Anyone stopped drinking for 6 months/a year

[Richey Edwards]

35 minutes ago, Academically Deficient said:

Happy Birthday

Thanks!

It's great to go to gigs, have birthdays, go to the football and actually be able to remember them clearly. Previously I'd have been smashed at all of these kind of events.

I have learned to drive, completed a uni course and done a lot of positive things since stopping drinking. Having the extra money from not pissing it down the drain helps!

[dysartrovers]

Well I'm gonna have a go at this. Always been a heavy drinker but lock down and then a split has made me worse. Finally sought advice and spoken to someone so the long road starts here

[the tungston weasel]

Well I'm gonna have a go at this. Always been a heavy drinker but lock down and then a split has made me worse. Finally sought advice and spoken to someone so the long road starts here

Good luck. I've also been pretty bad since lockdown. Managed to put on about 2 stone on weight and my fitness has deteriorated. I'm going to try to be completely dry for November. Hopefully thats a kick start to living properly again.

[Central Belt Caley]

Decided to only drink when the occasion merits it nowadays, during lockdown I was drinking every Friday/Saturday just for something to do. Last drink was 12th September and I would’ve had a drink for mates birthdays if pubs etc had been open but not overly keen on drinking in the house.

Will have a drink at Christmas and new year etc but when you only get 2 days off a week I don’t want to waste it feeling like shite.

My weight and fitness has seen a huge benefit as I’m down about 3 stone this year

[D.A.F.C]

Not had a single drop since first month of lockdown. Not been drunk this year.

Dont miss it.

[throbber]

Just did 6 weeks off it there, not my own choice really but I can’t say I missed it that much. I was bad for just swapping one vice for another though and was indulging in sugary delights instead.

Going into a spell or not drinking with the mindset of it being a long road is already setting yourself up for failure btw - you need to change your mindset from the off.

[Raidernation]

Will be 10 months sober on the 13th

[Shandon Par]

26+ months dry. All this hand sanitiser kicking about can smell a bit too  good at times and I catch myself inhaling deeply with some of the most potent products.  

[Blootoon87]

100 days without a fag for me. I'd still love one.

[ICTChris]

3 minutes ago, Blootoon87 said:

100 days without a fag for me. I'd still love one.

My dad had a mate who quit smoking and then had a heart attack a few weeks later.  He had it in the street and survived after being taken to hospital.  He told my dad that when he had it, one of the first thoughts that went through his mind was something along the lines of "OK, I'm going to die, if I can get to the corner shop down there I can buy some fags and smoke them because I'm going to die anyway so I may as well have a last fag".

[Melanius Mullarkey]

6 minutes ago, Blootoon87 said:

100 days without a fag for me. I'd still love one.

Never leaves you tbf.

I used to enjoy the tabs about 25 year ago.  Could still murder one now and again, especially with a pint. 

[Sergeant Wilson]

25 minutes ago, Melanius Mullarkey said:

Never leaves you tbf.

I used to enjoy the tabs about 25 year ago.  Could still murder one now and again, especially with a pint. 

 

[velo army]

Thanks for this thread a'body. I've been finding it inspirational and validating to read some of the stories. 

I'm aiming for 3 months at the moment and have just completed a 4 week stretch booze free. I've long treated booze as an anaesthetic to stop me feeling things I don't want to be feeling at the moment. I love wine and beer, but I recognised increasingly that I was drinking to escape or to just feel better (and feeling drunk is ace too!!) and that the feelings I was escaping would come back tenfold in the morning (which I would then find another way of avoiding, via coffee and food "treats").  Being in my late 30's hangovers would feel horrible, and I recognised that I was giving myself an illness, voluntarily, once a week for a couple of days (I don't generally drink just the one glass of wine; it's the whole bottle).

It's important to me especially now to not have it as a handy go to as I'm in the middle of a feminine fast (not being in contact with women) which is necessary (don't want to turn this post into an essay about my own personal journey, feel free to PM me though) and tough, and I need to let what comes up come up without having something to numb the feelings/escape.

But f**k me this 4 weeks has felt like 4 months. I'm a hospitality worker who was used to hitting the pub after work three or four times a week. I feel emboldened hearing about all of youse able to give it up for many months.

[Clockwork]

Had six months off earlier this year as a health kick attempt, then started to get back into a routine of going to the pub for a few when there was a game on or having a couple in the garden if the weather was decent. That’s stopped again obviously so back on the wagon. The long winter nights don’t mix well with drinking every night for me. 2 or 3 always ends up as 5 or 6. Definitely feel in better shape without a regular drink, but it always feels as though something is missing. I guess that’s quite telling in itself, a long term habit, that’s become difficult to break.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

1 hour ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

 

I would if i could get near the cooker.

[davidy233]

Gave up smoking a year and a half ago and haven't had any alcohol since start of June. I'd never smoked or drank in the house really so the pub used to be where I headed when I fancied a fag in the evenings or at weekends and I carried on visiting the pub three or four nights a week after giving up the fags, loved a wander up the road for pint after getting home from work.

Lockdown of course stopped that and while I had a few drinks in the house early on I soon realised that it wasn't the drink I missed it was chatting to the regulars in my local, and it was a habit rather than a need for a drink.

By the time the pubs reopened I'd lost the desire to go for a pint, I played a lot of golf in the summer and would often walk past people sitting having a few beers outside the clubhouses - don't think I was ever tempted to have a beer myself.

While I wouldn't say I've stopped drinking I'm certainly in a place where I can't see me ever being a regular in a pub again and that was where I did all my drinking.

[Shandon Par]

2 hours ago, Melanius Mullarkey said:

Never leaves you tbf.

I used to enjoy the tabs about 25 year ago.  Could still murder one now and again, especially with a pint. 

I’m not on commission but Allan Carr’s Easyway to stop smoking is some witchcraft shit that seems to erase ciggy craving from your brain.

[Shandon Par]

1 hour ago, Clockwork said:

Had six months off earlier this year as a health kick attempt, then started to get back into a routine of going to the pub for a few when there was a game on or having a couple in the garden if the weather was decent. That’s stopped again obviously so back on the wagon. The long winter nights don’t mix well with drinking every night for me. 2 or 3 always ends up as 5 or 6. Definitely feel in better shape without a regular drink, but it always feels as though something is missing. I guess that’s quite telling in itself, a long term habit, that’s become difficult to break.

It’s a tough cycle to get out of but it can be done. 

[Clockwork]

It’s a tough cycle to get out of but it can be done. 

Often feel that if I could rely on light moderation just now and again, say a couple of pints after a round of golf, that would be fine. I soon get back into the habit of heading for a drink after work or planning weekend Sport around the pub though. Recent restrictions and working from home have largely put paid to that however. Perhaps now is a good time as any to break the cycle for good. I know it’s the right and healthy thing to do, it just strangely feels as though I’m losing something?The thought of not going for a beer before/after the game or not drinking when meeting up with friends just feels pretty flat. It’s crazy really, that the enjoyment of an ‘event’ (even in the future) could somehow be measured by the amount of alcohol consumed.
It’s where I find myself unfortunately. I’m not talking about being steaming on a regular basis, but drinking far more frequently than is good for anyone.

[Robin.Hood]

9 months or so for me. Straightforward tbh