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Cutting Down Alcohol Thread
Comments
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Welcome Loopy Lisa Jane! :wave: Good luck with the preparations for the London Marathon. I didn't really drink until I met my OH, and even then it wasn't a huge problem for about 15 years, although I think I always had the tendency to over-indulge looking back on it.
Stop/Starting Drinking (ooh get me, new term. I like it.) was a real problem for me, and eventually for him - he'd say that not drinking for a day or two didn't make him feel any better, so there was no point in doing it, although he eventually did try to have one AF night a week, usually Mondays and that was usually after a heavy weekend.
I think I'm still the only person on the Thread who's given up completely and intends to stay that way. I wish I could drink in moderation but it seems I can't because I tried that for years. OH has managed it since I gave up completely; he generally stops after one and even when he goes to the pub to watch his team with his buddies, he doesn't get as blotto as he used to. Whatever you want to achieve is do-able; all you have to do is want it enough.
We're all rooting for you.
Welcome Samwise the Frugal! :wave:
Sorry to hear about the health scare, but sometimes those things are all we need to kickstart a new way of life. I hope things are calmer.
What to do after a stressful day when we're used to reaching for a drink as an instant de-stresser? That's the $64,000,000 question. Most societies manage it, most people used to be able to manage it without even thinking about it, but we've been taking that shortcut and thinking of it as absolutely normal for quite a while, in the UK.
Television and film tells us it's normal - it's how all Busy People With Important Jobs are shown relaxing, particularly women, now. Go back to the 1960s and 1970s and it was a cup of tea, now it's a glass of wine. Wine o'clock. What's that about, if not to tell people it's normal to have a drink? Brilliant marketing by the booze industry, whose one and only job is to get you to buy more, consume more, get !!!!ed more. None of them would survive financially if we all drank in moderation.
Getting one's head around that idea is helpful because it means that we no longer view that Destresser Wine as our choice, but ourselves as the advertisers' dream customer.
Billions and billions and billions of people don't need to destress with a drink at the end of the day. We've been trained to think we do.
Distraction is absolutely the way to go and it needs planning. Have something else to look forward to and do that instead. For a few weeks I went to bed early and read and read and read - books, blogs, anything that interested me. It worked for me because I realised there were two aspects to my drinking; one was booze, the other was the habit. Just like giving up smoking, both need to be tackled because they're not the same thing and they need different strategies. Breaking the habit will inevitably lead to cutting down at the very least and that's all that most people need to do. And you need to find something else to drink that you enjoy so that you're not left with a last minute choice and then just revert to booze because you can't think of anything else. My personal choice thats worked for me for four years is Beck's Blue, but some people consider alcohol-free drinks the stuff of nightmares. It might be worth making it your very own project which would confront the issue rather than trying to find ways of distracting you initially.
Good luck with it.
I'm back, but in a very strange place. The run up to Christmas was completely mad and I don't want to ever go through that again. In the end OH did most of the preparation and we both enjoyed the day itself, but my lovely, lovely dog died on Boxing Day and so I've been in shock for several days. It's taking an inordinately maddening time to find all of his stuff and deal with it so that I don't need to be reminded of him in every room in the house, one way or another. I'll get another one in due course, but if I try to do it too quickly I'll end up with the wrong dog again - I've done that twice in the past and it's not necessary. Sadly this is the time of year that some utter, utter !!!!!! kick their faithful, loyal companions out because they've been stupid and heartless enough to get a new puppy and one of those disposables is going to end up with me, in due course. But not just yet.
1/31 please, Shaggy.Better is good enough.0 -
Oh no, Honey Bear, so sorry to hear about your dog
It's so sad always when these things happen, and what an awful time of year for it to happen too. I once had a beloved cat die (not mine technically, but a partner's, but I adored the cat and she adored me) on New Year's Eve, so I can relate. I hope you're as all right as circumstances allow xx 0 -
I'm seriously contemplating a dry new year's eve....I want to start the year as I mean to go on....hey ho we'll see....
Did it! Toasted the NY in with decaf tea!
It's a FIRST...What do we do when we fall? We get up, dust ourselves off and start walking in the right direction again. Perhaps when we fall, it is easy to forget there are people along the way who help us stand and walk with us as we get back on track.0 -
Honey Bear so sorry to read about your dog......:(What do we do when we fall? We get up, dust ourselves off and start walking in the right direction again. Perhaps when we fall, it is easy to forget there are people along the way who help us stand and walk with us as we get back on track.0
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December 2018
:santa2:= 7 Days
= 14 Days
= 21 Days
:rudolf:= 28 Days
= 31 Days
= Target Reached
= Target Beaten
AnnieG 14/15:santa2:
Arkers 12/TF:santa2:
Barney 16/15:santa2:
BestLifeNow /5
CathyBird 24/21:santa2:
CuppaTea 17/16:santa2:
FabRab 16/20:santa2:
Glenda 25/21:santa2:
GreenKaren 28/20:santa2::rudolf:
Honey Bear 20/31:santa2:
MaggieM 14/14:santa2:
Maman 8/10:santa2:
Nicnak 28/20:santa2::rudolf:
Pricey 20 /20:santa2:
Season of Mist 18/17:santa2:
Shaggydoo 13/21:santa2:
Sukeyboo 12/10:santa2:
TammyKitty 20/20:santa2:
WannaBeeFree 6/14
Please let me know if I've made a mistake!
Everyone Welcome Anytime of the Month!What do we do when we fall? We get up, dust ourselves off and start walking in the right direction again. Perhaps when we fall, it is easy to forget there are people along the way who help us stand and walk with us as we get back on track.0 -
January 2019= 7 Days= 14 Days
= 21 Days
= 28 Days
= 31 Days
= Target Reached
= Target Beaten
AnnieG
Arkers /15
Barney /25
BestLifeNow
CathyBird 1/21
CuppaTea
FabRab /31
Glenda /25
GreenKaren /30
Honey Bear 1/31
MaggieM /15
Maman /10
Nicnak /28
Pricey /18
Season of Mist
Shaggydoo /21
Sukeyboo /15
Sunwise /21
TammyKitty /26
WannaBeeFree /14
Please let me know if I've made a mistake!
Everyone Welcome Anytime of the Month!What do we do when we fall? We get up, dust ourselves off and start walking in the right direction again. Perhaps when we fall, it is easy to forget there are people along the way who help us stand and walk with us as we get back on track.0 -
Roll Up, Roll Up!
It's the Monthlly Challenge !
Set Your TARGET
31 Days up for grabs!
Everyone Welcome!What do we do when we fall? We get up, dust ourselves off and start walking in the right direction again. Perhaps when we fall, it is easy to forget there are people along the way who help us stand and walk with us as we get back on track.0 -
Shaggydoo 1/4
Anybody else?What do we do when we fall? We get up, dust ourselves off and start walking in the right direction again. Perhaps when we fall, it is easy to forget there are people along the way who help us stand and walk with us as we get back on track.0 -
Honeybear - so sorry to hear about your dog. He always sounded like a character and dogs are such a large part of a family - thinking of you0
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So sorry to hear the sad news about your dog HB
Whenever you are ready you will make a new rescue dog very happy. We always have our cats from rescue centres - some have settled in very easily and some have a lot of problems from their previous lives - but it is so rewarding when you finally gain their trust
Congratulations on staying AF last night Shaggy, cathybird & nicnak :T0
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