Calling Time on Wine - the next 100 days after the first 100 day reset | Thread 3: Continuing to support and navigate together.

[needastrongone]

As promised, a new thread.

As the title states, this is the third thread. It started for those of us who wanted some support and a safe place to navigate a 100 day alcohol reset. Most of us on the thread wanted more time and space than Dry January to fully reset and maybe reflect more on our relationship with alcohol than one month.

What we also found was the most wonderfully supportive and uplifting set of folk, all with the common intention of being AF from January for 100 days. A few blips along the way for some (including me at the beginning) but for those that have, we’ve tried to understand why they happened and most of us have continued to be AF going forward and managed 100 AF days since January.

We are going for another 100 (we all liked the idea of breaking being AF into chunks of time) and I don’t think it matters one bit if new folk want to climb on board and start from here, we can all offer a friendly and non judgmental place here.

Morning everyone

Checking in still dry on day 181 only 19 days to go until the second batch of 100 days is completed. Life is so much more better now no more anxiety, self hate, guilt, poor sleep, looking like a puffed up zombie. Life is calm, productive and I am present and enjoying life. My skin, hair and nails look so healthy and vibrant. My sleep is so deep and refreshing I love waking up restored and energised.

It's great to see you all doing so well @WhatMaggieDidNext good luck on day one. 6 weeks will honestly go past so quickly.

There hasn't been a single day where I've regretted not drinking alcohol.

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I posted here but I wanted to share a book I have just listen to - We are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen. My goodness there is so much in there that resonated with me. Not the drinking as such (as is often the case with someone who has written a book about getting sober, her drinking was much 'worse' than mine) but about how she felt about herself, about her resistance to facing up to things, to be honest and vulnerable.

Part of the reason why I drink is my inability to face up to my own shortcomings, the shame of my imperfection This quote really resonated with me -

"We are all magnificent monsters, capable of everything – all the light and every bit of the dark."

I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Hi all xx
Wow guys the fact that you are nearly 200 days down is absolutely amazing, you must feel like you've achieved so much, and @WhatMaggieDidNext hellooo this is a great group, so supportive and it just helps to keep yourself accountable,
The sleep is something special isn't it, I realize now what awful sleep I had , id wake up throughout the night and would be exhausted all day. Now I wake up ready for the day, I've never been a morning person but I feel so different now x

@PeacheyPeach I know what you mean about the sleep. I used to wake up for the toilet, drink, food 😳 then not get back to sleep for hours. Had to drag myself out of bed then spend the day feeling awful really run down and tired. Now I am a morning person and by lunch time I've done more than I used to do in a full day. Looking back I was oblivious to the effects of alcohol and thought it was all peri menopause/me being unfit. That was all on me drinking 3 or 4 bottles of wine a week with nights of no drinking.

My neighbour across the road is battling cancer at the moment. Last night just before we went to bed an ambulance arrived at their door. I knew their daughter was away on hols so possibly would be a while before someone got to the hospital with neighbour's wife. It was so good to be able to offer to go with her and then offer to go up at any time if she needed anything during the night (her friends arrived almost immediately so there was no need).

This time last year I would have been over the limit and couldn't have even offered.

Today marks a milestone.. 6 months no alcohol 🙏 183 days. I don’t miss it, there’s times when I’d like to block out the noise (work is tough and the ex from hell is still trying to throw the odd spanner in the works) I won’t rise to it, it won’t break me. I’d never imagined I would have got this far and each day that resolve gets stronger. As you say @anewyearthisyearthis time last year could I have jumped in the car to someone’s rescue past 5pm.. absolutely not. Sleep is great - even in this heat I’m getting better sleep than ever. I feel good, look healthier, tackle stuff differently m. What a time to be alive eh. Happy Wednesday all xx

@anewyearthisyear that's such a great feeling isn't it that you can be there to help because theres no danger of being over the limit, your poor neighbor also xx

@therockingbird sorry I didn't see your post last night absolutely well done on your 6 months, it sounds like not drinking is only bringing you health and strength and endurance to deal with what's been thrown at you, keep going girl!.

83 days for me , my try dry app is telling me I've saved £897 I mean that's a bit of a shock that over three months that's how much I could have spent on booze !! Actually sickening really!

Congratulations on day 83 @PeacheyPeach are you planning on buying yourself a gift with the money you have saved? @therockingbird congratulations on reaching six months @anewyearthisyear thanks for sharing your story it's reinforced with me another sober benefit. Checking in tonight with another dry day ticked off.

@Ladymuckypuddle you know I haven't saved up the money and I wish I had now haha, I'm going to start because I could actually go on a lovely holiday just with my vodka money! Or get myself some little treatments!!

Same I haven't saved one penny @PeacheyPeach I suspect I'm actually spending more money due to all the times I say to myself oh will just buy this as I'm not drinking anymore

Hi everyone x

5 weeks for me today. Surprised at the noticeable benefits given that I didn’t consider myself a big drinker outside of sociable drinking! Even more surprised to find that I’m still not missing it. What I would have considered a wobble, I now consider another step in the process of recognising and undoing a habit. Surprised too at how little I care about what others think… I mean, I do care, but I care more about what it was doing to me and not letting that continue.

@Ladymuckypuddle that made me smile, that is exactly what I would do!!
@PeacheyPeach that actually is amazing, though. So satisfying!

@therockingbird congratulations on your 6 months milestone 🎉

@anewyearthisyear I’m so sorry about your neighbour but I’m noticing that benefit too. DD is a teenager and out a lot with her friends - it feels deeply reassuring that I can drive and get her if she needs it, and I no longer feel the slightly resentful sense of having to wait to collect her for my own evening to get started (which is just as well as it keeps getting later!). There are so many aspects to this that make me feel like a weight has lifted, when I wasn’t even aware that it existed.

Morning All.

Apologies, I’ve not posted for a bit as we’ve had a busy time of it here. Nothing exciting, but plenty of general life stuff.

@DaftPenguin- a long while ago I listened to a podcast where the guest experimented with 6 months sober, from being a social drinker, I remember thinking at the time how little she drank. She was surprised given this fact how much better she felt even from that starting point.

I’m not sure I’ve saved money either, but I’ve not counted it - seeing my health markers improve was my biggest driver to change. I’m sure I have, or maybe I’ve spent it on other stuff!

Agree re always being available at any time of day or night to help people if needing to drive.

My only slight twinge of thought re drinking this week was sitting down to watch the match. No idea why, I’ve never associated watching the footie with drinking!!! Maybe it was because it was an international match, and the World Cup and the feeling of collectively as a nation cheering for the team or something. Was but a twinge and I think that’s natural.

I even keep forgetting to update my Try Dry App these days in truth!

I’d love to learn how any early posters are doing? This experience has been made so much easier by you lovely lot, old and new contributors. X

@DaftPenguin it's amazing isn't it how quickly our mindset can change x the fact you're not even missing having a drink is so good, because I think that's half the battle when we miss it, we end up feeling resentful that we are having to give it up, so to not have that is such a positive thing.
It is great being someone that person who is present and available. We are the same with our teenagers they are always wanting to be picked up or dropped off , and usually id be thinking how inconvenient it was , as it meant I had to have a drink later or not all all which would be the worst especially on a weekend! I actually feel like a grown up these days!!!

@needastrongone love the fact that you don't even update your try dry app, that shows just how this is part of your life now, xxxx
Could you for watching the football perhaps get some AF beers or would you rather just stick to soft drinks x

I'm still here @needastrongone like you I don't post much as I'm just busy with life in general. I'm on 180 days. I had an urge for a drink whilst at a concert last week but it didn't last long and it was lovely to be completely in the moment and able to remember it clearly.
To be honest the thought of drinking again scares me a bit because I had really tipped into daily drinking and dependance.
I'm just grateful for every sober morning, blissful sleep and the memories I've collected over the past six months.
I'm looking forward to the next six months from what I've read it gets even better.

I was on the first 100 days thread. So I've done 6 months alcohol free now. It got easier and easier as the days went on. I love being guilt free. I love remembering everything. I just booked for us to go away for a week at the end of August and unlike other holidays I know I won't be worrying about how I will keep my supply of wine going for the week (answer is hiding it and sneaking empties into the recycling - no way to live).

I'm watching the France/Paraguay match with a peroni zero and there is absolutely nothing alcohol would add to this party.

Great to hear from you old friends! Glad everyone is doing well. I’m still ticking off my app daily but it’s not the first thing I do. When we first started I thought about alcohol all the time- how much I hated it, consumed my life etc and now I rarely do. I can’t even imagine in my wildest dreams actually sipping a glass of wine now!
Im annoyed if im not awake by 5.30 these mornings so I can have a coffee in bed, scroll and plan my day.

I can’t express how much I enjoy being sober and hangover free!!

by

Morning all!

Lovely to hear from everyone.

What I get from everyone’s perspectives is how similar our collective experiences have been - the reasons why we wanted to stop, the emotions initially felt, the slow emergence of starting to look and feel better, temptations (or not), most of us feeling somewhat embarrassed by our previous consumption, most of us have felt a bit unsure how to tell friends and negotiate social events, and we all now seem to fiercely cherish the sleep and clarity and vastly improved health.

Looking back over the last 6 months (or however long it’s been for any of us on here, certainly doesn’t matter), I’m not sure if I could say exactly what made it stick this time, and there have been many other times where I’ve tried to stop and started drinking again.

I know personally that massively reducing last year helped significantly - I didn’t or couldn’t quite get to the point last year of cutting completely - but I doubt there was one week in 2025 where I was over the alleged safe limit and most were significantly lower. Christmas Day - half a bottle of red and a glass of champagne - had me up all night throwing up, and was my final nail in the coffin. One slip up (a glass) when my DF was on end of life early Jan.

You lot too have made a difference more than you know.

What do you guys think were the things that made it stick this time?

@PeacheyPeach - thanks. Twas mainly a passing thing the footie temptation. I don’t mind the odd AF alternative though, which is funny as lager was never my thing but I’ll have the occasional AF one!

What do you guys think were the things that made it stick this time?

That's an interesting question and I honestly don't know the full answer. I had tried to stop several times. In the last couple of years though - opposite to you - I had given up trying to be sensible and just drank what I wanted. I think there were four reasons I eventually stopped:

@reset100 started the first thread late last year and what she wrote and how she wrote it just spoke to me - as did so many of the other posters - and I said fuck it I'm going to give it a go with these women. I honestly give that poster credit for changing my life.

I got exhausted from it - just got sick of how much time and energy it took from me.

I realised that if asked at any particular point in any particular day how I felt I would probably have said "despairing". But the reality of my life is really nice - lovely husband, lovely children (grown up- usual worries but nothing awful), plenty of money, lovely home, good friends etc. I started thinking WHY am I not happy and realised it was probably down to one thing - drinking way too much wine.

I was becoming increasingly worried about my health. Nothing actually happened but I knew I was living on magical thinking and someday something bad would happen. I knew dh really worried about my long term health too. It got to the point where I wouldn't think about us in 10 years time because I wondered if I would be here.

So I just stopped. I think it was important for me that I didn't do it because anyone wanted me too (dh particularly), I just did it myself. And about 7 days in I realised I already felt happier and more hopeful so I continued. The threads on here were a huge help and I also spoke to a therapist about once a week (down to monthly now) which helped - but not as much as these threads.

I would say to anyone who is wondering about stopping even if not drinking that much - and there are several posters here who were me a good few years ago not me last year - life is so much better without alcohol. It feels so much more hopeful, more manageable, more real.

I’m failing. I just can’t shake my social anxiety and feel I need to drink when I’m in social situations or I find them just unbearable and exhausting. Unfortunately it’s then the classic thing of being unable to moderate and I find myself drinking most nights to escape feelings of dread. I don’t even know what I’m dreading, as life is pretty good right now all things considered. Sigh.

@freshstart2026 please don't think of it as failing. you are finding this hard and that's ok. It took me so long to even get to the point of stopping. What i would say is just leave it in your head that someday soon you will not need to drink. let that idea sit with you for a while even while you are drinking - just let it be there in the back of your mind. No judgement for drinking just thinking that someday you will not need it.

Dittoing anewyear - @freshstart2026 it took me years to get to where I am now. Be kind to yourself. Awareness is valuable and that is what you have achieved right now, don't ever underestimate that. We all here for you, whether you are drinking or not.

So today is 6 months. 181 days I think?
I am just starting to feel glimmers of joy and happiness.
Its taken so long, my weight is going up, and I don't seem to have saved any money like most (however with interest rates rising, cossie lives I can see why - thank god there isn't any alcohol in the mix too!)

So good to see the original posters updating us, and like @needastrongone @anewyearthisyear mentioned when this post first started it was like meeting other like minded souls. I will always be grateful for those Ian Callighan posts @SwiftyFifty used to provide us with as that gave me the mental clarity to disconnect my emotional self from the alcohol withdrawal and actually see that the withdrawal was the issue and how to heal my body and the cravings in the Ian C bonkers way.

There was a question up top about how and why quitting came into fruition, for me, it took seeing one photo that was sent to me on whatsapp. And yes vanity was the final straw. I saw someone who was bloated, red faced, a stupid drunken grin on my face, I saw my mum who I havent seen or been in contact with since the age of 11 because she was an alcoholic. And I thought that's it - thats the end. The photo was taken just after xmas, where throughout that period I had drank a bottle of red every night for 3 weeks straight, along with eating all the xmas crap. The sad thing was that it was done all on my own. I had 3 weeks off work and just drank. I loved it, I looked forward to it every day, it made me feel really warm and happy knowing at 3.30pm I could open a wine, get the cheese and bread, and sit on the couch with crap tv and numb myself until 8.30pm when me and the dog would go to bed. And I did that for 21 days, until I saw the photo. (I had always drank a bottle of wine most nights, but would kid myself with trying to moderate, 5 nights out of 7 was my idea of moderating!).

And on the 6th Jan that was day 1.

I thank god I read the first 100 days post, because this is how I managed to stick with it, reading other peoples way of dealing with the first few weeks, and how they finally conquored it.

The only reason I would drink now, is if my dog passed away. I would allow myself to do that, because the alternative is that I would join him. I would need something to remove myself from the grief. I know that it won't be the best thing to do, I do know that. But I will allow it.

Anyway, on that note (sorry), to all those reading this novel I just wrote lol! and those who have always sent support, thank you so much, I only hope you feel the support too, and to those who have newly quit or still on the path to do so (or may not choose to in the end) use this forum as a way to spill your thoughts, get them out of your head, and someone will be there to respond. Heres to the next 6 months.

@IjustbelieveinMe you could be writing my story. I also have gained weight (wft!!) and also used to feel warm and happy at the thought of that moment in the day when I could have that wine. I also have an elderly dog and worry about what I'll do if anything happens to him. BUT - he had an episode a couple of months back at around 9 pm. I was awake, alert, present, able to drive to the pet hospital, able to engage with the vet. I felt very glad I was sober. (he is still going strong) So now I just think I'll wait and see how I react to any bad thing that happens - maybe I'll drink maybe I won't. Right now I am not and am a happier person because I am not. And I may have gained weight but my face looks waaay better.