The Giving Up/ Cutting Down alcohol support thread - number 13

Honey_Bear

Good luck with tomorrow, Aneres. You sound so determined I'm sure you'll sail through it, but if it's concerning you would it help relieve the pressure if you knew what you were planning to drink instead of alcohol? My very first social event without alcohol was a wedding - the first day I stopped. I pretended to drink the couple's health and gently nudged the sparkling stuff towards OH straight afterwards - no one noticed and no one cared, to be honest.


I found a video on line in the early days of sobriety that contained the fascinating factoid that alcohol dries out the throat, which is one of the reasons why people drinking it keep feeling thirsty enough to have another sip and then another and then another - if you're that way inclined. I've found that incredibly helpful, and it's true that I can't keep up with the boozers when I'm out, but I do start feeling slightly sick if I have sugary soft drinks the whole evening. Hurrah for tomato juice with a generous dash of Worcester sauce and Becks Blue! I'm surprised how many places stock it, so I now know I'm not alone.

maman

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Good luck with tomorrow, Aneres. You sound so determined I'm sure you'll sail through it, but if it's concerning you would it help relieve the pressure if you knew what you were planning to drink instead of alcohol?

It definitely helps to have a plan. Personally, I dislike sweet drinks so tend to stick to fizzy water or diet tonic with ice and slice. Saves on the empty calories too.;)

Pippilongstocking

aneres wrote: »

13/30 please Shaggy.

Tomorrow will be a test as I'm out at a charity do and everyone I'm with will be drinking.

Happy Friday everyone.

Well you'll be drinking too but just not the alcfrol. And Saturday will be your 15 day this month won't it? That's awesome:D

Hey there I know it will be tough but how about some fizzy apple juice/water in a wine glass and chink with the rest of them.

Or do a 'Princess Di and raise the glass to your lips and don't drink, leave them from table to table when you're moving about'.

Leave early and give yourself a treat like your own happy hour (have a bath, nice pj's lovely bar choccy or a hot choccy, cosy up, nice movie or an early night and think yay I did it).

Offer to drive.

Eat before you go so you're less inclined to feel a bit HALT-ish
*Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

I find if I'm hungry I'm more inclined to be tempted.

I'll shut up now.

GOOD LUCK!!

Morning chaps.

aneres

Thanks HB/Maman

A few years ago I gave up for 6 months and when I went out I used to drink soda water (mainly because I was too tight to buy soft drinks :rotfl:). It seemed a waste to pay nearly the same price for a coke as you would for a beer. Although sometimes I used to splash out and have a lime and soda lol.

Re tomorrow I have thought I'll probably stick with soda water or see if they do coffee (it starts mid afternoon so there's a good chance they will). If I really get the urge for a drink I'll see if they do Becks Blue. Wine is usually my downfall but I know the wine in the place we're going is awful so that should be easy to resist.

The thing I'm going to keep in mind is that if I normally went to something like this and started drinking early I'd probably be home and asleep by early evening. I'm really looking forward to enjoying the rest of my night once I get in.

Barny1979

Going to be AF today, so 9/23 AFDs today

shaggydoo

Afternoon :hello:

2 more AFDs for Wednesday & Thursday.



Shaggyx

shaggydoo

graemecarter wrote: »

Perhaps I am totally wrong, but the thread is called "Giving Up/Cutting Down" so that suggests that at some point in time people were drinking more than they wanted. And if you keep doing something you don't want to do, that can be problematical.

Except that this is a money saving site, so it is most likely that posters are cutting down / quitting to save money. It doesn't mean they have a drinking problem. For some MSEers spending as little as £5 a week on alcohol is too much.

What most MSEers tend to do is have a big goal like being debt free, mortgage free or a particular savings target - so they might join the associated "big" challenge. Then to achieve their big target they join mini-challenges - like quitting or cutting down on alcohol or cutting down on spending on food, books, DVDs, Cds, smoking, etc, etc.

You seem to think that this is a branch of AA?? It isn't. And to be honest having anybody that wants to join this thread to save money face a barrage of "oh you must be an alcoholic" isn't really helpful.

There is a whole board dedicated to challenges on MSE to get to be debt free.
HERE
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=267

This thread is just one of them.

Here too
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

Or here. Mortgage free challenge?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4152769

Challenges to help posters read that book or watch that DVD before buying another, help them not buy something so they can put a little towards their debt, mortgage or savings. There are crazy clothing challenges, exercise challenges, cooking challenges. Posters join any one challenge for all sorts of different reasons. This isn't normal behaviour necessarily in RL. It is on MSE.


Sadly, some threads on MSE attract trolls. I've no idea why people waste their lives trolling?

graemecarter wrote: »

They treat alcohol like broccoli. If there is some in the fridge, they will maybe cook it. If not, they won't go to the shop at 9.45pm to get some.

My OH would leave the house at 9.45 to buy a dessert, or chocolate, or pizza, or a take away. Surely nobody in their right mind would suggest he needed help? I would leave the house for broccoli - if that's what I fancied.

shaggydoo

November:

= 7 Days AF

= 14 days AF

= 21 days AF

= 28 days AF

= 30 days AF

= target achieved



Alex 5/21
Aneres 13/30

AuntyCat 5/15
Barny1979 9/23
BlueDaisy 8/16

Chardonnay 5/18
DebJay 8/19

Doshwaster 5/21
Honey Bear 13/30

Mackeroo 6/10

Maman 6/10

Mari /20
Muser1 7/20
PennySaving 13/30
Pippi 13/30

Pricey 5/23

Puzzcat 1/10
Satchmo 9/20

Shaggy 6/17



Everyone Welcome! It's never too late to join....

Please highlight your AFDs in Red

Don't hesitate to let me know if I've made a mistake!

graemecarter

shaggydoo wrote: »

Except that this is a money saving site, so it is most likely that posters are cutting down / quitting to save money. It doesn't mean they have a drinking problem. For some MSEers spending as little as £5 a week on alcohol is too much.

What most MSEers tend to do is have a big goal like being debt free, mortgage free or a particular savings target - so they might join the associated "big" challenge. Then to achieve their big target they join mini-challenges - like quitting or cutting down on alcohol or cutting down on spending on food, books, DVDs, Cds, smoking, etc, etc.

You seem to think that this is a branch of AA?? It isn't. And to be honest having anybody that wants to join this thread to save money face a barrage of "oh you must be an alcoholic" isn't really helpful.

There is a whole board dedicated to challenges on MSE to get to be debt free.
HERE
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=267

This thread is just one of them.

Here too
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

Or here. Mortgage free challenge?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4152769

Challenges to help posters read that book or watch that DVD before buying another, help them not buy something so they can put a little towards their debt, mortgage or savings. There are crazy clothing challenges, exercise challenges, cooking challenges. Posters join any one challenge for all sorts of different reasons. This isn't normal behaviour necessarily in RL. It is on MSE.


Sadly, some threads on MSE attract trolls. I've no idea why people waste their lives trolling?



My OH would leave the house at 9.45 to buy a dessert, or chocolate, or pizza, or a take away. Surely nobody in their right mind would suggest he needed help? I would leave the house for broccoli - if that's what I fancied.

The only person I am saying is alcoholic is me. I don't think I called or insinuated that anyone else is alcoholic. If I did, please let me know where I said that and I will apologise because that wasn't my intention.

There's a big difference between being alcoholic, and wanting to cut down on drinking. That's why this thread is great, because a broad spectrum of people are on it.

People are on this thread to cut down on their drinking. You're quite correct in that primary reason for many people wanting to cut down is to save money. I don't think I suggested otherwise.

Keep up the good work Shaggy - you probably do more than anyone else in helping people on this thread. :T

aneres

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Leave early and give yourself a treat like your own happy hour (have a bath, nice pj's lovely bar choccy or a hot choccy, cosy up, nice movie or an early night and think yay I did it).

Offer to drive.

Eat before you go so you're less inclined to feel a bit HALT-ish
*Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

I find if I'm hungry I'm more inclined to be tempted.

I'll shut up now.

GOOD LUCK!!

Morning chaps.

Thanks Pippi

I can totally relate to being tempted when I'm hungry.

Thanks everyone for their advice.

14/30 please Shaggy.