Giving up alcohol for good- anyone on ATS managed it ?

I drink very rarely, I don't drink at home, but I do have a couple (and I mean two or three) when I go out, which isn't often. The main thing that limits me is money. I only take £20 at best out with me. When I take more and I end up spending it all on alcohol, it makes me feel like an idiot, when I think what I could have bought instead. £20 is like a weeks shopping. £30 is like the equivalent of a video game. Anything more than that is a massive waste, I feel.

reply to post by RealSpoke


Sadly the issue is that it takes me longer to recover from a heavy night and i spend ridiculous amounts when I am out. I would like the self control to go out and not drink but I dont have it.

This is a terrible idea. I urge you to reconsider. Alco hol may brign sofne....

Sorry, let me restart.

Almdgdhj..


aginsf


again.


Alcohol may bring some bad happenings about, but all the good ones make up for the bad. So I say, keep drinking.





But not driving.


And sometimes drunken posts get you in trouble too.



Seriously.

reply to post by ShadowAngel85


Daily drinkers are most probably dependent so that is why they do it.

Go Enjoy your life no one is telling you to do anything.

reply to post by boncho


Haha this is true. Once the days worth of fog has cleared I only remember the good about it .

Originally posted by ShadowAngel85
I don't even understand how one can drink daily. Tried it once to drink the next day after drinking the evening before and got a very sick feeling.
I won't stop drinking, why should i? I want to live and enjoy every second of it. If i stop doing anything that is considered "unhealthy", i would always have the feeling that miss out on a lot. I tried it once to go a month without drinking, it gave me nothing, did nothing and it wasn't that i felt 'ultra fit and healthy'.

when you become a pro (not recommended) You drink the next day to make the sick feeling go away.
This makes you drink daily and which ever day you finally do not drink you get EXTRA sick.

also as your tolerance goes up, you don't get hangovers that bad anymore.

From my experience at the hospital, drinkers who drink often have the hardest time with withdrawals. Usually Ativan or Valium is given to prevent seizures and other body discomforts, shaking, sweating etc... Blood pressures rise, heart rates become irregular and people may hallucinate. If you need to detox, the best way to do it safely is to go into a treatment center, or to the emergency room. You may have to tell them you have gone cold turkey and see what they can do for you. Good Luck !
Peace

reply to post by boncho




Yep, I can attest. Drunken posts can make you look stupid.

Guilty as charged.

Originally posted by Starwise
From my experience at the hospital, drinkers who drink often have the hardest time with withdrawals. Usually Ativan or Valium is given to prevent seizures and other body discomforts, shaking, sweating etc... Blood pressures rise, heart rates become irregular and people may hallucinate. If you need to detox, the best way to do it safely is to go into a treatment center, or to the emergency room. You may have to tell them you have gone cold turkey and see what they can do for you. Good Luck !
Peace

exactly... It gets sooo badd and sooo dangerous. I had no idea withdrawals from alcohol were some of the most dangerous you can have...

My experience was quite the RUDE awakening. Thanks for the thread guys. I think I will plan out a get off alcohol month. This time doing it much more carefully. I don't plan on stopping. But getting down to where 4-5 gets me drunk again would be good.


from monkey guy(sorry forgot name)
"....But I never really understood why people would drink daily....Or why would someone regularly drink to excess. Honestly....what possible good comes from that? "

Simple answer: It is that addictive...that is fun... and not much good...

reply to post by Dustytoad


Good luck, I am sure you can do it and let us all now when you get there

Originally posted by eyesdown
reply to post by boncho

 

Haha this is true. Once the days worth of fog has cleared I only remember the good about it .

To be serious for a minute though. The effect alcohol has over you relies on your well being overall. If life is good and you are content it doesn't matter how much you drink, you won't make yourself out to be an ass.

On the other hand, when things are not going your way, alcohol isn't so accommodating.

reply to post by boncho


I agree. I actually personally think that drink is a real demotivator, not to everyone perhaps but the most pro active people I know hardly drink.

My family has a history of alcoholism.. Or alcoholics.. I forget the difference.. But when I turned 21 I made it a point to drink very little if any. I would tell people im an alcoholic.. And they would typically stop asking you to have a drink.. Its the easiest way to avoid drinking. Just convince yourself its not worth it.. Get in a habit of saying it, that way people begin to stop asking. Trust me. Then its a matter of not drinking. Once you convince yourself though, its easy.

reply to post by eyesdown


I was the type who drank to get drunk. Having a "good" time wasn't really a priority of mine. After many many years of that I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I know it's a 12 step cliche', but it's true in my case.

All I did was change cities, told no one what I was doing or where, and kept myself to myself. The first 3 days were the hardest. Cold Turkey with no medications. At that point I knew the "bad" crowds from the "good" crowds and stayed away from both. I didn't want the bad anymore and didn't fit in with the good. Now that I think about it, that was the first time in my life that I ever gave myself any kind of positive focus or direction. Whenever I do that and I'm left to my own devices, with no one else around that isn't on the same page, seems like I accomplish my goals very well and very fast. The trick there I guess is maintaining it.

I was kind of an extreme case though because I could always handle my liquor. It didn't matter how much I drank, I never "recycled" it. I was born with an addictive personality as well, got it from my old man ( The only thing he ever gave me) so I always went to extremes with my drinking and the way I treated people.

Sometimes you just have to get to the point where you realize that you may very well die, literally, if you don't stop. And a big part of stopping is not to associate with drinkers of any level for quite a while. Maybe a year or two, it all depends on the individual.

At this point I don't miss it at all. It's strange, but it's been about 15 years now since I last got drunk and I still sometimes feel the effects of my not drinking anymore. I still feel that I'm getting better physically and mentally because I don't drink. I can't help but to think of all these stories you hear about babies born addicted to heroin or crack or something because it was in the parents' system during conception. Makes me wonder just how much alcohol was in my old mans system when he concieved ME. I know how much I drank, but sometimes I wonder just how much HE drank.

Bottom line: Keep yourself away from other drinkers if you're serious about quitting. Stay away from losers if you want to win. As the old 12 step saying goes "If you go to the barbershop long enough, you'll end up getting a haircut." The trick is, finding the right barbershop that can give you the haircut you NEED.

Having good music by your side help as well. At least it did for me.

reply to post by eyesdown


I can't give You advise but I'll share my experience . Drinking for me in my teens was all about fun and good times , I felt I could do anything , dance better , funnier , got more girls , life of the party ! Later on it became a daily habit , I needed alcohol to function with daily life and it took over my life , I went through numerous relationships , jobs , friends , drunk driving , wrecked cars !! I didn't know how to function without alcohol and that was one of hardest things about quiting ! I went to detox because doing it on my own was not possible and dangerous ! I went through very bad withdrawals , halutionations , sweating , freezing , seizures , for 10 days . I went to a treatment centre for 21 days ( optional ) it's not for everyone , I now go to AA regularly , it is a big part of my life and it saved me ! I've learnt that I don't need alcohol to have a good time ! I can still dance , go to parties , have a great time , live life to its fullest ! I have real friends that are there through thick and thin ( that don't leave when the booze runs out ) ! You can always u2u me if u want more in depth reasons for not drinking ! Sorry for the jumpy post it's sent via txt ! I wish You all the best !!

I used to drink a lot (For me) when I was younger, but nowadays, the effects are not to my liking so often.
I had 2 pints of bitter the other night, and felt pretty drunk, and had a good laugh with my mates in the pub, but when I got home and the effects were wearing off, I became really depressed and irritable, incapable of doing anything I normally enjoy without losing my temper in frustration at my lack of co-ordination.

When drunk,I can't sleep easily, and usually I wake up at some strange hour of the morning soaking wet, then have to get up and dry myself.
Then I can't get back into the same bed as the sheets are wet, so have to sleep in the spare room, which thankfully has a blackout blind over the window, as any hint of light stops me getting to sleep again, irritating me even more.

Alcohol is so stupidly expensive too, and for what?
All the above, plus a groggy feeling in the morning which takes hours to pass.
Fortunately for me, I can rarely cope with enough alcohol to give myself a hangover (I mean the headache puking type).

It's a strange dilemma sometimes, as I tend to forget how horrible it makes me feel after a while, and so have a drink, only to regret it shortly afterwards when that cotton mouth feeling returns as it's wearing off.

Given the amount of suffering that arises from the consumption of this drug, I sometimes wonder why it is legal, as opposed to alternatives which are illegal, and far less damagng.

reply to post by eyesdown


i used to drink a lot.would not say an alcoholic simply because if i was busy or had some other distraction i just didnt think about booze.for example new car would be weeks or months of cruising instead of beer.so i guess i was quite lucky,guess i dont have the gene.however only drink 4 or 5 times a year now and is usually new years eve or the first big bbq of the summer etc.sometimes its just i reorganise itunes and find stuff i had forgotten..phones and beer that night.lol
can only speak from my own experience but since i always have loads of various booze in the house.its not an option to feel a craving,as its there if i want.just reallly dont want very often.occassionally i throw out beer etc (or more likely use it to marinade some meat) because its passed sell by date..by a lot.
i now abuse coffee now,its socially acceptable,even embraced...but really should it be.many times i have been irritated and started arguments (minor) cos i am buzzed on 12 strong coffees,or drive too (way too) fast cos i am caffeine invincible.

I don't drink any more. I used to. It was a daily ritual for me to go to the bar after work and stay until closing for a long time. 20 years or more. I never was one to drink at home by myself. I always liked going out to be sociable.

But the beer at the bar is too expensive and now there's a ban on smoking in the bars. Having to interrupt my beer to go outside to smoke just didn't cut it for me. Basically, I lost interest in going to bars, so I lost interest in drinking. Of course, that didn't happen overnight. It was a process over a couple of years, but I wasn't intentionally wanting to quit.

I'm not entirely opposed to drinking. I still might stop in for a glass or two once in a blue moon. Or if someone stops by the house for a visit, I might pick up a six pack at the corner gas station.

If you want to quit, don't push yourself. Start out by picking one or two nights a week that you will do something else. Go bowling, watch a movie, whatever. Do that for a month or so. When you feel comfortable, add another night. Before long, you will have more nights not drinking that nights you do. Eventually, the urge will just go away.

Good luck.

i would love to quit drinking, but i just don't want to at the same time. I guess i'm an alcoholic, i drink just about every day, liquor, beer, wine, doesn't matter.

I've been thinking about quitting, but honestly at this point i'm more scared i will have an awful detox, and can't afford to be out of work for alcohol withdraw, i do not think my boss will like that. I gave up cigarettes and pot, but i guess that made me drink more... It sucks.

reply to post by eyesdown


its easy to not drink.. just don't drink...

I like a good beer every now and then... but if i never had a drop of alcohol pass my lips ever again it wouldn't phase me one bit.


if you can go long enough without doing something, eventually you just don't want it anymore