The giving up/cutting down alcohol support thread!

jo1972

Hiya BeachBeth, welcome to the thread. I'm still to read the book, give us some quotes! I shall catch up properly tomorrow

BHB, what did you do for your birthday then? x

SamanthaA

Sorry I am late, what I miss?
Happy Birthday for yesterday BHB, did Kylie bring the biscuits?

Went out last night & drove.
Took DS & friend to dinner, well we split it. I drove so`s not to drink, but to be honest I didn`t want a drink anyway.
Lemonade is far nicer!

In the words of BHB
I chose not to drink....but I did choose to eat a vary large pudding!! :rotfl:

day 22/31 ( 12 days straight - I really must check that statement)
stella day 26

Hope everyones doing ok today?

barshamhillbilly

Yawn,
What a night .... Kylie has only just left :D

Apparently Mrs BHB didn't come home from Johnny Depp's last night so will have to see what time she gets in :rotfl::rotfl:.

We had a quiet day really, didn't do anything much. The kids went in the pool and DD (8) made me a birthday cake all by herself. It was much better than Mrs BHB's baking..... (ouch - she just read that !)

Funds are a bit limited so opted for a quiet day.

How's everyone else ?

Have a great day

BHB

beachbeth

jo1972 wrote: »

Hiya BeachBeth, welcome to the thread. I'm still to read the book, give us some quotes! I shall catch up properly tomorrow

Its difficult to pick individual quotes because you need to read the whole book, but here you are:

"1. The average life span of a heavy drinker is twenty years less than that of a non-drinker"
2. The average drinker spends £100,000 in their life on alcohol.
3. Alcohol is a major cause of impotence."

"Alcohol is a powerful poison and will shorten your life considerably. It is also highly addictive, will debilitate your immune system and impede your concentration. It will systematically destroy your nervous system, your confidence, your courage and your ability to relax."

"If you bought a bottle of champagne and discovered it was water you probably wouldn't drink it. If you discovered that the water was poisoned, no way would you drink it. Yet we'll pay £50/£70 for a bottle that we know contains poison (alcohol) and drink it and describe ourselves as intelligent, civilized people."

Don't worry! The book isn't full of scary facts that will make you feel like reaching for a drink just to calm your nerves! It explains how we are conditioned from birth to accept alcohol as normal and are duped into believing that we receive real benefits from it. It offers a "startling new view of why we drink and how we can escape from the alcohol trap."

Allen Carr seems to address every question I had in my head as I read the book! As I started the book I wanted a glass of wine (it was the evening and I was ready for a drink) and he states that you must carry on drinking as you normally do until you've finished the book otherwise you will feel deprived. However, only read the book when you are sober. This stopped me feeling guilty that I was drinking and yet reading a book about not drinking!

jo1972

Afternoon all

Glad you had a good birthday day BHB

Thanks for the quotes beachbeth, it all makes sense to me, that's what I like about AC, he just states common sense that we all see to look past. Good luck with quitting at the end of the book.

Well I've just come back from my assessment at the drug and alcohol centre, the nurse that saw me was really lovely, he's been working in the field for some time I even remember seeing him when I used to go there a couple of years ago. He took down all my history and asked me the reasons I drink, which I couldn't answer cos I think I'm in denial. He said that I drink too much at the moment for continuous counselling but he could offer a community detox or an institution detox. We discussed the options and he said that he didn't think me being put into a detox centre for 2 weeks will solve it, I've tried it before and trying the sudden abstinence option quite a few times and it's never worked. So he thinks the community detox is the option for me, he said that he will see me for an hour for the next 6 weeks on the condition that I will reduce my drinking by one can of stella a week. I can't have continuous counselling until I drink 70 units or less a week (I currently drink 115.5 ). He said if I can reduce to 1 can a night by the end of the 6 weeks then he'll refer me for continuous counselling until I feel I don't need it anymore.

He also offered me acupuncture which he personally does, so I might try that too.

He went out of his way to help me, I told him I work 8.30am - 4pm every day so he said he'll see me at 4.15pm every Thursday for the next 6 weeks, luckily it's only half a mile away from where I work.

So I hope I can still post on this thread as I will be cutting down now, I've 'got' to drink 4 cans a night for the next week, no more no less, reduction therapy will help me with withdrawals and stop the panic of suddenly stopping then wondering later on down the line what I'm missing.

Dunno if it will work, but nothing else has to date so I'll willing to give it a go! I feel very positive about this, plus having a really nice counsellor makes a huge difference. He told me to ring him if I ever needed him and to treat him like a mirror (when he said this he smoothed his hair down as if he was a looker :rotfl:) and said that pretend that when I'm talking to him think I'm talking to myself in the mirror. Nothing will ever leave the room and he will never judge. He said it's all about what's in my head, not what people tell me or what other people think.

Positive thoughts here

How's everyone else?

xx

beachbeth

jo1972, the nurse you spoke to sounds really nice. You need to feel as though you aren't being judged. Allen Carr comes across like this in his book too. Im sure reading it would help you cut down your intake.

Allen Carr doesn't blame you, as the reader, for wanting a drink, as we are conditioned to see alcohol as a normal and lovely pastime from a young age. He challenges all the myths surrounding alcohol such as alcohol making you happy. You only have to look at the drunken yobs on the tv news fighting with each other or think about relatives you know or have known who become boorish or annoying when they're drunk to realise it doesn't make you happy. If it made you happy then everyone would leave the pub or clubs on a Friday night laughing and kissing everyone and getting on really well!

jo1972

I have to sit and write a list of things I 'get out of drinking'. He said there must be some things if I go so much out of my way to drink, ie hiding it, lying about how much I've had, organising my day around buying it, drinking it without anyone even knowing I've touched a drop. I said I thought I was lazy, just easier to do it rather than try and stop but he said it's quite the opposite, just think of all the effort I go to to drink! He said you're a mother of 3, work fulltime, run a house, cook, clean, a wife etc. etc. then try and find time to drink!

elantan

ok being a good dfw that i am ...can i ask does anyone care to sell me their copy of the book (if they are finished with it ofcourse) am willing to pay postage etc ...cheers

winebox

shopaholictiedtheknot wrote: »

Hi everyone, well, I am finally back on the thread, as some of you will know I suffered a miscarriage mid-April which was very traumatic as you can imagine, anyway, it has only just come to an end and I have to admit to having completely gone OTT with the alcohol whilst it has been happening:o

Sorry this is late reply am going thro catching up after a few days away - dunno if this was your first pregnancy but have been there twice myself (after having DD) & one of them "went on" like it sounds this did, & I "dealt" with it in same way; sorry I know it's horrid. Erm I should maybe (TMI?) have PMd you with this, do back if you want it's a bit much for the chaps, wot?:rolleyes:

winebox

Bismarck wrote: »

I'm getting the hang of this "body is a temple" lark...more like a disused barn at the moment ....;)

mine's a temple in the Indiana Jones sense (1st film, I think):rolleyes: