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!

orange we will all help :) And that goes for anyone else reading this - we all help each other :)

I have had a hideous day with horrible family stuff. But I have not drunk alcohol. Off to bed now :)

Morning all! I read the book Brave New World over the week-end and then last night watched a film version. This thread is like the booze reality reconditioning thread! Well done all for sticking with it so far. Read this great quote by Brene Brown about predictable patterns around new years resolutions:
January 1st This is going to be awesome
January 5th I'm awesome
January 10 This sucks
January 20 I suck
Sums up perfectly how it can feel but 3 weeks is critical so keep going everyone! :)

That's funny Lucy I listened to a R4 podcast over the weekend about Brave New World with Melvyn Bragg... my new 'nodding off' fodder which works brilliantly now that I've listened to every single Bubble Hour about five times

Having said that the latest BH episode is one that I'd really recommend... it's called 'Signposts of Alcoholism, and an honest discussion about Hitting bottom'. It reminded me yet again that rock bottom is simply the point at which you choose to stop digging, and for many comes before any huge life repercussion from drinking like losing your licence or your job or family. I can be susceptible to thinking 'bah, I wasn't that bad.....' and really do need to keep listening and reading other people's stories to keep connected to the 'truth' (I don't go to AA meetings).

(The Bubble Hour can be found online here although for some reason they haven't uploaded this latest episode yet. I found it on the Podcasts app on my iPhone though.

So glad the kids are back at school, still struggling to get us all into a routine though and they are being horrendous bedtime refuseniks.

Lucy sorry meant to post re. the Dry Jan / NY resolutions stuff. I'm finding it pretty depressing to see the hamster wheel crank up again on FB etc regarding Dry Jan, or weight loss, or detoxing, or the latest health kick. These cycles of binge / purge in both food and alcohol are so dysfunctional for those who have an unhealthy association with any external substance we use to change our moods and feelings... which in the case of both booze and food must be in the millions in the UK.

Hello everyone - I'm laughing happily at everyone sitting in the bath of an evening, it's lucky we live in a wet country!

OK, yesterday, first day back at my desk, I worked all day on a scary project I have managed to invent for myself (I run my own business) and then had a potentially stressful meeting with my business partner to work through all the figures and challenges. We finished at 9pm. Normally I'd have come home and deserved a glass of wine for all that but nope. Nothing. I am very proud and also a little surprised.

(And the project is going to be awesome!)

Hello and a big hug to everyone joining in. It can only be a good thing to have a solid break from the booze. It's only the fact that society has decided over the centuries that it's ok, that means we've been drinking so much. I'm always happy to not be part of mainstream society...Good luck and Bathe On!

Hello everyone! Gladistopped, dos you make it to an AA meeting? x

marry yes :) It was ...strange and I lurked but everyone was friendly ( and there was no one I recognised!)

Am about to go the The Gym (not done that for 20 odd years!) for a yoga class and an induction. Also have early classes at gym booked for Sat and Mon early am :) I already do a sport on Sun so am making sure I have sober incentive to get up early, clear headed. Also have paid upfront for gym with money I have saved by not drinking this month, so I am now a bit too skint to buy wine :)

Is a Main Share AA meeting suitable for a total newbie? I can't work it out from the website ...

Yes you just rock up! You don't have to do or say anything (in my vast experience of 5 weeks!)
Go for it!

Thanks marry There are so many variations to choose from! and some are in places I feel uncomfortable in (churches, mainly :) )

Just saying "hello" and "I'm back"!

Teapot It's a great book. And film wise I watched this one complete with Leonard Nimoy Although we are a little too close to the dystopian future that he describes for comfort for me. I know what you mean about our December excess being replaced by January hair shirts - whatever happened to moderation? Oh yes I was sh*t at that Onwards!

Eeek I have joined a gym :) it is a fabulous place :)

Yayyy glad! My monthly gym fee = what I spent on wine in ONE week.
preces how is it going?

Wahay glad! :)
Welcome back Preces :)

Day three down.

I feel tired and look awful - is that my body withdrawing from the booze?

On the other hand, I feel a sense of accomplishment and peace within myself.

Am sleeping much better and no longer dehydrated.

Good luck to all fighting the Wine Witch, Vodka Vixen, Beer Bastard etc etc

Sounds like it orange. Stick with it - you will sleep for what feels like weeks but like a caterpillar the metamorphosis is worth it :)

I would like to join too, if I may? Really want to reduce my drinking, drink 2 glasses of wine most evenings... to relax, as a reward, as a celebration; there is always a ;good; reason, but really I just need to stop. Feel stressed just joining this discussion, but have seen the awesome support you all give to each other and know that the mixture of support and accountability on this thread will really help.

Thanks Lucy. One thing I dreaded was feeling sad, bored and depressed. Now, I realise it was the booze making me feel wretched.

Welcome Chocolate.

I have just joined and it was reading this thread that finally jolted me into the stark reality of my drinking habits.

I am on my third dry day. I feel so relieved and more in control than I have in years.

Drinking wine, in particular, has become a serious problem for so many women. It's everywhere - cheap wine deals, jokes about wine o' clock, birthday cards with funny illustrations encouraging women to drink excessively.

For me, it was at least a bottle a night. For years and years, with very few sober days.

Socially, almost every night with my friends has seen me turning up already tipsy from preloading and ending the night so paralitic I cannot remember getting home.

My poor husband had to cope with me after my most recent (and last...) bender on New Year's Eve.

I am tired of the hangovers, the sneaking around trying to hide how much I am drinking. I am sick of the remorse.

Good luck, Chocolate. It is so worth it.

Welcome Chocolatemousegirl :)
Orange yep that was my experience too. Well done on day 3 - the first 1-3 days really are the worst of it so make sure you reward yourself with something nice :)

Hey all and wecome chocolatemouse im new here too x

Wow ive had a long day. Two people at work gave me belated xmas pressies, yep u guessed right... wine ha!! alastrant i know what u mean about feeling you deserve it, but not tonight eh ☺ im actually looking forward to my cocoa and bed... so rock and roll!!

orange Congrats on day 3. Snap, i slept like a log last night but look ill and feel unbelievably tired today. I think its a healing crisis. Ive been taking vitamins and extra vit C. Gona get a v early night tonight.

donaj thank you for ur advice last night x My DH (Dick Head, sorry i cant help it!) gave me a kick up the arse about drinking, but i do feel like im doing this 4 ME. Hes getting a kick up the arse from me soon! He's 50% of the reason i have been stuck up at the top of blossom hill! So how long has it been for you?

Arrgh Jelly - why do people always give wine? Shows how drenched our culture is in booze. On the other hand, to the giver, wine is probably a treat. To us, it is a demon.

Grrrr at your dick head dh.

Know what you mean about being marooned on Blossom Hills. I have been drowning in Echo Falls.

orange haha only the finest wines eh! 2 for 9 quid 😉

Bed time for me (and ive actually taken my makeup off hah!) 5am start tomorrow yippeee x

I know, classy! In my local offie, Blossom H costs a whole tenner for two and is, therefore, way too posh for me.

The same shop tells two bottles of wine for six quid. I did try them but they were too vile even for me,