The Giving up/ Cutting down Alcohol support thread- number 10

naughtymittens

I haven't posted on this thread before so I hope it's ok to join in. I have been thinking for a really long time that I should give up or drastically reduce my alcohol intake. I have suffered from depression and drinking makes it a million times worse. I get very tearful and low for a couple of days after and really mean to my DH, don't want to leave the house, etc, etc.

Writing this down it seems crazy that I drink at all but I work in a very high pressure environment (work hard play hard culture - what a ridiculous and cheesy phrase!!) and out of work my friends are really into going out and getting plastered. I know that they would all laugh if I said I was stopping drinking. How do you all cope with the reaction of friends?

I think I wold like to join in in September. So if anyone could let me know how to that would be really great!!

NM xxx

jeffgeorge

naughtymittens wrote: »

I haven't posted on this thread before so I hope it's ok to join in. I have been thinking for a really long time that I should give up or drastically reduce my alcohol intake. I have suffered from depression and drinking makes it a million times worse. I get very tearful and low for a couple of days after and really mean to my DH, don't want to leave the house, etc, etc.

Writing this down it seems crazy that I drink at all but I work in a very high pressure environment (work hard play hard culture - what a ridiculous and cheesy phrase!!) and out of work my friends are really into going out and getting plastered. I know that they would all laugh if I said I was stopping drinking. How do you all cope with the reaction of friends?

I think I wold like to join in in September. So if anyone could let me know how to that would be really great!!

NM xxx

Hi NM,

I am a lurker on this thread but just wanted to leave you a message and say welcome!!. I have been sober since January 2010 and for me to go one day without a drink is a miracle. SO I am amazed at the amount of time I have been sober.

This board is for anyone wanting to cut down or stop and its great you ahv realised that it may be becoming a problem, for me I had to hit a massive rock bottom to realise, but it had been obvious for everyone for years that I had a problem

My mental health really suffered when I was drinking, I would feel so low after drinker and really anxious and the only thing that helped was another drink. This all stopped after a short time of being alcohol free.

Regarding your friends, unfortunatley for me I found out that my friends were not really friends more like drinking buddies and we kind of drifted when I stopped drinking, but I suppose thats up to you. I didnt go in pubs for first few months and organised comedy club night and meals out, but unfortunaltey my friends liked drinking too much and always wanted to go to the pub so I only really socialised with people that were helpful to me.

I always found being honest (shock horror!!) about my drinking to my friends always proved positive and just said im worried about my drinking im not going to drink tonight, some were supportive others triend to get me to drink to 'normalise their drinking'.

True friends always stand by you and wont laugh at you for not drinking and will support you of you dont want to drink.

I now have a host of friends, some in recovery some not but I wouldnt want to spend time with heavy drinking friends.

At times it hard not drinking but the untold benefits of no low mood, no anxiety, great 10 hour sleep, feeling refreshed and alive every morning, no retching in the morning, no pains, no sick time from work, no lies, no arguments, no harm to anyone, no remorse, extra holidays due to the money I save makes it sooooo worth it.

Maybe attempt one of the challenges here, only you know whats right for you and for me it was total abstinence as I cant and never have been able to stop at one!!

HTH


JG

naughtymittens

jeffgeorge wrote: »

Hi NM,

I am a lurker on this thread but just wanted to leave you a message and say welcome!!. I have been sober since January 2010 and for me to go one day without a drink is a miracle. SO I am amazed at the amount of time I have been sober.

This board is for anyone wanting to cut down or stop and its great you ahv realised that it may be becoming a problem, for me I had to hit a massive rock bottom to realise, but it had been obvious for everyone for years that I had a problem

My mental health really suffered when I was drinking, I would feel so low after drinker and really anxious and the only thing that helped was another drink. This all stopped after a short time of being alcohol free.

Regarding your friends, unfortunatley for me I found out that my friends were not really friends more like drinking buddies and we kind of drifted when I stopped drinking, but I suppose thats up to you. I didnt go in pubs for first few months and organised comedy club night and meals out, but unfortunaltey my friends liked drinking too much and always wanted to go to the pub so I only really socialised with people that were helpful to me.

I always found being honest (shock horror!!) about my drinking to my friends always proved positive and just said im worried about my drinking im not going to drink tonight, some were supportive others triend to get me to drink to 'normalise their drinking'.

True friends always stand by you and wont laugh at you for not drinking and will support you of you dont want to drink.

I now have a host of friends, some in recovery some not but I wouldnt want to spend time with heavy drinking friends.

At times it hard not drinking but the untold benefits of no low mood, no anxiety, great 10 hour sleep, feeling refreshed and alive every morning, no retching in the morning, no pains, no sick time from work, no lies, no arguments, no harm to anyone, no remorse, extra holidays due to the money I save makes it sooooo worth it.

Maybe attempt one of the challenges here, only you know whats right for you and for me it was total abstinence as I cant and never have been able to stop at one!!

HTH


JG

Wow - thank you. I really appreciate your response and it has brought tears to my eyes reading it!!

I will def be joining in on the challenges on this thread by trying to have alcohol free days starting from now. I think I will aim for 27 in September.

legsand

Afternoon everyone,
Lala congrats on 5 months well done to you.

Miss P good luck with your wiegh in.

Had an AF sunday
Not an AF monday went to lunch with my mum and hubby thought I would have a drink even before I got to the pub, instead of having a bottle decided to ask for glasses of wine then I would have to make an effort had 2x175ml glasses not a 750ml bottle,
But the worrying thing was how I felt when I had that first glass because I had it on an empty stomach I felt what I class as the burn when it hits the stomach this made me smile and it was like a really good feeling . One that I think I have missed.
I now believe it has to be no alcohol for me although I only drank 2 glasses today I want to drink more.

So back on the wagon for me with the help of this thread I am going to be AF in September (even though I have 2 weddings and go on holiday at the end of the month).

I want to thankyou all for listerning to my ramblings this last 2 weeks and thankyou inadvance for listerning to my next 2 weeks


have a good bank holiday


xxx

Miss_Piggy_2

Chloris wrote: »

That will save on the washing up and that is soooo important when you have a little bean . Cut all corners. x

Forgot to says MrsR, I completely agree with Chloris. Whatever you can do to make life easier, DO IT! I think we lived on ready meals for the first 3 months of Piglets life!:D:rotfl:

Miss P
x

penelopedee_2

Hi NM and welcome

DH and I used to work with the work hard/play hard set. Sometimes we still get pulled into the old mates routine.

But I had a bit of a drinking light bulb moment on holiday. We met a couple that drank very moderately if at all. Thought nothing of just getting a half of beer when everyone else was guzzling it down. We got on really well and chatted all night, without a thought about getting another round in. It was really good, fun company - we were as daft as if we'd had a couple of bottles but we hadn't.

Last night, back at home, DH commented that we haven't made good friends like that in ages and I think he is right. I much prefered that sort of evening out.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, its ok to start moving in different circles and changing friends. Its much nicer with the drinking pressure off.

Hope everyone is getting on ok today Back to work for me tomorrow (and I'm kind of looking forward to getting back into the routine of it).

gien

Fantastic post JG.

Mittens, this post is great for support and help - read over the previous threads and there are some great pieces of advice, honesty, and insights. You sound as if you really want to focus on cutting your drinking and look after yourself. Perhaps try to not worry about what your friends will think - true friends won't care.

Miss_Piggy_2

Evening all

Naughtymittens - welcome to the thread!!

Just had weigh-in.....lost 6lbs! Woo hoo!

Miss P
xx

fakeplastictwee

Hi everyone Just briefly caught up on the last few days, wow there's a lot of inspirational stuff going on. Lots of AFness, well done!

Well, I'm back from Galtres festival... and what a weekend it was. 18 hours of rain on the site before it opened made it a bit of a farce where mud was concerned. We had a campervan ticket which we paid £40 extra for but we were sent to a seperate car park in a field 2 miles down the road as the festival site was too muddy to get on to. There were no toilets or water or anything! After treking across 3 fields and climbing between 2 barbed wire fences to get back to the festival site, we thought it was going to be too much trying to get back at 2am in the morning so managed to walk back, collect the van and park it on a grass verge not far from the festival. Still wasted £40 on the campervan ticket though!
So because of a mixture of the tablets I had been taking (metronidazole) and the fact that we were still a 10 min walk from any toilets (didn't want to be getting an upset tummy!) I have barely drank anything, and I have to say it's the most sober festival I've ever had, including ones that I went to when I was 15/16.
Friday was AF :j(although I could've done with a drink what with all the walking across the countryside and getting totally muddy and wet through in the rain), Saturday and Sunday I felt better from the tablets and allowed myself to drink. Only had 1.5 pints on Sat, but had a bit more yesterday, 3 cans of lager in the afternoon, but then only half a pint in the evening after a nap. It has been quite refreshing waking up and not being hungover at all. I felt a bit smug when my friend were feeling very poorly.

So all this takes me to 12 days for August.

I'd like to go for 15 days in September please. Feel that I'm wimping out on the target a bit but before this month I had virtually no AF days so I should be pleased with myself I guess.
I'm not sure whether I'm going to have a glass of wine or not tonight, so I'll report in later about that. Having been umming and ahhing about treating myself all day given that I've been mega restrained this weekend.

Hope you don't all mind me rambling on, I've had 3 days of no internet :rotfl:

mackeroo

17 AF please Shaggy and 1 for the SNC please Bearacus