Giving up/ Cutting Down Alcohol Thread Part 16

Honey_Bear

pollyanna24 wrote: »

I won't meet my target (not that I officially set one) for half the month, but seeing as August is usually a tougher month than normal for me because my children are away for three weeks which normally set me off and then I have time off at the end of the month and if I don't have work the next day, well.... think I've done quite well in comparison to other years.

Well done, Pollyanna, for getting through a tough time in August without giving in to temptation. Only you know what normally sets you off, and target-free or not, you've done better this year than previous years and that's huge.

maggiem wrote: »

Still reading but not managing AFDs at present. Holidays and a house move have meant I have reverted to daily wine. Not good and needs to stop.

Struggling to add thank you to the end of the sentence when I change font colour but thank you.

Glad to hear you're keeping up with the thread, Maggie. (((Hugs))) and keep posting; you'll be back to normal in a trice. We all go through phases of finding it tougher sometimes. They pass.

30/31 please, Shaggy.

arsenalbarnie

13/17 3/3 snc please.

Have a lovely weekend everyone

cathybird

Morning all, 26/21 for me today thanks.

UncleFeushy

All the best. Good luck

Honey_Bear

I've posted this elsethread because someone I 'know' well on MSE has posted about her husband's drinking; a longstanding issue for them. She may or may not want me to say it, but it occurred to me that it's relevant here, as well.

I'm sorry that your OH's alcohol-related journey isn't going smoothly but from experience I knew for about five years that I had a problem before I stopped. The only practical thing I did in all that time was posting once on the Cutting Down/Giving Up Thread on MSE, and after that post I went back to trying different drinks to see if the problem was just wine, or G&T or whatever. (Hint: It never is.) I stopped drinking completely just over five years ago.

We hosted a big annual party on this Sunday for our Residents' Association and I was responsible for the food. That took a bit of time but the astonishing moment was on Sunday morning, at about 11.00 am, when OH and our neighbour were setting up the garden. For some reason I had totally forgotten that booze is part of everyday socialising for other people, and I cannot tell you how much that realisation shocked me. (My realisation, not that other people want to drink!)

After five years of not drinking I had forgotten completely that other people need booze in order to be able to think they've had a good time. It's a pervasive attitude in modern day life for a massive chunk of our adult population and your OH is faced with living without that prop that most people now think is a necessity, although, obviously everyone says they don't actually need it.

The only way I can describe what it felt like to me when I was considering stopping altogether was that it was like mountaineering. I'm terrified of heights. I even get vertigo standing on a chair, and just remembering the poster from Man on Wire. No matter how many tell me that mountaineering is fine, step ladders are safe, leaning out of a window on the first floor really isn't going to kill me - I feel really sick with fear at the thought of doing all of those things. (I used to be able to climb rigging and happily work aloft for hours at sea on square riggers, so this is all a bit strange to me, too.) There is no amount of hill walking that makes mountaineering look attractive to me, and no matter how much people like Chris Bonnington extol the virtues of climbing - it's far too terrifying for me to even be able to contemplate.

Looking ahead at life without booze feels that frightening to anyone who has a problem with booze.

I'd hazard a guess that the actual habit and the physical dependency are relatively easy for most people to deal with - it's that mindset that's stopping anyone from giving up the booze.

shaggydoo

Arsenal 3/3
Mara 5/5
Shaggy 3/3

WBF /3

shaggydoo

August 2019


= 7 Days

= 14 Days

= 21 Days


= 28 Days


= 31 Days

= Target Reached
= Target Beaten





Annie 21/18
Arkers 21/TF
ArsenalBarnie 13/17
Barney 17/24
CathyBird 26/21

DoingItAnyway 2/22
Honey Bear 30/31
LoveASale 10/TF

MaggieM /15
Maman 18/10
Marahouti 25/22
Polly 12/TF
Pricey 19/23
Rosy 23/TF
Season of Mist 28/31
Shaggydoo 8/21
Sukeyboo 14/12

ThriftyHayley 5/10

WannaBeeFree 8/16





Please let me know if I've made a mistake!

Everyone Welcome Anytime of the Month!

shaggydoo

September 2019


= 7 Days

= 14 Days

= 21 Days


= 28 Days


= 30 Days

= Target Reached
= Target Beaten





Annie

Arkers /TF

ArsenalBarnie /15

Barney /25

CathyBird /21

DoingItAnyway

Honey Bear /30

LoveASale

MaggieM /15

Maman /10

Marahouti /20

Polly

Pricey /22

Rosy /TF

Season of Mist /30

Shaggydoo /21

Sukeyboo /12

ThriftyHayley

WannaBeeFree



Please let me know if I've made a mistake!

Everyone Welcome Anytime of the Month!

shaggydoo

Set Your Target for

30 Alcohol Free Days Up For Grabs.

Everyone Welcome.

maman

Thanks for the post HB . Your reasoning is really sound and it'll be helpful to both posters and lurkers. I can really empathise with the mindset. I'm not making out that the habit is easy to change but the mindset is definitely harder IMO.

I'm pleased to say tonight is another AF Friday. The first was the worst. Each time it's easier. I'm still not promising it'll be weekly but I'm pleased I can do it when I need to. I lost another 1.5lbs this week so it's having the desired effect.

I'm calling it for August. Thanks for all your help Shaggy . :A

19/10 AFDs please .