Quitting drinking

John Utah wrote:

Swaglord wrote:

Does anyone have a problem with drinking like this? They never drink alone, and barely even socially. But when they do go out with the crew or whatever once or twice a month, they get absolutely smashed and do really dumb things? I should probably quit because of that behavior.

That's not an alcohol problem. That's a maturity problem.

The guy recognises that he has a problem in that when he starts drinking he drinks too much. That is mature. The problem with alcohol is that it affects people differently and people have different tolerances. When he's sober he knows it's bad, but I'm guessing once he starts drinking alcohol effects his judgement and he drinks too much.

What you need to do, SL, is prepare mentally ahead of time - know you have limits and so knowingly set a limit before you start. So if your limit is 4 drinks for an evening, know that once you hit 4 you are not allowed another, no matter what. Pace yourself throughout the night knowing you are only allowed 4. Try it a few times. If you can stick to the limits you set for yourself, then you are fine. If you can't, then yes, it is time to recognise you can't drink responsibly so maybe it's better if you don't drink at all.

What you just described is called being mature. Like I said.

Trying again wrote:

32

Well, I made it to 34 days on 3/11 and have been getting toasted every night since then. One thing thay will make you quit is gout. Ouch. I'm on day 2.

*that

This is day 8 for me, I went cold turkey. For the last 20 years I had been a heavy drinker and then I had knee Cartilage replacement 7 months ago and without running my drinking started to become a noticeable problem.

Three weeks ago my uncle committed suicide after a lifetime of being an alcoholic, I spent the night at the hospital watching him die and I realized I needed to reevaluate my life. I talked openly with a good friend of mine and my wife about my intentions. Having a supporter in the home is huge, my wife has quit for me (at least at home). The shame I felt about the problem is slowly going away.

Last week was difficult but I filled my time with three a day workouts on tough days (between swimming, biking and boxing) and extra house projects. The weekend felt strange, I stayed awake through a whole movie with my wife on Friday and Saturday night. My mind has been clear but my nightmares are bad mostly about my uncle.

I plan to start seeing a recommended christian counselor this week. For me the why I drink is probably the key I need to figure out.

So far this road has been hard but I think it has been the right decision.

A few things that have stuck with me on this thread. Boredom is not a good reason to drink. Crazy children when I get home from work is not a good reason to drink. I really am not looking forward to explaining my decision to my in-laws or family both of which are heavy drinkers. But for now I just need to focus on my goal. Good Luck folks, if I can do this you can as well.

How's everyone doing?

Still hanging in-- sober since 07.27.2014.

36 hours sober here.

Swaglord wrote:

Does anyone have a problem with drinking like this? They never drink alone, and barely even socially. But when they do go out with the crew or whatever once or twice a month, they get absolutely smashed and do really dumb things? I should probably quit because of that behavior.

Yes. This was my problem. I had a very hard time stopping once I got going. Would get smashed and do stupid shit. I tried to set limits but it didn't work so eventually i just decided to call it quits. That was January 9, 2012. Been sober ever since. Don't miss it a bit.

Roughhouse Doyle wrote:

How's everyone doing?

Still hanging in-- sober since 07.27.2014.

Can't stop, won't stop. Seriously, though, I need to stop soon. Drinking, and it's after-effects, is getting in the way of my running and other activities.

I took a quick trip to the grocery store this evening and resisted buying alcohol despite the strong urge. It's hard for me to go to the grocery store and not buy a six pack or a bottle of wine.

So proud of myself on the way home. I just feel good that I was able to resist the urge and will go to sleep without alcohol in my body.

vivalarepublica wrote:

I took a quick trip to the grocery store this evening and resisted buying alcohol despite the strong urge. It's hard for me to go to the grocery store and not buy a six pack or a bottle of wine.

So proud of myself on the way home. I just feel good that I was able to resist the urge and will go to sleep without alcohol in my body.

Good job! Keep it up.

No alcohol since july 30th 2016. Hasn´t been hard at all, no interest to drink. Never drinked that much but enough to notice that it doesn´t work anymore like the way it did before.

One of the first purveyors of NLP (along with Richard Bandler), and a good process. There's a whole goldmine for controlling addictions at youtube.

John Grinder - Working with Alcoholism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5qvyIHUk4I

I was naively going down a road to uncontrolled alcohol use a few years ago, but then stopped cold turkey for six months. Then a little over a year ago I found that I can have a glass or two - and then stop for the night. This, I do about once or twice a week and sometimes not at all. True alcoholics can't reliably stop at one or two. I think the key for me was recognizing the pattern, learning and believing how dangerous that pattern was, and just not wanting to lose control of my life - ever.

This thread is helpful.

6 months this Saturday. It's been a great 6 months. Hope the rest of you are doing well!

Has Mike Rossi posted in here yet?

redux wrote:

6 months this Saturday. It's been a great 6 months. Hope the rest of you are doing well!

Good on ya!

Still sober since 7.27.2014

Just reviving this thread. Can running save us from addiction, or do we run because we have addictive personalities?