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

Evening all. Well done for getting through Friday. Always a tricky one. Went out to a work karaoke do tonight. Loads of fun and all the singing took my mind off of drinking & reminded me again that it is possible to have a good time without getting drunk. Felt a bit nervous about singing in front of people but soon realised that everyone who was drinking was not really noticing or caring about what I was doing.

Enjoy your lovely clear headed Saturday mornings.

I had a long sober period a while ago and remember thinking what an eye opener it is to be around people who are drinking. They are mainly just loud and repetitive - which I guess is what I am when I'm joining in.

Its so nice to just get home and be able to remember the whole night and have enjoyed it and know I'm going to be 100% tomorrow.

I’ve failed again 😞 been lonely and ordered a bottle of wine to accompany my Friday night take out. I am not even working at the moment due to redundancy so I don’t get the Friday feeling anymore. The wine has helped me relax but I realise there’s a problem if I really can’t go without.

I am full of admiration for those still on the wagon, I’ll bow out now because I feel like failing twice just isn’t good enough and any sense of achievement I hoped for won’t happen

@Youngatheart00 No please don't leave, stay! It's not failure, it's just a change of plans. You thought you weren't going to do something but decided otherwise, no big deal.

Tomorrow's a brand new day and we'll be here with you. xx

🥺 thank you. I’m up mega early for a Saturday and going for a swim at the local pool shortly, whilst it’s super quiet!

Felt so bad last night for turning to wine but I’m starting to understand my triggers better - when I’m sad/lonely/bored I try and numb that, which is different to the routine drinking I was doing each day out of sheer habit.

8 AF days from 10… now to add to that count.

This thread (and the other one in the alcohol support board here) is a huge encouragement to me and a reminder that we are all human and doing our best!!

@Youngatheart00 Don’t leave us! If you got a puncture in one of your car tyres, would you slash the other three? Think of all you’ve achieved so far! The dieting rule is 80:20 moderation, and if you apply that to drinking, you’re hitting that target!

Stay right where you are @Youngatheart00!! That’s an order 🤣.

You’ve had 8 of 10 ten days sober - concentrate on the 8. You understand your triggers better. You are up and going for a swim - moving your body and doing something postive for your health. All wins!

@Carol345 - you probably sang better than most of the folk that were drinking!!

@nowinetimeforme - bit left field if you like listening to ‘Quit Lit’ etc. Theres a podcast called They Think it’s All Sober. On paper - I shouldn’t like it - it’s hosted by 2 guys in their 30’s who are in the music industry who are clean now of drink (and more..). But they get really honest and in depth and kind of talk a lot about similar ideas and thoughts and feelings as we do here. I’d maybe start on the previous series rather than the current one to get a better feel for it, but it’s surprisingly relevant to me as a middle aged woman! It’s quite sweary though, but so honest. And they do acknowledge that sometimes, not drinking can be a bit shit! (In some ways, others absolutely not!).

Have a great day lovely folk.

Don’t go! I see this as more than a sober October thread. It’s a thread where people with similar issues with alcohol support each other to drink less. You’ve drunk much less this month! That’s a great success. Take that success forward with us and continue your good work. We can support each other in changing our relationship with alcohol for the long term.

@Youngatheart00 we are all just teetering on the edge of exactly what happened to you last night - stay, we need you! Last night it was you, tomorrow it will be someone else. But we pick ourselves up and try again, because every day we tick off really really helps our bodies and also (like you've said) us understand why we turn to wine and what we can do about it!

@Youngatheart00, hold your horses now and stay put!!! You're doing great! How much alcohol have you had this month so far in comparison to other months? A lot less im sure! This thread is great for support, chats and honesty. No one is here to judge or berate.
Hope everyone is bright eyed and bushy tailed now for the weekend

Happy Saturday 🤗

Hope you've all got some nice plans for today whatever they may be. I'm off to work shortly then that's me done until Thursday - can't wait!

It's looking and feeling cold today - wrap up if you're off out.

@Youngatheart00 Hope you enjoyed your swim x

We’re going to the Grand Final today. I’ve said I’ll be the designated driver - I don’t particularly enjoy drinking cold drinks outside in the cold anyway.
Just had my weekly food shop delivered - so many drinks! Seven bottles of Nozeco, 24 cans of Pepsi, eight bottles of strawberry flavoured water, two cartons of orange juice, six Radnor Splash, two litres of Vimto, 12 bottles of normal water and loads of milk for all the tea and coffee I’m drinking. It’s not all for me but I’m definitely not saving any money by not drinking wine!

Thank you! I’ll check it out 😊

Two. Fucking. Weeks

I could smell my partners glass of wine he had with our Indian last night.

I could smell it from across the sofa 🙈 so hard. But I didn’t have any!!!

For those who had a blip, keep going. No point in writing yourself off because of one bottle of sodding wine. Onwards and upwards!

Hahahah You definitely find new things to waste your money on

😂 Sense of smell like a bloodhound

Well done, smashing it! 👏🏻

Can picture your nose in the air twitching right now 😂

Hahaha

100% me yesterday.

Stick with us @Youngatheart00 . The wine is probably making you feel a bit down and hopefully the swim will invigorate you and help you have a better perspective on it.

I agree that boredom is a big trigger. As the DCs have got older and more independent I've got less parenting time but still nose to the grindstone at work so finding it hard to find time to really throw myself into any new hobbies etc. Plus I always feel knackered in the evenings so picking up a glass of something seems (at the time) like a good way to fill the gap between dinner and bedtime.

At the moment I'm just filling that gap with rubbish TV and crisps but I'll take that for the time being.

Out tonight to see a film and I'm driving so hopefully a low temptation evening.

Hope everyone has had a good evening. Off to bed now, and looking forward to feeling fresh tomorrow - it's still very novel!

@Springadorable I've come to realise how lovely a fresh Sunday actually is!
Sweet dreams 😴

Morning

How you feeling today @Carol345

I’m up and about and just going to head out for my long run. It’s a beautiful day here. I even made overnight oats last night and headed up to bed early, same as @Springadorable

It’s a super day here and it’s nice to wake up fresh to enjoy it fully.

Hope everyone is okay.

Happy fresh Sunday everyone! If anyone isn't so fresh, be kind to yourselves today and onwards and upwards!
Hope everyone has a nice day, ive no plans, lots of chill time

S U N D A Y ✨ - the best day of the week.

Today is all about relax and recharge. I've been up early, can never seem to sleep in on my day off. I've made breakfast muffins and currently making vanilla cupcakes to keep the hormonal teens happy.

Jobs for today - Clean, cook, iron uniforms and make my house look more autumn/halloweeny.

Have a fab Sunday guys - do something nice for yourself today x