Giving up Alcohol

[Jattdogg]

3 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

This didn't age well 

You can always stop again....

[spacemunky]

58 minutes ago, Jattdogg said:

You can always stop again....

That is true.

[Tommy G]

I have a similar issue with smoking - can go weeks or months then just crack and have a packet or more, usually drink involved. 
 

I keep trying and desperate to knock this stupid habit on the head 

[koop.]

I stopped drinking on NYE 2022, not had a drink since and I honestly cannot currently think of a reason I'd start again.

 

I was a big drinker, it's not easy forming the habit of not drinking, especially at home, after a long day, finding something else to fill the gap, but 5 months in and it's benefits massively outweigh the thought of starting again

[bovril]

So I'm trying to do this.

 

At the moment I've managed to cut it out apart from a Friday or Saturday (was bad last week and did both). Would like now to try and do 2 weeks completely without.

 

Have to say I don't really miss the beer. The taste, the feeling of being slightly drunk. And I thought I loved beer. But I miss pubs, and being in them is probably the most dangerous thing for me. I find it harder to have 1 than to have 0.

 

Would be interested to hear other people's experiences.

[bovril]

On 25/06/2022 at 21:06, Bilo said:

My relationship with alcohol is completely different to most on here.

 

My ex was alcohol dependent to the point that she was either teetotal or wasted every day for weeks on end. I haven't been much of a drinker since uni over 10 years ago, so always found that incredibly hard to deal with. 

 

Seeing this intelligent, kind-hearted and caring woman turn into an aggressive and violent shell of herself was heartbreaking and has made me extremely wary of drinking to the point that I'm no longer in control. 

 

In January 2019, we had a stillborn daughter. Alcohol, sadly, was a factor. A few months later, we found out that we were expecting and, thank goodness, she was able to go the entire pregnancy keeping her drinking under control and our daughter was born healthily and safely in January of 2020. I can honestly say that those few months were among the happiest of my life.

 

Sadly, a combination of lockdown anxiety and postnatal depression meant that my partner's drinking reared its ugly head a couple of months after our daughter was born. Social services were involved after a hospital admission, and I was granted full custody in July. Two months later, my by then ex was dead at 35 after years of struggling with alcohol dependency. 

 

I feel a huge amount of guilt as I booked us a table for Valentine's Day and we shared some wine, with her never being fully in control from that day until the day she died seven months later.

 

Consequently, my relationship with alcohol is quite troubled in the sense that I absolutely will not touch alcohol when on my own. I was given a box of beers for Christmas last year, and it's still completely unopened on top of the fridge. I feel guilty if out with friends and have so much as a pint when with my daughter. I very rarely have a drink when out for a meal with friends. It's almost as if I have a mental block; I wouldn't quite go so far as a phobia, but I have to persuade myself it's OK to have a pint in a way that I certainly wouldn't have done four or five years back. 

 

It might seem to some to be a weird thing to worry about, abstaining from alcohol never did anyone any harm after all, but it feels more anxiety based than an active choice. 

Just read this. I'm so sorry. Thank you for sharing, it can't have been easy. I hope you and your daughter are doing well. 

Edited 16 November 2023 by bovril

[Tommy G]

22 minutes ago, bovril said:

So I'm trying to do this.

 

At the moment I've managed to cut it out apart from a Friday or Saturday (was bad last week and did both). Would like now to try and do 2 weeks completely without.

 

Have to say I don't really miss the beer. The taste, the feeling of being slightly drunk. And I thought I loved beer. But I miss pubs, and being in them is probably the most dangerous thing for me. I find it harder to have 1 than to have 0.

 

Would be interested to hear other people's experiences.

How much are you drinking on a friday and a saturday?

 

I just very very rarely drink at home, cuts your consumption down dramatically. I know people that will crack open a bottle of wine every night, I don't know how they can focus the next day tbh!

[CosbehFox]

28 minutes ago, bovril said:

So I'm trying to do this.

 

At the moment I've managed to cut it out apart from a Friday or Saturday (was bad last week and did both). Would like now to try and do 2 weeks completely without.

 

Have to say I don't really miss the beer. The taste, the feeling of being slightly drunk. And I thought I loved beer. But I miss pubs, and being in them is probably the most dangerous thing for me. I find it harder to have 1 than to have 0.

 

Would be interested to hear other people's experiences.

Similar here really. I miss the comfort of a pub more than anything. Thankful my village has a Heineken 0% tap 

[bovril]

1 hour ago, Tommy G said:

How much are you drinking on a friday and a saturday?

 

I just very very rarely drink at home, cuts your consumption down dramatically. I know people that will crack open a bottle of wine every night, I don't know how they can focus the next day tbh!

Usually about 3-4 pints on either day. Not loads but I want to cut it out completely to be honest. I find drinking at home easy to avoid, but when I'm in a pub I find it harder to leave.

[bovril]

58 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

Similar here really. I miss the comfort of a pub more than anything. Thankful my village has a Heineken 0% tap 

I'm going to start trying the 0% beers. Have a feeling I won't like them loads but really as long as I'm holding a beer coloured liquid in a pint glass I'll probably not even notice. The thing that worries me is that I'll be too tempted to go onto something else...

[Langston]

I completely stopped in the summer, was never really a home drinker or a weekday drinker, so that was never an issue. The only days I found quite (very) hard to begin with were Saturdays because nipping to the pub for 5/6 in the afternoon had become a bit of a habit. Like you've said @bovril I found it easier to have 0 than 1, avoid the pub completely rather than waft temptation under my nose. I can't really sit in a pub and drink pint after pint of soft drink, and NA bottles can be a bit pricey, but they really do work almost subconsciously for me and my brain is tricked into thinking I'm having a pint. 

[bovril]

How have people felt while giving up? I had very mild headaches which I wondered might be down to alcohol withdrawal. Generally go after about 4 days post alcohol. But feel more energetic, especially in the early evening where usually I'd be falling asleep on the tube going home.

[grobyfox1990]

Counting units has been great for me. No more 2 or 3 more whilst we’re here, as I try to keep below 14 units a week and feel very guilty when I don’t. It’s reduced daytime drinking as well because I don’t want to use up my allowance too early. Obvs life is for living so I will go all out 5-6 times a year.

I have a complete and solidified mental block to weekday drinking now, cannot do it. 

[Lako42]

Gave up home drinking a while ago but I still love a pint out. My issue has always been having one or two but truth be told every beer after the 1st two is more and more pointless if people are honest. 

 

 

I hate the feeling of having more than 2 beers now. The reason i stopped drinking at home has passed now but I'm going to continue abstaining. 

 

 

I am planning to have a few beers this Saturday at the footy and a few afterwards but I'm going to try and exercise more restraint than in previous years.  

[bovril]

53 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Gave up home drinking a while ago but I still love a pint out. My issue has always been having one or two but truth be told every beer after the 1st two is more and more pointless if people are honest. 

 

 

I hate the feeling of having more than 2 beers now. The reason i stopped drinking at home has passed now but I'm going to continue abstaining. 

 

 

I am planning to have a few beers this Saturday at the footy and a few afterwards but I'm going to try and exercise more restraint than in previous years.  

Me too, and I try to remember that. 2 beers drunk slowly down the pub is a lot nicer than necking 4/5. I realised that at the QPR game last month - had a very slow single pint before the game and enjoyed it much more than usual. I think Adrian Chiles has written about this as well. 

[Greg2607]

I rarely drink... and haven't done for about 15 years, but it all stemmed from a back injury where I was on so many meds for 12 months that I couldn't drink and I realised I didn't miss it. 

 

My Wife has essentially given up alcohol in the last 12 months and she used to really enjoy a drink.   But she now drinks lots of the 0% beers and wines.  Apparently the Corona 0% is good and Brew Dog do a good Alcohol Free beer as well. 

 

If it's your thing, (and it is mine) then the 0% guiness is very good.

 

I got a bottle of 0% Gin last christmas, which was really great as is the Seedlip 0% spirits.  It feels like you can have a grown up "soft drink" rather than drinking diet coke or water when everyone else is having a drink. 

 

There is a strong trend towards 0% beers, spirits and alcohol and the products have improved substantially. 

 

Good luck to anyone doing this due a poor relationship with Alcohol, it's a hard battle to win. 

[Greg2607]

On 29/05/2023 at 23:42, Tommy G said:

I have a similar issue with smoking - can go weeks or months then just crack and have a packet or more, usually drink involved. 
 

I keep trying and desperate to knock this stupid habit on the head 

have you tried vaping as an alternative? I used to smoke 20 a day until 8 years ago, then switched to vaping.... (admittedly, it's still an addiction I accept that) - but whenever I'd quit smoking in the past, low and behold, i'd have a few beers on a works night out or a christmas do and I'd be smoking 20 a day again.  Ever since vaping, I don't have that temptation to bum a fag off someone and then go and buy a pack.  now don't get me wrong, i'm entirely reliant on my vape... but mainly through fear of smoking fags again if I stopped vaping... 

[Tommy G]

15 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

I rarely drink... and haven't done for about 15 years, but it all stemmed from a back injury where I was on so many meds for 12 months that I couldn't drink and I realised I didn't miss it. 

 

My Wife has essentially given up alcohol in the last 12 months and she used to really enjoy a drink.   But she now drinks lots of the 0% beers and wines.  Apparently the Corona 0% is good and Brew Dog do a good Alcohol Free beer as well. 

 

If it's your thing, (and it is mine) then the 0% guiness is very good.

 

I got a bottle of 0% Gin last christmas, which was really great as is the Seedlip 0% spirits.  It feels like you can have a grown up "soft drink" rather than drinking diet coke or water when everyone else is having a drink. 

 

There is a strong trend towards 0% beers, spirits and alcohol and the products have improved substantially. 

 

Good luck to anyone doing this due a poor relationship with Alcohol, it's a hard battle to win. 

Well done Greg, and an interesting story.

 

I think its easy to forget how much it costs to drink now - you can easily blow £50 at the pub and get very little return apart from a bad head. I guess people must be ploughing through 4/500 a month drinking, thats a family holiday or a new bathroom

[Tommy G]

14 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

have you tried vaping as an alternative? I used to smoke 20 a day until 8 years ago, then switched to vaping.... (admittedly, it's still an addiction I accept that) - but whenever I'd quit smoking in the past, low and behold, i'd have a few beers on a works night out or a christmas do and I'd be smoking 20 a day again.  Ever since vaping, I don't have that temptation to bum a fag off someone and then go and buy a pack.  now don't get me wrong, i'm entirely reliant on my vape... but mainly through fear of smoking fags again if I stopped vaping... 

Yeh so I gave up in July just before my birthday - I can honestly say I have had probably 20 cigs in 4 months, which is a turnaround of 40 a week. I use a vape but mainly when I'm out, never at work etc. It does work well, but I'm looking to try and get rid of that after Christmas. Feel a lot better. I never have the urge to buy any now which I did before.

[Greg2607]

5 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Yeh so I gave up in July just before my birthday - I can honestly say I have had probably 20 cigs in 4 months, which is a turnaround of 40 a week. I use a vape but mainly when I'm out, never at work etc. It does work well, but I'm looking to try and get rid of that after Christmas. Feel a lot better. I never have the urge to buy any now which I did before.

plus you can pretend you are a dragon. 

[westernpark]

Good luck to everyone trying to cut down, in the last 2 years I’ve halved my alcohol intake, which initially involved me going cold Turkey for 2 months. I love the pub and now going three times a week for a couple of pints. I’ve lost three and a half stone in that time, now run about 40-50k a week and most important have stopped the takeaways after each session. A family member commissions drug and alcohol projects and writes on the subject, they always say the 0% market is growing. They would also say that the draught market is most important, as there is less stigma as individuals will not be able to tell if a pint is alcoholic or not. Further, statistically women are most likely to have unhealthy alcohol habits at home, the need to have a glass or two of wine a night is a positive step to combatting stress. As someone else has mentioned, Adrian Chiles documentary a few years back is the most positive bit of journalism that looks at those individuals who are not alcoholics but need some sort of encouragement to cut back.

[whoareyaaa]

Never drank really only now and again until about 6/9mpnths ago been drinking everyday since only about 4/5 beers but some days like 2 days ago I end up drinking a few more and my head starts spinning and it’s not good.

 

decided I am going to stop didn’t have one yesterday will probably have a couple tonight and tomorrow but then will try and not have any horrible feeling, it’s ok if you can limit yourself but harder said than done 

[SemperEadem]

Wish I had, feel ****ing rotten today. Not off anything mad either.

[bovril]

Thanks for all the posts. Helps a lot to hear other people's experiences.

[Manini]

12 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

Wish I had, feel ****ing rotten today. Not of anything mad either.

People say your hangovers get worse the older you get and I don’t necessarily agree with that but you certainly feel every drop more the older you get. If I have 2/3 pints after work on a Thursday I’ll certainly feel it on the Friday morning nowadays. Just a very strong reminder I’m not 21 anymore unfortunately!