The Cutting Down / Giving Up Booze Thread (Part 14)

AlexLK wrote: »

Thanks all.

Another AF evening, despite having dinner with my parents this evening (they always have wine with dinner which is probably where I get it from :rotfl:). Father asked me tonight if I thought I ever had a drink problem. I told him I know I used to drink too frequently and heavily meaning at one point I realised it was a problem which I addressed. Though at the time I'm not sure I'd admit having a drink problem. During the early days on here I found it very difficult not to drink and was adamant I was only interested in saving money.

Hi Alex, wow put you on the spot there. I admire your honesty.

My drinking had become a problem but I'm not sure when I crossed the line from being someone who drank too much sometimes to someone who had a problem. I knew for at least five years that it had become a problem before I did anything practical about it, although I did start looking for answers on the internet and visiting this thread was one of those things. I'm pretty sure most people who give up altogether probably spend a bit of time looking for solutions before deciding which course of action is most likely to give them the outcome they want, but I have no proof of that. I often think that the people who visit us only once, or post a few times and then disappear are in the category of knowing they probably should do something but can't quite get to where they want to be - yet. I was one of them and didn't start posting daily for years after that first post.

The trick about stopping smoking is to never give up giving up; if the current figures are to be believed (and I do) most people find a way to stop eventually. I'm not sure if it's the same about booze, although I did hear that the success rate with one evangelical-type anti-alcohol organisation is about 7%, whereas people who decide to do it on their own by knitting their own support network like this thread have a 50% success rate. There is a distinct possibility that the difference in those numbers may be simply down to at what stage of the process of killing oneself with booze one seeks a solution, though. Had I gone on much longer, say a year or two, I don't think I'd have been strong enough to stop altogether. A sobering thought, as they say.

Wanna_Bee_Free wrote: »

Jolly well done cuppatea!

Declaring early for 15/21 tonight. I can no longer hit my target of 21 this month but I'm happy with my improvement these last few months. Having a higher monthly target is all about getting to 150 for the year and getting my dancing banana smiley! I have already had as many AFDs in 9 months this year as I managed in 12 months last year which feels good.

I think part of why I've done better is putting my days into outlook at the start of the month. Literally 1 at 5pm on the Monday, 2 on Tuesday etc. It quickly made me see the impact of an unplanned drinking weekday when I had to plan a Friday or Sunday AF instead. :eek:

I'm still not where I want to be but the other thing that has helped is it now seems closer to normal not to open my bottle of white wine each evening. I try not to tempt fate by keeping it at room temperature rather than in the fridge but at least it's (mostly!) ok to have it in the house now. Unlike cheese!

The fact I'm sleeping better and perhaps running less on caffeine and adrenaline is helping too. I cut out coffee except 1 every 3 weeks and probably also get better sleep when I stay alcohol free.

I want to sit down and calculate a realistic plan to get to 150 days before the party season gets underway.

I am really grateful to this thread, Shaggy and all of you posting on here. I often don't post much text these days(probably just as well given this essay!!) but always read along and find you all so helpful in my struggles to change. You have helped me think through things related to booze that I would not have thunk alone. You guys are all great. :T

WBF, I think that post's brilliant, the whole thing. It takes a lot of thought and effort to take back control of our lives and you've illustrated exactly how you broke down all the components in yours.

The booze is just the tip of the iceberg, and once we've got that well and truly in our sights we can deal with areas that seem more peripheral - having a plan, caffeine, sleep, whether or not to have easy access to our favourite tipple, and finally the cheese issue. It all adds up to a whole new way of life, none of which seems possible when we're at the point of knowing we have to do something if we want to change our life for the better.

Post as little or as much as you want - every contribution helps.

Welcome back, Alex. :wave: It's good to see you posting again. Interesting that your father opened up the conversation.

29/30 please, Shaggy.

I did manage an AF yesterday in the end so that takes me to 12/10 - that will be it now for September as I have planned drinking days for today & tomorrow

Have a great weekend all :j

Shaggy I absolutely love October's "target beaten" emoji :rotfl::rotfl: It's fabulous!