Quitting drinking

Mechanized hum: I’m curious about any mechanisms you used to stop drinking.

Keep at it! And just fyi there's an r/stopdrinking forum over on reddit that's busier/has resources if you are looking for other online support.

It's tough to get out of a binge drinking cycle

You start to feel better and you allow yourself a drink or get an urge to drink and repeat the cycle

I'm hoping I've finally had enough of doing this.

A part of me doesn't want to concede defeat to addiction.

If you're having tough time without beer you should try non-alcoholic beer. And not O'Douls or some other scheisse. Czech and German non-alcoholic beers are the best.

Day three of not drinking:

Today is Thanksgiving. I have a bottle of Zinfandel red wine. I chose not to drink the 750 ml bottle. Instead, I put all of it into the shepherds pie I’m making right now. Technically I’m not drinking it- I’m eating it. And I’m making 20+ servings, so the 750 ml bottle is justified.

Jk. Can you imagine tho?! ?

100m wrote:

Mechanized hum: I’m curious about any mechanisms you used to stop drinking.

I had attempted to quit several times and often got 6 or so months into it before the demon crept back in. I did go to see a psychologist 3 times at the urging of my wife. I personally don't believe in therapy, but went anyway - one time at 8 a.m. after pounding two 11% craft beers. The therapist said only one thing (3rd session) that seemed to resonate with me, she said "you don't have to drink, I don't". I can't say for sure if that's what did it, but I stopped at that point and never looked back. Maybe deep down I was concerned what people might think about me not drinking - surprisingly, a lot of people commented that they too should quit or cut back. Bottom line, people acted surprised and when asked why, I simply reply that I quit for a few months and liked the way I felt (excellent sleep, better blood lipids profile, etc) so I stopped for good.

I told the therapist that I wouldn't be back, that I thought I'd be able to handle it from here on out - she replied incredulously, "time will tell". I can't go a day without some sort of exercise - run, swim, bike, lift, etc...but at least I feel good.

Good luck!

Fail. Day 1 again tomorrow. That's the plan.

Got derailed by a client cancellation and therefor too much time between getting off of work and bedtime and a run and that feeling of "I deserve a beer" and then the mini spiral.

If it's any consolation to myself, I was watching myself through the process, and feeling bad about it, and noticing how the evening would have been more enjoyable without the 6-pack buzz.

Feels like part of the problem is that "fuzzy" seems preferable to "clarity." Seems I need to get my head to a place were clarity is preferred or necessary. That;'s kinda it, I think. It's a preference for the fuzziness. Do I have a drinking problem or do I have a discomfort with clarity problem.? Well, off to bed. And a new day 1 tomorrow.

Sigh.

I suck at this, though I actually put back the three 16 ounce cans and traded them for three 8 ounce cans. But still. How do I have will power to do one thing, but not another? I have made cold-turkey style decisions in other areas of my life. OK, day 1 again.

nip it in the bud weisser wrote:

Sigh.

I suck at this, though I actually put back the three 16 ounce cans and traded them for three 8 ounce cans. But still. How do I have will power to do one thing, but not another? I have made cold-turkey style decisions in other areas of my life. OK, day 1 again.

You need to dig in this time and get tough with yourself. Tell yourself that drinking is no longer important to you and think about how great you'll feel and how well you will sleep in the matter of only a week or so after quitting.

Get tough this time.

I am closing in on 4 months sober. Some things in life have changed for the better, some haven't. But at least no hangovers. I now know that alcohol has been a major trigger for depression throughout my life. The depression is not gone, but has lifted drastically these past few months.

Some days I miss it terribly, though.

I go to AA sometimes, but other than getting some hope and inspiration from people's stories, I'm not getting much from it. I missed getting my 3 month chip and never bothered to go back for it. I hate the idea of a "god" pulling puppet strings and so it's really hard for me to commit to working the steps.

I also see why people call it a cult. some people do get pretty glassy-eyed and weird. but i think about how happy they must be to have their lives back, and i feel that way too about my own life (such as it is).

I have a lot of angst about staying sober through the holidays.

Did you work the steps? Get a sponsor? For AA to truly work, you have to put a lot into it.

no, no and i am beginning to understand!

How is nip it in the bud weisser doing?

Mechanized Hum wrote:

nip it in the bud weisser wrote:

Sigh.

I suck at this, though I actually put back the three 16 ounce cans and traded them for three 8 ounce cans. But still. How do I have will power to do one thing, but not another? I have made cold-turkey style decisions in other areas of my life. OK, day 1 again.

You need to dig in this time and get tough with yourself. Tell yourself that drinking is no longer important to you and think about how great you'll feel and how well you will sleep in the matter of only a week or so after quitting.

Get tough this time.

I take it one day at a time. I count every day that I don't drink as a small victory. After a week or two you start to feel the side effects of alcohol go away and just feel better. I want that feeling to stick around and that motivates me. Regardless of what else happens in my life, I can know that I am controlling the drinking and it is not controlling me.

Not drinking during the holidays is the hardest.

sadfasfdfsd wrote:

Not drinking during the holidays is the hardest.

Yea, feels f-ing impossible to avoid right now. When you try to stop drinking, you come to realize how much of social activity is based around drinking. Pretty much all of it.

Hi guys.

Anyone else trying to stop tomorrow?

Maybe we could keep this thread alive and help each other.

OP here. Trying again, again wrote:

Hi guys.

Anyone else trying to stop tomorrow?

Maybe we could keep this thread alive and help each other.

Me, am going to aim for a year. Need to do this to test my mental resolve and to meet my goals.

IWNDWYT.