would anyone like to try a dry January with me?

[coppercolouredtop]

i really struggle with not drinking daily.

i have tried before and cheated. my dp hates how much i drink and i would like to try and see if i can do a month without and see if it breaks the habit a bit.

i can easily sink a bottle of wine plus a cocktail and still want more. i go two days without simply because i work nights two days a week.

i am getting fat. i am choosing drink over food. i am reliant on treating myself with alcohol almost daily.

i can give up anything else really easily - smoking? stopped with no help when i decided to stop.
put a box of chocolates in front of me and i can take a couple and leave the rest.
open a bottle of wine and its gone. and i want more and i dont get hangovers so there is no incentive to stop!
ive gained 6lb recently and i know its booze - dp and i used to work same hours and i moderated a bit better when he was around but now im not.
i know he hates what i drink and the annoying bint i become after the third glass.
i have lost motivation to do anything. i dont get up early. i cant be arsed to do much anymore ( i know i am depressed which doesnt help. and i think i depress the people around me)
despite being quite outgoing and bubbly i have no friends and no social life. my kids are grown up and dont see me much. i moved to a village i dont know 4 years ago and know not a soul. i also got pregnant which i was ecstatic about but then found the baby had a disability that would have been life altering for me and her, but i always felt being a mum kept me going and motivated and now my life feels completely empty and hollow. im in a job i hate. with a partner who doesnt like spending much time with me. my kids are gone, i have no friends here and alcohol fills the gaps.

ive decided to try and get to grips with that one problem and bin the booze for a month to see if it makes any difference to anything. (waist line would be good!) i never used to drink like this.. (though i did smoke about 3 cigarettes a day)

does anyone relate? anyone fancy giving this a go and supporting each other? im going to find it extremely difficult but i want to try it.

Draw a line under it and move on today is a new day @coppercolouredtop 🙌

Great news copper

@coppercolouredtop well done am glad to hear it

Well done @coppercolouredtop. Today is a new start and don't forget how well you did before. You are going through a hell of a lot at the moment, so please be proud of how far you have come.

Well done Copper just think how brilliant you'll feel on Feb 1.

Into Day 8 here, ONE WEEK SOBER! Now a 1/4 of the way through DJ. Feeling perkier this morning as had a good nights sleep - hopefully the Keto insomnia is over MrsTerryPratchett, I can't be doing with 3 weeks as an insomniac.

I think I mainly drink out of habit, and it's such a relief not to have the constant dialogue going on in my head about whether to have a drink tonight or not (and unfailingly always do) as a constant background chatter to my day. I feel like I'm slowly breaking the habit, although I had a bit of a shitty end to the day yesterday and would have usually loved a wine to settle some difficult emotions but so glad I managed to just stamp around the house being horrible to everyone instead .

Day 7 and it’s getting easier and easier. I’ve been eating lots of fruit this evening, just for something to do.

Great stuff OP. Hope everyone else is trucking on. Day 7 here. Sleeping better. Wish the sniffles would bugger off though.

I'm still trudging along 🙄
Now have spots (which I never get) but I'm sleeping better.
My anxiety is through the roof for the last 2 days though and it's making me want to drink

I'm still going..Day 7 achieved which is amazing given I have pretty much drunk my way through 2018..! I feel rested and most definitely sleeping better. Determined not to fail 🙌

Hope everyone is doing ok. Tuesday isn’t really a drinking day for me anyway so that’s not a problem. My sugar craving is though and I will be annoyed with myself if I am not down to my pre Christmas weight by the end of this month. Big tin of chocolates being sent to the local hospice today for the staff to enjoy.
Things like sugar craving, insomnia, vivid dreams, tiredness & lethargy are all part of the withdrawal symptoms apparently. All should improve as the month goes on.

Still hanging on in there
Having a rubbish day at work and a rubbish day with my rude teenage children. I would love to have a large glass of wine but have to drive later.
Wine is not the answer
Wine is not the answer
Wine is not the answer
Wine is not the answer
Wine is not the answer

I have a few massive spots on my chin too..haven't had spots for ages.

In fact I scared myself when I looked in the mirror this morning as I looked such a hag! Surely you are meant to look better, not worse!?

I have been slowly troughing through a box of dairy Milk chocs my mum gave me at Christmas, not going to help me shed the lbs I put on over Xmas, but I also went for a run this morning so not beating myself up too much!

Day 6 done! I was listening to music on the drive home and the singer was crooning about someone with "tawny eyes" - it got me thinking of tawny port and thought "hmmm, a wee glass of port would hit the spot" but I didn't do it!

Still haven't lost any bloody weight and like others have mentioned I've got a few spots. Ah well, just think how thankful my liver will be! 😀

Mozzchops do you usually get anxiety issues? Can you try meditation - there are some good apps - to focus on breathing and quietness? I know how good alcohol is as an initial self-medication, but honestly it makes things worse in the long run. I do feel for you, anxiety is the worst (speaking as an ex-sufferer).

noticed the hot flushes are getting a bit milder thank heavens

Me to @SeaEagleFeather day 8 now for me and I have to say I'm feeling much more alive! Have a real test of willpower coming up Friday.. out with the girls and intend not to drink.

Day 9..... I've got this
Same here @whynot93. But I've lost 7lbs through WW/DJ and exercise...so this will be my motivation to stay dry on Friday . I feel so good, hot flushes have stopped, sleeping well and the menopausal anxiety has eased .

yours have stopped, bert? I'm jealous :D

Still going. Sleeps sooo much better. Just could use more of it!!! Lurgy almost gone. Still have a few weird detox spots under chin/on neck... looks like I've been shaving.

@CeciliaMcFlange I have been listening to meditation at night but I have this bonkers anxiety through the day, my poor boyf 🙁

My night sweats are a little better and sleep is great, am managing a whole night of 8 hours every night. Have cut out iPad and phone use before bed and have been reading which I think has helped

Well done to everyone still going, I'm Day 9 now

Still going here. I am in far east so coming to the end of the day. Dh is away this week which makes things easier, but we have a dinner invitation this weekend and they are fantastic cooks and always have a brilliant selection of wines - will be hard.

Im in. Glad there is a thread to help and that everybody is doing really well. I haven't had a drink since the 30th mainly as I was recovering from the flu. My DH has had a drink every night but it has not bothered me one bit, I just don't look at him and read a book instead. DH has had the flu the past week so wasn't restless to go out and drink. This weekend I think is going to be the hardest but I am determined not to have a drink. Keep up the good work everybody.

@bert3400 wow 7lb!! That's amazing, well done that fabulous for motivation. I'm back in the gym but haven't weighed myself yet.. actually day 3 of spin class and my legs are feeling it now 🙈 still going strong here and no desire to drink which is great. In the past I'd have been getting the kids tea on and looking at the clock waiting for 6pm. That seems to have passed interestingly..

Well. Wine is defo not the answer but....
I used to be on here as vicarinatutu. Many might remember I had a special needs son who was autistic. He surprised me by fledging the nest at 22 to China.

He married his Chinese lady last November.

Sadly he is still daft And nieve.

Last night he was reported missing in lamma island Hong Kong.

Turns out he was beaten And mugged. Found by police this morning.

I'm afraid i am not well today with a terrible chest /cough but have had a hot toddy ( made with whiskey)
Went to bed fine last night work up with this .

Lots of worry last night.

So im afraid I'm saying sod it for now.!
The boy is so nieve I have no idea what to now try to teach . I'm hopi g this experience might teach some stranger danger. (Nothing has worked before he cannot he swayed from believing everyone is nice as he is).
What a bloody worry.

Oh crikey vicar that's awful. How is he ?