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

Pink grapefruit juice with tonic is nice, not as overly sweet as other fruit juices.
I really hate ginger though, which seems to rule out a lot of the AF 'spirits' like Sentia etc.

I really wish someone could get the hang of producing nice (non-sparkling) AF wine!

Hi all, thanks for the support and encouragement so far!

Day One. Dreading it. It'll be a nice cup of tea and an early night for me, I think.

Good luck everyone, we've got this.

I agree with you on non alcoholic wine. Where are you getting pink grapefruit juice? I have looked in my local Morrisons and Asda recently and it seems to have fallen out of fashion. Shame as like you say it's another good alternative.

Just take it one day at a time, that's all we can do. Day one is ok for me with regards to cravings etc but I wont sleep tonight, I'll be rolling around the bed until the early hours regardless of what time I go to bed.

@IdRatherWakeFreshAt6am our local Asda and Tesco do Tropicana pink grapefruit juice. It's pretty expensive but I only use a bit at a time and top up with lots of fever tree tonic. Amazon do 1l cartons as well.

@KK1983 Yep, there'll be no sleep for me either. Then I'll start getting cravings by the weekend. Oh god, the first sober weekend will be tough... I'll just concentrate on getting through this evening first. There's still wine in the fridge, I might ask DH to lock it in the shed or something!

I’d like to join you please.

whilst I know one sober month isn’t going to be enough to solve some bigger issues I’ve realised I’ve developed with alcohol (and in the past, but not recently, substances), I hope it will kick start a much better relationship with alcohol and help my mental and physical health, both of which are poor at the moment.

I haven’t had a totally sober month for about 3 years which is a shameful thought for me, but it’s got all too easy to reach for the wine each night and it’s not doing me or the wallet any good.

Going to try and distract myself with creative hobbies when I’d usually reach for a wine and veg out in front of the TV. I’m also a sucker for taking a final glass to bed which I tell myself will help me sleep so will get some valerian root tea or similar to replace that habit.

Good luck everyone

Well I'm kicking off October with a cold. At least I won't get snot in my wine 😂 good luck all. And if it comes to it, just tell yourselves you're not drinking in the next 15 mins. And then once that is done the next 15 mins. Until bedtime 😂

@SusanSometimes My cravings will probably start tomorrow. I work in hospitality too so it will literally be everywhere. Sunday is the day I'll find the hardest as it's the day I usually relax, cook and drink all day. I love my Sundays but they'll be a lot different this time. That will 100% be my wobble day. Dreading it already.

Yeah I'd definitely remove the wine from the fridge, get him to lock it away.

Can you arrange some evening activities that you have to drive to? Might get you over the Sunday hump.

@HazelHolly oh the rules!

I am another one who won’t sleep tonight, even sleeping tablets won’t help.

My hardest time is when cooking, I always drink when cooking. So I prepped some burgers this morning and there are chips in the freezer so DP can cook. I’ll probably be so irritable that I’ll just eat chocolate!

Yeah I'm going to see how I feel on the day and get out and do something. It's all about getting rid of the habits and association. Of course I can enjoy a Sunday without a day of drinking, I just need to break that cycle - which I will.

Hope you feel better soon, try get some rest.

It's hard though isn't it. The thought of your Sunday sounds delightful. Even though I know objectively there is so much more to be gained, and nothing lost, from doing another activity. I need a brain reset and not quite sure how to do it!

You can do this! You've managed to beat the substances in the past which I'm sure was really hard so this shows that you have it in you and have the strength.

I also want a much better relationship with alcohol. At the end of this month I want to not want it as much and just drink occasionally.

Hi 👋 Can I join please? I'm a two+ bottle of prosecco an evening drinker and honestly I'm so sick of my own bullshit. So sick of wasting my potential and being fat, shabby and hungover. Pretending everything is fine when I've got this horrible secret. I just want to be free of it. Looking forward to the company on the journey! Best of luck to everyone!

@SilentTwilight Think how great you're going to look and feel in even a week from now, then 2 weeks, then a month! Also, all the money you'll be saving. I'm a prosecco drinker too, easily spending a minimum of £20 a day.

We'll all get each other through it x

Thank you for the welcome! It really helps to know we're all in this together! 🤗

How’s everyone doing? I tend to start early and drink fast so would easily be a bottle down by now. Not feeling as bad as I thought I would. Maybe making a commitment and being accountable on here is helping.

Hi, if love to join you if I may - my drinking has escalated in the past few months, a bottle almost every night. I resist until the urge to dash out and get a bottle becomes too strong. So today seems a good day to really break this habit before its too late.

Today's my day off so I'd be on my second bottle by now. I don't feel too bad at all but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't like a drink. Instead I'm having a juice in my new water bottle and eating some snacks. Yesterday I bought myself new pjs, few treats etc to try make today as easy as possible and I've chilled the whole day so it's been nice tbh.

Hey!
Sounds like a good plan. Has there been a reason it's escalated or just something you've fallen into? It's so easy to do.

@KK1983 I used to drink a lot when I was in a stressful job to blot out the constant overthinking. I thought I'd be fine once I gave up the job, and I was for a while. But the anxiety seems to be ingrained and the habit has crept right up to unreasonable levels again. Thanks for asking.

@Crazeechick Well you've recognised it and you're wanting to change so that's a great start. Anxiety can be made worse by alcohol so hopefully these sober days might help in more ways than one.

Hope everyone's doing ok this evening and not struggling too much.

Although I’m not raising money for going sober, I still printed this off and popped it on my bedroom wall to motivate me and colour in each day. Can’t wait to see it full by the end of the month.

I’m okay thanks. I’m past my wine witch window, which is around 6/7pm while I’m cooking. Once I’ve eaten, I can never drink that much anyway.

Hope folk are doing okay. I like the chart 😊