The Continuing Support Thread for those who want an alcohol free life - Autumn 2026

[Onewildandpreciouslife]

Hello and welcome. I’m glad you’ve found your way here. We are a bunch of people who are trying to live a life free of 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, solidarity 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.

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.

Whatever your stage on the AF journey, and whatever you’re going through, someone here will have gone through it too. 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.
Keep trying. Sobriety may not be easy - but I guarantee you that it is worth it.
Come on in.

@Onewildandpreciouslife the book you’re listening to sounds interesting, I have some audiobook hours left on my Spotify this month do have downloaded it.

@ShyMaryEllen thanks for sharing the article!

@Conteffi your post brought a little tear to my eye, it’s amazing what our kids pick up. I love how you explained to your son that wine is not good for your health. He will definitely see the positive changes you are making.

@REP22 I love how Sid is your inspiration ❤️🐾

@WendyWagon sorry the house issues are continuing for you. Hoping for some positive news for you soon

@Lovechicken I am so with you on the spending front! I didn’t used to bat an eyelid when buying a bottle of spirit and numerous wines!! Now, I think- why is AF pack of beer nearly same price as alcoholic one… silly me! Slowly getting better at that and l did try one called Mello (from Brewdog) which has added magnesium which was surprisingly tasty. It was peach and passion fruit and was on offer at £5 for a pack of 4

Day off today so getting things off my massive to do list! Bloods already taken at 8am. Have a great day everyone

Morning everyone.

I’m classy, my evening drink is Diet Fanta and then an Options hot chocolate before bed! I did drink Mother Root for quite a while initially, it definitely felt a very ‘adult’ alternative to alcohol. I guess I sort of just went off its taste.

@BoringWind, how are you feeling today? A little more settled? I can see why you might book a scan, I can’t say for sure that I wouldn’t either. Would it help to imagine how you’d react in both circumstances re the results i.e. there’s damage or there isn’t.

@CrazyCatMam how fantastic that you have had a brilliant time sober. I would add that I have had some really deep and more meaningful conversations on nights out too. It’s difficult to really engage when you’re on your 7th glass of wine isn’t it? 🤣. Added bonus is that I remember them too.

@WendyWagon Are outbuildings a red line for you re the barn conversation? You’ll be in my next of the woods next week!

Good luck re the tests @TickleMeElmo1, as you say - the results are the results when you are sober anyway but I hope they go well.

Ah @Conteffi I can understand how that would feel. Hold the positives. Hold onto your 10 year old DS seeing you do something really hard for you and being proud of his mummy. Which he might not fully understand now, but he certainly will when he’s older. You are in the really hard yards bit. But your positive is that you only do this once if you want to.

Funny isn’t it how calories and cost don’t matter when it comes to wine yet we begrudge paying for the AF alternatives and worry about our waistlines when we eat real food.

Hope you are okay @pinkclouds26 and @GunnelVallquist

Easy miles on the treadmill done. Just off to do some core work. Our plans have changed for the day so I’ve got a bit more free time than I thought.

Morning all,
@needastrongone unfortunately I’m still in full on panic mode. I keep going over all the years trying to work out how much I drank, it’s exhausting as I can’t stop worrying.
The guilt and fear are almost unbearable at the moment. I keep trying to reassure myself that my GGT is only mildly elevated and my platelets, white blood etc are all normal.

I've said this before, but if I had one personal wish (after world peace etc) it would be to turn the clock back so my children hadn't sen me drunk. My son is less overtly bothered by it, but my daughter does let me know that it was horrible for her, even though she left home 15 years ago. Shipmates with children, if you're wobbling remember that they only have one childhood and it's up to you to make that as good as you can. You can't change things retrospectively.

@GunnelVallquist, I hope my comments on the first page haven't put you off posting? The thread has always morphed as people came and went, and that's fine, and often people join in without having read the previous iterations of it (which is also fine), but we are here to support people who are trying to stay sober, and part of that can mean not being around others who are actively drinking. I hesitated before posting, but am pleased I did, as the thread has become much more positive and supportive than it was, with more 'old hand' shipmates joining in again. That doesn't mean you aren't welcome, or that we won't support you, though. Please don't think that.

GGT is often not part of a routine LFT panel, as it is a marker of whether the patient has been drinking, rather than a standalone indicator of liver health. So doctors include it when they are putting together a picture of why problems may have arisen.

If you'd been drinking recently before having your bloods taken it will have been raised, but so would the GGT of someone who'd just had their first binge. Doctors compare GGT with other markers to detect where any problems are likely to be - eg the ratio between GGT and ALP can determine bone health, and similar. If your other markers were normal, there is probably nothing wrong, other than that you'd had a skinful recently before the bloods were taken.

Thanks @ShyMaryEllen I appreciate the reply. The first blood test in September was a Saturday morning so I’d had wine the night before. The second test was in October after a rare and deliberate week of no alcohol, and it reduced.
ALT was normal in the first set, but went up in the second (I’d exercised just before and I didn’t realise but that can affect it).
All other LFT markers were normal.

If you reread your post, you can see that you are most probably worrying for nothing. The levels are falling, and other levels are normal. Keep sober and they will continue to fall, if they are still high, which they probably aren't by now.

I understand health anxiety - it's very common amongst people like us (me included). We know we are damaging ourselves and worry about it, but at the same time continue to make matters worse by harming ourselves further. Madness, but most of us do it.

@ShyMaryEllen thank you and hopefully you are right 💙
The years of drinking creep up don’t they. You always think you’ll change one day, but before you know it you’re 45….

@GunnelVallquist like others, I’m thinking of you, know that you are welcome & I hope you’re okay.
I’ve mentioned this before but for new people; if we had a peanut allergy we would never think “I’ll just have a small Snickers” or “a Reece’s cup can’t hurt”, we would avoid peanuts at all costs!

Good afternoon shipmates,

Hearty welcome to @Seareana - I am glad you have found your way to us.

Fully agree on the drugs comparison (and nut allergy @TwoNicePuppies - I'm allergic to nuts, a Brazil or Chestnut would kill me very, very quickly). No-one would say to a recovering coke addict "oh, go on, just a little sniff". It's an excellent analogy. @Lovechicken - you made me smile.

Another good analogy is cars and fuel. You wouldn't put vodka in your fuel tank at the pumps - why would you; it'd utterly f~ck the engine. So why pour it in your own fuel tank? The result is ultimately the same.

@needtoquit and @LlamaFluff - the driving is a big, big thing for me too. I (foolishly) surrendered my licence voluntarily as a temporary measure when I was very unwell in 2017. Never was stopped, never have I got even a single speeding point on my spotless licence. But I struggled to get it back because of my subsequent drinking results showing up in medicals (I quit properly in 2019). Took years of grinding, unbearable, humiliating misery, DVLA tests, questionnaires, appointments and - finally - MP involvement before I got it back in late 2022. To be able to drive is a blessing I will never take for granted again. Like Clare Pooley says in her wonderful Sober Diaries book, I now almost WANT to get stopped in a random Police check, to prove my sobriety on the breathalyser, and am almost annoyed when I drive past a checkpoint and they don't pick me. It annoys Sid too, though for other reasons. He's obsessed with watching "Police Interceptors" on C5. He wants me to drive him around the streets at 3am with a pair of tights on his head, so we can get pulled over and arrested for 'going equipped'. This will not be happening.

Speaking of our plucky Cabin Boy/Powder Monkey, events have taken a turn. A Celebrity Traitor has unmasked themselves and Someone is finding the betrayal hard to process.

All along - his beloved dolly Peter!! I never expected that! The stench of treachery will waft long about these decks.

Strength and courage brave friends. It will be alright. xx

Look at Sid's shocked face! He's clearly traumatised by the betrayal, poor lad. Mind you, Peter looks like a wrong 'un, doesn't he? Treachery written all over him. I'm surprised Sid didn't have him sussed long before now.

Hehe, it's always the little, quiet, smiling ones... 😉Thank you so much for all the wisdom and advice you have been sharing with us; I have appreciated it so much - always have done, but especially at the moment. 💖x

😂😂😂

Literally nothing meaningful to add, but just 😂😂😂 at Sid’s face!!

Still buzzing from last night's gig! Went for a walk this morning with the dog, music blasting through my headphones then went to my regular Wed. weight lifting class.

In the past, I've found that a 30 min walk first thing helps hugely with alcohol & junk food cravings. Googled it and apparently yup, it's a thing. It should be simple, but for some reason I never seem to get around to it. I need to make it part of my daily routine. The reframe app has a nifty little 'analyse' tool in the journaling section. It suggested I lay out my clothes the night before, by the side of my bed. So I'm going to try that.

Bought a SAD light. It makes a great light if you have a dark house (like I do) but I never stand or sit still near it long enough to feel the benefit. I think I need to have a think about where's best to put it and how to fit it into my day. Anyone else had success with one?

@CrazyCatMam I found/find a walk so very, very helpful too. In the past I've used booze money saved to buy a nice pair of walking trainers. It definitely is a thing. My recovery support worker often said how he used walking as a way to beat cravings and to reset his mind. He once told me how he'd ended up walking nearly 40 miles in one go and when I asked why, he said "because I wanted my sobriety SO much". It stuck with me.

One of the offices I work from is in the middle of some woods. Very helpful sometimes, just getting out for 10 minutes or so, breathe the fresh air, listen to the birds and the trees. It's sometimes packaged up as "mindfulness" these days - but it's always been there, free to enjoy whenever we look for it.

No experience with an SAD light, but I do have a daylight bulb which I find helpful when reading or doing tapestry. It's the darkest corner which needs the light. x