Quit Alcohol - Support Thread

[Young Trees]

Hey guys, glad to be on here after years of being away. I am still falling into the trap of the instant reward of that allergic reaction alcohol gives of the warm belly and peaking happiness to paying the consequences the following days and weeks; the side effects- weight gain, confusion, depression, anxieties, anger, irritability, the list goes on..
I love the New Year because I really get motivated to drink less and try to stay away from it, so I am going from almost daily few beers or 3 glasses of wine to only on weekends.

When I'm drinking, alcohol numbs the awesome effects of Cannabis. It's pretty lame.
However, exercise and alot of will power really helps.

I agree that one easy way of dropping one habit is to substitute it for another like someone said previously. I do know how hard it is to go cold turkey, so my first step is to not drink during the week and do an intense cardio workout every day like running 3 days a week and a martial art 2 of the other weekdays.. that way I get home beat and can use a little extra cannabis and feel great and I will be tired and not want to drink.
My Achilles tendon is that I acquired a taste for micro brews and wine and I have a compulsive aspect to alot in my life which is great for work, but sometimes excessive in play Great to se you all. Best heallth and less alcohol in 2013.
One thing that helps me alot is my faith in God and the example of perfection that was Jesus Christ. God bless you my brothers, this life is not a coincidence. We will se each other one day if we have faith in God.

 

[longearedfriend]

I watch myself with alcohol.

It has a way of brainwashing me. If I go out and buy a 6 pack, I feel there is more chances I willl buy another. I feel alcohol has a way of rewiring you, so you don't feel the negative aspect.

I don't get cravings or anything but sometimes after work or not, a nice cold beer, very nice.
There is as lot of different varieties to enjoy.

I have never been one to go on binges but alcohol seriously affects me negatively even drinking 1-2 beers.
Well the beer, it has a way to fill up your belly and make you heavy. Hard liquor I very rarely drink, only on special occasions. Drinking liquor turns me into someone else.

Of course, it feels good at first but then it oftens leads to

Depression, anxiety, anger, irritability, raising body temperature, skin problems.

 

[trichrider]

drinking makes me forget my higher power is still witnessing my every act/thought/intent/motive regardless of me experiencing blackouts or whatever.

one is measured by ones works, and mastery over alcohol is a lot of work.

i'm still laboring daftly to overcome that sweet insistence...beer.

 

[mogrow]

hope you all with drinking problems can "bottom out" before it kills ya.
there is another way to live, it's available to anyone.
i've been sober 21 years, you can do it too.

 

[monsoon]

It's a nasty drug. Gave it up 20 years ago and haven't missed the hangovers and stupid shit it makes you do/say/believe.

 

[Bag]

i like the dude who started lifting, i lift weights now and the whole lifestyle is changing the way i look at what i put in my body, i quit booze for year and a half but sometimes now i have some beer , maybe once a month. still do dumb shit when i drink but this whole quit for a lifetime or quit for a day is rediculous, i just quit quiting and decided drinking and partying isnt in my lifestyle. i dont realy miss it. damn sure dont miss many of those asshats at AA. but i do like the AA meetings, very interesting. glad i lost the taste for booze everyday, i got drunk everyday for 10 years . it was a ruff addiction. but i quit quiting.

 

[w.wonka]

Been sober 4 1/2 years... Have never been able to control myself when drinking.. 1 was never enough.. Many broken relationships, arrests, and heart ache to the 1's that love me the most over many yrs. Quiting was 1 of the best things that has ever happened to me... I wish anyone the best that wants to free them selves of that poison..

W.Wonka

 

[BrownThumb]

Cunning, baffling, powerful....alcohol. My Achilles heel. I even went back to her after knowing it would kill me and knowing MJ worked for me. I too have substituted and will have 9 years sober (No alcohol, lots of MMJ) in February. It is not ideal, but ANYTHING is better than having a bottle be the boss of you. I am currently wrestling with quitting smoking for the second time (and failing). Booze and cigarettes, what a great combination, almost as good as coffee and cigarettes. Ever notice how people that don't normally smoke do sometimes when they drink? Rambling...

Yes, it is possible to quit. I had an epiphany that I was dangerous and "got it", finally, after far too long. Some people "get it" in AA. It depends on the individual. But in all seriousness, I was no bueno, and if I was able to quit, however I did it, anyone can. I suggest AA as a starting point. Some people really thrive there, others, not so much. Beyond "those rooms" (they say "in these rooms, I have found..." a lot in AA), your family and friends should be your support group past any AA members and/or sponsors you work with to stay sober. Trying to stay sober alone is possible, but really a lot harder than having a support group you can call to air out stress or get your brain and thinking checked out.

Don't give up on sobriety. It's good to wake up feeling good and remembering what you did the night before. Not to mention you will tend to treat people better, have more money and interest in life and living in general.

 

[Bag]

went to AA meeting this morning, enjoyed it, going back soon . the cig smoke was gross outside but i held my breath walking in , lol

 

[VagPuncher]

Hate booze. Never been a drinker.

My dad is an alcoholic and was a real asshole when I was a kid. Never physical, but just a verbal asshoe.

One night when I was 17, 2 days before my high school graduation, he got drunk and tried hitting my mom. I almost beat him to death. The police charged me w aggravated assault and were waiting for him to die so they could charge me with murder. He lived. I got out of jail a few weeks later and moved to BC.

I haven't talked to him since. He has never even looked at mymom with attitude since.

It's because of him I never drink.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

ill tell yall a story. i was looking after a friend trying to keep his ass sober... well ... he was doing good until i caught him in the spare bedroom with the Listerine bottle bottom up... i mean before i could create enough ganja for myself i admit i would take a few resin rips off the pipe... dig up some old roaches but shittt swiggin off the Listerine bottle?? thats just wrong...

 

[theclearspot]

I need to quit alcohol. I cant go 2 or 3 days without going to the pub for a skinful (5-6 pints). My problem is my enjoyable social moments revolve around alcohol and I enjoy the conviviality of the pub. I cannot go to a pub and have an orange juice. I enjoy my european trips meeting friends and having a few beers etc.I dont drink at home except for Christmas. I did manage to quit cigarettes 15 years ago. I always think my life will have a big hole in it if I quit....but I need to ,I feel its already damaged my health.

 

[HOPS5K]

I used to be a very heavy drinker from age 22 to about 30..eight years of endless booze every night..not endless, but enough to kill a person should they consume that much...blacked out quite a few times and woke up with, not a good situation shall we say..booze was part of my lifestyle until I got sent to a hospital (rehab) basically for 6 weeks..quit that stuff fast..sucked being locked up with not much interaction with the outside world apart from phone calls and random visits..I was in a very bad place for a few years there..sucked hard coming off of it too..but once I came home that april, it was all different for me..been clean for 6 years now..wine every now and then with some cheese or what have you, but nothing hard at all for me ever again..I almost got to the point where my internal organs were shutting down and ready to say good night in january of 2007..finally got some help and got better, but man, I did a lot of damage to my insides for so long without realizing there was going to be consequences for my drinking.

One night after drinking 2 giant bottles of Jager with a few close friends, I completely blacked out and woke up the next morning to a trashed house, paintball shots on the walls, broken stuff everywhere and bleeding from my head...I also had a mild form of pnuemonia (sp?) it was wild times though man..good times mostly, but there was a few awkward incidents with females that made me think a bit before I drink with the opposite sex.

Just wine now..I'll stick to that.

 

[Rob547]

Good to hear so many of you found a way and reason to quit and haven't relapsed. As a kid I never really gave a shit about my health, but almost 10 years later of drinking a lot, I'm starting to think my body needs a cleanse and just give it time to fix itself. Over that time, not just from drinking, I gained a solid 30 lbs to top out at 165 about 1.5-2 yrs ago, never been skinny and 165 may not seem like a lot but I'm only 5'6 and Hispanic. About 140ish now though

I too struggle with the social aspects of drinking, although if it wasn't for weed it would be much worse. I've aged past the college party years and all that but a lot of ppl I hang out with and social events in general seem to center around drinking. Never been my thing to just drink water lol.
Probably said this in previous posts but I liked AA because I'm pretty young (27) in comparison and hearing all those horrible stories makes me want to avoid that shit all together and just stop drinking. I like to think my alcoholic 'bottom' has occurred...

 

[Bag]

went to AA again today, alwasy leave feeling better. p

 

[GreenHills]

I never really had a drinking problem per se until recently, and I'm not sure what's causing it. I don't know if it's because I am getting older (33) or what, but recently I have started experiencing blackouts. I'm not drinking anymore than I always have, but I'm losing my shit. It's happened 3 or 4 times in the last couple of months. The most recent time was last Friday. One minute I was sitting in a bar with some people I met, and next thing I know it's morning and I'm waking up in my own bed. My pants are in the living room and my keys are still in the door. Absolutely no memory of leaving the bar or coming home. I know I walked though because the bar is right down the street from my house and I don't drink and drive. Period. But this last blackout was the end for me. I have been thinking for days what kind of crazy shit did I do when I was blacked out? Wtf happened? I'm afraid to show my face to my friends. And it's really scary. I love drinking and going out to the bars, but it's not worth this bullshit. I am going on the wagon.

 

[izzywozzywizzy]

My father was an alcholic ,his father also,I was too ,12 years sober and loving it when ive got good weed,no more feeling hungover ,firrst up in morning at weekends,as long as I can have good smoke I will never drink again as one drink could kill me,the only thing i miss is he social side as i live in a place where drink is everywhere and eveyone drinks so if you dont drink here you're aleinated.I took a drug called camprinol to stop cravings ,it must have worked. I also rewarded myself when i first gave up ,with having extra money,trip to india.drink is false ,people get a faulse happyness from it ,so it not real . I won't hang with drinkers qs they are usually full of shit after one glass .that's why i lived Holland coffeshopsvwith juice and coffee and no annoying drunks ,wish it could happen here ,the crime rate involving drink is masked as if they are in denial .just visit accident and emergency in hospital any weekend or any town centre you will see the damage drink causes,its all a lie that weed causes schizophrenia just check out all the nutters on drink banged up at weekend for violence and mayhem caused through drink.the drink industrys are behind this fear of weed being legal.peace,

 

[BrownThumb]

went to AA meeting this morning, enjoyed it, going back soon . the cig smoke was gross outside but i held my breath walking in , lol

I am glad you're checking it out, AA, that is. It used to be that i would sometimes leave meetings feeling more like I wanted to drink than when I arrived. I don't get that feeling anymore, but when I go now, it's because I decided it would be good to go, not court mandated. It's weird though, because i am still somewhat repulsed by AA zombies, even though we're all about staying sober. They seem like they have been brainwashed and joined a cult or something, and it's just kind of creepy, but there are lots of more normal people as well, thankfully.

Keep going, it works! (for a lot of people, not everyone)

 

[medmaker420]

i love the sauce

my thoughts are to do it the way I do my meds

if I didn't make it myself then I won't put it in my body

if anything making your own alcohol has got to be healthier than the store bought crap right?

also you would WAIT in between batches just like our herb which is always a good thing as far as taking breaks for the liver and the body itself to SOBER UP a bit themselves lol.

 

[Canniwhatsis]

Gotta tag this thread!


Hung to beat shit this morning,.... gotta go to work.