Giving Up/Cutting Down Alcohol Thread Part 17

maggiem

Pleased to hear about new fur baby Arkers, hope they settle quickly.

alt80

@xxlalxx she's meant to have been selling a fair bit of stuff but hasn't. All the cards are in my name, fair few have been closed another open to meet the 0% deadline of two others. No qualms using cards where need be. My personal debt situation is better than it's been in a lot of years. Shielded her from the worst of the card debt through refinancing property she's only really knew the extent of the debt situation for about 6 months.

I've done hurtful things in the past tbh my drug use fuelled a lot of rubbish behaviour on my part. Not something I'm proud of at all lot of the coke fuelled decisions and subsequent bad comedowns haven't helped the way I've handled my family's finances over the years. Made a few rubbish business decisions too that are just unwinding so first time in a long time I'm seeing a future for me tbh.

Anyway it is what it is, I'm really trying to stay on the wagon and significantly cut the drinking back. 

@Arkers fantastic news on your new addition. 

@cathybird thanks tbh I see where Barny is coming from.

cathybird

alt80 said:

@cathybird thanks tbh I see where Barny is coming from.

Alt, I'm not saying he's wrong, it was just rather bluntly phrased given the money we've all wasted on booze! This thread has been running for 12 years or thereabouts and last year I did some sums and calculate we collectively save around £38,000 every year by cutting back. That's a lot of money and it used to go down the hatch.

alt80

@cathybird thanks not going to lie the comment jarred. Drinking can cause a lot of harm but is certainly more socially acceptable generally. I've lost quite a few decent mates and managed to ostracise myself from some other parents at my son's school over my less socially acceptable habit. Some of them fairly big drinkers lot more than I ever was but there's def less of a stigma associated with alcohol. I def used to spend a bit too much on the booze too so savings don't surprise me in the slightest.

I saw there are previous threads on the starting post haven't read but 12 years is a long time have you managed it for all that time? 

cathybird

alt80 said:

@cathybird thanks not going to lie the comment jarred. Drinking can cause a lot of harm but is certainly more socially acceptable generally. I've lost quite a few decent mates and managed to ostracise myself from some other parents at my son's school over my less socially acceptable habit. Some of them fairly big drinkers lot more than I ever was but there's def less of a stigma associated with alcohol. I def used to spend a bit too much on the booze too so savings don't surprise me in the slightest.

I saw there are previous threads on the starting post haven't read but 12 years is a long time have you managed it for all that time? 

You're right that there is much less stigma with alcohol but that's really part of the problem with alcohol - it's more socially acceptable than it should probably be. I've been around on the thread since about December 2017, I think? Maybe 2016? Most of the original posters have long since moved on though some are still around on MSE. 

alt80

@cathybird I'd agree re booze - my parents ran a pub/ restaurant/ B&B so my sister and I grew up around booze and the various characters haha.

You're doing a great job. Think a fair few of us have a lot of appreciation for what you do on here updating everyday so a big thank you from me and don't think I'm too out of whack by saying thank you on behalf of all of us who post on here.

Wanna_Bee_Free

As a lockdown distraction I went back to the start. Currently rereading May 2009. It's an odd experience rereading your own posts years later. Sometimes it's been quite fascinating and helpful to me at the moment. There were a lot of long posts back then and the thread moved a lot faster. So similar in so many ways though. 

alt80

@Wanna_Bee_Free you been on from the start? I'll take a look don't think I'll get through all but am curious wouldn't really be in the spirit to supercharge my evening and get through the alcohol free threads on an all-nighter really haha. 

Season_of_Mist

alt80 said:

@cathybird thanks not going to lie the comment jarred. Drinking can cause a lot of harm but is certainly more socially acceptable generally... Some of them fairly big drinkers lot more than I ever was but there's def less of a stigma associated with alcohol.

Long post alert. Also an apology right up front, definitely no intention to cause offence or to be taken as being a personal judgement towards any individual - it really isn't.

This is, or is supposed to be, the Cutting Down / Giving Up Alcohol thread. Alcohol, for all its ills and for all the undoubted social, personal and health problems it can cause that I'm sure we would all acknowledge, is rightly or wrongly both legal and a big part of the social fabric of this country. The other activity being talked about here - in nearly every post it seems - is illegal in itself and supports organised criminality of the most serious kind. Posters have been picked up for their comments sounding too 'harsh' or 'jarring'. Sorry but this needs to be called exactly as it is.

Class A drug use directly pays for and supports the most ruthless and destructive organised criminal networks. That little 'weekend habit' among other things funds sexual exploitation of the most vulnerable victims, fuels almost all gang-related violence, causes untold misery on a personal & family level and ultimately goes to enrich the utterly dangerous, morally destitute, cruel, abusive, narcissistic, individuals at the top of the criminal food chain. Drug-based criminality has infected almost every level of our society over the last 50 years and the corrosion and damage it has caused runs so deep it may never be cleared away. Even if you don't happen to care about the effects on society as a whole, it will almost certainly affect all of us on a personal level at some point; if your home is burgled it will be an addict looking for quick cash, if your children are robbed at knifepoint in the street for their smartphones it will be to fence them on to pay for drugs, if your car is stolen it will be used to pay off a debt incurred to dealers.

Is it really any surprise that there is "...less stigma associated with alcohol?" Really?

alt80 I wish you every success in tackling those issues, I really hope you can put it behind you for good, I can understand how discussing it is a healthy thing for you. I totally get the link between drinking and substance abuse and recognise that for many people, the two go hand in hand. I don't run MSE Forum and I don't look after this thread, my opinion counts for zip really, but the site has a clear policy on illegal content / activity and I am struggling to see how bringing up recreational Class A drug use in just about every single post is compatible with the terms of this forum or the spirit of this thread.

Yeah I definitley need to take a break for a while. I'll yellow-card myself. Good luck all.

alt80

@Season_of_Mist thank you for your post. Fwiw I've cut down my alcohol consumption and want to track it because it goes hand in hand and yes they are entwined to a certain extent for me though my main problem with substances isn't really with drinking in itself as I'm sure has been gathered. It's on my mind a lot and I'm guilty of the brain dump 100%. Tbf I did think I wouldn't be the only one on here with a substance problem, appreciate that I am and will do my best to keep it to cutting down alcohol as it's something I wish to carry on tracking - unless @cathybird or someone else thinks I should step away from the thread.

Fwiw I'm not proud of a habit that over the years has become more problematic for me and as you quite rightly point out has lead me to mix in circles that I'd rather say I've haven't. I can be guilty of trying to 'make light' of things I'm struggling with sometimes and I too apologise if anything I have written has caused offence.