The giving up/cutting down alcohol support thread!

Bismarck

elantan wrote: »

it took me a few good listens to get into it to be honest ...and i still aint that into it ...i like levelling the land and a weapon called the word i dont think those two can be beat for albums ...have you ever seen them live?

not seen them live...I'd like to and I can't say they're a lazy non-touring band...seen the Pogues though in their "glory" days with Kirsty McColl...sigh

Bismarck

jo1972 wrote: »

Bismarck, I just watched that Levellers song on youtube and it gave me the shivers at the end. It's funny though, I don't know whether the lyrics are actually about someone or just made up, but reading about someone's life like that and kinda peering in from the outside makes you feel so sad for that person, why the he!! doesn't he stop drinking and get his life back together .......seems so simple huh?

yup!

Well, feeling extremely proud of myself this morning, I had just the 2 last night, in fact I spread the 2nd one out for so long that I didn't even really want it cos it had gone warm! I spent a lot of time in front of the telly with the family which is where I should be (well not necessarily in front of the telly!), only downfall to this whole thing is going to be that they will no longer be getting some amazing elaborate meals in the evening whilst I'm holed away in the kitchen beavering away.

used to be the worst place for me! I was Keith Floyd....and I'm luck I'm not covered in burns!

Can't spend time in there anymore cos I need to change my routine, so luckily I had saved left over curry that I'd made the day before and it was a warm up job last night. Tonight is fresh tuna and salad so that won't take long, gotta prepare myself for the evenings now! Least I'll be able to watch BB sober

I had to do "something else" when I stopped so I read loads to my children, watched DVDs with my wife, started playing the guitar again and resolved to learn to sing at the same time...I used to think that I had to be a bit p****d to play...now I shudder to think about how unreasonable I was sometimes.....

I also studied for some qualifications as a way of making a move forward with our future....it helped to have something like that to focus on.

thinking about the bit coming up when you've no meetings....you will post here won't you?

Bismarck

is there anybody out there?

nod if you can hear me?

is there anyone home?

(Pink Floyd, The Wall)

jo1972

I'm here! Posted a couple of messages that have not worked :mad:

I didn't even lose them, they were there, and now they've disappeared, this has happened to me a few times tonight on different threads there was nothing offensive in them! So I dunno.....

Bismarck

beginning to think I'd have to have coffee by myself.....another "upside" of not drinking is the 2 or so extra hours at the start of every day!...all I need to do now is use them properly! :rolleyes:

craigp_2

2 weeks today for me :beer:

real test starts now as I am off work for four days.

elantan

Bismarck wrote: »

I think the one you're talking about is "Just the one"....I'd almost forgotten Hope St!

I playing Levelling the Land on guitar yesterday (One Way sounds good but I need to work on the singing!) and I think Zeitgeist is my my favourite...

ahhh zeitgeist what a classic album and it is just the one thanks for reminding me

elantan

Bismarck wrote: »

not seen them live...I'd like to and I can't say they're a lazy non-touring band...seen the Pogues though in their "glory" days with Kirsty McColl...sigh

i usually see them in december time every year (for some reason they come to glasgow then) live they are a very tight band i have only had one occasion where they didnt have theyre shoite together ...but they all went off stage did what they had to do (i'm sure you can imagine) then came back on and played the rest of the gig as professionally as i have ever seen them ...big respect to them they noticed they wernt right and got their shoite together amazing muscians and the price they charge for a ticket is so cheap try and make a point of going to see them if you can

eselt

Hi everyone- thank you so much for the welcome. Well done Jo for getting down to a couple of cans a night- I think your strategy is good-reducing over time then going cold turkey because the withdrawal and cravings are not so severe this way. I'm like you, I'm not sure if the CAMPRAL worked or not, for me I think it was psychsomatic, I convinced myself that the stuff had stopped physical cravings hence any relapse could only be due to my lack of willpower. Antabuse is a different story, you are really scared to drink at all (you get a card to put in your purse in case of medical emergency which even says you shouldn't use aftershave, perfume, mouthwash etc) and you have to stop taking it for a week before you can have a drink without being REALLY ill- by the time that week has passed so has the craving hopefully.

I had a chuckle at your kitchen story- my lot used to think I was beavering away too, but I stashed my vodka in the dishwasher so was always nipping in for a slug.

I can't stress enough how getting sober helped me sort my money worries out. In the end I had to go bankrupt but I was thinking clearly and realised I really had no choice. I have found eating properly (which I always found I could start to do about 3 days after giving up), vitamin B and a good multivitamin (the sort with all the trace minerals in etc) has really helped. SItting at home sobbing into a drink staring at a pile of letters had made me very unfit and I found walking helped take the edge of the 'jangles' of withdrawal and filled in time- I borrowed a freinds dog so people wouln't think I was just tramping the streets for no reason!. I'm afraid I stopped attending the group meeting stuff as my confidence was zero and I found myself needing a drink to get through the door to face people in this environment-I'm sure everyone would have been really supportive and positive, but it just wasn't me. What I do know now is that I can never be a social drinker- I have a few, get the taste for it and keep going until I'm back to square one.

I've been sober for 8 months now, slowly getting my life back, trying to make it up to all the people I let down esp.family and my kids. I know its going to take a long long time though- after all it took me 20 years of drinking to get into this state so I can't expect things to change overnight.

I'm afraid I have had to give up on my lifelong love of the Pogues and their live gigs- I look at Shane McGowan, get caught up in it all, think 'if he is still alive and having a good time then surely I can start drinking again?' and within three days find myself back to square one!

jo1972

Craig, fantastic news - well done :T :T Keep posting on here for the next 4 days if you feel a wobble coming on

eselt, you have done so well, I bet your family and friends are so proud of you How have you managed to tackle xmas and new year as you were in the very early days then?

Bismarck, the day is so long when your sober isn't it!

Feel a bit down today, had a conversation with OH last night which upset me. We are meant to be going to a wedding reception next Saturday for one of his mates, I don't know anyone at all apart from OH and really am not looking forward to it. It's absolutely miles away in the country and I have said that I won't drive there as I've no idea where I'm going and refuse to drive back in the dark from the middle of nowhere. He said we should stay the night then (it's in a hotel place) but I 1) don't want to pay the money out for the room and 2) don't want to leave my eldest in charge of the other two all night long and be so far away incase something happens. So we were debating how to get there and I said I will only be able to have 1 drink by then anyway cos I'll be down to my 1 can a day by next Sat (:eek:) and then be abstinent by the following Thursday. He said 'well we know that's not gonna happen don't we'. I asked why and he said 'well you've never managed it before so it's not gonna work'. I just got up and walked out saying thanks for your support. He apologised for being insensitive half hour later when I came back into the room (he didn't come find me to apologise), but I really don't think he knows why he's apologising, I think he honestly believes that I'm gonna fail. He really knocked my confidence. I know what the counsellor would say to me right now about I'm not doing it for him but me and if I carry on drinking I'll stay in this frame of mind forever etc etc, it was just not very nice to hear. When I told him I was going to the counsellor again he said I didn't need a stranger to help me, he's all the support I needed. Some support huh?

xx