The giving up/cutting down alcohol thread part VI

Pippilongstocking

Mornign Miss P

Yup well done on picking that one up - I forgot to mention PBT - my OH says this all the time - but he also quotes things like smoking, alcohol and caffine etc - all very addictive as well - he's incredibly sensitive ot caffine and goes a bit bonkers on it.

I've never smoked or would do 'other drugs' - puts it into perspective eh?

(nothing against smokers) and I know I have a caffine problem so I have to be careful how much coffee and drink and when to have decaf (thanks jo) and normal coffee.

Miss_Piggy_2

fayjmck wrote: »

Mornign Miss P

Yup well done on picking that one up - I forgot to mention PBT - my OH says this all the time - but he also quotes things like smoking, alcohol and caffine etc - all very addictive as well - he's incredibly sensitive ot caffine and goes a bit bonkers on it.

I've never smoked or would do 'other drugs' - puts it into perspective eh?

(nothing against smokers) and I know I have a caffine problem so I have to be careful how much coffee and drink and when to have decaf (thanks jo) and normal coffee.

I too have never smoked or done any other drugs. Alcohol has always been my drug of choice. I've never really liked taking painkillers even! And yet I've never really considered it a drug. Wierd.

Strange though as I too drink a lot of coffee....someone on here yesterday (think it was MOD) was on about finding a decent decaf. Which one do you drink Fay?

Miss P
xx

Pippilongstocking

Darling Jo sent me up some decaf as I couldn't get it here - in the post - it did look like a bomb - but it was just coffee

It was this one...................

Miss_Piggy_2

Think may pop to sainsbugs later and have a look for some. I love my coffee but realise its not good to drink 10 cups a day!!:rotfl::eek:

saorsie

Wow I love this thread! Friendly banter and non judgemental support one minute and then wallop :eek: out the blue, a really thought-provoking debate that gets right to the bottom of where most of us are sitting - thanks to all the participants in yesterdays lively chat - certainly made me pause for thought and as always so brave and honest it's made me feel humble x

Pleased to declare another MAD for last night Shaggy so that's one fat lady # 8 for me - thanks for the coins and the counting secretly wondering if can transfer them over to FV without anyone noticing )

-s-

graemecarter

DecemberBaby wrote: »

Grateful as ever for your posts GC and RA. Lots of people are doing really
well with their AFness. I'm still on the waiting list for counselling with no idea of when that might happen.

Try something else then. Take action

I think I really do want to go to an AA meeting but for some reason am SO scared.

It is not easy going to the first meeting, however folks are nice and they know exactly how you feel having gone through it themselves. You can ring the AA helpline ( 0845 769 7555) and someone will take you to your first meeting, so it isn't too daunting.
If you ring the helpline anyway, someone will have better advice than I can give

At the same time, I'm scared of the damage alcohol will cause yet I'm stuck in the familiar habits and must move on to make the change. This to me may be where you cross a line from heavy drinking to alcoholism. You know logically that you drink so much you must be damaging yourself but when you drink - you stop caring.

Drink blots out emotions.
If you know you are damaging yourself but cannot stop, that is active addiction

Sorry didn't mean to get so heavy but feeling a bit down at the moment.
Best wishes to all
DB x

If you take action and do something about your drinking, then you'll feel better

graemecarter

Lilith1980 wrote: »

Hi all, I'm very proud of myself.

Hubby asked if I wanted to go for a drink just me and him so I told him I'd probably stick to soft drinks.

While he had about 6 double G&Ts I had 6.....lime and sodas! :j

Hubby wasn't best pleased and called me 'boring' and said this seemed to be just another one of my 'things'. I gave up smoking last year which is apparently my other 'thing'....He said that I didn't drink a lot, that I only drank once a week and I said yes but when I did it was well over my weekly limit and he scoffed at this, didn't think it was a big deal.

He seemed to think I was lying about my trip to the doctors and what the doctor had said! I asked him what his problem was as my cutting down on my drinking wasn't harming him.

When we got home he confessed that he knew he was having problems with his dependency on his drinking. He is stressed with work and his way of unwinding is through drink. He has an appointment to register at his doctors tomorrow (hasn't registered at a doctors in 7 years) so I suggested he talk about this to them.

I'm not sure if he will get sorted, I said if he wants to cut down then I will support him with that...but he said he likes drinking. Not sure what else I can do but I proved to myself last night that I can go out and not drink...next test will be with the mates but I'll try and keep to minimum drinks when out with them

Well done
You didn't drink last night so that is great. The key to being successfully AF or a cutter downer is to be consistent. There is no point being AF for a week or two then having a massive blowout, so keep going.
If you can stay in the government's guidelines, then great. If you cannot, or if regulating your drinking makes you unhappy, then your relationship with alcohol could be deeper and more complicated, and ultimately more toxic.

I like drinking, but then I am an alcoholic, and that's what active alcoholics do. They drink. You plough your own field, and while you may support your husband, do not make your drinking or sobriety contingent on him.

Good luck:T

Lurkio

fayjmck wrote: »

Oh I spoke to landlord - we can have the piano and a big trailer from the garden which fixes to my humungous mower ? how do you move a piano?

you put it in the trailer.........

MountainOfDebt_2

Hi guys,

Well, I am new to this forum, as you're aware, so some of the acronyms have done me:

AFD - Alcohol free day
MAD - March Alcohol Detox.

Anymore I should know about?

For the record, I have had 3 AFD's on the trot and hoping to to the MAD for the rest of March. Struggled a bnit last night in the hotel, so stayed upstairs, watched the footie and 'enjoyed' the hotels decaf.

It's interesting to read about peoples belief of alcoholism as a disease. It intrigues me as I haven't ever thought like that.

My caveat is that I am new to this and whilst I recognise I have a drink problem, I am unsure it's not a recoverable position. I'd always imagine any situation I was in, I could get out of.

But having said that, I know, if I were true to myself, if my behaviour was consistently poor under drink, I'd not drink anymore. This journey I am going on, is going to enable me to find this out.

I said it sounded a bit bleak, as it really does: "You are an alcoholic, you will always be an alcoholic and therefore, you canot get rid of the disease". It just sounds bleak. To me.

I canot eat turnips or chillis, one makes me swell up, the other gives me acute pain. I don't so much mind missing the turnips, but I miss chillis so occassionally have one, or 6. Can't hep myself. I also grow heaps of them, I have 70 plants coming through just now. I was rather hoping if I was an alcoholic, I could, occassionally, control myself in order I could have a glass or two of wine now and then. Like my chillis. Or at worst, like giving up smoking. I had a puff of one 6 months ago, in one moment of weakness, and it was horrible.

I don't know, maybe I am being too child like in my thinking: it is early days for me. I don't crave drink, never have, it's just when I get going...

Pippilongstocking

Chilli plants you say - - I'm a huge chilli fan

MOD - great post - if you want to think some more I'd recommend a book that is always recommended on here by some of the lovely mentor folks who've been there and bought the t-shirt

It's called Living sober - its about six quid link here - I've two copies now - so if you want one of mine please PM me. Or perhaps, we can barter for chilli plants Its a peedie book (peedie is the same as the word small where I live - so thats a good one to know!) and its dead easy to dip into and out of every day/whenever you like - whereever you like chapterwise- (I have it under my pillow in pretty purple paper to stop nosey kids looking)

Your post was great it did remind me about a bit in the book about the author talking about being allergic to strawberries or something similar and therefore not eating them.

My thoughts are often in a similar place to yours - seems a bit of an epic task thinking about giving up forever.

Lots of us on here just say day/hour etc at a time - that seems much more pleasant.

Well done on the decaf - can't say that about the footie - rather stick pins in my eyes! - but well done all the same.

PS Lurks - Hadn't thought of moving it in a trailer - lol - aren't there special piano moving fairies then?