There are better things in life than alcohol, but alcohol makes up for not having them.
– Terry Pratchett
My maternal grandparents were both alcoholics. It’s for this reason that I can’t remember my grandpa’s funeral: I was only four. This is also why my grandma has meticulously avoided alcohol for over 20 years. If there’s anything to the rumours about alcoholism being influenced by heredity, I’m probably tagged.
My own consumption patterns change. Sometimes I’ll go through periods of several months having three or four drinks, three to five times a week. Sometimes I’ll restrict my consumption to social occasions. For about five months starting last December, in my quest to master the art of talking to strangers, my social life became two full-time jobs. I was constantly going out to social events, clubs, bars, museum parties, and everything in between. Despite temptation, I rarely drank.
Last month, I quit drinking alcohol again. I’d like to tell you that it was a struggle. I’d like to pretend that it’s almost impossible to stay sober at a social occasion where everyone else is burping bubbles. I’d like to imagine myself as more determined and disciplined than all the rest, and that’s what pulled me through.
But the truth is that I’m ruthlessly normal. And if you want to end your relationship with alcohol, right here, right now, It’s Not That Hard.
I’m guessing that most people who choose to quit drinking are not alcoholics. My intent is to offer here an action plan that anyone can apply, whether you’re nursing an addiction or just want to enjoy the benefits of uninterrupted sobriety.
Why Stop Drinking?
The long-term effects of bad habits are rarely sufficient to motivate people to change their lives. The near-term benefits of giving up alcohol are much more useful and interesting anyway. Here are the changes I experienced:
- Productive socializing. Talking to strangers is a great way to build character, but its benefits are greatly reduced when you’re drunk. The alcohol represses much of the social anxiety, which inhibits lasting change. But the only thing more terrifyingly fun than getting drunk and meeting a bunch of new people is staying sober and meeting a bunch of new people.
- Avoid the McPilgrimage. Clearly, there’s a conspiracy between the fast food industry and the liquor industry. Free will collapses under the weight of insobriety and convenience. With enough alcohol in your system, even the most wretched burger joint becomes an irresistible sanctuary.
- Reclaim lost time. Let’s say you have a few drinks around the house, three times a week, and that light touch of drunkenness costs you three hours of productive thinking each time. Within one year, you’ll have shaved about one full month off your life. That’s a lot of lost CPU time that could have been put towards reading a book, writing a speech, playing a sport, or even starting a business. And this doesn’t even count the time lost waiting for your brain to resolidify the morning after a night on the town.
- Get rich quickly. You don’t have to party that hard to spend $100-$150/week or more on alcohol and related expenses. If you quit drinking today, you could reasonably expect to convert that choice into a bankroll for backpacking around the world in about six months.
- Become an early riser. I’m currently readjusting my sleep schedule to wake up at 5:30 AM, seven days a week. Alcohol, and the lifestyle that often accompanies it, work against this process. Alcohol makes me feel tired when I want to feel energetic and awake. Ironically, it also increases wakefulness during sleep.
You can probably think of other instantly gratifying benefits to life beyond the bottle. The important thing is to actually have a reason that is important enough to you.
Make It Priority Number One
Giving up alcohol is one of the easiest and hardest changes you can make in your life.
It’s easy once you’ve established the right rules, configured your environment to support you, and set up useful boundaries of pain and pleasure to help direct you towards your goal. The hard parts are the social implications and fighting off the One Man Army that is your ego, with its barrage of self-limiting beliefs and drink requests.
Giving up alcohol must be made priority number one in your life. A partial commitment is a commitment to failure. Even if you already don’t drink that often, it will be tempting to break your own rules when your friends call you up and invite you out. You’ve got to be willing to prioritize this decision in every situation where it’s relevant, even when that means Just Saying No to pub night.
It’s Not a Big Deal
Ever notice how some people act as though the end of their relationship is the end of the world? It’s as if there’s no point in living if they can’t be with that person any longer. Yet other people come along and date that person who left them, eventually break up with them, and see it as hardly more than a blip on the radar.
You may feel that it’s pretty easy to give up drinking. Or you may feel that it’s an addiction with a stranglehold on your life. Either way, there is no inherent magnitude to this task. It’s as big or as small as you make it.
No matter how much you want to tell yourself how hard it is, nobody’s ever going to claim that learned helplessness was the secret to their success. The most effective way forward is to not only make quitting drinking a top priority, but to think, talk, and act like it can be done.
Become the Impartial Spectator
Whether you view it as a spiritual separation, or merely conceptual, we all have more than one self. There’s the “Mmmmm…beeeer…” self, and the impartial spectator that can detach from and observe this desire.
Let the latter voice be your authority. You’re allowed to want a drink as much as you’re allowed to choose not to have one. There’s tremendous power in observing your thoughts as a third party. The impartial spectator can feel the heat without getting burned.
When in doubt, let it be there. No matter how bad the storm seems, it will pass.
Commit to 30 Days
If you’ve never done it before, it can be hard to think of giving up drinking forever. It’s discouraging to commit to permanent change, only to back out a few days or weeks into it. Some people will face social friction and lifestyle changes for which they’re unprepared.
But life is a laboratory. It’s an adventure that takes shape through hypothesis and experimentation, and most decisions can be reverted. When it comes to making big changes like this, live before you leap. Promise yourself that you will commit to this 100%, but only for 30 days, and see how it goes.
This is exactly what I did last month. I promised myself that November would be alcohol-free, and it was. Truth be told, I had a few drinks on day 31. But I broke the negative pattern that was creeping up on me and gained back the energy to spend on more important activities. And I’ve repeatedly proven to myself that I can give up alcohol whenever I feel like, whenever it seems like the right thing to do.
Dump Your Existing Stash
Any goal that’s important to you is important enough to start on right now. My 30-day challenge to give up alcohol started at about 3:00 AM on a Saturday morning. I had just gotten back from a post-nightclub McPilgrimage with some friends. I had a great time. I met lots of people. I even ended up dating a girl I met that night.
But I was really annoyed by how much I’d poured into me that night, at succumbing to the resulting Big Mac temptation, and at how much I was going to regret the hangover. As soon as I got home, the challenge was on. I had one last beer in my fridge, which I ceremoniously poured down the kitchen sink.
If you’re serious about doing this, get rid of your alcohol. If you’ve got $300 worth of spirits in your cabinet and you’re not yet sure if you want to empty it all down the drain, only to change your mind in 30 days, then store it at a friend’s place during your probation period. Preferably a friend that doesn’t drink.
Advertise Your Decision
I told most of my friends about what I was doing. Not only only does this add accountability to your goal, it also drops the hint that if your friends are planning on going out and getting wasted, you’re probably not interested.
Of course, you don’t have to avoid social situations where you’ll be the only one not drinking. I’ve gone out stone sober many times–even on my own–and met loads of people. Once you get used to social skydiving, you no longer need alcohol’s permission to talk to strangers and have a good time. You can get to that place by either getting hammered out of your face, or by learning to just not care what other people think. Frankly, the latter is way more fun.
Fire Your Drinking Buddies
Alcohol may be so tightly integrated into your social life that it seems almost impossible to go an entire weekend without drinking. If the only thing you have in common with your friends is that you like the same lagers, you might want to consider finding new friends.
I’ve let go of people in my social circle before and I know it’s not easy–but that doesn’t make it unnecessary. This might be the hardest thing you do in choosing a life without alcohol. The key is to remember that friends are an abundant resource. Having a strong social circle is purely a function of the effort you invest into it. That includes choosing to associate only with people who are aligned with your purpose, while avoiding the energy vampires.
This is another benefit of a 30-day commitment. Instead of permanently downsizing your social life, you can choose to be busy only for the next few weeks. Observe how it affects you when you stop spending time with your beer buddies. Join a local user group for something you’re interested in to bring yourself into contact with people with whom you share more than just a bar tab.
Bribe Yourself
I haven’t used this specific technique for giving up alcohol, but I have used it with much success in bulldozing my way through a wall of social anxiety.
Associate massive pain to backing out. To create that pain, visit your nearest bank machine. Withdraw an amount of money that you’d feel uncomfortable losing. Give it to a friend you trust. Tell them that you get your money back if, and only if, you don’t have a drop of alcohol until your 30 days are up. You’ll be surprised at how even the most difficult tasks become doable when you associate massive pain to breaking your own rules. Money can be a great way to make it hurt. If you can think of an even better form of self-bribery, go for it.
The stronger you feel that alcohol is a part of your life, the more of these techniques you may want to apply. My most recent alcohol-free challenge didn’t require bribery or letting go of any friends. But I did find it extremely useful to limit the challenge to 30 days, to give myself permission to live the lifestyle before leaping to a permanent decision.
I also think that making this a top priority is key, no matter what your current consumption habits. It’s so easy to let yourself slip for just one night, and then feel guilty about breaching your own contract later on.
This is the second time I’ve quit drinking in the last few months. Tonight has been 9 days, it’s been tough at times but worth it! I sleep better and have more energy and my mind is clearer.
Hi, Chris here. I am on day 28 of the 30 day challenge. I feel great (I am much clearer and sharper mentally and not as tired physically). I still crave beer but not as much. When I do, I call my wife or try and get involved in something like busy work or exercise. Especially, if I am at home with time on my hands. I realize that I have an illness, and have resigned myself to visits with old friends that drink, only when I feel strong enough. I am thankful that they support me in this although I’m certain that they would enjoy me a little more if I joined in the festivity of drinking a few with them. Nevertheless, I could not disown my friends or family (my father drinks). It is certainly possible to keep your circle of friends and family close to you if you try in all the right ways (capitalize on those moments when alcohol is not the focus of the time together). I have been finding other things in common with them and have been nurturing these relationships based on those things. I wish the best for those of you struggling with alcoholism. I am here, sober and ready to share any knowledge that may help or enlighten any of you. I am thankful for this site and the initial challenge from Brad. “thanks Brad!!” I can’t explain the reason his suggestion compelled me so. I can only assume that perhaps just hearing from someone who has “been there” is more powerful than I realized; at least at this point in my life. Talk to you all soon.
I think you have some valuable information here. I don’t consider myself an alcoholic, except that my level of drinking is affecting my friendships.
After a few drinks I feel like it’s all or nothing, and go for the goal of getting very drunk. Although I’m generally friendly even when drunk there have been times I’ve been mean or beligerent. So, I want to stop for that reason. It’s starting to affect the people I care about, which is unaccecptable to me. Honestly I wish I could keep drinking, I just don’t want the consequenses I can see coming.
I appreciate the tips you gave and will use them in my life. Thanks.
As a crack addict who does crack only when drinking, I know I have to stop drinking. I can easily stop crack when my head is clear but give me a six-pack and its back to wanting crack. 15 out of 16 times I can drink without slipping but on the next drunk I go all out and binge like a mad man. I leave my wife and 3 children while I escape and feel horrible the entire time. The last time was 6 days ago. My wife told me that unless I quit drinking she’ll leave me 100% this time. I know she is serious so I got serious. I haven’t smoked cigarettes for 5 days, drank, or used crack. I’m not even craving anything to much. I feel that by quitting one I might as well quit everything which makes me hate myself. Its a very positive vibe I have right now, and I am going to try to hold on to this feeling with all my might. I can’t slip, I’ll hate myself for giving up the last chance I’ll have to do the right thing for me and my family.
[...] are loads of great websites on the net offering advice for self improvement or changing habits. However, if you’re not having [...]
I’m 31 and worried I might be an alcoholic, although I’m still calling this periodical abuse. Although this site, and others, + therapy helps a little, I don’t know how or when to quit – would like to get in touch with someone who has successfully done so for a little while…
I have had an issue with alcohol for a couple years. I am 21 and it’s ruined a lot of things for me already. I want to stop, but when I go to sleep without booze in me, I don’t sleep at all…I hate tossing and turning all-night when I know I can stop it with a few drinks. In the past 2 years I might have been sober for maybe 30 nights out of 730 nights. I think the biggest problem is my sleep, nothing but alcohol works. I have used all the “over-the-counter” sleep aids and all of them don’t do anything for me. Its very depressing.
I know how it feels regarding the sleep issue. I have problems sleeping unless I drink. I quit for 3 years once and that was a great time in my life. I got back drinking about a year ago because of relationship problems, and now I am without that relationship, but still drinking beers every night before bed. I want to quit again but I hate the tossing,turning and nightmares I have when I sleep without drinking, my brain just keeps on working overtime. I don’t go out to drink anymore because I promised myself I won’t drink and drive ever again. Why put others at risk because of my addiction. I have no social life because I just sit at home and drink after work and class. I am 47 and am attending college, I don’t study enough but my grades are good so I am not motivated to drink less often. I am working on my brain to quit again. I know that I must to get back to a better life, also I can’t afford it. Thank you for reading this, I feel less alone. Any advice will be appreciated.
Sandie, I just have to say wow, we are in the same boat, with college and trying to deal with personal issues such as this. It’s great to hear you are attending college now, with ample grades…again I am in the same boat…Drinking and driving is 110% outa the question with me, I had 3 friends killed by a drunk driver when I was in high school so I really steer clear away from that! But I understand exactly what you’re saying, the tossing and turning + nightmares….its incredible the power your brain has over us…
Great site, im 32 and it looks like i may drink more than most of you a night out for me consists of about 8 glasses of beer followed by 15 to 20 jack and cokes this takes me about 6-8 hours and 80 dollars to accomplish. i have been able to quit for ten days in the past and im trying again my biggest problem is my wife she seems to drive me to drink i think my first step is probaly to leave her.
It’s funny I should come across this site today. I googled how to quit drinking without AA. Back in 1996, I quit drinking for 10 years. I remember that I had decided it was starting to become a problem and made a decision on my own to quit drinking. Of course it was the start of the New Year, and after work I would be driving home and consider stopping in the liquor store for a bottle of wine and then tell myself “I don’t do that anymore”, and not get the bottle. It was a bad habit and I was trying to break it. After a time it just got easier and easier, I never went to bars so that was not a problem. Eventually I started a new job which was nice and when people asked me to go out for a drink, I just said I don’t drink. It was something everyone just knew about me so it was not a big deal. I never attended any 12 step AA meetings. It was WONDERFUL not drinking. Then about 2 years ago on that fateful day on a beach, I decided to have a few beers. I have been trying to quit ever since. I did go to AA for 4 months about a year ago, which in my opinion was far more grueling to attempt quitting than when I did it on my own 10 years ago. This past October I put myself on a 30 day plan for the month of October and found it quite “refreshing” not to drink. Then I went to a Halloween party and poured myself a drink knowing in my head that I really did not want this. I had the drink and I noticed an instant change in myself, I was no longer interested in playing pool, but rather content to just sit and drink my drink on the couch. Since October I have had my share of hangovers and useless days. I know in my head for me – alcohol is so nowhere – . I am grateful for this blog and am going to start my 30 days tomorrow and of course I am going to have my last glass of wine today, even though I do not want it, funny how the human mind plays tricks. I am thankful for this blog and I will start my plan, March 1st, I have plans to replace my drinking, such as living my life, going for walks, getting out of my house, and most importantly not having to deal with life sucking hangovers. A tip, I enjoy the feeling of the alcohol going down my throat, so I am going to find a drink that I enjoy going down my throat that makes me feel good after I drink it. Green tea perhaps, will keep you posted. Thanks once again for having this blog. I just do not want to attend AA and be surrounded by zealots. There is another way to stop, I’ve done it before and I shall do it again. Thanks
One more thing. I believe the key to any successful endeavor is that you have to “Want to”, and I really “Want to”, I’m sure there will be temptation, but if I wait for time to pass and fill my time up with things that I enjoy, I know I can do it. Also, am joining a gym that has a sauna and steam looking forward to that to get the toxins out of my body. Plus I know that not drinking will promote weight loss, nice skin and less brain loss. I look forward to peaceful sleeps, I have fitful sleeps when I drink, so I am looking forward to resting well and not waking every hour with interrupted sleep. There are more benefits to be gained by not drinking than there are when drinking. Plus, the sober buzz is permanent, doesn’t cost a thing and you can learn to cope with anything and enjoy yourself without alcohol, I did it for 10 years, and will do it again. Thanks for everyone’s comments, nice to know I am not alone.
Tip for not sleeping; excercise. I find that if I hit the gym and do a healthy workout, I have little trouble sleeping in the eve. It also takes time after quitting alchohol to get new patterns. Everyone here ended up here because they wondered or knew that alcohol was not good for their lives. I wish everyone well. You have to want this change but if you make it, you will feel amazing.
Wow Claire your 10 year change is amazing! Why did you get back on the wagon. You knew it was so great to be sober, why didnt you just make your night social and end it. (myself i cant be social, i am just curious about your reasoning) post again!
Jack, thanks alot, i had an idea that the gym would tire me out and make me sleep again….I start tomarrow, i will keep you up on the details! thanks everyone, keep posting!
I hate the nights of sleeplessness after deciding to quit drinking. I know I have a problem (1-2 bottles of wine a night– every night– sometimes even more), and each time I decide to quit, it’s like I have to “fight through” the first few nights of sleeplessness.
I’ve heard anecdotal evidence about this, but I’m trying to find actual scientific study. It’s almost as if.. right before I hit the “fall asleep” point.. my body jolts itself back awake. I can’t ever seem to cross the “sleep threshold” until trying for 4 or 5 hours. It’s always accompanied by odd dreams (maybe considered nightmares.) I do know it gets better after time, but these first few nights are so hard.
I’m so tired at work right now, and I’m finding it hard to function at all on such little sleep. Maybe I will try exercising again.
It’s good to hear everyone supporting each other here. I’ll definitely keep checking back. We can do it!
I must be very lucky to have made it this far.
I’m 46 years old and have been drinking since 16. Started drinking harder at 18 and made a huge leap when I was about 30. When I was 36 I was drinking 10 to 20 vodka martini’s a night, backed with 5 or 10 beers and 3 to 5 shots of whatever was being passed around the bar that night. I know it might sound hard to believe but yes, there were many nights that I had 20 or so martini’s 10 beers and 5 shots of whatever. This went on EVERY night (not to mention a 2 or 3 martini lunch many times) for over two years. There were occasions on a weekend I drank even more.
I doubt if there was ever more than 15 days a year since the time I was 18 that I didn’t get drunk. Of course (and I know this will really piss off a lot of people) I drove drunk all over the place. Never caused an accident and was able to (verifiably) avoid a few while completely hammered. About 9 years ago I finally got a DUI. Not because I was driving poorly, but because I didn’t use my signal to change lanes. It was 2:30 in the morning and no one was on the road behind me except for the cop who didn’t have his lights on and followed me from the bar. That night in jail was all I needed to quit driving while drinking for good. That will make a lot of people happy but contrary to popular opinion, I know for a fact that I used to drive better drunk than many people drive sober. Believe it or don’t.
I’ve worked on cutting down over the past several years and today I drink somewhere around 12 total drinks daily between beer and/or mixed drinks. I also have binge days now and again. I imagine that my liver isn’t in great shape but I’m in great physical health for my age and am very successful with my business. The problem is that I’m not able to recover as quickly as I used to and it’s starting to interfere with my day. So I’m searching online to learn about what people truly feel like after quitting for a reasonable period of time. Haven’t found much yet but would like to hear from those who were hardcore drinkers what it’s like to not drink. I quit for a couple of days and was very bored. I don’t like TV very much so maybe I need a hobby.
I wish all of you the best of luck in getting over your addiction. Sounds like many of you have a huge problem from just drinking a few drinks a few times a week. I’ve never had any problem or felt bad for it except that recently it’s been getting a lot harder to recover. I don’t believe it’s a disease and if it is, it’s the only disease that you can buy at the store.
Brandon, that’s my problem exactly, I can’t stand the hours of tossing and turning, then when you do fall asleep…nightmares. I am sure it will pass after a while. It’s even harder to go to school full time and work 44h/week feeling run down. Then trying to get into an exercise regiment! Seems like you can’t win trying to become healthy again! It’s so incredibly frustrating and depressing!
I agree with you Steve, if it’s a disease, it’s the only disease you can buy at the store. I will remember that line.
Well, I totally agree with Steve about driving better intoxicated than most people sober. Anyhow, I’m 27, and started drinking when I was 20 with rum n coke type stuff on occassion at my friends houses. At 21 I transfered from my junior college (my sis. is 8 yrs older than me and developed an eating disorder when she left hs at college n as such I had been punished by not being allowed to go straight to a 4 yr out of hs) I moved to a new city not knowning a soul to do my upper division. Then I started running with a fast crowd and was introduced to Thursday night partying because most people didn’t have class on Fri. (drinking was always a weekend thing before this). The next semester I arranged my sched. so my weekend started Weds night w/classes on M/W, & Tues night & Weds evening. After another yr of this, then I became distant with my group of friends because I started working and became isolated. After stupid BS with one chick, I hit Southern Comfort n coke everyday for a solid month. I’d wake up, go to work, skip class then drink n do it all over again.
It was at this time I was just fed up with the city. I wasn’t going to class, and felt like I didn’t have any real friends. A couple of my friends had just got out of the army and I felt like I needed to reconnect. Me and them would go to my deceased uncles cantina where I’d meet a couple of the finest bartenders you’d ever see…Morgan n Monica. I went from going there weekends at night, to right after work for happy hour, getting hooked up with free drinks n some of my going out weekend friends getting jealous that I’d have a $3 tab at the end of the night.
Many bartenders have come n gone since then the past 3.5 yrs I’ve prob. had 15, but they are all the same type more or less. I also developed a hellva friendship with the older guys (40-50 age range) that go though , so they became my friends as my hs buddies have gotten married, knocked up, divorced n what have you. I’ve never been a relationship guy, because if I can only commit to one, ayyy…why settle for 95% of what you are looking for…there’s always another woman around the corner.
But anyhow…alcohol has never really affected me since I was like 20. I’d regularly down 2-3 pitchers of Ultra a night, before that Adios Mother F*. So I got the point of “what’s the point,” n got tired of doing the same ol same. The main problem I’ve had with drinking, was going to sleep afterwards n not being productive. I gained like 25lbs, and if I had just worked out instead of going to sleep I’d have been fine. Quiting for me actually has been pretty easy. I quit in mid Feb. to focus on training the Aussie dog I got after the new year. My cousin has called me up to go “clubbing” and I’ve gone along but have started drinking O’Douls, and absolutely love it. I don’t feel like an “idiot” who doesn’t have anything in his hand, and afterwards if I want to read a book or gamble on Full Tilt I can without it affecting my game. So now instead of going out 5-6 days a week, I’ve become a homebody, by going out only 2x Weds, n either Fri or Sat to watch a game…but that’s all I allow myself. I originally was quitting till the NFL draft, but I like how I feel now, I’ve dropped 10 lbs in 3 weeks without trying (I’m now 5′11 195, and getting back to my old muscular 185 self). I’m just amazed that I never got a DUI, and thankful I didn’t have that 10k debt to deal with that I prob. easily could have gotten numerious times for being over the limit. Drink O’Douls, its actually better than 50% of the beer out there.
Hi everyone, glad to find this site.
I’m sitting here with my glass of wine in hand, at the crossroads.I am in our garage, where i sleep, as my wife of 37 years has had enough and will not have me in the house again.I do not blame her everything she says about me is true.
My father was an alcoholic, when he was sober he was my best friend , when he had been drinking, his fists spoke for him, my mother left, without a word when i was 10, i never heard from her again.
I know its lame to blame the past, but there is an anxiety that lives in me that seems can only be quietened by drinking.
It is not that i have not tried, i have read many books and tried many approaches to self esteem and sobriety.
I do not have a problem with friends wanting me to drink with them, my only friend is the bottle, for i prefer to drink alone.
I saw a doco on Anthony Hopkins once,he spoke of his drinking as approaching god,of speaking to the sea and trees and stars and having them talk back to you. This is where i am. How can I come back from the edge?
I have emptied my wine down the sink in the morning and bought more in the afternoon so many times.
I prayed to a god that was not there,
or had no ears or did not care.
Wow, I just sorta’ stumbled onto this site while Google searching for giving up alcohol for weight loss. Trust me, weight loss is not the only reason I need to give up the booze. Besides so much wasted time and money being spent on this addiction, I’ve fractured two very important relationships in my life thru my drinking – my Mother and I have been totally estranged for 5-1/2 yrs. and now my 14 yr. old daughter and I have become increasingly estranged as well. They both don’t “approve” of my alcohol consumption. Funny, my Mother never “approved” of anything I’d done. I drink at that and my feelings of inadequacy and social awkwardness almost every day now. I am 39 and have been caught up in this addiction for the better part of ten years.
Hi everyone, here i am drunk again.
Hi Cali, the disapproval hurts but provokes resentment and defiance and more drinking. I know this one, I married a woman just like my father, sounds strange but there it is, she disapproves of my every breath. The one that rely gets me is the look in my children’s eyes, they love me, I have been a soft and loving dad, determined not to copy my own father, they are torn between there mothers view and there love for me. It is like a dagger in my heart, sometimes i wish it were steel.
So what are we going to do? anyone out there reading this who is on the same road, I am just a little further down the road than you, get off, get off now, any way you can. We are being swept towards the waterfall, save yourself.
Hi I am 49 yrs , alcohol has always been a part of my life. My Mother was a alcoholic using it for serve depresstion. She past away at the age of 46 I was 21. My younger brother also drug and alcoholic past away 4 yrs ago age 42 he went from having a succesful job for 18yrs to being homeless. I have tried quiting several times and have gone weeks without it only to fall back into the bad habit. I drink alone untill I fall asleep without dreams. No drinking no sleeping. I am now on my third week of not drinking and I am still looking for the strenght to continue. Sometimes I think that the quilt I have of my brother not suceeding to quit and having a better life holds me back. I question why should I have a 2nd chance when he didn’t get one , there is an anxiety that lives in me that seems can only be quietened by drinking.
Huh. I’ve never heard of a “McPilgrimage” before. If anything, me and my friends have the inverse relationship: those of us who drink more, wake up and eat health food and run marathons. Those who don’t drink, tend to eat more junk food.
That’s not to say such a relationship doesn’t exist (in general), but it seems weird to me, and it certainly isn’t a necessary reaction to alcohol.
‘It’s easy to give up alcohol’
I think this statement is disproportional representation. It’s probably easy if you drink as little as the author. I have been drinking 80 – 100 units a week for nearly ten years and its hard giving up, I’ve been 6 days now and the withdrawal symptoms are not eleviating.
Think
Amazing how many folks are trapped by this addiction. I come from a long line of alcoholics, so I would assume that the past isn’t helping my addiction either. If you are an alcoholic it’s amazing to look at professionals who only go out one night a week and enjoy 2-3 drinks and then go about their daily rountines/weeks thereafter. They make it look so easy! But as most here have alluded to, it just makes it worse but you want more-more-more. I am now 31 and have realized that alcohol has really started too take over my life. I spend way too much on booze, go to the bar more (and will only eat out at places that serve alocohol), and quit going to the gym. I need to find new hobbies or activities that will replace my drinking so that I can feel relaxed. I wish the best to all here who are suffering thorugh this terrible addiction and remember that all things are possible through God. You will all be in my prayers and I ask the same of you.
I quit 10 days ago from a frequent binge drinking period of about 7 months. Before this I was sober for a year..
I gotta say and nobody seems to mention this( perhaps due to how much I was drinking) but after every night out I was sitting in the parking lot of the local hospital building the courage to go into the ER. My last hangover was a living hell. I don’t know if it was the dts or not but 2 days later I was seeing spiders crawling around..anxiety was driving me mad, ativan seemed to make it worse, tongue swollen, head pressure.. irregular heart beats, hyperventalation and the list goes on..”maybe it’s time to die, I can except that” so i said at one point.
glad I am over that,,anxiety and breathing still a little off. But everyday is getting better.
fuck alcohol :)
fuck drugs too.
good luck all
Hi everyone, here i am drunk again.
God bless all who manage to escape this curse.
I was free for a week, than drank a months worth in a week, than free for a week, now back in the madness.
Cant remember what i did, what i said, seeing things that are not there, talking to people who live only in my head.
All those smart asses who say that ” if you really wont to you could give it up” let them walk in my shoes for a while and see how they do.
God bless all of you who share my fate, the angles in heaven hold there breath in anticipation, every time one of us breaks free it makes it easier for the rest of us to do the same.
I love you all
FUCK ALCOHOL
FUCK DRUGS
John
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man im getting my license bak on tuesday , i dont ever want to drink again its ruined my life for a year i wasnt able to drive or go to school, i just fear it happening again i dont know why, can someone help me