bottle) but failed when out. Back to day 1 tomorrow. I'll keep going as I know that objectively a week of no alcohol is better than drinking most days, but I'm not happy.

@nowinetimeforme I know you need to get rid of the wine, but pouring down the drain seems a shame. I’ve portioned and frozen wine before to use in cooking. If you have any concern that may be too tempting to have around, I can suggest tampering with it. If you would use it in a future casserole you can put some salt & pepper in it now, or even mix with stock and freeze. Just an idea 😊

Back on that horse @Springadorable . You can do this. You went out with good intentions. I bet you faced overwhelming peer pressure once out. This is just really difficult. If it were easy I guess none of us would be here. Loads of us might have blips, you’ve got yours out the way already.
I found tonight hard. My DH isn’t doing SO and has asked me a few times if I’d like wine, wanted a drink etc. I was fine once I’d eaten, but we eat late at the weekends so the finish work to dinner stint was rough!

I hope everyone gets a good night’s sleep!

Keeps going @Springadorable- you’ve had far less to drink over the course of the last week than you usually would. One cake does not a diet break, so to speak! If you’ve not slept well, and feel a bit crap, perhaps remember how crappy you feel and use that to your advantage.

@nowinetimeformewell done! And I bet your friend didn’t mind that you didn’t drink either, which is often a worry. It’s a great idea from @HazelHollyto repurpose the wine!

I had a much better nights sleep last night, despite the storm. Day 4 here - already folk! Let’s keep going.

Oh yes, fully intended to just have soda water. And then someone needed someone to split a bottle of wine with and I immediately talked myself into it as I would be helping them out 🤦you're all right of course, just need to keep going, but I'm very disappointed in myself. That was nearly a week of not having anything.

@Springadorable I struggled not drinking at home on a Friday night, if I had been out there’s no way I wouldn’t have given in to temptation. Just a blip. Join us again today.

Ok, sorry guys, at least everyone else seems to be doing well! I can be this weekend's black sheep 😂 back on the wagon, and off we goooooo!

Nah, we’re all falliable. I nearly caved last night and I’m considering im already this morning as I try to ignore my wanker of a partner this morning.

Anyone else woken up STARVING today? It’s making me realise just how many empty carbs/calories/sugar was in all the wine I was drinking.