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

gien

Well dine all those staying AF but also to those who have drunk, maybe a bit excessively, but have observed themselves and thought about what they were doing and why. I think that self awareness is the first step to being able to change or moderate our behaviour.

I'm declaring today AF already. I am suffering under s fair amount of stress at the moment and I have realised through my 'dry' January, that being sober helps me cope far better than drinking.
With luck things will ease a bit over the next few days and life will get back to normal.

shaggydoo

Morning :hello:

No more AFDs to add but I'm hoping to clamber back on the wagon when it comes hurtling past today. Diet going OK. We booked our holiday this weekend for July. :T So pressure is on to lose the Llbs!



Shaggyx

shaggydoo

January 2014 :-

= 7 Days AF

= 14 days AF

= 21 days AF

= 28 days AF

= 31 days AF

= target achieved

AFoolWithMoney 31/31

AlexLK 8/14
Angela 10/15
ArsenalBarnie 7/10
Baileysonice 15/15
Barny1979 26/31
Beth 24/26

Bliss /22

BrokeMedic 5/TF
CuppaTea 15/22
DebJay 31/31
DoshWaster 31/31
Fruball 16/18
Gien 27/28
Green Karen 25/25
GreyCatLady 31/31
Guinness-Cat 20/20
GWithBag 11/15
Jess The Cat 13/16
Joanne 24/31
Jo1972 12/31
Judi 26/31

Lucy /31
Maman 11/10
Milky1991 7/TF
Mummyto3boys 12/21
Munchin 16/16
NewRoadAhead 16/20

NewYearNewStart 2/30
PriceySOS 22/24

RachelWW1 5/10
Satchmo 31/31
ScotsDebs 7/TF
Shaggy 23/17
Stupotstu 15/19
Sukeyboo 14/15

The Green Lady /31
TillerGirl 30/31
TopGirl 31/31

Wanna Bee Free 14/14
WantToBeSE 16/30
YvieBlue 31/31
40 SomethingMum 9/26

5 Year Plan 11/31


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!

shaggydoo

Febuary 2014 :-

= 7 Days AF

= 14 days AF

= 21 days AF

= 28 days AF


= target achieved

AFoolWithMoney 1/26

AlexLK 2/25

Angela

ArsenalBarnie 2 /12

Baileysonice /15

Barny1979 1/24

Beth /21

DebJay 1/20

DoshWaster /16

Fruball 1/18

Gien 3/24

Green Karen /23

GreyCatLady /TF

Guinness-Cat /21

GWithBag 1/14

Joanne 1/22

Judi /20

Maman /10

Milky1991 /12

Mummyto3boys /15

Munchin /16

PriceySOS 1 /22

RachelWW1 /10

Satchmo 1/24

Shaggy /17

Stupotstu 1/22

Sukeyboo 1/12

TillerGirl 2/20

TopGirl /20

Wanna Bee Free /14

5 Year Plan /20


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!

shaggydoo

Roll up, Roll up. A New Month, A New Challenge.

SET YOUR

It's not too late to join


26 days up for grabs!

Everyone Welcome!!!

spinningsheep

Hi all. This is my day 1 of AF and im really not liking it

Bit of background I have drank every night for the last 9 or 10 years. It has become habitual. 1 sometimes 2 bottles of red. wouldn't say I was an alcoholic but then I guess others would disagree. I went out for a friends birthday on Sat night and I got so drunk I didnt know where I was or how I got there, I was so scared. By some miracle I made it home with no loss of posessions or injuries but I was floored yesterday. I still feel very very rough mind you. I feel "flued up". I went to the doc last week as I was thinking this drinking is getting out of hand but I needed something to sleep, after all ive been passing out in a red wine coma for god knows how long, and she prescribed me zopiclone. I took half of one last night and slept a full 9 hrs.

So,1 day AF and an alcohol free sleep. Im off work tomorrow so im going to try a natural night sleep.1st in 10 years so im really nervous

Fruball

Hi Spinning

Welcome to the thread :hello:

It isn't easy admitting you have a problem but it is the first stage of dealing with it, which you are.

Did you mention to your doctor that you are drinking heavily? They seem to be very supportive from what I have read.

Good luck for tonight. You may find the first few AF nights are hard, esp after drinking so much for so long... I only say this because I was drinking 1-2 bottles almost every night and it has been hard for me. I still drink a lot on the nights I do drink, but I am managing more than half the month AF. You may find it easier to cut down, maybe stick to just 1 bottle every other night or half a bottle a night or whatever suits you best... Only you know what is right for you.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and wish you good luck This is a great thread with loads of supportive people in the same boat

Keep posting

paulineb_2

Ive been a long time lurker on this thread, but never posted. I didnt do dry January and Im not sure yet that Id want to post up every month what Id like a total to be. Since the second of January Ive had 2 pints of cider, one large glass of wine, one 500ml can of cider and one cocktail, that was spread over 3 nights.

I probably havent had a healthy relationship with alcohol and food for a very long time. I have an addictive personality and where food is concerned Im not a binger, but if its in front of me, then I am. Im the same with alcohol. If I have the glass I want the bottle, if I had a tiny bottle one would be enough for me, but it was getting to the stage where I felt that had to stop as well, I never used to be like that but I had some really awful years in the workplace due to work related stress and I just kind of isolated myself. Even if my drinking wasnt heavy, it just got to be a drip drip drip effect and I had cut down so much after I started healthy eating and stuck to it, I got to the stage where if I was having one unit of alcohol a day, I thought I needed that.

But I dont. Its been ok. No one has raised their eyebrows at me saying why arent you drinking. Ive been out for a meal with friends and had non alcoholic cocktails. It just took a long time for me to make that decision and it was a snap one, the same way I tackled getting rid of excess weight.

Im actually a qualified addiction worker and have seen first hand the misery drinking can cause. I probably started drinking more after I left that line of work because my last job ended very badly, bullying, I asked to get out of my contract but I was at my lowest point and I had more time on my hands at home. I loved my job but my working conditions over the years were pretty horrible and I ended up quite ill and I suppose I used alcohol and food to try and deal with stuff that had happened. My GPs arent supportive and never have been and that didnt help, but it was down to me. I also suffer from insomnia which gets pretty chronic when Im under stress and Im sleeping better since I cut down my drinking. I tried for years to get support with my insomnia, Im talking way back, before alcohol was even an issue, they werent interested, asked for a mild anti depressant, was told to go away. Just felt that I spent a long time living like I was wading through treacle. I got a two week course of zopiclone when things were at their worst in the workplace around ten years ago and then a 6 month course of anti depressants to help insomnia a year ago when I encountered another bully in another line of work and I had to have an almost meltdown in the surgery to get them, apart from that I had to deal with everything myself over about a 12 year period.
Im not kicking myself for anything, I coped with some horrible stuff the best I could and Im proud that I actually came through the other end relatively unscathed.

I have had the odd bottle of erdinger frei and theres half a unit of alcohol per 500 ml bottle so on my non alcohol days Im technically not teetotal all the time, but I feel much better for it. I also know someone who is pretty much the same as me, the off switch isnt there a lot of the time and shes also massively cut down on drinking since new year.

My personal view is that I need to be sober and stay sober for a few months or longer, so that I know I can have that spell alcohol free (or as much reduced as possible if Im drinking low calorie beer), so that I know in my head I can do it.

I went to see a band last Monday and had a drink on the Monday night and the Tuesday. I was out on Friday night and had one cocktail and went straight onto the orange juice and if Im out with my mum I'll have a becks blue.

I had a miserable day yesterday but it wasnt to do with alcohol, it was due to food, I dont have junk food in the house or Id be tempted with it so after a day of healthy eating washed down with a becks blue I was sitting thinking I wish I had some chocolate (I dont even care for chocolate), but I didnt so I just got on with it.

Ive seen a lot over the years in my professional life, Ive worked with young people with both alcohol and drug issues, Ive worked with people who have been drinking for 40 years plus and have lost jobs, families and homes and still cant stop drinking. All I can say is during my working life, I tried to give my very best support to people who were in need of it even if they told me to shove off (and then some).

Im not an alcohol and drug worker now, Im a fitness instructor. The push for me to stop treating my body like a toxic waste dump was putting on two stones after I broke my tailbone. Seeing myself on a video of a fitness assessment and thinking this has to stop. The comfort eating and alcohol has empty calories as well. It took me a few more months to cut down on drinking, but I wasnt in denial, I just didnt think Id be able to do it, even if I only had one beer of a night, I thought I needed that one beer.

Its been emotional stuff with me that I actually dealt with as best I could at the time that led to me just reaching for stuff I could have done without. I dont kick myself, I was pretty unwell with stress for a long time. I shut myself away and having a glass or two of wine a night was just a habit. A bad one. I used to go to bed of a night with a glass of wine or two and a couple of packets of crisps. I really was treating myself like a toxic waste dump, it took me a long time to realise that I deserved better and I could do without it.

I had a hot stone massage on Friday, Ive been teaching classes for 4 years now and I was beginning to creak and that was a big thing for me, treating myself, something I really dont do often enough.

There are a lot of brave people on this thread and if theres one thing I would say, its be kind to yourself. Its very easy to beat ourselves up over that one slip up than congratulate ourselves for managing so many days alcohol free or cigarette free or whatever it is you are trying to deal with.

My sleep pattern has improved massively, I still dont get a sleep where Im out for the count for 8 hours, but its much much better than its been for a very long time.

Fruball

Hi Pauline - Welcome to the thread

Sounds like you have had a tough time of it. I imagine that your experience on a personal level, and with your previous work, will be valuable on a thread like this

Greytcatlady

1 AF day today please .

So, as planned and expected, this weekend was not AF but had half a bottle wine with dinner both nights. I consumed 9 units in total. Should probably try to spread that out over the three nights of a weekend so I don't go over my daily maximum, however, I'm cool with this first weekend of 'normalness'.

I am now not expecting to drink until Friday, which now seems a long way away. Shall go and find some Erdinger tomorrow as I'm quite happy to have one of those and call it AF. I feel like I'm cheating on Becks Blue now as it saw me through Jan. Maybe I'll just cheat on BB at the weekend.