Anyone gone teetotal after heavy drinking..if so how did you do it and for how long have you kept it up ??

[no1andno2]

Anyone ? I need some help and fast..........

my dad did

kept it up for 15 years so far...

Kept what up?

being teetotal up as per original question

Ah, I see.

Friend of Bill W?

Anyone still using this thread?

I'm still reading it. Hope everyone else is okay.

Haven't had a drink all week despite being winked at by a bottle of red every time I walked past it.
So over the last 2 weeks I've only had alcohol on one night. I'm pleased about that.

Have managed to get on with more knitting than usual which is good.

I don't intend to drink tonight and won't buy any alcohol in for me. I may have a drink tomorrow night, but then again maybe I won't.

That's the spirit!

If you'll pardon the pun.

If the bottle of red is winking at you, why not put it somewhere where you can't see it or even - scary idea - get rid of it?

Oh god I remember walking down the supermarket aisles with all the lovely shiny bottles winking at me!
Gets easier- i know my drinking was different, but I couldn't keep any alcohol in the house for AGES, because I just got too twitchy. But then , i needed to stop, i couldn't cut down, just didn't work- only took a few years to work that one out!!

it does seem like we have lost a few people along the way - No1&2 how are you, bladebla? beinghonest etc where are you all.

I have been ill for over a week hence no posting - and no drinking not until this weekend where I had wine on both evenings!! Still feeling better about it than I was - I know that I will not drink during the week this week as I have no money and am still recovering from my illness really and think drinking on saturday/sunday has put me back at bit

Be nice to hear from you all

I'm still here though was not very good last week. I've had the book that Expat recommended delivered and am looking forward to reading it.

I'm still here! Have been using as much spare time as I can to exercise as I've got low thyroid post-partum and need to shift a few pounds.

Good to 'see' everyone around.

I'm still here! Have been using as much spare time as I can to exercise as I've got low thyroid post-partum and need to shift a few pounds.

Good to 'see' everyone around.

Hi everyone - I am still here, but things have been hectic. My parents have both been ill so I have been busy supporting them. Funny how having a drink seems much less important.

I had a sociable weekend with various events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but because of circumstances (relatives buying the wine, other activities to be involved in) I didn't have more than half a bottle on any of the days. I had a couple of moments when I thought "if only circumstances were different.... I'd have a LOT more...", but actually I am glad that I was able to drink moderately.

Hope everyone else is still around and reading this topic.

Well done, people!

I'm rather giving up on the idea that alcohol is actually the problem. There are so many other things that could do with a bit of improvement.

I am getting an invitation for my nephew's christening soon (or perhaps it will get lost in the post). Were I to go, I would get hideously drunk, and really not care. Visiting my family, for me, opens the doors of a dysfuntional hell. There is a thread here somewhere about psychological violence and about how it often goes unrecognised because there are no bruises.

Anyway, I am so fed-up with the self-destruct thing, which I am so good at. I am trying not to beat myself up for other people.

I have drunk too much recently, and it is affecting my mood, so time to stop for a bit.

A lot of people, though, find it impossible to work on the "other problems" until the alcohol is out of the equation ...

Not sure if this helps a great deal but the reason people drink too much these days is because the Mayan calendar is heating things up and until 21.12.12 things will escalate until it changes to a fire age whereuopon things will hugely change.

At least we only have 4 more years of increasing support needs/cares to think about then it will all massively change and ultimately pick up!

Guess we need to become more spiritual rather than rely on alcohol in order to combat these tendencies!

Hope this hits home to some - would be interested in anyone's views.

I think I can see where you're coming from, reikimarie. I think there are a lot of people who think things cannot go on as they are. I think people often veer towards the god side of things in times of uncertainty. We are all looking for answers of some sort or other!

MIFLAW,I agree with you that some people get into terrible trouble with alcohol, and really cannot drink again sensibly, but it is not the same for everyone. Over the years I have cut down on my alcohol intake enormously and I have learned that a glass of wine can be enough. It doesn't work all the time, and I find this thread helpful in keeping tabs on things.

I also think it is helpful to be able to sound off when you are feeling rough. It helps to keep the will to live!

reikmarie- are you suggesting that in 4 years time, alcohol probs will decrease?

Sorry, I think I'm totally missing where you are coming from. Am aware of Mayan calendar- but could you explain a bit more please? Am really interested, but unsure of what you are trying to say and why?

BladeBla - of course, it's not the same for everyone. That was my point too. I think there are some - or, more likely, a lot of - people on this very thread who are in serious trouble with drink. For them, alcohol in a very real sense "actually IS the problem." Your own last post sounds like someone who is having a major struggle with control, in spite of its optimistic opening.

For those people, I just wanted to keep the view on this thread balanced. If alcohol is not the problem, great. But if it is, that's okay, too - you are not alone and you should not give up hope because you can change things with help.

Reikimarie - that is not a view I have heard expressed before.

Out of interest, when was the last change of age? Perhaps we can map this onto the history of alcoholism through the ages.

That sounds a bit like a rallying cry, MIFLAW, and I'm not sure what your motives are. Frankly, I feel I am being judged and it makes my hair stand on end. Issues of control or lack of it are very pertinent.

FFS, judged for what? By your own admission, you periodically drink too much and it complicates your relationships with friends and family and also affecting the quality of your own life day to day. If, in spite of that, you do not feel you have a problem with drink, I could not give two shiny shites. It is your business and I have nothing to judge you for and nor does anyone else.

My motives are to help people who drink too much or used to drink too much - in other words, people who are likely to look at a thread called "Anyone gone teetotal after heavy drinking..if so how did you do it and for how long have you kept it up ??" - by reassuring them that there are solutions to their problem if they choose to use them and that, perhaps even more importantly, that they are not alone. What other possible motives would I have? Do you imagine AA is some sort of pyramid-selling scheme and we get commission and scout badges for bringing in new recruits?

Sorry Bla, but your reaction seems a little defensive and irrational?

I've read the posts, and in no way can I interpret MIFLAWs post as judgy.

He's an ex-drunk for goodness sake.

Just keep posting, don't use imaginary excuses to spit your dummy (as they say round here)

I' glad it's not just me ...

I read this thread about 2 weeks ago and i was truly inspired by the women. You are wonderful, but where have many of you gone. Please come back, you are strong and wonderful and you don't realise how much you are helping women like me