365 days without booze... join me?

[Davie_GLA]

Right then.

I've dipped in and out of this thread with the view of seeking some inspiration to pack in the booze.

Decided at the turn of the week that i'd take it seriously. Day 5 so far and generally OK. However i've also managed to pick up some really nasty bug that pretty much floored me for the last 2 days. Many i was being preserved by the booze!

Anyway, not sure if i'll manage a year but i'm in it for as long as possible. Have no events upcoming so that'll help - just need to ignore the litres of stuff in the house and garage.

[Gecko1978]

having been booze free since Jan 4th I was in NY last week for short break and decided to enjoy myself so put diet on hold and had some beers 1 or 2 with a meal though not every night of the 5 nights away. At first I was disappointed, why had i given up on diet after all that time for sake of cheeseburgers fries an samual admas....

But I still went to the gym while away and soon as I got home was back on the diet and have not felt the desier to have a beer over the weekend, or with a meal etc.

In the end I find my desire for beer etc just falls away its been nearly 8 years since I was depressed and first realised I had an alcohol problem but I think last 3 years have shown me while I will never be a normal drinker, drinking is no longer part of my life an normal routine. I am glad saves me a fortune and i just feel so much better about life without it.

@Oily: I am sure the dark place you are in will pass, as others have said the support alcohol gives is an illusion an a cruel one, but you know that...best of luck and I hope your back on form as soon as possible.

[Gecko1978]

olly22n said:

Gecko1978 said:

@Oily: I am sure the dark place you are in will pass, as others have said the support alcohol gives is an illusion an a cruel one, but you know that...best of luck and I hope your back on form as soon as possible.

thanks.

Its a battle at the moment but its not one i want to win.

However, I have finished renovating my house, and now I can get stuck back into work. Filled this weeks evenings with exercise - I'm going for a Saturday to Saturday off the booze this week.

I think you have worked it out in that statment...stopping the beers will not make everything better but it will stop it getting worse. There are other things in life we should celebrate an take joy in like renovting the home, getting fitter seeing friends an family.

One thing that always reminds me why I had to stop drinking is late on a thuradday after i go to a piliaties class (yeah I know its proper wet) I get milk on way home and at the off licesne see the deralicts outside 9pm thursday arguing over 1.87 they need for a can of wife beater, men an women alike...I relaise while I am a long way from that its easy to fall... So better to be beer free an do stuff that makes life better an not just numbs it. Though I accept you have a hard road to travel at the moment so again best of luck.

[oldbanger]

Some days it seems that I just can't pedal fast enough. I am booze free since March and fairly resolute. However things just aren't going very well. Lots of help has started to kick in for the kids, which is great but is a massive commitment in terms of time off work for me., just when things are busy at work. We are at the tail end of a big home building project (and its squeaky bum time in terms of budget so I am decorating at night to cut costs). I am being investigated for a heart condition following a trip to the er a few months ago. And my other half has had a breakdown. I feel like I just can't keep up with my life. I wasn't sure where to post this, just needed to get things off my chest. Thanks for reading.

[King Herald]

I think I'm up to about three months dry now. Don't feel the need for it, unless I'm down our local watering hole with my bike and car buddies. Some beer always makes the evening flow smooth and easy, always feel a little 'surplus' if I'm sitting there drinking iced tea.......

Wife and daughter go away for three weeks soon, so I'm debating whether to have a few beers then, or whether to just stay off the juice.

Usual trouble will occur I fear, a couple of cold ones the first day, four the next day, and then 8 the day after, feeling good, doing well......then off down the big city and the go-go bars not long after that, 18 hours, crawl home at stupid o'clock.........

Think I'll stay dry.

[oldbanger]

Just stay dry, it's much easier

[jmorgan]

Getting through some tough times and then looking back and saying "did that without booze". That is good, it cannot takeaway the issues and anguish but you come out of it in a better position I think.

[oldbanger]

Thanks, I had been dry for 2 years, until last Christmas, and managed to successfully deal with a big work crisis during that period. I fully recognise I wouldn't have coped if I'd been drinking. The only thing with staying off the booze is having to experience life in full Technicolor glory, without the soft-focus wine-tinted lenses on - great when things are going well, but much tougher when things are looking poor.

[johnwilliams77]

I had initially 'planned' and said I would take 12 months off the booze. However, August is particularly busy for me in terms of holidays with friends and I am leaning very much towards breaking my booze free days run for the sake of having some enjoyment.

Only I know my own relationship with alcohol and I was by no means an everyday drinking, mostly at weekends only (fri,sat).

Have I 'failed' if I have a drink now / in a couple of weeks?

[johnwilliams77]

olly22n said:

having a drink on holiday isn't failing, carrying on when you get home is.

I don't know if I can or not.

I am confident I can re-introduce beer for the odd weekend + holidays with no issues. I just don't yet know if I will be annoyed with myself for not completing the 365 days....one way to resolve this dilemma is to just wait it out.

I have already had 3 holidays, new year and my birthday with no alcohol.

[LordGrover]

I've not kept up with this topic so may be repeating oft repeated advice, but worth repeating: Allen Carr's Easyway to Control Alcohol.

Really helped me put my drinking into perspective.

[DuncanM]

LordGrover said:

I've not kept up with this topic so may be repeating oft repeated advice, but worth repeating: Allen Carr's Easyway to Control Alcohol.

Really helped me put my drinking into perspective.

Hello,

Did you stop completely, or is it a case of moderation?

[LordGrover]

DuncanM said:

Hello,

Did you stop completely, or is it a case of moderation?

After reading the book I decided to quit completely.

It sounds bad, but despite returning to drink twice since I first read it (and a visit to the 'clinic'/seminar) it's by far the best way to quit.
Taking a deep breath and re-reading it has got me back on the straight and narrow.

The main thing I'd warn against with this method is complacency. Because it's so simple to quit you may, like me, think that after a year or two sober just a quick couple won't do any harm - surely? But it invariably does. As we all know - or we wouldn't be here talking about it.

[johnwilliams77]

LordGrover said:

After reading the book I decided to quit completely.

It sounds bad, but despite returning to drink twice since I first read it (and a visit to the 'clinic'/seminar) it's by far the best way to quit.
Taking a deep breath and re-reading it has got me back on the straight and narrow.

The main thing I'd warn against with this method is complacency. Because it's so simple to quit you may, like me, think that after a year or two sober just a quick couple won't do any harm - surely? But it invariably does. As we all know - or we wouldn't be here talking about it.

For some
For others it can be controlled
Everyone here has a different relationship with alcohol

[LordGrover]

johnwilliams77 said:

For some
For others it can be controlled
Everyone here has a different relationship with alcohol

Read the book; you may see things differently.

[johnwilliams77]

LordGrover said:

Read the book; you may see things differently.

I have, twice. Unfortunately it just doesn't work for me. I just planned to quit for 365 days. Alcohol was affecting my life but I am confident I can enjoy it occasionally too. The book doesn't want to hear that.

[johnwilliams77]

olly22n said:

There's 4 weeks.

I have been on 3 nights out and found avoiding the booze easy. Also, if you tell people you are 'recovering', they tend to stop trying to force jagers down your neck!

Well done. I have 3 weeks to go until 365 days is complete

[johnwilliams77]

olly22n said:

Oh wow!

Mega!

I have a stag do in september which will be tricky...

I have been on quite a few holidays without it. These were probably the hardest. New year was tough too, Christmas was a little tough but didn't feel like I was missing much and my first birthday since I was 15 with no booze. It gets easier with time.

If you can devote your time to any activity: gym, running, cycling, anything. It makes a whole lot more sense. After a few months it will become very normal.

I didn't suffer from any peer pressure fortunately (very little) and it wasn't hard to deal with. Most people think 'well done' for putting my mind to something and completing it.

[King Herald]

King Herald said:

I think I'm up to about three months dry now. Don't feel the need for it, unless I'm down our local watering hole with my bike and car buddies. Some beer always makes the evening flow smooth and easy, always feel a little 'surplus' if I'm sitting there drinking iced tea.......

Wife and daughter go away for three weeks soon, so I'm debating whether to have a few beers then, or whether to just stay off the juice.

Usual trouble will occur I fear, a couple of cold ones the first day, four the next day, and then 8 the day after, feeling good, doing well......then off down the big city and the go-go bars not long after that, 18 hours, crawl home at stupid o'clock.........

Think I'll stay dry.

Wife and daughter went away to the USA for three weeks. One night I popped over the road to see an English buddy who was visiting the place. He persuaded me to have a couple of beers, which turned into several more, and a couple of glasses of vodka orange.

I toddled off home about 1am, feeling pretty good, had a shower, got into bed.......then the inner demon took over and I decided it would be a good idea to go down the big city, to the gogo bar street. (I don't live in England) I drank beer, lots and lots of beer.

5pm the following afternoon I got a ride home, had a shower, fed the dogs, cleaned my teeth, and went back down the town.....sat in an afternoon bar, watching the world go by, then headed into the gogo bars

10pm is about the latest I can remember where I was, and I woke up the following morning, at home, feeling like an ebola victim. No idea what time I came home, or how.

A 48 hour session, after three months dry, and three days later I am still not feeling good.

[trackdemon]

Christ, that sounds bad. I recognize some of what you've mentioned, but have always been able to find the stop button, thank god. Good luck!