Anyone stopped drinking for 6 months/a year

[Ylf]

I only really have a pint on a Saturday afternoon but I’ve recently been getting the dreaded 2 day hangovers and feel absolute shite. Been thinking of stopping for at least 6 months to see if I can do it and how better I’ll feel. Would be able to save s few quid as well. Used to work on the rigs on a 3 on 3 off rota and when I was away I didn’t bother about drink probably because it’s not there to bother you but the time home pub every night[emoji849]. Must be a few people on here who have stopped drinking for a while??

[Richey Edwards]

I haven't drank alcohol since February 2017.

[Ylf]

I haven't drank alcohol since February 2017.

Feel lot better??

[Richey Edwards]

Just now, Ylf said:

Feel lot better??

Yeah. Less hassle, no hangovers, no blackouts, I've lost weight...

Only thing about it that is a pain in the arse is the people who get all offended if you aren't drinking.

[Ylf]

Yeah. Less hassle, no hangovers, no blackouts, I've lost weight...
Only thing about it that is a pain in the arse is the people who get all offended if you aren't drinking.

You still go to the pub and have soft drink? I’d rather just stay away from pub be too tempting. People still say go on have a drink?

[SilverWolfe]

I now only drink about a half dozen times a year, usually just special occasions like birthdays or weddings. Was finding the hangovers and resulting impact on my mental health too much so just made the decision to stop drinking regularly. Best decision I've made in my life.

Some of mates who are in their mid 30s still drink every weekend and still go to nightclubs. Honestly don't know how they function.

[Priti priti priti Patel]

I didn't drink from November 2015 through to August 2017 so that's 21 months. I was quite pleased with my discipline. Never a big drinker before so I didn't notice a change in health, but it was nice not to deal with the regrets and fear from drunken behaviour. Then August 2017 I went to a game with my mate and had a pint. As soon as that 21 month stretch was gone, I lost all incentive to stay off it. I would have to go another 21 months before I could feel pleased with my effort. I now drink at least once a month, probably more, and I would prefer if I didn't tbh. So my advice is: once you're off it, stay off it.

[Richey Edwards]

Just now, Ylf said:

You still go to the pub and have soft drink? I’d rather just stay away from pub be too tempting. People still say go on have a drink?

I don't really go to pubs unless it's a special occasion like a friends birthday or something. Even then, I call it a night at soon as I sense the "Twilight Zone" descend and everyone starts talking drunken nonsense.

If you remove alcohol from the occasion, pubs are very boring places and are often full of people who have nothing better to do with their time than sit in pubs all day.

Most of my friends know and accept that I don't drink - it's mainly acquaintances and (surprisingly) some family members who can't seem to grasp that it's possible for someone to not like drinking alcohol.

[Homer Thompson]

I'll be lucky to go out two or three times a year and I still drink when Im out but I stopped drinking at home a few years ago.

Like others, just got tired of the hangovers and generally feeling shit all weekend. Feel a lot better and, honestly, dont miss it

[Priti priti priti Patel]

26 minutes ago, Edmond Dantès said:

I don't really go to pubs unless it's a special occasion like a friends birthday or something. Even then, I call it a night at soon as I sense the "Twilight Zone" descend and everyone starts talking drunken nonsense.

If you remove alcohol from the occasion, pubs are very boring places and are often full of people who have nothing better to do with their time than sit in pubs all day.

Most of my friends know and accept that I don't drink - it's mainly acquaintances and (surprisingly) some family members who can't seem to grasp that it's possible for someone to not like drinking alcohol.

That's a good point. I would widen it to alcohol too. I find the idea of it very boring. Admittedly I dance a bit more freely after a couple of pints, but that's just the drunk me. It's not like when I am sober I can take credit for being such a legend, if I need to impair half my senses to act like that. And the majority of the time I'm  either just as boring as when sober but with worse breath, or I'm being a dick. Seeing it all through only half consciousness and forgetting most of it.

I have come to accept that most people find the mere mention of alohol hilarious and unquestionably a fun past time. I just don't see it myself. If I am honest I mostly drink to relieve the tension of being the only one not drinking or because I've momentarily swallowed the Kool aid and believe it will somehow enhance my experience.

Weed on the other hand... haven't smoked since uni but that genuinely did enhance most experiences and most of the time I was more confident and happy.

Edited September 26, 2018 by Margaret Thatcher

[sjc]

I stopped drinking for about a year when I lived in London back in the late 90's after I woke up in Trafalgar Square one Saturday morning after a very heavy night. Gave me a fright that did!

The hardest part is dealing with folk that won't accept that you're not drinking. You do feel much better for it. 

 

[Alert Mongoose]

52 minutes ago, Edmond Dantès said:

Yeah. Less hassle, no hangovers, no blackouts, I've lost weight...

Only thing about it that is a pain in the arse is the people who get all offended if you aren't drinking.

Take a drink will you. 

[Shandon Par]

Stopped once for a few years then started again, caused lots of bother, stopped six months, started again, stopped for another six months then got back on it harder than ever. 

Quit for good now hopefully. Going to AA, trying to be a better person all round. The problem before was that though I'd quit booze I never addressed any of my problems so the stress of not drinking simply added to them. I like doing a couple of sports too and it's so much easier when not shaking off a load of booze. 

[LondonHMFC]

44 minutes ago, Edmond Dantès said:

I don't really go to pubs unless it's a special occasion like a friends birthday or something. Even then, I call it a night at soon as I sense the "Twilight Zone" descend and everyone starts talking drunken nonsense.

I stopped drinking for a few months last year, not for any real reason, just wanted to cut back. Anyway, on the occasions I did go out with pals for football or whatever, I sometimes still felt drunk in their presence. Not sure how to explain it properly, but it was like the atmosphere made me feel intoxicated. 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

3 minutes ago, Alert Mongoose said:

Take a drink will you. 

Thanks, make mine a Brambletini.

[Shandon Par]

15 minutes ago, Melanius Mullarkey said:

Thanks, make mine a Brambletini.

Was at an Aberdonian friend's house last night watching the football and he tried to give me a bottle of Snowball, thinking it was non-alcoholic.  

[Ylf]

Stopped once for a few years then started again, caused lots of bother, stopped six months, started again, stopped for another six months then got back on it harder than ever. 
Quit for good now hopefully. Going to AA, trying to be a better person all round. The problem before was that though I'd quit booze I never addressed any of my problems so the stress of not drinking simply added to them. I like doing a couple of sports too and it's so much easier when not shaking off a load of booze. 

After being dry for 6 months what made you go back drinking? Bored?

[captainkev]

I've been off alcohol since January 2017. Up to that point I'd been a pretty heavy drinker since I'd turned 18 in 2009, casually drinking  throughout the week and typically at least one messy night out as well. The longest I'd stayed off alcohol prior to this spell was 2 months. With this dry stretch I'd just tried to match and perhaps go an extra month past my previous sober period, but I found it a lot easier than expected to carry on as time has passed.

I'd love to say I can feel a huge difference health-wise in my day to day life, but it's nothing that drastic. It's not writing off least one day a week to a hangover which is really fantastic, and I still don't think I'll  fully appreciate how beneficial that has been until I start drinking again. I'll bet it sounds obvious but I've also found over the past year and more that I've constantly had extra money in my pocket at the end of the week/month that was previously wasted on booze.

I've also found myself more motivated and focused to do things since I laid off on alcohol. Last year without the distraction from drinking, I got my head down and worked to save money to go travelling around Europe during the summer. It had been an ambition for me for years but previously I'd been easily distracted with going out with friends and frittering away money while doing so for me to really start to plan or for it ever to be realistic financially. Carrying onto this year, I found myself driven to push myself back into further study at university after humming and hurring about it for a couple of years now and I worked throughout the year to be able to afford it.

It's not been all great admittedly. I'm not the most socially outgoing sort of person in general, quite introverted to be perfectly honest. I didn't realise how much I relied on alcohol for helping me open up or  to put me at ease in social situations, particularly in unfamiliar places and meeting new people. That probably has been where the biggest temptation to start drinking again has arisen,  if you're a lot more easy going and comfortable in these kind of scenarios then it's much less of an issue.  Going out to the pub with friends while they were drinking was also a pain at first but you adjust eventually.

For me it's been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I'd say it'd be worthwhile for you to try if you are considering it, not just for the obvious health benefit, but as you said to set yourself a long term challenge and to prove you can do it.

Edited September 26, 2018 by captainkev

[Girth]

I only really have a pint on a Saturday afternoon but I’ve recently been getting the dreaded 2 day hangovers and feel absolute shite. Been thinking of stopping for at least 6 months to see if I can do it and how better I’ll feel. Would be able to save s few quid as well. Used to work on the rigs on a 3 on 3 off rota and when I was away I didn’t bother about drink probably because it’s not there to bother you but the time home pub every night[emoji849]. Must be a few people on here who have stopped drinking for a while??

Fair play mate. Sounds like the right thing to do for you.

Since being unemployed I’ve cut down on alcohol and feel a lot better.

However, it definitely helps my confidence when talking to the laydeez and being a suave motherfucker.

[throbber]

I’ve been overdoing it since my 18 th birthday in September 2004 and not showing any signs of slowing down.