Moving on from drinking alcohol

[ODogg]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

Exactly. People see the word alcoholism and immediately think the extreme. There are levels. The best thing people can do is educate themselves about the risks associated with alcohol and how problems can escalate. It's this way with any kind of recreational substance, it's just that alcohol is the most accepted one.

I tend to agree, I think there are various degrees of drinking/alcoholism. Its not black and white I don't believe. And labeling is easy to do in this day and age but isn't always helpful.

I once had a friend who said something akin to "if alcohol interferes with your work or your livelihood or you lose loved ones or friends because of it then that's when you have a problem"

I'd add drunk driving to that list as well. I have been drunk many times in my life and no matter how drunk I am I know better than to do that. If I start drinking and that train starts rolling I always just accept that I'm going to call a cab. Yeah it's kind of expensive and a pain but it sure beats a DUI

[Mabster]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

2 months since last post. How's this working out?

[ODogg]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

2 months since last post. How's this working out?

It's working out pretty good, most I've drank in an entire evening is about 7 drinks but right now I'm down to drinking about 3 to 5 in an evening (1 time per week). I know for some folks that may seem a bit much but about 5 years ago I was doing about 20 drinks an evening, LOL.

I think more important than the number though is I'm becoming much more aware of what I drink, how I feel (as in being buzzed) and stopping without feeling as if I'm cheating myself out of "fun".

I've even gone a few nights with just playing games all night and having zero drinks or just doing two shots at the start of the night and then nothing the rest of the night.

So I'm getting where I want to be I think...but then football season is right around the corner, LOL...

[ODogg]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

One good (or bad thing depending upon perspective) is my body doesn't take too kindly to beer much anymore. I can drink about 2 of them but then much beyond that and I just burp too much...to the point it's annoying. So yeah I don't drink much beer anymore.

I usually just do Grey Goose vodka and cranberry juice and when I quit drinking alcohol I just continue to pour cranberry without anything in it.

[boxboy99]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

This thread is exactly what I need now. Same story as a some of you. Alcoholism runs in the family. Drank my butt off in college which caused a bit of trouble but nothing too horrible. I'm the opposite of some of you guys though, I've realized I have to stick to beer and stay away from the hard stuff. I can manage myself with beer for the most part but liquor makes me go off the rails.

Felt like I hit a lowest point in years this week. We had a corporate retreat this week. I've been mostly a remote worker the last 3 years and have only met few of my co workers ever in person. We have a casino night the first day with an open bar. I was already pushing it then of course so shots are passed my way. No clue when I went to bed but I'm sure it was at least 3 am or later. We had 9 am meetings. I literally got sick for the first time in years right before the meetings but I'm a trooper and pulled my stuff together. Of course everyone recognized I was super tired but actually a couple people literally skipped some of the morning session. Actually I did go back to my room when there was some down time. We had some games for several hours on the beach after but luckily I was feeling decent by then however my brain felt scrambled all day.

I don't think I did anything too bad but I'm certain I talked some people ears off and was probably a bit annoying. Really hate myself the day after sometimes or wake up and just feel annoyed with myself. Ended up getting an award from work the following day so left on a bit of a high note.

I moved to Colorado and my social circle here is almost 100% around drinking. We go to craft breweries or beer fest several times a month. I'm okay most of the time but I've been over doing it too much lately.

[the_future420]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

I just turned 31 in April and I've significantly cut back on drinking. The older I get, the less fun it is to be s***faced. Having kids now, dealing with a Saturday/Sunday morning hangover at 7am is horrible when your 3yr old is jumping up and down on you because he wants oatmeal and your 3 month old is crying her eyes out for a bottle.

One positive is that I've regained a normal liquor tolerance. I will have a glass or two of wine with my wife on the weekends and we get a decent buzz and be able to function normally. A few years back I could drink a full bottle of wine (though i never would because wine was only for women ) and not feel anything

I still drink, just nowhere nearly as much as I used to even a few years ago. I've probably drank on 3-5 occasions this year (maybe 10 drinks total) whereas that total was a normal Friday/Sat night a few years back. To be honest, I don't miss it all

[mgoblue]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

I just turned 31 in April and I've significantly cut back on drinking. The older I get, the less fun it is to be s***faced. Having kids now, dealing with a Saturday/Sunday morning hangover at 7am is horrible when your 3yr old is jumping up and down on you because he wants oatmeal and your 3 month old is crying her eyes out for a bottle.

One positive is that I've regained a normal liquor tolerance. I will have a glass or two of wine with my wife on the weekends and we get a decent buzz and be able to function normally. A few years back I could drink a full bottle of wine (though i never would because wine was only for women ) and not feel anything

I still drink, just nowhere nearly as much as I used to even a few years ago. I've probably drank on 3-5 occasions this year (maybe 10 drinks total) whereas that total was a normal Friday/Sat night a few years back. To be honest, I don't miss it all

I binge drank in my 20's and can't imagine doing it now. Not with kids. Like how do you handle a toddler when all you want to do is lay there with a headache?

I'll occasionally have a beer out if we're with people at a dinner, but otherwise I don't miss alcohol....I don't need it at home, by the end of a night I'm tired enough as it is lol

Seriously though, hangovers blow, never want one again. Way worse as you get older too.

[ODogg]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

Just an update to everyone on my situation. I've had a few occasions over the past few months where I've gotten a bit more drunk than I wanted but 90% of the time I've been pretty good, keeping my alcoholic drinks to less than 10 and recently, over the past two weeks, less than 6 beers per week. I've not had any hard alcohol in about a month.

I've also found that I am not enjoying it as much at all and I guess part of that is I feel like I've "fell off the wagon" if I do drink and so I really cannot enjoy it as much right then and the next day I feel like why the heck did I even drink at all..

So it's been a long journey but having very little over the past few weeks I physically feel great but, maybe more importantly, I feel like I'm accomplishing something.

I'm sure there will be times in my future when I drink a little more than I should but my main issue has been the HABIT of doing it weekly and I think I've finally accomplished that.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

Good for you!!

[mgoblue]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

Congrats! Part of my stopping the binge drinking was growing up a bit and realizing how I hate the hangover and how I really didn't need it (once I got used to not drinking as much). Now I rarely have a beer on a night out, like couples night or something....I am usually tired enough at the end of the day to want to drink anyways, kids'll do that to you lol

[ODogg]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

The best benefit I think, that I really didn't expect, is I enjoy mornings again, lol. I actually don't need to sleep until noon!!


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[mgoblue]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

The best benefit I think, that I really didn't expect, is I enjoy mornings again, lol. I actually don't need to sleep until noon!!


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For real! As we get older we can't handle hangovers as well as we used to either. Functionally I can't just blow a day out and sleep til 2 or something, not feasible.

I always used to make fun of my parents for getting up early even on weekends, but now I'm that guy lol

[ODogg]

Moving on from drinking alcohol

Yeah man, same here! Now I'm not as bad as my dad, who gets up at 4:30am, at least not yet, but I have been getting up sometimes, especially on Saturdays when the Buckeyes play at noon, about 8am..


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[ODogg]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

Hey guys, just thought I'd post an update on my progress.. Well I am proud to say that I have quit binge drinking on a regular basis. In fact I am no longer buying alcohol at all, except for a special occasion. I had not drank anything or bought any alcohol for about a month until my wife actually wanted to have a Halloween party. So I bought vodka, tequila and some other stuff and we all got fairly drunk (nothing too crazy but we did drink a lot).

I did have a very slight hangover the next day, enough to remind me the downside of drinking.

I can honestly say that I have finally lost my "want" desire to drink at all. Quite frankly I don't like the taste of a lot of beers anymore and the ones I do like give me a bad case of the burps. So that leaves me with mixed drinks, which I like some of them but they are sort of a pain to make and the liquor is pretty expensive as well.

Also, I've gotten back my numbers from the doctor recently and my health is better and I've lost weight.

I am not sure why I've just lost my desire, because even when I did abstain in the recent past (like when I made this thread) I still wanted to drink but was trying to control it. I guess maybe its just been a long time coming overall and my wife not liking it, the expense of it, the hangovers, all of it, has just gotten to the point where I view drinking as undesirable. The idea of being drunk now is not something I find desirable but rather view as something that has a lot of cons. Maybe that's just the bottom line is that the cons finally outweigh the pros and my mind has finally caught up with my desire in that sense.

I'm 46 years old and maybe that's a part of it as well. The only time I think I will drink any more from here on out is when it's a celebration, I guess in that sense like many "normal" people do. And sometimes, for example if my wife is drinking, then I will simply not even drink then because I am the designated driver.

It's been a long journey but I think I'm finally where I want to be. The real last hurdle is learning to play video games without drinking. I'm a bit more able to socially interact when I game online with folks if I'm drinking, otherwise I'm shy, or maybe shy isn't a good word, I just don't have the mental often times to put forth the effort to really interact with people like playing online requires.

In the mean time to alleviate that issue I've simply quit playing online a lot and, when I do, I don't use a headset. I think that will just take time, to quit using alcohol as a social crutch.

The great irony is that when it comes to person-to-person socializing, such as at a party or whatever, I have no problem being social and chatting and just in general interacting with everyone....but being online chatting with folks while I game, especially if I don't really know them, and sometimes even when I do, is something that makes me nervous or weirds me out because of just how different it is to me than real life, face-to-face interactions with people.

Any tips on that are greatly appreciated.

[boxboy99]

Re: Moving on from drinking alcohol

AFter this work day...... I need a drink!