Rato. wrote:
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.
Let's do this!
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.
Going the whole year without booze would be nice. I slipped up during the holiday break. Nothing too heavy, just had one to four drinks each night because it was there and I found a way to rationalize drinking it. Feeling the accumulative effects today and I hate this feeling.
Going to a party tonight where drinking will be featured and I like the people too much to not attend. A little wary of being in that environment. I'm more scared of myself than anything else.
To prepare on Saturday I ran for 3 hours on the trails, on Sunday 2 hours. No anxiety body tension on either day fortunately. Yesterday I asked my my inner self what to do and got the answer. I emptied almost a full bottle of Shiraz wine into the stream watching the red line flow and dissipate and then pounded the bottle upside down in the mud. I didnt run today but feel strong enough to make it through day3. My wife advised against quitting cold turkey because its hard on the body and she's running and they have a strong tradition of drinking on New Years to celebrate the last year and bring in the new. However, I argued that the five hours (over 2 days) of running was more of a shock and reset of my physiological system and am still irrated/angered as if it's not hard enough to fight. Now my wife says I have to go buy Champagne this evening because our friend cant do that (don't know why not) and she's coming over. I've gone through 1 large bottle of wine every 2-3 (at most) nights and this is all extremely irritating. The hardest fight is the first 2 days and I'll be darned if I'm going to let some stupid holiday f up two days of work. Its much easier now I just have to not think about it and get it off my mind and focus on other things but I'm reading this forum, perhaps out of interest for support. If you don't like the trail that your on (thats headed for a cliff) get off it and choose another one. That's what I'm doing, and not looking back.
[quote]adversityonlymakesmemoredetermined wrote:
My wife advised against quitting cold turkey because its hard on the body
Geez - your wife is waaaaay off base here. And none too supportive either perhaps. You've gone two days without booze - any withdrawal issues are in the rear view. I'm an alcoholic, and I've been sober a long time. For me, AA was the answer. AA has a decent track record, but for a lot of people it doesn't seem to work. And that's fine. Just remember that no one can compel you to do *anything* in AA, God-related or otherwise. Good luck to you. Peace.
OP here. Trying again, again wrote:
Rato. wrote:
Me, am going to aim for a year. Need to do this to test my mental resolve and to meet my goals.
Let's do this!
This thread is helpful to me.
To all of you struggling with this I’m sending prayers and good vibrations your way if you believe in that kind of thing, which I do.
Pendejo 1 wrote:
OP here. Trying again, again wrote:
Let's do this!
This thread is helpful to me.
Running, training, and racing when hungover sucks !!!
fdsasfdfsdfdfd wrote:
How is nip it in the bud weisser doing?
Thanks for asking.
I was coming down on myself kinda hard every time I slipped. But not just that. The idea of NOT drinking became like the biggest thing in my day every day and it was incredibly stressful. During each day, I was making myself more miserable stressing about whether or not I would drink that evening. It felt way worse than the guilt/stress I felt the morning after a 6-pack. It's not really funny, but trying not to drink was driving me to drink.
Not recommending this to anyone. I want that disclaimer up here first. But I kinda went the other way and gave myself permission to drink if I decided that I wanted to. So I wasn't stressing all day about the inevitable decision that would come every evening. It may not make sense, but giving myself the freedom to drink seemed to put me more in control. Deciding not to buy beers on the way home stopped feeling like a "life sentence" and the whole issue just became more chill. I am drinking less now than I have in the past 5 years, a lot less, no longer daily. So maybe some of the earlier posts about how quitting cold turkey works for some but not for others is true. I don't know. Maybe it's like running training where there are lots of theories and methods and some work for people better than other people. Anyway that's where Im at now.
Celebrating at home with the inlaws, no alcohol in the house except for a bottle of champagne being split 6 ways at midnight. Instead of popping open my umpteenth beer at 8pm, I was drinking coffee and making cookies with my niece and nephew.
need gatorade and vodka.
- You know who
nip it in the bud weisser wrote:
fdsasfdfsdfdfd wrote:
How is nip it in the bud weisser doing?
Thanks for asking.
I was coming down on myself kinda hard every time I slipped. But not just that. The idea of NOT drinking became like the biggest thing in my day every day and it was incredibly stressful. During each day, I was making myself more miserable stressing about whether or not I would drink that evening. It felt way worse than the guilt/stress I felt the morning after a 6-pack. It's not really funny, but trying not to drink was driving me to drink.
Not recommending this to anyone. I want that disclaimer up here first. But I kinda went the other way and gave myself permission to drink if I decided that I wanted to. So I wasn't stressing all day about the inevitable decision that would come every evening. It may not make sense, but giving myself the freedom to drink seemed to put me more in control. Deciding not to buy beers on the way home stopped feeling like a "life sentence" and the whole issue just became more chill. I am drinking less now than I have in the past 5 years, a lot less, no longer daily. So maybe some of the earlier posts about how quitting cold turkey works for some but not for others is true. I don't know. Maybe it's like running training where there are lots of theories and methods and some work for people better than other people. Anyway that's where Im at now.
Celebrating at home with the inlaws, no alcohol in the house except for a bottle of champagne being split 6 ways at midnight. Instead of popping open my umpteenth beer at 8pm, I was drinking coffee and making cookies with my niece and nephew.
Interesting method. Hope it works for you. I guess the danger is that it leaves the door open for old habits. That's why complete abstinence is the only option for a lot of people.
Myself, I ratcheted down my drinking until it was only once every 2 or 3 weeks. I would find a way to justify having a few drinks, and then get nothing from the brief episode and go another 2 or 3 weeks without a drink. I guess that I wanted a reminder of the obvious.
vivalarepublica wrote:
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.
Going the whole year without booze would be nice. I slipped up during the holiday break. Nothing too heavy, just had one to four drinks each night because it was there and I found a way to rationalize drinking it. Feeling the accumulative effects today and I hate this feeling.
Going to a party tonight where drinking will be featured and I like the people too much to not attend. A little wary of being in that environment. I'm more scared of myself than anything else.
Well, I did end up having a few drinks early last night but drank a lot of water and stayed pretty sober and drove home safely. The old me would have got f-ing trashed with all the alcohol that was available. So I guess that's progress.
The last couple months were not good for my drinking habits. I had a few too many drinks out with friends and then bought some booze for home to deal with some emotional jitters. Except the increase in booze did not actually smooth anything over and now I feel worse than before this recent binge. I wish that I did not feel things so strongly, but I am what I am.
I would like to go all of 2019 without drinking. I would be very proud of myself if I did that. I'm just so over dealing with the negative consequences of drinking and believing that drinking actually makes me feel better about anything. All it does numb all my emotions and insecurities for a brief period and solve nothing.
Anybody cave already? I have made it through two days, but the urge is strong for me today because I drank almost every day over the holiday break. I was doing great until a drinking night out with friends in mid-December. The I treated emotional anxiety with alcohol and the anxiety only got worse with more alcohol. Now the anxiety is getting better after only two days without alcohol, so we'll see.
My goal is January no drinks.
I'm not quite an alcoholic yet but I need some control.
I had a glass of wine with dinner tonight but otherwise that’s it so far this year.
Drank on January 1st, sober a day now. Solid on the sauce since 1992 or so (age 14). Problematic last number of years while still getting in 50MPW and working and running ok times. Quitting for me has nothing to do with running but running has a lot to do with me quitting. Hoping to up the training and cut out the down time/sleeplessness with some increased activity.
For me, I gave it up and sweets. It was hard. I don't crave either, but was Pavlovian in my routine. Evenings with or after a meal, I'd have one or two beers. Then , I noticed my tolerance increasing. Soon, I was able to drink 4 without much effect. But, I started to notice my stomach was no longer flat and I felt heavy or heavier than usual, on most runs. So, I felt something has to give.
There was recently a documentary by a Brit TV presenter about his habitual drinking and its effects on his sleep, mental and physical health, weight and work.
He hasn't given up completely but has transformed his drinking habits by asking 'am I going to absolutely thoroughly enjoy this drink'? If not, he doesn't drink it. If yes, he'll drink it.
He found that he cut out the vast majority of drinks as they were mostly habit.
a foreigner wrote:
There was recently a documentary by a Brit TV presenter about his habitual drinking and its effects on his sleep, mental and physical health, weight and work.
He hasn't given up completely but has transformed his drinking habits by asking 'am I going to absolutely thoroughly enjoy this drink'? If not, he doesn't drink it. If yes, he'll drink it.
He found that he cut out the vast majority of drinks as they were mostly habit.
A lot of it has to do with habit. Just yesterday, I was driving home and thought to myself "I really would like a beer today after work". But that's the sort of thing I would fall into on a daily basis and it would never be just one beer. So I abstained.
The best part of not drinking to me is feeling the brain fog lifted and a greater sense of emotional calmness.
nip it in the bud weisser wrote:
fdsasfdfsdfdfd wrote:
How is nip it in the bud weisser doing?
Thanks for asking.
I was coming down on myself kinda hard every time I slipped. But not just that. The idea of NOT drinking became like the biggest thing in my day every day and it was incredibly stressful. During each day, I was making myself more miserable stressing about whether or not I would drink that evening. It felt way worse than the guilt/stress I felt the morning after a 6-pack. It's not really funny, but trying not to drink was driving me to drink.
Not recommending this to anyone. I want that disclaimer up here first. But I kinda went the other way and gave myself permission to drink if I decided that I wanted to. So I wasn't stressing all day about the inevitable decision that would come every evening. It may not make sense, but giving myself the freedom to drink seemed to put me more in control. Deciding not to buy beers on the way home stopped feeling like a "life sentence" and the whole issue just became more chill. I am drinking less now than I have in the past 5 years, a lot less, no longer daily. So maybe some of the earlier posts about how quitting cold turkey works for some but not for others is true. I don't know. Maybe it's like running training where there are lots of theories and methods and some work for people better than other people. Anyway that's where Im at now.
Celebrating at home with the inlaws, no alcohol in the house except for a bottle of champagne being split 6 ways at midnight. Instead of popping open my umpteenth beer at 8pm, I was drinking coffee and making cookies with my niece and nephew.
This is really interesting to me. I am familiar with this battle, but for me it was in reverse. When I was drinking, I had a debate going on inside my head all day every day. Am I going to drink tonight? How can I drink tonight? Isn't X a good reason to drink tonight? No matter what happened, I could turn it into a good reason for drinking.
Closing the door on that question was the biggest upside of quitting for me, and the reason I would never start again.
EighteenYearsSober wrote:
nip it in the bud weisser wrote:
Thanks for asking.
I was coming down on myself kinda hard every time I slipped. But not just that. The idea of NOT drinking became like the biggest thing in my day every day and it was incredibly stressful. During each day, I was making myself more miserable stressing about whether or not I would drink that evening. It felt way worse than the guilt/stress I felt the morning after a 6-pack. It's not really funny, but trying not to drink was driving me to drink.
Not recommending this to anyone. I want that disclaimer up here first. But I kinda went the other way and gave myself permission to drink if I decided that I wanted to. So I wasn't stressing all day about the inevitable decision that would come every evening. It may not make sense, but giving myself the freedom to drink seemed to put me more in control. Deciding not to buy beers on the way home stopped feeling like a "life sentence" and the whole issue just became more chill. I am drinking less now than I have in the past 5 years, a lot less, no longer daily. So maybe some of the earlier posts about how quitting cold turkey works for some but not for others is true. I don't know. Maybe it's like running training where there are lots of theories and methods and some work for people better than other people. Anyway that's where Im at now.
Celebrating at home with the inlaws, no alcohol in the house except for a bottle of champagne being split 6 ways at midnight. Instead of popping open my umpteenth beer at 8pm, I was drinking coffee and making cookies with my niece and nephew.
This is really interesting to me. I am familiar with this battle, but for me it was in reverse. When I was drinking, I had a debate going on inside my head all day every day. Am I going to drink tonight? How can I drink tonight? Isn't X a good reason to drink tonight? No matter what happened, I could turn it into a good reason for drinking.
Closing the door on that question was the biggest upside of quitting for me, and the reason I would never start again.
Yea, I find it to be similar for me as well. Deciding to not drink easily resolves the internal debate. There is no question. Whereas if I allow myself to drink, there is the every day question of whether I will drink or not, and then if I do drink, how much I will drink before I stop and worries about how I will feel the next day. Not drinking provides less complications and anxiety.
New Year's Eve is a good example. I had a few drinks in the first half of the night and then spent the rest of the night glancing at the alcohol wanting more but knowing that it was not a good idea. Unnecessary complication, on top of the pre-existing complications of the evening.