To ask for opinions on giving up alcohol?

[Mummadeeze]

I am a binge drinker I guess. I don’t drink regularly, but when I go out (maybe once or twice a month) I usually drink way too much. These occasions have been some of the best and worst night’s of my life. That probably sounds dramatic but I have had some fairly horrific things happen when I have been very drunk and some totally amazing and incredibly funny times too. Recently I had a two month period of not drinking at all and I felt really good and healthy during this time. I really enjoyed feeling balanced and I exercised a lot more and lost some weight. Which led me to thinking that I would really like to stop full stop. But, the problem is that most social occasions that I enjoy attending do revolve around drinking and I just can’t imagine having a great time if I didn’t partake. Drinks after work with work colleagues are much more fun with the addition of alcohol if I am honest and I think I would actually not really enjoy them or fit in to the spirit of the night if I just had a soft drink. Am happy to go out to dinner and chat one on one with close friends with no alcohol, but going to a party and dancing and doing karaoke for example, just feels a bit hard without alcohol. So my question is, if you have given up completely, has it scuppered your social life? And if not, how have you managed?

I drink again note but didn't for 15 years

It had some impact on social life but it depends on your circle really. It's so normal now as well that

When i started drinking again i had obviously changed my attitude to it quite alot and now i drink but in a non bingy restrained kinda way

If you are a binge drinker, be thankful you were able to stop and don't look for excuses to start again. Alcohol is not your friend, really.

I am totally able to not drink, it is just nights out where the main focus is drinking I would find hard. And the problem is, these are at the centre of my social life. It is kind of expected if you go out with colleagues, otherwise you don’t bond with them. I know that sounds pathetic but it is true in my industry.

I realised that if something required alcohol to make it fun, it really wasn't worth doing in the first place, and changed my social life accordingly. I do still go to parties (less as I've got older) but I disappear once people start repeating conversations as it becomes tedious. In my experience drunk people don't even notice that you've left early... With friends, I tend to go to gigs or clubs with music thats good enough not to require me to be pissed to make it bearable!

I'm flexi-total (lol). I give up all drinking that is not nights out - no glass of wine over dinner, no drinking with the girls. I only drink at events and I talk to myself before to have a bit and then a soft drink in between (I get awful hangovers and become an angry drunk) my next events are 2 work parties and Xmas day

Dh gave up. He was a very social drinker. It HAS affected his social life I won't lie.

He had to stop though...he chose to stop and save our relationship.

It's been 4 years now and he never drinks. He used to drink when we went to mates' houses for dinner...then he stopped and to be honest, a lot of invitations dried up.

He surfs now...and does other things. I have never been a big drinker so it doesn't bother me as the pissed up dinner parties were awful anyway.

I don't drink anymore. I still socialize but like swim I bail when people start to slur. If you are deciding whether you want to become permanently sober then reading something like Alcohol Explained by William Porter would help.

I think it might make you re rvaluate your "friends". I stopped drinking as, like you, I would binge drink. Some nights were amazing and some of the best nights of my life but others were a mess, embarassing, dangerous, id hurt myself or be overcome with shame from the way i acted.

Interestingly, most of my friends are now no longer my friends. Turns out all we really had in common was drink. But the friends I do have, well at least they are true friends!

Going out drinking with others who are getting hammered is tedious. I had a friend call me a boring bitch for going home at 2, still fairly sober. Not the kind of friends I need! You can still have fun without going out drinking, but you may well find your social life changes.

whoopsffs that is pretty much like me now, I just hate the hangovers and feelings of paranoia after the event drinking. Plus I hate feeling unhealthy compared to the weeks when I am not drinking as I also binge on junk food the day after drinking which also makes me feel rubbish.

I guess I can do it, but it will affect my friendships a bit and definitely the kinds of nights out I currently have. Maybe I should just take the plunge and try it though. Northernsoullover and Namechangerextraordinaire1 are you glad you stopped?

I am, because I got to the point where I just felt awful after most nights out. I would be sick for the whole next day, feel generally crap for a good few days and just die inside at all the really awkward, shameful stuff I did while pissed. Or even just normal drunken stuff I did that I thought was really cringe when I was sober.

I miss it a bit because I did have some amazing times, but on the whole I'm glad I stopped. I do feel like a giant weirdo in a world where everyone has a glass of wine in the evening and gets drunk when they go out.

I guess it depends how much it is affecting you. Like you say, you can always trial it. If it's not causing problems in your life or relationships that make you think you need to stop, try it for a while. You could always limit yourself, I do that usually on the rare occasions when I go out out rather than not drink at all. Just enough to feel tipsy then rein it back it. Does require some willpower though!

I stopped drinking a year ago and don't miss it at all. I still have an active social life, and my work means I attend lots of functions/dinners/drinks receptions, but I much prefer them now I'm clear-headed, know I won't have one too many, and am able to drive home afterwards.

Most people don't realise I'm not drinking. I'm still chatty, and sociable, I just don't glaze over at circa 11pm when the rest of them do! That's the point at which I drive home, have a cup of tea and feel super-smug about the hangover I won't have in the morning.

Now I don't drink I never have that fear of "did I say anything daft." I find it easier to maintain a lower weight, I run better and I'm never woozy in the mornings - which I now realise I was after even just a glass or two of wine.

I honestly wish I'd stopped years ago - and I didn't even drink that much.

Different for me because I had to stop, otherwise I would probably have ended up killing myself. I definitely had my finger firmly on the self destruct button! Not drinking doesn’t affect my social life as I rarely go out. And if I do, I enjoy myself just as much. I quit for several years then drank again for about a year & have recently quit ( for good). It’s been a month & I feel so much better!