How to stop drinking

[Unregistered]

Congratulations to all of you who have managed not to drink today. I'm still at it, I'm afraid. There was a really weird moment when my boyfriend poured me a glass of wine today over lucnh, handed it to me and said: "I've poured you a glass of wine, but I don't know if you want it". I froze, thinking that maybe he'd read my posts (almost impossible) and accepted. I have the feeling of having missed an opportunity there, and I justified it (for myself) because I'd just had a huge fight with my ex about the children, feeling he's really domineering. And then I thought, well, I should take control and so much the better if I'm lucid, energetic, and not drinking. But I didn't manage. I feel such a failure.
MM

[jenhan75]

Well, I'm on day 3, and I have some serious cravings going on. I get off of work in a 1/2 hour. I want to have a beer (or more like 7). BUT, I think I will fix dinner as soon as I walk in the door. A full stomach calms down the cravings for me. Maybe then I'll go for a walk around the neighborhood. I can do this. I am going to the beach this weekend, I just decided today. I am super excited to do some fishing, eat some seafood, and ride bikes on the boardwalk. I'm not sure how I will eliminate alcohol from fishing and dining. Well, I will just try & get through today, & worry about that later.

[carol]

Jenhan75, good for you! Cooking dinner right away and a walk after dinner sound like excellent ideas! It's great that you are thinking ahead! Enjoy the beach this weekend. I hope to hear from you later today or tomorrow that it'll be day 4 soon! I'm excited for you.

[Patrick Meninga]

Everyone do me a favor and please read this before the holiday weekend.

This forum is awesome! I have high hopes for everyone this weekend....

P.S. Hopefully most of the bugs have been worked out of the forums now. Any problems, don't hesitate to ask questions or post about it. Thanks everyone!

[Samantha]

Thanks Patrick. I love your articles as they are always timely and helpful. Monday, memorial day, will be day 30 for me. So I'm committed to making it through the holiday week end with no alcohol. I am still having cravings and I hope it stops soon! Tired of them.

[jenhan75]

Well, I just ate a very satisfying dinner, and I am glad to report that I do not have a strong urge to drink. I win! It's beautiful outside, so I think I will go out for a walk. I feel good. Thanks Patrick for the article. Vacation or Holidays are a good reason to drink (we fool ourselves into thinking), but so was last Monday, because I was out with a friend, or so was last Friday, because It was Friday, and so was Sunday, since I was at a theme park. We can fool ourselves into thinking that anytime is a good time to drink. Anytime is a good time to quit. Now is a good time to quit. I like me sober, and everyone I know likes the sober me much better than the drunk me. The drunk me is careless, reckless, self centered, and unsatisfied.

[kjbp]

Sylvane and Samantha - Girls I'm right there with 'ya as tomorrow is my 30 mark! Yeah, it's great sharing this anniversary with you!! In fact, everyone who didn't drink today has an anniversary, no? Jenhan75, I'm so happy to hear your update and your plans for the "sober you" for the weekend. We've got these days behind us -the drunk days -we'll keep encouraging and supporting each other for sober days!

[Samantha]

Kjbp and Sylvane, thanks for being here and keeping me sober. Thanks to everyone who is here. I'd never make it otherwise. I love not feeling alone in this journey. Jenhan, its so true, there is always a reason to drink , sunny out, wednesday, holiday, depressed. Whatever the reason theres always an excuse. Im scared of this week end to be honest on one level but confident I wont drink. And I'm looking forward to probably sounds boring but planting some flowers, cooking some (not a good cook really but trying) and yes kjbp working on 15 yr old kitchen grime! And Jenhan i live near the beach so i was thinking to take a walk there too and maybe read a book. Unless it gets toooo hot.

[Billy]

Carol & Kjbp - Already making my list and amazed how many I have and it keeps growing. Thanks for the ideas! I asked my Dr. about Cambal and he wants to look into it. Gave me some Librium in case of w/d's.

Kjbp & everybody else who made 30 CONGRATS!! I knew you would do it!!

Mary - I'm with Sylvane, get the bottles out of the house. You'll get their, I know you will.

Sylvane - Love the idea about spending time in nature.

Samantha - You go!!

MM - YOUR NOT A FAILURE!!

Jenhan75 -You had a great plan and it worked for you! Your right, theirs always an excuse to drink and you didn't and you beat it!

Patrick - That was great article. It fits my situation perfectly!

Sam - Thanks for your thoughts.

Quote of the day:
"Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."
– Frank Herbert

[Samantha]

Kjbp happy 30 days!

[jenhan75]

Hello everyone. Today is a great day! I had a difficult time getting and staying asleep last night. I felt hyper at 1:30 in the morning. I don't know if its because I normally drink in the evenings, and now I'm not. My mind was just racing, and I was tossing and turning, and tossing and turning. Anyway, I finally managed to get some sleep, and I am proud of myself for not drinking yesterday. Oh, by the way, it felt just great to get some exercise yesterday. After my walk, I exercised arms with weights (to music). I loved it. Day 4 today. Hope everyone has a lovely day.

[kjbp]

Welcome to the "unofficial" start of summer! Looking so forward to enjoying clarity this holiday and not coasting through it in a washed out cloud. Wishing the same for all of you!

Patrick's article was spot on!! I'll add as a reminder (it's been mentioned is some posts before) how exhausting maintaining the drinking is. Especially over a holiday. Life would revolve around it, I'd plan everything around it, make sure I wouldn't run out (where I live, you have to buy from a liquor store), cocktail hour extended all day, meals usually ended up being crappy and thrown together, ugh - I'm making myself ill.... I'm holding on to the feeling of freedom from alcohol (day 30) and the exhaustion of maintaining a drinking lifestyle.

Billy - my heart is so happy you are making your "Good Times" list and have visited with your doctor. I'd suggest also, that when choosing from your list, you pick a couple of things to do first that are purely enjoyment, but you also select something that is somewhat of a "need to/should" do; something small. I've found that by creating a balance between the two sides, I feed the "pleasure/fun" part of my soul, as well as the "conquering/accomplishment" side of my soul. I'm allowing myself to doing something fun, but also pushing myself to do something I don't necessarily want to do. Those two dynamics both need to be fed and then they help feed each other and this dynamic makes me stronger in my alcohol recovery. I don't know if this makes sense, but...

JenHan, Sally, Sam, Samantha, Carol, Mary, MM, ThatGuy, Sylvane, Unregistered (all), you are in my thoughts today, tomorrow and through the weekend.

Angela, I've missed hearing from you and the poo stories.

Theodora, it's been a couple of weeks and I wanted to say hi to you as well. Hope everyone is good!

Thanks to all for the congratulations and encouragement. It means so much.

[Unregistered]

Thank you all so much for sharing your success and your failures. I never thought it would mean that much to me! I've read your article Patrick, it's spot on. I'm supposed to meet some friends this evening, to "have a drink" and I'm determined to have water, or juice, or whatever, BUT NO ALCOHOL. Will let you know how it went. It's easier this way, trying not to drink on occasions instead of trying to stop FOREVER (although I'd love to be able to). One step at a time... There are so many things I love about life, so many things I love to do. I admit I've stopped doing lots of them because half the time I'm not sober enough... I love to write, draw, play with my children, read, cook, go for walks, etc, etc. What am I doing, drinking all of that away????????? I need change and I need it NOW! Good luck to all of you, luck, wisdom and love!!!
MM

[kjbp]

Oooo - an idea just popped in....!

What is everyone's favorite non-alcoholic beverage/special drink? I just added a new thread for this one, for easy access when we want to search...

I bet there are a lot of refreshing ideas out there and that we'll discover some new drinks to try rather than be tempted by our old has-been friend. I'm really loving the lemon/lime sparkling water, with lime wedge, and sliced ginger. The lime wedge and ginger really bring out the bubbles

[kjbp]

Thanks Sylvane! I'm going to copy these into the new thread I just started on this subject. I hope it will be a good resources as ideas for people this weekend (or any other time there is a craving)...

n/a drinks- spicy V8 cocktail with hotsauce and horse-radish
mineral water with crystal light lemonade
diet coke- always a fav!
arnold palmer
sleepy time tea
cold milk- I hear ya laughing-haha
can't wait to hear of others!

[Patrick Meninga]

Absolute favorite drink = go to McDonald's and get a Large Caramel Frappe. Nothing but sugar, fat, and caffeine. LOVE IT.

Second favorite: run 6 miles or more and then pound ice water. YUM.

Also love lemonade, root beer floats, hand made cherry shakes, specialty coffee drinks, etc.

Oh, and my parents make delicious, alcohol-free spritzers: Take diet 7 up or diet sprite, and then put it on ice and mix in Cranberry-Raspberry Juice. Awesome stuff!

[Sally]

kjbp and sylvane - CONGRATS on 30 days - you are my hero's!!!

[Samantha]

Hi Jenhan, that was my problem the first week or so. I couldnt fall asleep and was up half the nite. So i took and for now still do over the counter natural meds like melatonin, gaba and tryptophan. Its natural and calms my brain so i can rest.

[kjbp]

Thanks Sally!

Jenhan - Ditto for me on the sleep deprivatoin. I will wake up at 2 or 3am like clockwork and just stare at the ceiling. Like Samantha I take melatonin, tryptophan and gaba - all of them. If I lay awake, I start to worry about being so tired that I will make poor decisions the next day - which I'm sure my worrying doesn't help the sleep issue Sleepytime tea is also good. Best of luck!

Sam a caramel frappe sounds like a perfect treat!

[Unregistered]

licorice tea, hot or cold. it's sweet so it helps with my cravings. but, i've been giving in after 4 days free from wine...
when do the cravings, just have one thoughts start to subside?
good wishes to all. lily

Oooo - an idea just popped in....!

What is everyone's favorite non-alcoholic beverage/special drink? I just added a new thread for this one, for easy access when we want to search...

I bet there are a lot of refreshing ideas out there and that we'll discover some new drinks to try rather than be tempted by our old has-been friend. I'm really loving the lemon/lime sparkling water, with lime wedge, and sliced ginger. The lime wedge and ginger really bring out the bubbles