The Continuing Support Thread for Anyone Trying to Lead an Alcohol-Free Life Spring into Summer 2026

[REP22]

Hello and welcome. I’m glad you’ve found your way here. We are a bunch of people who are trying to give up and keep off alcohol. No judgement, just honest support and kindness.
The original thread was started by @drybird2020 in 2020 and we have plenty of veterans and newer members who can offer advice and signposting. You are welcome here, whether you post several times a day, once or twice and then never again, or if you only just come to read but have no intention of ever posting.
Whatever your stage on the AF journey, and whatever you’re going through, someone here will have gone through it too. Don’t be shy about posting, we love to celebrate your successes of whatever shape and size - and will support you when things get challenging. We get it, we've been there too.
All we ask is that you’re genuinely trying to abstain. We don't encourage moderation-only here, as it can be triggering for some to read. If you’re looking to moderate your drinking rather than quitting it altogether then MN has another long-running and very active moderation/abstaining thread that’s always near the top on the alcohol support board. Lots of fine support there from those worthy people too. Keep trying. Sobriety may not be easy - but I guarantee you that it is worth it.
I started trying to give up drink in 2018, succeeded (mostly) in 2019 but had a few “wobbles”, one of which led me here in April 2023. I still struggle sometimes but the posters on this thread have been an absolute godsend of wisdom, support and encouragement, along with my dog - known here as Sid (not his real name), and they keep me going. I hope you find strength and comfort here too. This thread and its wonderful posters has been a lifesaver to many, and have certainly seen me through many good and not-so-good days.
These books were particularly helpful to me and I still go back to them from time to time: The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley (Amazon - Sober Diaries) and The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray (Amazon - Unexpected Joy). Others have found This Naked Mind by Annie Grace (Amazon - This Naked Mind) helpful. There are Apps that help track your AF journey, including Reframe and the ones I use, I Am Sober and TryDry. Podcasts can also be helpful. I have found One for the Road by Sober Dave to be a good listen. But different things work for different people. Feel free to post and ask. There is solidarity, wisdom and support here. This is a safe space where your voice will be heard, understood and valued.
Lighter evenings, blossom and birdsong are with us once again. Pull up a chair, and make yourself at home. It's going to be alright. x

@REP22 Sid is just gorgeous. I hope your eye is feeling better. I'm so sorry about the poor sleep and your eye - that sounds incredibly sore!

7 days sober today. Very early days. Its my birthday soon. I'm trying to make a plan now which doesn't involve drinking.

I didn't drink!!
Thanks for all the support 💕 especially @Adsy1988 @Lavrander @PhantomOfAllKnowledge @REP22 really means a lot. Loved all the ideas, took my time getting ready for the party and had an AF drink while doing so. Normally I would have had an alcoholic drink while getting ready.

Had a moment a few hours in watching everyone drink and thinking they can do it, can't be that bad. But it was a small 5 minutes of my night. Was clock watching at the beginning of the night wondering what would be an acceptable time I could leave, but I did actually enjoy it in the end.
I even sober danced!
Home by 11pm - unheard of for me, I'm always there till the end of the night when the lights come on..
A few were disappointed about my not drinking and mentioned, quite a few times actually, about having a drink. But I laughed it off.

Up early and bright, had a great night's sleep again and we have made plans to go out with family today. Something that I would have put off previously when I was drinking the night before or I would be dreading going this morning and cursing myself why I would make plans after a nights drinking.

@Blueskysarecoming well done on your week 🎉
@REP22 Sid is gorgeous

@MaineStorm well done! Especially impressed with the sober dancing 💃! Enjoy your hangover free day today x

@MaineStorm Huge well done for handling the party so brilliantly. It's really impressive that you were able to acknowledge a moment of sadness, process that thoughtfully, and still stay strong - and enjoy the dancefloor!

I hope you have the same lovely sunshine that I have here for your day out - and that you enjoy every minute of your non-hungover day after.

NOTE TO NEWBIES

It is a good idea to take high dose thiamine (Vitamin B1) to protect your brain from the effects of drinking. Take it for about 6 weeks (or longer) after stopping. You can't overdose on it, as you excrete any excess in luminous yellow wee, so don't be alarmed if that happens. It won't do any harm to take a B complex tab as well, but be aware that there are B vits that can be harmful in overdose, and that there won't be enough thiamine in a B complex tab, so take those as well as rather than instead of the thiamine.

Thank you both ❤️

Yes sun is shining and it's a beautiful day!

Enjoy your sober day today too x

@REP22 so sorry about your eye and having to out drops in every hour. That's amazing resilience to be able to keep that up for 48 hours!
@TwoNicePuppies that was put of your control so please don't beat yourself up over it.
@Lavrander and @MaineStorm well done on your event and party.
@WendyWagon good luck for the viewing. Glad to find a fellow milk drinker!
@OldHattie well done on your week, all the days soon add up

Another weekend of being a taxi service for my Dds. Nice to be able to hop in car at a moments notice. Oldest Dd had last min plans last night and I was able to drop and pick up. The only issue I now have is trying to stay awake for the late pick ups.
A busy week coming up so having a restful day and trying to tackle the endless washing.

Morning all.

I'm watching a bit of Titmarsh then I'm going to do my pots out front.

I think the DS has waltzed off with some of my gardening kit, he had the egg cups!

My new car has been delayed and I'm so disappointed. I promised to see some old friends this spring.

We've got sunshine but it's still cold.

@REP22 I hope the eye is healing. Just today to go. Sid looked knackered!

@REP22 gosh you are going to be like sleeping beauty when you finally get your slumber, I hope that the eye heals and you have a very deep and restful sleep. You influenced me to clean out my airing cupboard too, 2 giant bin bags to the clothes bin. Thank you x

@MaineStorm huge well done, few badges for you to tick off there on TryDry - sober shuffler included. I think I eluded the pressure to drink because when asked I said I’d been ill and having chest pain/blood pressure issues, I think that was enough for people to realise it probably wasn’t in my best interests to have a drink.

I had annual dr/blood tests with the nurse, blood presssure now under control and I’m 15kg lighter than last year, she was so impressed with me. Yay!

I’m taking teens for a forest walk today much to their chagrin:) they need to do DofE next year so good to get some practise in.

Afternoon all
@MaineStorm super impressive night out there! You must be chuffed to bits!
@REP22 hope your eye is feeling better and the drops are lasting you?!
I appear to be on a quest to be both smug and dull this weekend. I decided to review my bank accounts and subscriptions etc and delete anything I no longer use. I am horrified not to have done this earlier, but also happy to say I have just cancelled about £90 of direct debit for things I had entirely forgotten about. Additional tv packages, online gym subscription, paid calorie tracking thing, 1music app and one online health journal.
Ive kept one workout app (I had 3 on the go) and 1 music app plus audible as I do a lot of driving so love an audiobook.
Honestly wonder how many of these I signed up to either drunk or hungover in the past. But I feel very organised and responsible today.
Hope all shipmates are enjoying sober peaceful Sundays!

Nice drive out today to a local village that has heritage trains going through - the husband and I got some nice train pictures, intermittent sunshine. I was disappointed when the sun went in for good and it got chilly, but it prompted me to buy a coffee to warm up from a pop up local 'artisan' stall - got a huge cup for £3 and it was the loveliest coffee I've had in ages, rich but really smooth!

Supermarket on the way home and I got some more rose lemonade to have with Sunday dinner.

Hello shipmates, still here, still awake, rejoicing in the completion of my 48 hour wake-athon. Thank you so much again for your kindness and encouragement,

FANTASTIC to hear about the party @MaineStorm - Sid and I rejoice in your mastery and success. A lovely family day out of a Sunday is a rich reward indeed. Hope you've had a cracking day. 🙂

I've just come back from a lovely meal at a hard-to-get-into local pub with DB and DN. Many a time have I gone to such things groggily, reluctantly, and just had the soup as a main because I was still afflicted from the night before. Not today. I had a brie and mushroom wellington with lovely veg and savoured every bite.

@FiloPasty and @Carpetburn - very glad to hear about your clear-outs too. I dread doing this sort of thing, but I have found the rewards well worth the effort. Over half of the contents of my airing cupboard are destined for the local charity warehouse and the remainder is sorted into the storage boxes. As awful as the eye situation is, I am thankful for the opportunity it has given me to achieve this. It's very cathartic and deeply refreshing.

Sorry to hear of the delay of the actual Wendy-Wagon @WendyWagon - it won't be long - you and your chariot will soon ride again.

I'd also forgotten the blessing of an early Sunday morning stroll. I don't usually walk early-on (Sid is a reluctant riser) but, again, temporary circumstances necessitated change today. Lovely birdsong, sunshine and friendly fellow walkers. Sid channeled his "inner Ted" (from Gone Fishing) and had a bit of a paddle.

@PhantomOfAllKnowledge - glad you had a lovely drive out; that coffee sounds gorgeous. Sid and I live in a little place with heritage trains going through. You can hardly move around here when Thomas and Friends are in town! 🚂

Strength and courage fabulous shipmates. You're marvellous, even if you don't feel much like it today. Keep going - it will be alright. x

@REP22 i love a morning dog walk. They are my favourite. Have to say even in the depths of rubbish, dogs are just so joyful. My boy is an old boy, I've noticed him slowing on our walks together recently.

I'm a bit taken a back at how lovely a sunday can be. Even if I'm still not 100%. I've not drunk (Sunday was a favourite drinking day) and i feel peaceful.

@Blueskysarecoming i used to start drinking at lunchtime on a Sunday and was often so drunk I’d have to have a lie down in the afternoon. The diner revelations are so very worth it x

@REP22 that looks like a lovely walk

Hey shipmates, just catching up. I’m a bit fed up with myself and need a good talking to!
Day One again today.

@FiloPasty I was often nodding off on the sofa with my children. (Eugh...) looking forward to the dinner revelations!

@WhatMaggieDid hi. I've had so many day 1s... we just need to keep trying... it will stick, only if we keep trying.

Sending love @WhatMaggieDid it feels horrible but today is a fresh day and you’ve got all the hard work you put in before this behind you.

Morning all.

I use to go out for a cabbage on Sundays (bottle of wine). The DH got wise to me.
All I can offer is one day you can't be arsed and that breaks the hold the habit has on you. You also save the cash towards a new lipstick!

I looked in the mirror and thought 'You are killing yourself and for what?' That I didn't have an answer for at the time. Who was I punishing?

When we stop drinking our taste buds change. If I had a blip I've always thought the grog tastes like sour vinegar. It is really just rotting vegatation and water. I think of manky cucumbers. Delightful 🙂

@Blueskysarecoming that was a typo, I mean sober revelations!

@WhatMaggieDid keep going, we’ve all been there x

@WhatMaggieDid great job coming on here and being accountable, today being day 1 is better than continuing falling into the ‘Venus fly trap’. Thanks to everyone who said my sangria incident didn’t count, I did log it (1 unit); like all those who mentioned being autistic/ADHD recently I think I have something, and following rules is part of that. If I’d had I sip & realised I would have allowed myself to not log, but it was a whole glass! I’m ashamed to say it led to a proper blip the next day. I went to the beach alone for a cry, got talking to some lovely Australian ladies who were ‘on it’ and I joined in, saying “f**k it, my AF streak is ruined anyway”. Had 4 glasses (well paper cups!) of cheap cava. My friend was furious with me when I returned & gave me a good talking to, was back to AF beer that night. Day 3 (but 108 days this year!).

@WendyWagon I always used to ‘forget’ one of the veg for Sunday lunch too!!! 🙈 There are so many things I cannot believe I used to do, some too mortifying to admit to even on here!

Hello shipmates,

Salutations from the wild woods, where I'm working from today.

@Blueskysarecoming and @FiloPasty - Sundays were generally always a no go day for me as I would either be hungover or still drinking. The number of nice days I have utterly squandered through drinking and its consequences are appalling. After yesterday's renewed evaluation, why on earth do I think drinking has to be the better option than that?! I would be similar to @WendyWagon - wobbling around to the corner shop for a 'forgotten' or 'needed' item, when really I was buying more booze. No-one to make excuses to except myself, but shameful behaviour.

@TwoNicePuppies My own personal 'f~ck-it button' is permanently dented from my repeated fist punching. Right up there with "I'll just drink down to the label", and it's erstwhile companions "a bit more can't hurt" and "I might as well finish it; there's hardly any left". You really are doing fantastically well, it's so encouraging to read.

@WhatMaggieDid - oh bless you sweetie. It's tough but your are still with us here. We believe in you and are cheering you on. Look after yourself. Tomorrow will be better.

Strength and courage. We can do it. xx

Brought back a whole load of memories reading through other people’s posts about forgetting something and having to pop out. Oh my, I have lost count of the amount of times I would “forget” to grab something for dinner, lunches the next day etc… and just pick up a bottle whilst I’m there because it’s on offer, last bottle of Malbec on the shelf, a.n.other reason really!

@WhatMaggieDid try not to beat yourself up too much. We’ve all been there, never again and all that. It’s not falling off the wagon that’s important, it’s what you do after the fall that is. Get back on the sober train, you know it makes sense!

Evening shipmates
Stick with us @WhatMaggieDid you will crack it! Like I’ve said before it takes a few goes on the misery go round for many of us. God knows I had a lot of trips on that ride.
Week 1 over and over and over for about 2 years-even made a couple of months but slipped back.
I kept a journal of my next day remorse for a while and also my early days this time. Looking back it’s amazing how quickly I actually started feeling better and that really helped it stick. Plus I have a rule that if I want a drink I have to read my day after the night before entries and post here first.
My anxiety has gone. I never cry these days-I was always crying. My brain has literally woken up and my ability to think and be creative has come back (that took a little while!). My relationships have improved and my DD’s actually want to spend time with me.
My health has improved so much. I have lost weight and been able to enjoy life again.
I don’t mean to sound evangelical or preachy but there is a much better life for us without alcohol.