DRY 10!!!!

[CheesyNachos]

Welcome! This is the thread for those of us who want to abstain from alcohol. We are all at different stages of our journey, and many of us have some hiccups along the way, but we are committed to an exciting, fulfilling, joyful life alcohol-free.

Previous thread is here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/2485290-DRY-9?pg=1

Everyone is welcome!

Thanks for the warm welcome donajmena x and hello to all, hi orange hi pete, I'm with ya!

No today isn't day 1 for me, my last 'binge' was on 29th Jan, ive drank twice since then but stuck to just a few fruit ciders (instead of the deadly wine!), tbh i darent drink wine as my hubby has literally thrown his wedding ring at me, told me he doesnt love me and has not spoken to me since i last drank. Not that im a nasty gobby cow when i drink, i just sit on the sofa quietly getting blottoed! I have been doing this probably 3 times a week for the last year.... not good, im ashamed.

Anyway...on the bright side, i went for a run early this morning, first exercise ive done in a year. I dragged myself out and do u know what... i bloody loved it!!!

*29th Dec

Aww jelly I'm so sorry. Alcohol has ruined more than one relationship for me. Not just the way I drank but their drinking too.
Obviously I don't know the state of your marriage but regardless you need to do this for YOU.
As a very kind lady from AA said to me once 'when you cut alcohol out of your life everything else just falls into place'
Unfortunately at my brief stint in AA I only saw the future without alcohol as a scary boring place and I didn't give sobriety a chance.
What is different this time is that my body simply cannot cope any more.
I haven't had a health scare (though my innards might tell a different story) I just got tired. Bone achingly tired. Hangovers were unbearable. So I had to give sober a damn good go.
To my amazement I found that the joy of being sober rather than tired and hungover far outweighed that warming little buzz every night.
I do feel bored on occasion but alcohol wouldn't solve that. There's always AIBU to read!
I wish you every success and to all the new amongst us.

Thanks for welcome :)

Jelly - sorry to hear that :(

Day two for me. I've got some posh ice cream and some maple syrup to combat sugar cravings.

Did have wine cravings today but I have one sure fire way to make sure I can't drink is to take my bipolar meds. I can't drink after I've taken then, as I just get very dizzy and fall asleep.

I have, of course, drunk before taking them which is another alcoholic habit I need to sort out.

It is so hard but I know I'm not alone.

Getting horribly trashed on NYE has really scared me. I can't remember getting home and managed to lose my favourite earrings in my stupor. I found them today, but the fact I lost them in the first place is bad enough.

Plus, my poor husband (who had a serious drink problem in his teens and barely touches booze now) had to deal with me.

The hangover the next day was gruesome. I just felt lost and hopeless.

I am actually in bed at the moment - that stops me from boozing today.

I hate booze - it's like a cruel lover. You hate loving it.

Good luck fighting the witch tonight, all of you.

I'm cleaning our bedroom to avoid drinking :) After I have eaten dinner I am having a bath then retiring to bed to watch a dvd :)

I'm actually fancying a nice glass of white wine... fortunately for me I don't have any so its a bath instead.
We'll all be so cleeeaan! I do still get cravings (is fancying a drink a craving?)
Its not all sunshine and flowers all of the time.
Still the best thing I have ever done though.

Welcome to the new faces! :) Papers are full of dry January related stuff! New CMO alcohol guidelines out on Friday too - be interesting to see what they are and the reactions in the press ....

PS Just out of the bath too Glad & Dona An evening bath a day keeps the booze away

Damn - posted on wrong thread!

Yep going to bed early is the best diversion I have. I'm finding it far easier now I'm back at work and the schools are back. I clearly need to be madly busy to stop myself drinking. Friday night is going to be tough as by then the little voice will be saying 'go on you've earned it...'

cauli is there anything you can do on a Saturday morning? I have found a 9am dance class. I love it so much that when the little voice chimes I visualise drinking the whole bottle (which it would be) and feeling shit and probably over the limit.
That stops me.
In the early days I used to visualise a lot -the whole process
A glass = a bottle (more?)
In turn leads to passing out on sofa
Wake up dehydrated at 6am
Feel remorse and say I'm not drinking tonight... until I drink that evening.
Its a really shitty existence. Its not living.
Keep strong keep going!

Good evening all x good to see you are all being strong, we will all wake up feeling fresh and slightly smug in the morning.😀

My distraction was a trip to the supermarket after work, bought all healthy stuff (and a couple of treats - not wine!!), so tomorrow night I'll be cookin.

Im also dreading Friday, when the witch starts whispering in my ear. Especially hard if H Is still being an unsuppirtive prick. He screamed at me today he hates me and he wants a divorce. I reckon thats for a different thread though.

What a mess, but at least its a sober mess today x

Jelly - that's awful! He sounds foul tempered.

That bloody Friday night voice. Ditto to the passing out, the dehydration at dawn, the guilt and shame.

And then the inevitable feeling of defeat (but guilty relief and excitement) as you pay for another two bottles (two for nine quid) and wonder if the cashier guesses you have a problem.

If it is a different cashier this time, then you feel a small relief...

orange I proudly told the man at my local convenience store that I had stopped drinking...
'Yes we had noticed' he replied

Yep hes absolutely fantastic for a while then he turns into a total dick. He has his own issues. Must admit hes never said this kind of stuff before though.

orange We have 2 shops nearby, i tend to alternate so i dont get rumbled. Haha its so funny how our minds operate when we are under the witches spell! Two for 9 quid aint bad though 😀

Donajimena LOL u can never buy from there ever again now!

However I did say 'well I felt it was becoming a bit of a problem' I didn't say how much of a problem.
Its such a dirty little secret isn't it? I'm glad I said something. There are so many of us in this boat and I am proud that I have tackled it. I'm thankful I have had this wake up. As a pp said so many people don't get this chance. My friend didn't she died. She couldn't 'get' sobriety.
I'm not going to hide it. (I'm not taking an ad in The Times either though)
If it comes up in conversation as to why I am abstaining I'm going to tell the truth.
I won't be saying alcoholic.
I'll just say I was drinking too much it started to make me feel ill so I stopped. Because that is exactly what happened.
I will also say I just stopped. Because that is also true. I don't need to share that I thought I might not be able to. Or that I am in an online support group.
I don't know why I've written all this. But it felt good

Oop xpost jelly
You never know when you get a good stretch of sobriety under your belt you might find that its you that has a complete change of heart about your relationship..

Donajimena feels good to get it off your chest eh! Its unbelievably refreshing to be able to chat about this so honestly and openly here, you're right it is a dirty little secret but talking about it is so empowering, it kinda takes the power away from the bottle. I also like the humour on this thread too, it turns my frown upside down!

I believe my DH should be in therapy/on meds for his mood swings but refuses to accept he has a problem. Its ironic that he's forced me to face my drink problem eh? But if i can can stay sober now whilst he's acting like this i will be v proud of myself. Plus i might be able to help him too. Not holding my breath, we'll have to see how this pans out...

I find this thread absolutely wonderful. Without the support of all of you on here I don't think I would have had any dry days in 2015 xxx

You absolutely have to do it for you and you only.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't work on your relationship and that it would probably help it enormously but from what you have posted he seems to have issues of his own.
As I said up thread everything will fall into place when you are sober. I think that means both good and bad but life will DEFINITELY be better.

Donaj!

The checkout guy in Lidl two bottles of wine for £7.98 made a crack about my wine habit

My drinking cycle is -

Wake up having been awake several times in night having to guzzle water.

Go downstairs to do check how much I actually drank the night before.

Decide if I need to buy more booze or if I have "enough".

Take bottles to recycle. I don't let them build up too much or dh will notice how much I drink - who am I kidding? He already knows.

I work as dog walker so spend the day arguing with myself about whether all the exercise makes up for the drinking.

I start to worry about liver failure, cancer, pancreatitis... The many health problems booze brings.

Nip into local supermarket or local shop for my usual booze.

Go home. Count down the hours until a "respectable" Wine O Clock arrives.

Open the bottle with relief and happiness and drink. And drink.

Stagger to bed.

Wake up in night and worry and feel so much shame - how can I get off this hamster wheel?

It's like Groundhog Day.

I have to stop. I'm tired of it. It's not funny anymore. I must stop kidding myself that most people drink like me, that it is harming me, that it is okay to drink like this in front of my child.

Has anyone noticed how many birthday cards aimed at women over 20 have jokes about getting drunk?

That it isnt healthy.

Its a lot easier than you think to stop the cycle. I'd say it was around 14 days to think that drinking tea in the evening felt normal.
Until you reach that point of feeling ok you can post and post and post (bath? )
I couldn't have done it without this thread. Not a chance in hell

I also had to go somewhere in the evening. Either the gym or asda. I also gave up preparing food for a while as I loved drinking while cooking. A fortnight of microwave food and pizza won't hurt anyone.