The giving up/cutting down alcohol support thread!

beachbeth

polaroid wrote: »

my mind is playing nasty games with me. .."one cant hurt"..."its bank holiday sunday"....."it would be lovely to sit in the garden on this lovely evening" ..."its impossible to have more than 1 as i literally dont have anymore"....etc etc. i've just made a coffee. i ll let you know how i get on! xx:eek:

There can't be many of us on here that haven't had this same conversation with ourselves! Well done at only having a coffee!:T Hope you manage to keep this up the rest of the evening.

Different_Corner

I'm still lurking and reading so many similarities in these posts. I know I view the evenings slumped in front of the TV with a stella as wasted time. I've done OU courses in the past and been really motivated, I love making jewellery and reading but once the first drop of alcohol has done it's deed the 'I can't be bothered' mindset moves in. Or I try and justify it with a 'I've been hard at work all day - deserve some down time'.

Jo's reference to cooking elaborate meals for the family, with glass in hand, I did that - but ate with them all. I used to love cooking, but the enjoyment has gone.

What I'm trying to say is since my life changed earlier this year I know I have to make positive changes to learn to live with this new life. At the moment I have my SIL staying and over the last week we've put away what looks like the contents of a the BOGOF display at Tesco's.

I know the key to this is changing routines and habits, I'm aiming for change from September 1st.

Thanks for reading
DC

polaroid

hey Dc, its really tough changing routines and habits. i know that i couldnt have stopped six months ago. i have no idea what next year, next month, next week or even tomorrow holds. i am taking baby steps each day at a time.
i dont know if you read my post last night but i am thrilled to be sat here writing that i didnt give in to the beer in my fridge. I do however eat, 2 corn on the cob, 3 oranges, 1 crunchie bar , 1 chamolmile tea and a hot chocolate but i am staggered at how proud i feel today. i know its just one beer, but i cant beleive i didnt give in to it.
good luck xx

jo1972

Hi again DC, good luck for Monday, keep posting on here and get some support from these guys

Polaroid, amazing news, well done Now.....get rid of the beer NOW before you have to go through it all again in a few hours!

I'm having great days but am getting very grumpy about not drinking in the evenings, I'm p1ssed off at the people that can have a drink and not think about it again for weeks. I sat at the traffic lights yesterday watching loads of people sat in the beer garden in the pub at the lights (what a bluddy stoopid place to put a pub where I can see it!!) having a laugh and i just felt pure resentment, felt like I've been locked away and not allowed out, I feel boring and as though I'm majorly missing out on something :mad:

Going to try and keep busy today, got into the flylady routine and cleaning/decorating my house like mad. The bathroom has still not been done but I did do the kitchen last week. I'm going to B&Q to get paint for the lounge hopefully today and then I'm going to make a start on the bathroom and toilet. This all has to be done before I go back to work on Monday, how quick was that summer holiday!!!

How's everyone today?

Shoppy, how you doing hun?

xx

eselt

Hi All

DC well done:T :T :T now put the stuff down the sink- one beer will never be enough so why bother? Its best not to start at all...............

Jo- am very much like you on the 'everyone but me is having a good time and I'm grounded' front- all my lot went to a fancy dress hog roast yesterday, but I knew the drinking started early in the afternoon and it was going on till closing time and the thought of all those hours watching everyone else getting plastered in the the sun was just too much of a temptation I didn't dare go- felt very depressed at home that its my own fault that I have no control or brakes as far as alcohol is concerned and why couldn't I have been the type of person who can just have a few, every now and then and not let this escalate into a full blown problem which has ended up with abstinence being the only option:mad: I keep on having to remind myself of the bad old days when I was a drunk 'living on the dark side' and what hell I put myself and everyone I love through- I know it would be so easy to go back to square one and I WON'T go there!!!

Hope everyone is doing well, its a bit quiet today.

Bismarck

polaroid wrote: »

hey Dc, its really tough changing routines and habits. i know that i couldnt have stopped six months ago. i have no idea what next year, next month, next week or even tomorrow holds. i am taking baby steps each day at a time.
i dont know if you read my post last night but i am thrilled to be sat here writing that i didnt give in to the beer in my fridge. I do however eat, 2 corn on the cob, 3 oranges, 1 crunchie bar , 1 chamolmile tea and a hot chocolate but i am staggered at how proud i feel today. i know its just one beer, but i cant beleive i didnt give in to it.
good luck xx

well done - it's all about stringing the small victories together - one day at a time - nothing dramatic!

Bismarck

eselt wrote: »

Hi All

DC well done:T :T :T now put the stuff down the sink- one beer will never be enough so why bother? Its best not to start at all...............

Jo- am very much like you on the 'everyone but me is having a good time and I'm grounded' front- all my lot went to a fancy dress hog roast yesterday, but I knew the drinking started early in the afternoon and it was going on till closing time and the thought of all those hours watching everyone else getting plastered in the the sun was just too much of a temptation I didn't dare go- .

sympathies on the the feeling fed up part -both for you and Jo - BUT those kind of things were never as much fun as I thought they would be - have many memories of long drinking sessions and thinking - right in the middle -"am I actually really enjoying this?" and the answer was often that I wasn't really - I think sometimes the resentment comes from not having the choice - you know that there is only one option and that's staying away.

BUT the upsides of not going are huge so I don't really feel that I'm missing out - and when you think about how much a round of drinks costs.......

Different_Corner

Thanks for the good wishes and well done to you all. Polaroid I am impressed with your intake of fresh fruit, I do wish however that crunchies could be classed as one of your five a day
Eselt I'm giving myself this week off, as I'm off from work, have guests and the last of a crate of lager. Rest assured come Monday I will be looking forward to a an AF life. Bismarck - you do make a lot of sense. TY. Jo - totally understand the 'look how much fun they are having' feeling, I do love your honesty.


Friends came round early yesterday afternoon with wine and I threw - literally - some food together, yes I had far too much stella and the conversation was steadily going downhill, we all sound so silly trying to have deep meaningful conversations with alcohol.

Today I have to attempt a clean up of this house, should be in on the flylady thread but I'm going to start all routines from next week. I know I said I'm babystepping, and this will be a big babystep, but I'm looking forward to it.

ageing_biker

you got that bathroom painted yet jo? just started on my hall stairs and landing and its huge

polaroid

Hey all, thanks for your post. Jo , i know exactly what you mean about when you see other people just been able to enjoy a couple and then not think about it. But bismarck, you have, once again, summed it up beautifully, its about taking away that choice. I thought long and hard about this and wondered if some people are genetically ok with alcohol whilst others (like us) just cant (and shouldnt) drink.
i am off to tesco to now stock up on hand held fruit!!! oh and has anyone else noticed that supermarkets now dont just restrict alcohol to just "that aisle" any more. with all theses bloodly offers on i've noticed wine and beer as soon you walk in and then at the end of every isle! and they wonder why britian is in the middle of binge drinking epedemic! I, like the OP have taken to looking in other peoples trolleys, its very hard to spot a trolly that doesnt have booze in it!:rolleyes: