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

Chloris

12 for me please Shaggy! 1 more for the school night please Bearacus!

Well done everyone! I am with everyone on the sunny day trigger. Sun = Beer garden. Well I had a wobble yesterday. We visited mil and did some gardening for her (lots of sunshine!) and did a supermarket shop after. Lots to wobble about there. So whilst making tea I had a word with myself, along the lines 'its no achievement to do it when its easy, now will be an achievement'. I had squash and sparkling water, looked like rose and felt like a treat, a bath, almost finished sewing up the dress and read some of my book! If I had had a drink I would have been asleep at 9pm and achieved nothing.

MrsRainman you are a saint. My thoughts are with you.

Maggiesoop, well done. That is a major break for you!

Darwins_mum and Lala sound like you two have managed super major changes. Keep on inspiring us!:T

Phoenix_dragon, hope you and the little one are well and blooming.:D

TooMany4Legs

Hello All!

I'm really not doing very well on this AFness! Not drinking a lot, but not AF! On a more positive note, I've been using the drink diary on drinkaware.co.uk since 7th April, and this week my drinking has reduced by 46% from last week, with an average of 2.9 units on days I did drink :j It IS getting better! And it's thanks to this forum - I'm not maniging AFDs as much as I would like - but I am thinking about and looking at what I drink a lot more - and it WILL get lower and more AF the more I try

Well done all of you posting AFDs - you are doing great.... and I really must try harder.

Have a lovely bank holiday everyone ,
TooMany xxx

Trasijocha

Morning All

Well done to everybody for your `cutting down and giving up`. LaLa well done on resisting that drink, in the long run it really does feel amazing being a non drinker, the importance of drinking gets less and less as time goes on. The first 3 months were really difficult for me I thought I would constantly have that kind of resentment feeling of why me ? why cant I drink like everybody else ? but this feeling fades in time and it starts feeling normal not to drink. Its a great feeling.
20 af days please Shaggy

Miss_Piggy_2

Trasijocha wrote: »

Morning All

Well done to everybody for your `cutting down and giving up`. LaLa well done on resisting that drink, in the long run it really does feel amazing being a non drinker, the importance of drinking gets less and less as time goes on. The first 3 months were really difficult for me I thought I would constantly have that kind of resentment feeling of why me ? why cant I drink like everybody else ? but this feeling fades in time and it starts feeling normal not to drink. Its a great feeling.
20 af days please Shaggy

Thank you for that post Trasi. Am sat at work and the guys are on about over the bank holiday they'll pop to the pub a few times and have a couple of drinks. I was feeling a bit jealous and down that I couldn't be like that. And then I read your post and realised it will all be worth it. While they have hangovers, I wont!

Miss P
xx

lala1974

Miss_Piggy wrote: »

Thank you for that post Trasi. Am sat at work and the guys are on about over the bank holiday they'll pop to the pub a few times and have a couple of drinks. I was feeling a bit jealous and down that I couldn't be like that. And then I read your post and realised it will all be worth it. While they have hangovers, I wont!

Miss P
xx

Miss P, you can do this, I know. I have read Allen Carr's "No more hangovers" and have to say that it really opened my eyes! It has made me look at alcohol so differently. I wonder if you could google some of his quotes - I've not tried it but there may be something on there.

Its still early days for me but I don't really have a choice - I can't risk seizures - my DH and kids are more important than drink to me and I couldn't bear putting them through that knowing that my actions may be partly the cause. There is, of course, the chance that my seizure has nothing to do with alcohol and that it may be a warning that I'm becoming tolerant of my anti-epileptic drugs but only time will tell this. Either way, I know it is a risk regardless of my medication control and I can't deny how well I feel. I feel like I've set free of something.

I've been honest with close friends and my family and will tell others that I've had a change in meds that mean I can't drink.

You can achieve anything Miss P. The only thing stopping us from achieving any goals is ourselves, don't fear change - embrace it as an exciting adventure :A

Lala x

Trasijocha

lala1974 wrote: »

Miss P, you can do this, I know. I have read Allen Carr's "No more hangovers" and have to say that it really opened my eyes! It has made me look at alcohol so differently. I wonder if you could google some of his quotes - I've not tried it but there may be something on there.

Its still early days for me but I don't really have a choice - I can't risk seizures - my DH and kids are more important than drink to me and I couldn't bear putting them through that knowing that my actions may be partly the cause. There is, of course, the chance that my seizure has nothing to do with alcohol and that it may be a warning that I'm becoming tolerant of my anti-epileptic drugs but only time will tell this. Either way, I know it is a risk regardless of my medication control and I can't deny how well I feel. I feel like I've set free of something.

I've been honest with close friends and my family and will tell others that I've had a change in meds that mean I can't drink.

You can achieve anything Miss P. The only thing stopping us from achieving any goals is ourselves, don't fear change - embrace it as an exciting adventure :A

Lala x

I totally relate to the comment you made about being set free LaLa, when I was trying to cut down I was still wasting valuable energy and time with this constant internal battle of shall I have a drink today, if so how much shall I drink (altho this decision was often taken from me anyway after two or three drinks), if I dont drink today when shall I drink ? shall I drink at such and such meal/ party? etc etc . The internal battle just went on and on. Now its so easy I just dont drink, all that energy worrying about when and how much is used on better things and Its such a liberating feeling to be free of all that.

*Mari*

Right OH has just invited all and sundry for an impromptu BBQ tonight...this will be my first big test!
I have already stated loudly that I will not be drinking as I need a clear head tomorrow, this was
met with laughter! Does make me determind to see this through, I will prove them wrong! So off out
to buy fizzy water and lime!
Fingers crossed I stay strong!

Chloris

Trasijocha wrote: »

I totally relate to the comment you made about being set free LaLa, when I was trying to cut down I was still wasting valuable energy and time with this constant internal battle of shall I have a drink today, if so how much shall I drink (altho this decision was often taken from me anyway after two or three drinks), if I dont drink today when shall I drink ? shall I drink at such and such meal/ party? etc etc . The internal battle just went on and on. Now its so easy I just dont drink, all that energy worrying about when and how much is used on better things and Its such a liberating feeling to be free of all that.

This is so interesting to me. I am considering stopping completely. Freeing up the mental energy would be fantastic. The internal debate acts like psychic vampirism, draining resources. I too am tormented with feeling I am missing out, why can't a just enjoy an occasional drink like other people? I don't even drink too much! I think I just need to make peace with the fact it doesn't suit me, I am not other people and just step past it.


*Mari* Good luck. Be stubborn and prove them wrong!:rotfl:

maman

TooMany4Legs wrote: »

Hello All!

I'm really not doing very well on this AFness! Not drinking a lot, but not AF!

Don't me too hard on yourself legs. If you can drink moderately you're doing well!:T The idea of AF days is just a discipline to cut down, cutting units is just a different way. I can't do that because when I am having a drinking day I like to have whatever I want (sort of a la Mastermind). Good news is I've become less tolerant since having AF days so I know when to stop these days.

Miss_Piggy wrote: »

While they have hangovers, I wont!

Hope you enjoy SIL's party...sober!

*Mari* wrote: »

...determind to see this through, I will prove them wrong! So off out
to buy fizzy water and lime!
Fingers crossed I stay strong!

Good luck mari, we'll soon need a 'giving up lime and soda thread':rotfl:

maman

bearacus wrote: »

well done everyone !

Another Af for me last night so thats 3 for the challenge and another af please shaggy.

I will be doing another challenge next week Mon-thurs but with it being a bank holiday I thought I would do a tues-fri aswell !

bearacus x

I'd like to sign up for 3 days next week please Bearcus.
I'm away from tomorrow and travellng back on Tuesday so I'm hoping to do Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I just wanted to say how much I admire those of you who are using the thread to give up.:T:A Personally I'm happy with cutting-down but it is great that the thread is catering for both needs with no-one trying to judge.