The support thread for those trying to lead an alcohol free life - Summer 2026

[Lavrander]

Hello and welcome!
This thread is for anyone who is trying to live an alcohol-free life. It was first set up by @drybird and has grown into a safe, supportive space to share thoughts, ask advice, swap experiences, or simply check in as we give up and keep off the booze.
There’s no judgment here – just encouragement. Whether you post every day, once in a while, or just read along quietly, you’re part of the group. Many of us have found this thread invaluable, whether brand new to abstaining or years into AF life.
Wherever you are on the journey, someone here will have been there too. Don’t be shy about posting – we love celebrating successes of all shapes and sizes, and we’ll support you through the tougher times as well.
The only thing we ask is that your aim is complete abstinence. If your goal is moderation or a break, there are a couple of really good threads on this board that will be a better fit. That doesn't mean that slips don't happen, and we'll support you in picking yourself back up and carrying on.
So climb aboard and join the shipmates (as well as our dog mascot Sid!) and see how good alcohol free life can be.

Good morning shipmates.

@ColdFeetat60 - I was a devil for the chocolate milkshake when I was giving up the hard stuff. Sainsbury's TTD White Chocolate and Raspberry Ripple. Not great for the waistline but it got me through and definitely the lesser evil! Another very worthy read that has been helpful to many of us is the post on Clare Pooley's blog (MummyWasASecretDrinker on Blogspot) titled The Obstacle Course. For some reason MN will not permit the link to the blog post. I'll try this link to CP's FB link to it Here (fingers and declaws crossed). If the link doesn't appear, just Google "clare pooley blog bunnies" - it'll be the top several results. Always worth a re-read, at any stage in the journey.

Good luck in London @WendyWagon - stay safe in the heat.

Sid would like it known that he has endorsed a candidate for Clacton. Let us all register to vote there and get behind him.

Strength and courage. All shall be well. xx

@REP22 the link works so I'll definitely be reading Clare's blog. I'm enjoying the alcohol experiment and read each chapter over my early morning tea, but they are short. I could certainly benefit from more reading. Thanks for passing on the tip.

Brilliant, I'm glad the link worked @ColdFeetat60 😊 I found Clare's book "The Sober Diaries" really helpful when I was going through it at the beginning. Also "The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober" by Catherine Gray. Occasionally I dig them out for a re-read! x

Hi everyone, I’ve woken up with another hangover and I refuse to waste my summer away feeling this way.
Can I please join? I know this is going to be tough

Welcome, @Dreamcakes.

If you are new to abstinence, please get yourself some Thiamine (Vit B1)? It can help to stave of possible brain damage that can happen when people stop drinking after a long period. Take high doses for 6 weeks or so at least. You can't overdose, as you excrete any excess in luminous wee (don't let the luminosity alarm you - it's perfectly normal).

Things may be tough, depending on your history, but honestly, most of us find it's not as bad as we might have thought, when we've made the mental switch from drinker to non-drinker. That's the hard bit. You have to let go of any idea of yourself as a moderate or occasional drinker, and reframe your life in the light of the fact that you will never drink again. That might seem impossible, but it's easier if you think of it in terms of giving up one thing (booze) so that you can have everything else.

Is it safe for you to go cold turkey? Most of us on here have, I think, but if you've had a long period of high intake you could get withdrawal symptoms, so be aware of that, and consider tapering down more slowly.

Cautions over - come on deck, it's good to have you on board 😀.

Thank you @ShyMaryEllen for such a lovely welcome. I will pop out tomorrow and get some VitB1.

I wanted to try and moderate my drinking but unfortunately I just don't think that's as option as once I open a bottle of wine I will drink until I black out. It doesn't help that I live in a country where the weather is fantastic and the wine is flowing.

No problem for me to go cold turkey. Have any of you read some interesting books or listened to any good podcasts that might help reframe my thinking towards drinking?

Hi @Dreamcakes , I'm new to the thread and have been given some good tips just a few messages up.

I would recommend this naked mind by Annie Grace. I was looking for help to cut down and this book helped me realise that wouldn't work for me. I was panicking and scared at the prospect of never drinking again, but I'm now 30+ days sober and looking forward to continuing. Another book that's helping is the alcohol experiment by Annie Grace.

Welcome @Dreamcakes - I'm glad you've found us. Sorry about the hangover. Grim any time but especially horrible in this heat. I can't moderate either. You're in the right place now. Lovely people here. Look after yourself. xx

Thank you @ColdFeetat60 I will check that out.
@REP22 yes a hangover in the heat is always 100 times worse!
I’ve realised that I’ve been drinking so heavily out of loneliness so I need to also tackle that.

Me too @Dreamcakes - loneliness and to shut out the thoughts in my head. You are not alone here. I've just started volunteering at a local organisation (I'm a useless waste of space practically, but with OK admin skills). There are also kindred spirits to be found in local communities via FB. It can take a lot to pluck up the courage to go along by yourself - but you don't need to stay if you don't like it, and you might be glad once you're there. Tentative little steps can grow into great strides.

After all, you were brave enough to consider your predicament and post on here - that takes a MASSIVE amount of courage. You are mighty. You can win this. xx

Welcome @Dreamcakes. You've come to the right place.
@ColdFeetat60has already given you my favourite recommendation of The Alcohol Experiment. Whilst there is a book I really liked doing it through the Naked Mind app as it unlocks daily videos - you can't just go mad and read it all at once like I would usually - which you can then watch and reflect in a little downloadable pdf. It's so good for reframing.

Perhaps the clearer head will give you a zeal to try something new? I know a lot of us have had to tinker around with new things to pass the time that we would have spent drinking. I did a lot of baking! But also found time to go out walking more and actually go to my gym classes.

Morning all.
Welcome @Dreamcakes . In addition to the excellent recommendations you’ve already had, I would add:
Sober on a Drunk Planet by Sean Alexander- very great on the positive side to being sober
Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker - a feminist take on alcohol
Alcohol Explained by William Porter - really helpful on the effects of alcohol on your body and mind

And please post as much or as little as you need to. We’re a mix of people who’ve been sober for days or years and everything in between, so there will be someone who is going through it with you, or can promise it gets better!

Treatment day for me today - haven’t been feeling great for the last week or so but think I’ve turned a corner - I think they’ve got the dose right for the medication for one of the side effects.

It feels like a day for posting my favourite Holly Whitaker quote (if it loads…)

Morning all, I am making a note of the book recommendations for when I hit a rough patch and I need some more motivation.

My friend came over last night and I didn’t drink so that’s 21 days for me now. We took my dog for a walk instead once it had cooled down and it was nice to be able to have the energy to do it. For a typical introvert, I actually feel like I am becoming more sociable not less with the quitting! It must be improving my mood! Also notice my skin is looking clearer and one or two wrinkles have disappeared 😂

Well done to every for keeping going or for starting in the first place, every day forward is a win 💪

I hope treatment goes as well as it can @Onewildandpreciouslife. That is such a great quote, and one I think I’ll share with my teens.

Just ticking along here, recently hit 300 days which feels like a milestone of sorts. I still drink a lot of AF beer and wine, I think it’s just so ingrained a habit. I’m sober though so no complaining.

@VanGoSunflowers its nice to start seeing and feeling the benefits :)

Congratulations on 3 weeks @VanGoSunflowers!! The introvert thing is so true. I think being sober gives a sense of groundedness and inner confidence so that we worry less how others see us (not least as we don’t have to worry so much about whether we’ll do something mortifying!!)

300 days is definitely a milestone @FiloPasty - congratulations!!

I’m on my third AF holiday and one year in this Sunday.

It’s A journey that has many ups and downs and unfortunately you just have to go through them all to get stronger and find your own path through it all.

A lot of it is in the mind. That’s the struggle sometimes. Prior to this holiday I started the usual niggles of it all in my head and am bashing them down again being in an environment where everyone around me is drinking.

But it does get easier, but you also need to adapt and adjust with it and find new routines and ways of handling situations.

For me it’s important to have adult style AF options at the weekend and evenings on holiday. Squash and soft drinks don’t cut it on a Saturday night etc.
Even local supermarkets abroad tend to stock % Gin and lots of % beer options and some wine.

I’ve already got the % Gin and % beers in the villa fridge. No there’s no comparison to the real thing, but they fill the void and create the ritual of enjoying a drink. And I never ever have a hangover.

Ahoy my hearty Shipmates! Just checking in. Back from my holidays - I go 'no screens' on holiday so haven't caught up with everything yet.

AF holiday no. 2 for me and I'm glad to say it was much, much easier than AF hol no. 1 last year. It used to be a big part of the holiday, having a drink in the lovely little pub by our campsite in the evenings - we still go there but now have soft drinks. I think it is habit related - I am properly in the habit of ordering a soft drink in the pub now, whereas I wasn't last year.

My biggest temptation was actually on getting home. I get very stressed on the way home and always used to have a bottle of Cava when I got home. I miss that wind-down.

I moderated for a week end June/start July, I have NOT moderated since. I can’t. I haven’t been reading this thread everyday, I will. There’s a gap in Try Dry, I can’t remember the units to add them. I haven’t actually been ‘drunk’ but have had 3/4 per day. My face feels puffy. By back hurts. I go on holiday tomorrow, for some it’s a worry that they’ll drink, for me it’s a reset as it’s all about walking in nature. Day 1 is tomorrow. I’m back!

Hope the treatment goes OK @Onewildandpreciouslife - me and Sid are really rooting for you.

Brilliant on 300 days @FiloPasty - really fantastic!

Hope all went OK yesterday @WendyWagon .

Lovely to see you again @TwoNicePuppies , @Kipperandarthur and @PhantomOfAllKnowledge - Sid sends especial wags of his tail. We shall be off on our holiday soon. Our cottage people have form for leaving a bottle of wine for their punters, but we shall be forewarned this time and into the cupboard unopened it shall go.

Strength and courage brave friends. All shall be well. x

Good evening all
Late check in. I think I must have drunk about 5 litres of water across the day. My how dehydrated I must have been in the past!
Waves at @TwoNicePuppies- clamber back. Moderation is a fallacy. If those thoughts come back into your head please post - we'll put you right. Enjoy your holiday clear headed and sober.
Hope you're alright @WendyWagon.

Morning all.
I was AWOL yesterday.
The DH and I went to an auction house to get an item valued. Very exciting. Either it's the full monty or just ordinary. We went shopping briefly after that. I was wearing a lovely linen dress from John Lewis. Bright lipstick pink.

London was a disaster. I was overcome with the heat. My nocturnal friend (she gets up at 11am) decided to do the talk before lunch so all of us still hadn't eaten by 1.30pm. I was starving and at one point thought I was going to faint. It was 38c. Sadly I ate half a bowl of iced soup and left. The waitress was really rude so I thought stuff this I'm going home. I'd seen the speaker (an old fashion friend) and was sitting next a very grand titled lady (who didn't bother to introduce herself). I did it for her, made me laugh though as she had an unfortunate name!

Today is a home day and I'm planning the move. We're going to let our current house out and rent something smaller. I need to get shot of wardrobes and chests etc. We're only three now and it's ridiculous. I'm still team cottage in the posh market town but I'd rather wait and see what happens with the autumn budget. We have to shift before the school year starts.
Personally I don't mind 2p in the pound on income tax but it's all the property tax muted. I'm not in that category!

Lots of juice in for the weekend.

Welcome @Dreamcakes and welcome back @TwoNicePuppies Enjoy your holiday!

Welcome @Dreamcakes

Morning all.
A bit cooler here.
I've been out so much this week I need a day in.

Morning all @REP22 sorry if not you but I know someone bought a carpet cleaner I was eyeing up, was it any good?
kids got pizza on the carpet last night watching the football! They all need replacing when we renovate anyway but figured I should finally get a cleaner.