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AidoPotato
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17-09-2019, 09:16 PM
1

Quitting the Booze

Evening folks.

I just thought I'd start a bit of a thread on kicking the booze because I have found that quite a lot of people my age and younger have successfully done this.

A bit of a back story: I'm 53 now, but some time in my late 30's I began to realise that I just wasn't enjoying drinking anymore and I'm sure we all know how bad hangovers get after you hit 30. They can be totally relentless. I tried all sorts of combinations in desperate attempts to knock it on the head but I always ended up going back to it. I think I realised I had sort of opened a door that was not easily shut. To cut a long story short, aged 41 I finally unlocked it and have been alcohol free since.

The reason I use the term 'unlock' is because I always have this mental image of people looking to quit standing in front of a large iron door. Each person is standing in front of their own personalised iron door, and each door has lots of different locks on it with various combinations. Additionally, one person's set of locks is entirely different to the next. I kinda found that the worst thing you can do is stop trying, and that failure isn't actually failure at all. It really is merely another learning notch for when you go back to that door to try to knock it down. This is why I am of the opinion that there really isn't one particular way or route, and that it's all about finding your own way.

I'd be very interested to hear other people's stories. I have the utmost respect for those who have succeeded and those trying. Peace and love
tarantula
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18-09-2019, 01:51 PM
2

Re: Quitting the Booze

My husband and I have always been very moderate drinkers, having never been drunk in our lives, but now apart from very special occasions we don't drink any alcohol at all. We don't miss it.
swimfeeders
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18-09-2019, 02:01 PM
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Re: Quitting the Booze

Hi

I am on some serious medication.

I have always been a Social Drinker

I do miss my occasional glass of wine.
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Meg
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18-09-2019, 02:14 PM
4

Re: Quitting the Booze

I used to love wine, the problem is when you live alone and open a bottle there is a temptation to 'just have another glass'. That isn't to say I drank excessively.

I gave up alcohol overnight when a medical condition required that I take medication one of which is an anticoagulant. If I have a fall and bang my head I need to go to hospital immediately so it makes sense to avoid taking anything that could make my elderly legs even more unsteady.

Also alcohol contains 'negative calories' and I need to keep my weight down again for health reasons.

I really missed wine to begin with but finding your health is some way compromised certainly concentrates the mind.
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18-09-2019, 03:07 PM
5

Re: Quitting the Booze

I am lucky that I have never been dependant on alcohol. I have been rat arsed a few times at parties and nights out but the next day I can carry on as normal. I only really drink at Christmas now and because I usually do a round trip of 400 miles to see family, it's normally just a half of bitter shandy.

Good on you though Aido, I admire you for giving it up, you have done well.
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18-09-2019, 03:47 PM
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Re: Quitting the Booze

Originally Posted by swimfeeders ->
Hi

I am on some serious medication.

I have always been a Social Drinker

I do miss my occasional glass of wine.



And what about the dozens of bottles of different flavoured Vodka's your Polish friends bring over for you?
You have said several times how they pay you in Vodka.
Floydy
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18-09-2019, 03:48 PM
7

Re: Quitting the Booze

Thing is, AidoPotato you don't need to suddenly quit altogether and that is where most people fail.
Did you have a serious problem or just get bored of the taste or it?

If you are a hard drinker (same as a 40-a-day smoker) it's best to simply slow down. Instead of eight pints a day, halve it and so on.
I used to drink boatloads of booze from my late teens and all through my RAF years and beyond until I got married and I had to slow down mainly for financial reasons.

I now have a couple of bottles at home on a Friday night or go out for tea with Mrs. F, socialise at the weekend with a bunch of mates, have about six pints and that's it.

These days at 54, I'm more of a connoisseur of good real ale than just go out and get trashed for the sake of it. We learn the hard way.

Credit to you though mate, you've done well.
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18-09-2019, 04:22 PM
8

Re: Quitting the Booze

I used to drink lots when I was young, but cut down gradually.

I have my own rules, influenced by my wife and her family:-

Don't go to pubs, only drink with dinner, no nightcap.

= a couple of glasses of red wine per day.

I'm happy with that, currently no desire to drink more or less than that.

zuludog
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18-09-2019, 05:42 PM
9

Re: Quitting the Booze

I must say that I have always enjoyed a drink or two, and had too much on occasion

A few years ago - was it 2014 or 2015? - sometime between Christmas and New Year I thought 'I know, I'll try giving it up for January'.

Then I thought 'Well that's not long, why not till my birthday?' which is in April
Almost immediately afterwards I thought 'blow it, let's make it a year'
So I did

I saw in the New Year with a couple of cans of lager, and that was it
I know you only have my word for it, but I stuck to it for the next 12 months
Once you've made the decision, it's easy, everything just falls into place

Two things made it possible - bearable?

I knew it wouldn't be for ever, there was to be a definite end

I could go into pubs. At one time, and especially if you were a man, asking for a soft drink definitely brought on raised eyebrows and snide comments, but now no-one bothers
I found that when I was out I didn't go for meals in a pub, I would go to cafes and have a cup of tea

My usual tipple in a pub became blackcurrant and soda
I never costed it out, but I could definitely tell that my shopping bill was less

When the time was up, I found that I no longer needed to have a drink -I could take it or leave it

This was really an exercise for my own curiosity or satisfaction, but I'm fairly certain that if i had to I could stop altogether
AidoPotato
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18-09-2019, 06:27 PM
10

Re: Quitting the Booze

Originally Posted by Floydy ->
Thing is, AidoPotato you don't need to suddenly quit altogether and that is where most people fail.
Did you have a serious problem or just get bored of the taste or it?

If you are a hard drinker (same as a 40-a-day smoker) it's best to simply slow down. Instead of eight pints a day, halve it and so on.
I used to drink boatloads of booze from my late teens and all through my RAF years and beyond until I got married and I had to slow down mainly for financial reasons.

I now have a couple of bottles at home on a Friday night or go out for tea with Mrs. F, socialise at the weekend with a bunch of mates, have about six pints and that's it.

These days at 54, I'm more of a connoisseur of good real ale than just go out and get trashed for the sake of it. We learn the hard way.

Credit to you though mate, you've done well.
Nah I didn't quit suddenly altogether. It took a while. I just kept chipping away at it kinda like the locks on the door analogy because I knew I wanted to be a non drinker. I guess over time I achieved that

I was more of a binge drinker. A few drinks would lead to 5 days on the piss

Life for me is immeasurably better since quitting. Thanks for the post mate. Your encouragement means a lot
 
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