The giving up/cutting down alcohol support thread! Part 2

jo1972

graemecarter wrote: »

I finally realized myself that when I enjoyed my drinking, I couldn’t control it , and when I controlled it, I couldn’t enjoy it
That's why total abstinence works for me - I make bad decisions when I have drink inside me

Morning all, my god so much to catch up on, not even read half the posts from yesterday yet, have to do that when I get to work.

Just wanted to put my 2p in on this comment of GCs as it struck a chord. I used to drink oblivious to my problem too, then back in 2006 I thought I might have a problem and started doing something about it, the drinking then seemed quite depressing and a lonely place to be (still continued doing it though :rolleyes:). Equally as some of you know, I did a reduction detox last year whereby I had to decrease my unit intake each week. So I HAD to buy alcohol and consume a certain amount each day and I DIDN'T WANT TO!!! It's amazing when the choice is taken away the effect it has! I was previously being a rebel to myself by drinking when I shouldn't then wanted to be a rebel and not drink when I was told to :rotfl:

Anyway, gotta dash to work, already running late, but I'll catch up with all yesterdays/todays posts in a couple of hours. Apologies if any of this doesn't make sense or it's full of typos, I've no time to spell check!!

xx

biscotte

Good morning folks,

Welcome Imelda, you'll find loads of support here from lots of lovely people - I'm sure all of us can recognise the binge drinking - we've no doubt all been there!!
Dan , thanks for sharing your experiences with us, very scarey.
Fay, sorry that you're having a carpy time at work and I recognise that trigger of stress/conflict = go have a drink (or piece of chocolate if it's too early in the day!).
BB, see you on the wagon for February.
GC, I have to say that I too don't have a problem with people describing alcoholic drinks in a positive way - I don't think that glamourises alcohol particularly, just recognises that there is a satisfaction in beer or wine which is not necessarily associated with it's alcohol content (particularly true of good wine or real ales). I know that we are all having an internal dialogue with ourselves about our relationship with alcohol and part of that is accepting and understanding that for many (probably the majority if we look beyond the UK) alcoholic drinks are a pleasure and not a problem. It is we who have the problem and to self censor or deny that 'drinks' can be lovely is, IMHO, being less than realistic.
Maybe, when someone posts about a lovely drink, we should ask the question 'why was it lovely, what did it mean to you, how did it make you feel? as a way to understanding the attraction beyond physical addiction, rather than self censor.
Just getting a bit psychological there, sorry.

I was AF last night and in bed at nine nursing my cold - I feel bad today but have to get on and it's so cold outside. Roll on summer.:rotfl:

Miss_Piggy_2

Good morning all

Fayjmck Sorry you are feeling stress at work. Its not nice and you can't help it impacting on your private life. Hope the situation improves soon.

Biscotte Hope the cold isn't too bad.

Yesterday was AF for me. Feeling very tired this last week or so and am hoping that improves with knocking off the drinking. My skin is already looking better - it is cerrtainly one of the things that DOES suffer when you drink. Monday morning after my binge sunday night I had red patches all over my cheeks.

SO another AF day today - am going to start potty training my little boy. That should be fun!!

Have a good day everyone

Thanks

Miss P
xx

dancook

eselt wrote: »

Hi Dan- sounds very scary to me- are you OK now? Have these thoughts and feelings stopped? I suppose what worries me is that you are definately sure these thoughts and feelings were solely down to alcohol and DT's- have they stopped now you are back in control of your drinking? Take care, whatever the cause, it must have been a very frightening time for you- my only advice is get some help sooner rather than later if it seems to start happening again, and remember you don't have to cope with this alone, theres help out there- start with your GP, you don't have to struggle with this in isolation. Look after yourself (hugs).

At the time I didn't understand my feelings, part of me knew i was being silly - thought perhaps it was because I was in the house on my own. The feelings were intense, yet I'm a logical guy so I tried to tell myself it was ok. This is why it made it difficult to tell anyone, I could have gone to my parents just up the road, instead I drove and picked up a close friend and she stayed over with me. She looked over me as I curled up in a ball under the duvet.

It was only until I explained the strings of events to the doctor did he suggest DT. The day before the stomach pains, I drank a litre of gin, several bottles of beer, I was peaking at 40 units a day sometimes. I also ended up falling asleep in the bath...
The stomach pains were a real eye opener, and even though I loved drinking alcohol. I think it was more of a case of alcholism rather than being an alcoholic.

Either way I was able to stop drinking on my own, I had good incentive because I needed my liver to be fine for the acne treatment, and then during the 6 month course I couldn't drink either.

It was an emotional time just going to see the doctor, my eyes watering in the waiting room, and I found it difficult to talk.. I just cried mainly and handed over a letter with the above experience on. The doctor I saw was very understanding, I thought he was going to tell me off, but instead he gave me encouragement. The doctor did get me an appointment with an alcohlic advice expert, but I felt I had already turned the corner long before I met her.

Former_Spice

AF Wednesday for me, so that makes 15 and a £75 saving.

eselt

Hi all- 28/29 for me- just a couple of days to go- it'll be great to see our combined grand total at the end, just have to hold our nerve. Well done everyone.

Just watched breakfast TV and there are new government guidelines which suggest that NO young person under the age of 15 should be drinking alcohol, and even older children should be closely supervised by parents/guardians. Not sure about this, there was a guy on there who said he had given his children a couple of drinks on very special occasions and he thought this had demystified alcohol and his children actually don't like the taste now they are older and choose not to drink because they have never seen it as a big deal, whereas kids who have never had any might get curious and seek alcohol outside the home which can lead to dangerous situations. Not sure which approach to take really- sorry to go on but my oldest is 15 this year and it would break my heart to see him have to struggle like a lot of people on here- I don't think I could bare it now I know what I know about alcoholism and problem drinking. Has anyone on here got any teenager taming ideas that they can suggest which might work? I'm not unrealistic- I know most teenagers experiment and alcohol is cheap and easily available so I know abstinance is very unlikely, but I just want to try and do the right thing.

Best of luck to everyone today- and NO, thursdays are not the start of the weekend- move away from the wine.......................!!!!

graemecarter

biscotte wrote: »

Good morning folks,

Welcome Imelda, you'll find loads of support here from lots of lovely people - I'm sure all of us can recognise the binge drinking - we've no doubt all been there!!
Dan , thanks for sharing your experiences with us, very scarey.
Fay, sorry that you're having a carpy time at work and I recognise that trigger of stress/conflict = go have a drink (or piece of chocolate if it's too early in the day!).
BB, see you on the wagon for February.
GC, I have to say that I too don't have a problem with people describing alcoholic drinks in a positive way - I don't think that glamourises alcohol particularly, just recognises that there is a satisfaction in beer or wine which is not necessarily associated with it's alcohol content (particularly true of good wine or real ales). I know that we are all having an internal dialogue with ourselves about our relationship with alcohol and part of that is accepting and understanding that for many (probably the majority if we look beyond the UK) alcoholic drinks are a pleasure and not a problem. It is we who have the problem and to self censor or deny that 'drinks' can be lovely is, IMHO, being less than realistic.
Maybe, when someone posts about a lovely drink, we should ask the question 'why was it lovely, what did it mean to you, how did it make you feel? as a way to understanding the attraction beyond physical addiction, rather than self censor.
Just getting a bit psychological there, sorry.

I was AF last night and in bed at nine nursing my cold - I feel bad today but have to get on and it's so cold outside. Roll on summer.:rotfl:

Good post.
I am not saying that drinks cannot be lovely, just that the thought does not need to be published. I don't think there is much self-censoring going on if you leave out the world 'lovely' from 'I had a lovely glass of wine with dinner'
Perhaps I am overly sensitive, but if I was reading this thread and battling with not picking up, then someone saying what a nice wine they just consumed, that could (not would, but could) tip me over the edge. This may be sub-conscious remember. Drinking alcohol for us was rarely a conscious decision (how many people say 'I went out last night to get drunk as a skunk'? Not many. You usually hear 'I only went out for one or two and it turned into a massive night'

I had some great times drinking, and drank some great drinks too. I don't deny that. And I know that alcohol itself is not bad, it is just bad inside me.
Though for satisfying drinks, would they have been as lovely if there was no alcohol in them? I doubt it for me.
Why drink 15 pints of Guinness? Surely I wouldn't drink 15 pints of orange squash (which I like too)
I drank to get p1ssed, and as much as I say I miss the taste of wine, or a refreshing beer after work etc, I was doing it for the alcohol content.
Alcoholic drinks taste 'nicer' to alcoholics because they have alcohol in.

Lurkio

:wave: :wave:


1 - Lurkio (target 31/31) - Actual 28
2 - jo1972 (target 31/31) - Actual 12
3 - Needstochange (target 15/31) - Actual 15 target achieved on 28th :j :j
4 - Miss Piggy (target 31/31) - Actual 18
5 - Mollypolly (target 31/31) - Actual 28
6 - winebox (target 15/31, WOMO clause) - Actual 11
7 - eselt (target 31/31) - Actual 28
8 - *Mari* (target 31/31) - Actual 11
9 - Grey Pilgrim (target 31/31) - Actual 27
10 - 115K (target 10/31) - Actual 16 target achieved on 15th :j :j
11 - jjef (target 25/31) - Actual 19
12 - the rugby coach (target 25/31) - Actual 25 target achieved on 28th :j :j
13 - yellow monkey (target 30/31) - Actual 24
14 - Bismarck (target 31/31) - Actual 28
15 - beckseven (target 31/31) - Actual 6
16 - barshamhillbilly (target Reduction therapy) - Actual On Target
17 - happyshopper (target 28/31) - Actual 23
18 - Nessa56 (possible ) - Actual 3
19 - miamoo (target 31/31) - Actual 25
20 - Esther McVittie (target 27/31) - Actual 24
21 - polaroid (target 31/31) - Actual 18
22 - paybacktime2008(target 25/31) - Actual 23
23 - budget babe(target 31/31) - Actual 28
24 - lillibet dripping (target 20/31) - Actual 4
25 - biscotte (target 25/31) - Actual 15
26 - fayjmck (target 26/31) - Actual 15
27 - fedupandskint (target 21/31) - Actual 14
28 - maman (target 13/31) - Actual 12
29 - Former Spice (target 28/31) - Actual 15
30 - Andraste (target 11/31) - Actual 11 target achieved on 28th :j :j




Post by Spring Watch Girl:

"Well, week 5 of no alcohol and I see a different person in the mirror. My eyes no longer look dull and vacant, they actually have a little sparkle and my skin doesn't look like uncooked pastry anymore. I feel that I have won a battle but not yet the war. Hope everyone else is at the point they want to be, I never want to be that person I was, I have been tempted but I just think back to what I had become. The sun is shining at the moment and I feel good and want to continue to have the sun in my life."

budget_babe wrote:

We all owe our dear Lurky a debt of gratitude for coming up with the idea in the first place, if we are talking Karma then believe me Lurky you have earned such alot and what good you have done. You are a little star my friend and a total gem. Hugs to you. xxxxx

:kisses3:

Thank you bb. It isn't about me, really. It's about every one on here. Even those who think they have failed have, in fact, succeeded. I haven't done that. YOU all have and should be exceptionally proud of yourselves

wb - put both Esther and myself down for 16/28. Now that we have 'done' January, we have agreed to see if we can restrict ourselves to weekends only (Fri/Sat and allow for Sunday). I have no idea how this is going to go. It'll either go very well or very badly.... :rotfl:


Gan canny, bonny laads an' lasses

x

winebox

OK this is my first effort....hope when I submit it, it looks how it does on here! If this post is gobbledegook just ignore it & I'll go back to the drawing board

I've gone back in & edited this to delete it cos it made the page about 3 feet wide.....trying to bring us back down to size!! JUST IGNORE THIS POST!!

winebox

oops - try again!! i was trying to copy over a spreadsheet but all I seem to have done is make the thread go fat