Tell me the benefits of not drinking alcohol

[bucksfizz23]

Another Sunday hungover and I'm really considering giving up drinking altogether. I just feel so tired and mentally flat. I have loads to be getting on with but just can't find the energy or motivation. Woke up with beer fear. Slept terribly as I kept waking up thirsty. It's just a waste of time.

I seem to have fallen into a routine of not drinking on my working days but as soon as I finish for the week which is on a Thursday I drink consistently each night until Monday again. I have to admit I really relish and look forward to sitting down when the dc are in bed and having a drink in front of the telly. It relaxes me and gives me a nice buzz. But my eating and sleeping habits are definitely impacted by it. Last night was our Christmas work party and I definitely over did it more than I would at home.

So if you have given up alcohol together what benefits have you seen mentally and physically? Do the miss having a drink at social occasions or to relax in the evening?

I quit drinking alcohol almost 5 years ago now. My only regret was not doing it sooner and wasting 20 years as a drinker!! I'm so clear headed and more focused, my output at work is remarkably better.
At home I have more energy and more patients with my children and less irritability (I've vividly remember hurrying up with bedtime etc just so I could sit down with a glass of wine)
Have also re-established some lost hobbies as I have a lot of free time now.
Health wise all of my blood tests and now normal after a few years of elevated liver function, my skin is clearer, my eyes are whiter, I've up to dress sizes and maintained mostly healthy eating habits. I exercise regularly as I'm not hungover.
Socially I now find it very easy and just go out and do everything I used to do but without the alcohol ..it certainly hasn't had an impact on my social life (aside from losing touch with a few friends who were reflectively very clearly just drinking buddies with nothing much in common).
The first few months is pretty hard but it's worthwhile pushing through for the end results!

You feel amazing – energy, positivity, calm, reduced anxiety, more genuine enjoyment of things.

You won’t believe how shit you were going round feeling OP.

I am not T total but whereas 5 years ago I could easily sink a bottle of wine in an evening, I now have maybe 1 or 2 glasses occasionally with a meal – probably less than once a month. I can’t even get my head round how I ever managed the previous levels.

Even a couple of glasses and I can feel such a distinct difference the next day – less sharp, less energy. Anxiety. And I can’t even be arsed with the drinking part – just feels a bit grotty and empty. I just associate it with feeling tired and sloppy.

I quit in September 2022 because I realised Im an alcoholic. My life has vastly improved. I'm present, reliable, I feel calm, I'm proud of myself and my relationships with everyone in my life are thriving.

I recommend reading the sober diaries and the unexpected joy of being sober.

Create new habits and new ways to treat yourself.

I don't drink at home so that cut most booze out for me. I changed to alcohol free or tonic with ice. I don't sleep after drinking and basically don't get put of bed the next day

I set myself a 100 days no alcohol and stuck to it: I wouldn’t say that I was a big drinker before but I deffo felt like I was drinking too much so needed a reset - here’s the benefits:

more energy - LIKE tons more Energy, even if I went out for a proper late night I still woke up feeling great.

Less anxious. Slept so well. tons more patience with the kids in general, felt like a better parent. lost weight, looked younger, skin was great. Could drive home from late nights, no farting about with taxis late at night.

I still went to all the parties, the gigs. The birthdays, I just switched out booze for AF beer or fancy soft drinks.

Downsides - You have to deal with all the emotions, all the feelings that alcohol deadens. I didn’t expect that!

other down sides - none really. The odd friend who was funny about it and didn’t want to go out with me, but no big deal. That was their issue, not mine…

Do it. If you feel like you need to then you probably should. Swap the booze for a fancy adult soft drink, in a nice glass, with ice and a slice!

Following with interest

The same benefits from not blindly running into heavy traffic.

Alcohol is a one of the more dangerous poisons that alters your brain chemistry and it can destroy your life if you are addicted.

Yes all 100% legal, you can get them in Sainsburys and Holland and Barrett.

Its a CBD drink so it helps to calm and relax you. Ive loved drinking them once LO in bed and after a long bath!

E
@ellie09 thanks

@bucksfizz23 what are your thoughts now? I've been doing Dry January. Can't honestly say that I feel better, but my blood pressure has reduced considerably, so I know that I am benefiting

I never have a hangover.
I spend less on drinks.
I can drive whenever I want.
I remember what happens in the evening.
I'm healthier.
I don't act like an arsehole after a few drinks. (Well I might do but it'll be down to a defective personality rather than alcohol.)
I don't smell as bad.

I drank very small amounts as a student - half pint of cider maybe, and a glass of wine with a meal. I quickly decided to give it up as it made me feel so utterly grim. Why would I voluntarily make myself feel ill? I have a number of health problems and asked myself why I would choose to make myself ill when my body was perfectly well able to do that all by itself.

I have not drunk alcohol for decades and am very happy with that, as are my family and friends. It has not held me back socially and my health is better.

If you don't want to drink, then don't.

‘NeedToChangeName · 23/01/2024 10:53

@bucksfizz23 what are your thoughts now? I've been doing Dry January. Can't honestly say that I feel better, but my blood pressure has reduced considerably, so I know that I am benefiting’

treat yourself and extend that by another month! That’s when you’ll really feel the benefits…

Yeah, when I did dry january, the first month I actually mostly felt pretty awful – I was a habitual drinker so found myself feeling a bit peaky and irritable, physically a bit off too with vague headaches and generally a bit under the weather! Towards the end of the month this improved, and continued to improve the longer without drinking. Do still drink now but v occasionally, and feel right away the difference when I’ve had even 1 the day before!

• Emotional stability and psychological resilience.
• Self-trust and confidence I can fulfil plans and promises.
• Deeper enjoyment of things I used to experience through an alcohol haze- for example: live music.
• Being a better, more reliable mother, friend, etc.
• Being healthier and having less anxiety about my health.
• Improved memory and a more organised life.
• Better boundaries and knowledge of what does and does not suit me.
• A richer and more varied life borne of finding creative and inspired solutions to getting a natural high because I can’t get highs out of a bottle.
• Feeling like I have come home to myself, more true to who I always was from childhood.
• Handling difficulties with grace.
• Feeling content as a default emotion.
• The list is endless.

I don’t miss anything. You can drink soft drinks in a bar, pub or party. It’s fine. I’ve been through most situations people normally rely on alcohol and I’ve been fine. Never thought “I’d much prefer to be drunk now”. Not once.

My life has changed dramatically since my partner went in to rehab 7 months ago and hasn’t had a drink since, life is really quite wonderful now

My grandfather (born in Luxembourg, grew up in Germany and had German mother and dual national French/english father) moved to London and drank wine every night and beer too. He lived to 94 but did have a few medical conditions and serious operations which could’ve been caused by alcohol. I think he was a functioning alcoholic. My dad died at 50 and was an alcoholic bar 15 years. Stepdad was an alcoholic. I never thought I had a problem but did like a drink when younger. I now drink on nights out, not a lot and there’s a new wine bar opened locally where you have small glasses with food. I was out last night for the first time since Christmas, tapas and drinks. But do/did drink with boyfriend (now ex) and it’s so easy to fall into a pattern of drinking socially.

I’m lucky I rarely drink at home though. I think I’ll try more cutting down.

Have a read of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, This Naked Mind and The Sober Diaries.

Not quite sure I want to go down that route as I do enjoy the odd drink.

If I drank every night it’d be different.

I completely agree. I probably only drink my weekly allowance in a year, I feel so much better for it. I do it mainly because of a health condition and medication. Alcohol is so toxic for your body, I’m in my late fifties and bewildered at how much friends the same age drink. Amazingly I get asked how I cope without drinking alcohol 😳, sad really.