I quit drinking, for ever!

[extrabolts]

Hey great to see this thread still going after two years - very inspirational to see people sticking to their commitments!

[SugarDoll]

Thanks. For the inspiration brother. I recently got married myself and promised myself and my new wife. That I was through with alcohol. After we got married. It caused us too many problems and I'm thankful she's. Still by my side. My last drink was on Halloween night and haven't touched any since. I feel so much better overall. No drama, no hangovers, and me and here are doing great now that she doesn't. Have to worry or babysit me. The anxiety. Can be overwhelming at times, but I'm taking it one day at a time. It's really hard considering its football season, and restaurants. Make it tough but my willpower is getting better with time. I'm glad to see other people on here to relate. To. Thanks again for the inspiration all you guys and op. Congrats so far and good luck in the future.

Congratulations on your marriage. I with the best of luck to you. Great decision you have made. God Bless you.

Count me in. Day 14, going very well. Just wanted to thank all of you for this thread, lots of great advice and support.

Not looking forward to the holidays, where my family gatherings usually include many beverages, but I know they have my back on this.

Day 14 is awesome! That already proves something. I pray for nothing but the best for you so you can continue to be blessed in this way and add more days to your sober count.

[TNetz]

I'm glad to see people are still coming in and reading this thread. I hope everyone is doing their best to achieve their goals. It's important to have accomplishments early in life because it gives us the confidence to succeed later on. I'm still going strong here. I really don't think about drinking anymore. To be honest, the idea of altering my mind in some way seems very foreign to me, almost scary. I know that sounds weird but hey...it's a far cry from where I was and some of you are now. You can do this!

Jehowell, thanks for the kind words. Keep it going brother.

[JMath]

Well, since the threads been bumped... I'm doing well myself. Still not drinking. Still don't have any temptations or anything. Pretty much just focusing on school now and my internship (counseling veterans with PTSD!).

Hope everyone else is having similar success!

[canadiancoops]

I wanted to bump this thread as it always gave me motivation (not sure if a new thread has taken over)

I am 30 days sober today! Had a few tough days but no where near hitting the bottle....feels awesome and 12 lbs down! bonus.

[JMath]

I wanted to bump this thread as it always gave me motivation (not sure if a new thread has taken over)

I am 30 days sober today! Had a few tough days but no where near hitting the bottle....feels awesome and 12 lbs down! bonus.

Congrats! Keep up the good work.

[akira6713]

Alcohol is meh... Cannabis and other natural occurring alkaloids are "thumbs up" if you want to journey deep into the rabbit hole that is your soul. Whatever soul may be, weather it just be the subconscious.

Congratulations to all those who have accomplished their goals to quit drinking. I quit doing drugs (chemical drugs with no purpose) and smoking cigarettes 7 years ago. Feel great!

[shorkey]

Nice thread! Well I was never an alcoholic but the last time I drank was on new year's eve. I got so drunk that I ended up vomiting on everybody's shoes, outside and on the temporary matress they set up for me. I cant remember most of what happened that evening....I told myself that that was the last time I will ever drink.

And so far so good. I havnt had drop since and I even went to a Superbowl party yesterday and resisted the urge despite all my friends drinking around me. Bodybuilding is part of the motivation and so is overall physical and psychological health. Besides I dont wanna ''need'' alcohol to be happy.

[Jackals]

I also haven't had a drink since new year's eve. The goal is to go at least one year off the grog. Now that its been over a month, I'm starting to crave alcohol less, which is good, because I went from drinking minimum four drinks daily to drinking no alcohol at all. Some friends have questioned my motives, but all I have to say to them is "How does my drinking stop you from having a good time?", to which I get no reply.

I now feel fitter than ever, more alert, my moods are slowly improving and people are seeing a positive change in me. I have resisted temptation to drink at all costs and now that those temptaions are staring to vanish, I feel I'll make it to the end of the year, at which point, I'll re-evaluate my goals.

[canadiancoops]

I also haven't had a drink since new year's eve. The goal is to go at least one year off the grog. Now that its been over a month, I'm starting to crave alcohol less, which is good, because I went from drinking minimum four drinks daily to drinking no alcohol at all. Some friends have questioned my motives, but all I have to say to them is "How does my drinking stop you from having a good time?", to which I get no reply.

I now feel fitter than ever, more alert, my moods are slowly improving and people are seeing a positive change in me. I have resisted temptation to drink at all costs and now that those temptaions are staring to vanish, I feel I'll make it to the end of the year, at which point, I'll re-evaluate my goals.

Great work - I'm the same - was drinking 6-8 beers a night and feeling like cr@p but it was like my mind was telling me I need it to have a good time. Now its been over 30 days and I am enjoying life more so without it. I dont think I'll give it up forever but think I will become a social drinker as and when parties happen. I wont be drinking in the house on my own anymore

[chaosheartx99]

Very inspiring testimony. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to link this to my grandpa's email. Haha! I think he'll be motivated to follow your footsteps. Thanks

[TNetz]

Hey!!!, glad to see the thread still going! Its getting slower here for sure but that's mostly my fault. I've drifted so far from the old me that the support that I once depended on (and am grateful for) is in less demand, which means I'm not driving you all nuts with my posts anymore, lol. Still no drinking for me. All is good.

Keep it up everyone. I read the few posts above and I hope you guys stick with it. 30 days is no easy feat and one year can seem like a lifetime but after a few months the days seem shorter

[canadiancoops]

I lasted 50 days and then had a few at the weekend. Finding it hard to resist this week but back to 3rd day without so will carry on. If I only drink a weekend every few months I'll be happy

[TNetz]

I lasted 50 days and then had a few at the weekend. Finding it hard to resist this week but back to 3rd day without so will carry on. If I only drink a weekend every few months I'll be happy

One day at a time brother. I'm the type that over indulges EVERYTHING so alcohol needed to go. I quit the nicotine too a few months back and now I'm addicted to freakin chewing gum..WTF? Seriously, I'll go to the store just to get freakin gum at 10pm, lol! They say that'll pass...

Anyway, do what you can. If you've got real good reasons to give it up or if you're like me and just can't moderate, look into getting outside support. If not, at least work on ridding yourself of all the things that trigger you to drink. Once that happens it'll be easier to drink less. Just be carefull you don't develope new triggers.

Seriously, its easier just to quit, lol. I don't miss it at all. Its just as freakin dumb as my gum addiction.

[KamYee]

For the past 4.5 months, I had a total of 5 glasses of wine! Yeah.... but I won't quit drinking I still like my wine and don't categorize myself as a heavy drinker no matter under what kinda influence or situation. Always under control However, best of all feast is I managed to quit ciggy AGAIN! And I believe that will be the last (quitting?).. Take a guess LOL..Cheers!

[HellaStacks]

Have a bad history with alcohol like many in this thread, arrests, losing friends and relationships, making my family sad pretty much the usual......drank as much in 2011 that I used to drink in less than a month , no alcohol so far this year and honestly am not really planning on it at all....................to everybody trying to stop keep trying no matter how hard it seems, it gets so much easier with time and you will see your life and how you feel improving to the point that you will literally have no desire to hold yourself back with alcohol ever again, hope everyone reading this overcomes alcohol.

[Recovered]

if i can quit heroin and then suboxone, you can quit alcohol.

[fishnbrah]

yes alcohol has created problems in my life. im one of those people that cant just have 1 or 2 drinks. i really cant be trusted with alcohol. it will be 6 months since my last drink tomorrow. im going on vacation next weekend, im still not sure if i will drink or not.

[FaithorNot]

Has anyone have had a problem that their day is too long, I mean to be sober? I'm a student at a phase that my day is wide open. Also mildly something mental that I can't get anything started (like unemployement feeling), actually then also would be the too much time thing on to think of it.

Partly because of my drinking my weight is just way too high. Actually really snuck up on me, thought I was lighter but clothes and joints are indicating what has happened. Which was really depressing, kind of like "f, so that's 10kg more to work off". I don't have a habbit of drinking too much, like really drunk, it's more some casual beers. I don't know, this has been going on for quite a long time (even before starting this year when I was abroad, there I was active (and even lost weight because of it), and drinking because of it - now I'm alone), if I drop those few beers... will some kind of boredom factor kick in. Maybe some mild depression is on already.

I do realize this time would really be an opportunity to really do a lot of stuff, but I'm quite passive so it's hard to go around training many times a day and don't really have friends outside my hobbies to do something else (and some married/working who don't have time for me). Hobbies that, I can't really to well because of the weight (my friends are competetive players as I was also, was). I wish I could stop drinking so obviously I'd drop the empty calories and after cravings would go away, but I don't know.

Anyone have any similar stories or encouragement for me? Of course the willingness has to come from within, but I feel so... empty. Confused. It's not like I'm an alcoholic, but in a way I am. Because of the circumstances. Please, no "your in denial phase". I'd love to have a network of people and activities that would allow me to do much more than stare at my computer!

The process is happening (I hope!), but I have my doubts. I don't know if I could ever be quitting for ever, but to tone it down (only drink maybe socially instead of alone).

[HellaStacks]

to the post above me.....I know what you mean about that long day feeling. Boredom and extra time on your hands is one of the big big things you need to get over when quitting alcohol. you really got to find something you love doing and get into the routine of doing it instead of drinking...........this was the the biggest thing that would get me to relapse, being bored.

[Jackals]

I'm just over three months into zero alcohol and I'm finally at the stage where I just don't even think about it anymore. The first few weeks / couple of months were the hardest - I had friends questioning my motives, trying to get me to drink, and I craved it a lot.

Now, my alcoholic friends have backed off a little and I no longer crave it. When I'm around people who are drinking, I no longer feel that urge to quench my thirst with a frosty brew. And I feel great knowing that I won't be tempted by myself...or other people.

My plan is to go through the whole of 2012 without a drink and re-evaluate at the beginning of 2013. So far...so good.

[JMath]

I'm just over three months into zero alcohol and I'm finally at the stage where I just don't even think about it anymore. The first few weeks / couple of months were the hardest - I had friends questioning my motives, trying to get me to drink, and I craved it a lot.

Now, my alcoholic friends have backed off a little and I no longer crave it. When I'm around people who are drinking, I no longer feel that urge to quench my thirst with a frosty brew. And I feel great knowing that I won't be tempted by myself...or other people.

My plan is to go through the whole of 2012 without a drink and re-evaluate at the beginning of 2013. So far...so good.

Good job, man. Keep up the good work!

[marine7474]

Day One of sober living has begun. Can't handle it anymore, best way for me to stop is to shut it down totally. Moderation does not work with with me. I come from a long line of drinkers and it needs to stop here. I know the negative effects from drinking but my mind loses control around it. I will post frequently on my progress.

[exwhyzee]

I'm just over three months into zero alcohol and I'm finally at the stage where I just don't even think about it anymore. The first few weeks / couple of months were the hardest - I had friends questioning my motives, trying to get me to drink, and I craved it a lot.

Now, my alcoholic friends have backed off a little and I no longer crave it. When I'm around people who are drinking, I no longer feel that urge to quench my thirst with a frosty brew. And I feel great knowing that I won't be tempted by myself...or other people.

My plan is to go through the whole of 2012 without a drink and re-evaluate at the beginning of 2013. So far...so good.

Just saw this thread. I had been drinking pretty much everyday for the last 7/8 years seriously. It may have only been a couple shots each evening and then heavy drinking on the weekends.

I got interested again in changing my physique and getting healthy. I have only drank twice in the last three months. I have had to turn down going out with my coworkers every weekend. I just go home now, I know it sounds depressing but really it was the best for me. I knew I could resist drinking but why put myself in the situation and environment. Plus I also knew if I go out late I would want to eat maybe after and that would hinder my weight goals.

I no longer think about alcohol. I had 3 shots on easter and felt like crap. Felt drowsy, and drained and just did not feel myself.

I now have been waking up at 5am to go to the gym. I feel awake in the am. I have energy I dont binge drink or eat. I know it may not seem like a problem if your drinking everyday but it is.

congrats to you man for stopping, I'm happy I've gone this long. And anyone who is thinking about stopping you definitely can do it, do not doubt yourself. You will feel better and have more control of yourself and your life.

good luck

[JMath]

Day One of sober living has begun. Can't handle it anymore, best way for me to stop is to shut it down totally. Moderation does not work with with me. I come from a long line of drinkers and it needs to stop here. I know the negative effects from drinking but my mind loses control around it. I will post frequently on my progress.

You can do this. Don't be afraid to post frequently man. It's what I did and it helped me quite a bit. For me, I kind of felt like this thread held me accountable to another person/people, and that really reinforced it for me; I didn't want to come back, post and have to say "yeah... I failed and ended up drinking".

Just saw this thread. I had been drinking pretty much everyday for the last 7/8 years seriously. It may have only been a couple shots each evening and then heavy drinking on the weekends.

I got interested again in changing my physique and getting healthy. I have only drank twice in the last three months. I have had to turn down going out with my coworkers every weekend. I just go home now, I know it sounds depressing but really it was the best for me. I knew I could resist drinking but why put myself in the situation and environment. Plus I also knew if I go out late I would want to eat maybe after and that would hinder my weight goals.

I no longer think about alcohol. I had 3 shots on easter and felt like crap. Felt drowsy, and drained and just did not feel myself.

I now have been waking up at 5am to go to the gym. I feel awake in the am. I have energy I dont binge drink or eat. I know it may not seem like a problem if your drinking everyday but it is.

congrats to you man for stopping, I'm happy I've gone this long. And anyone who is thinking about stopping you definitely can do it, do not doubt yourself. You will feel better and have more control of yourself and your life.

good luck

Congrats on all your progress! (You're not drinking progress and fitness ones) You gave some pretty solid advice that a lot of people could benefit from.

[Jackals]

Just saw this thread. I had been drinking pretty much everyday for the last 7/8 years seriously. It may have only been a couple shots each evening and then heavy drinking on the weekends.

I got interested again in changing my physique and getting healthy. I have only drank twice in the last three months. I have had to turn down going out with my coworkers every weekend. I just go home now, I know it sounds depressing but really it was the best for me. I knew I could resist drinking but why put myself in the situation and environment. Plus I also knew if I go out late I would want to eat maybe after and that would hinder my weight goals.

I no longer think about alcohol. I had 3 shots on easter and felt like crap. Felt drowsy, and drained and just did not feel myself.

I now have been waking up at 5am to go to the gym. I feel awake in the am. I have energy I dont binge drink or eat. I know it may not seem like a problem if your drinking everyday but it is.

congrats to you man for stopping, I'm happy I've gone this long. And anyone who is thinking about stopping you definitely can do it, do not doubt yourself. You will feel better and have more control of yourself and your life.

good luck

Thanks for your words man. Good luck to you too!

[FitandRipped]

I wanted to start this thread for a little motivation to not drink again. I will update my progress as the weeks/months go on with honest feedback from the weekends events.

Reasons:
-Legal troubles in the past.
-I'm newly married and if I want to have a healthy relationship with my wife I can not drink.
-I have a family history of alcohol abuse and it needs to end with me. My father lost his family because he couldn't say NO, I need to learn from his mistake.
-No more pointless drama, stupid arguments, and conflicts in general.
-save money
-wake up early on a Friday & Saturday for change.
-Mental health

Since June 09 I've been doing pretty good about keeping it to the weekends only. Before that I drank every other day, some weeks, every day. I always had an excuse for it saying I didn't have anything to do the next day or I didn't drink yesterday so today it's ok.

I wanted a change in my life so I decided to quit drinking during the week and start going to the gym again.
Now, it's not any better. I find my self very irritable on the days that I don't drink and I binge drink on the weekends. I won't say how much I drink but I know I only stop when I'm passed out on the couch.
This past weekend I got into a pretty good fight with my wife and I almost lost her.

I'm done. The only way for me to be healthy is to quit the cycle that I think I can control. I can not drink in moderation, I've tried. It's lasts for a while and then SMACK! It's back.

I'm too old for this sh!t.

Bro ur not the only one who quit drinking. I was one alcoholic ****, and one day i decided i will never drink in my life!

What happened after i quit drinking:

-I saved a lot of money
-I started going to the gym
-Not having problems in my daily life
-Living happy healthy life
-Family relationship got better
-Found other friends that don't drink
-Started getting good grades in University
-Started praying coz im Muslim

i wish u a happy good life bro !!

[tandpr]

How does it work? I have quit drinking multiple times. Once for a year or so. It starts with one or two on new years or something and then slides back to weekend benge drinking that leads to black outs, wrecked vehicles, run ins with cops, fights with family and friends, fights with strangers, and this last time ended me up in ER. If it weren't for a friend I straight up would have laid there and either drowned or blead out.

I have to stop or die. I just feel it is honestly that serious. I am looking into AA although I don't feel like that is for me. I do however have to do something and that is about all I know to do different. I once went to a counselor to save relationships with wife and kids. He said I needed an accountablility partner or group. What does said group/partner do?

I am awaiting getting the staples out of my head and my eyes to open all the way so I can get back to the gym. That is another thing the alcohol takes from me is gym progress... anyway, I get healed up and I am, one way or another, going to actively, aggressively, forcefully remove this demon from my life. But I need some way to stay motivated and accountable after my head heals.

Ideas?

[JMath]

How does it work? I have quit drinking multiple times. Once for a year or so. It starts with one or two on new years or something and then slides back to weekend benge drinking that leads to black outs, wrecked vehicles, run ins with cops, fights with family and friends, fights with strangers, and this last time ended me up in ER. If it weren't for a friend I straight up would have laid there and either drowned or blead out.

I have to stop or die. I just feel it is honestly that serious. I am looking into AA although I don't feel like that is for me. I do however have to do something and that is about all I know to do different. I once went to a counselor to save relationships with wife and kids. He said I needed an accountablility partner or group. What does said group/partner do?

I am awaiting getting the staples out of my head and my eyes to open all the way so I can get back to the gym. That is another thing the alcohol takes from me is gym progress... anyway, I get healed up and I am, one way or another, going to actively, aggressively, forcefully remove this demon from my life. But I need some way to stay motivated and accountable after my head heals.

Ideas?

If you have been to a professional before for something like a relationship, I'd suggest going to one for this. If you're a veteran, don't know if you are, and have access to the VA, they offer different programs. Otherwise give AA a shot. If it's not for you, find something else. I wouldn't be so quick to just look past it as an option though; you never know, it may work well for you.

The idea of an accountability partner is great. As cheesy as it sounds, the guy that started this thread sort of helped me with that. I would come on here, and sort of check in with him and this thread, give my own update, and I felt like I was sort of being held accountable by it. I'd have a serious talk with someone that means a lot to you in your life. A parent, kid, someone who will definitely be part of your life for the foreseeable future and tell them how much quitting means to you. Tell them that you are committing to it and you'd appreciate their support. From then on, they SHOULD be supportive about it (they'll congratulate you after a month free of alcohol, 6 months, whatever) and it will reinforce your goal. On top of that, just by telling someone important to you, you're not going to want to have to go back to that person and say "yeah I failed" or worse yet have them actually see you fail, so you'll be that much more motivated to succeed.

Another thing you can do, and this worked tremendously for me, is tell everyone that you're going to quit. This means your friends that will say "yeah right tandpr, you'll never do it". That was a huge motivation for me. There were a bunch of people that told me I couldn't do it, or wouldn't do it. Proving them wrong is quite possibly the best feeling I've had related to not drinking.

It's also important to know, and you mentioned it, that most people when they quit drinking for a while, in your case a year, and then go back to drinking, they typically will pick up right where they left off. So you don't drink for a year. Then on New Years you have a couple. Within a couple weeks if you do not maintain self control and stop on New Years, you'll likely be right back to where you were. So don't get too down on yourself about it. It happens to most people that try quitting. Very few people ever quit the first time they try.

[MogadishuK]

You know, there's nothing more true than that. "In a loving manner". Man that brings back memories. After all of the horrible things I saw as a kid, I always, ALWAYS, had a fear in the back of my mind that I would become my father. Some of the things he would say and do, I'll never forget. My mom literally walked around on egg shells for fourteen yrs. When she finally packed her bags and left she became a different person. I even had trouble figuring out who this new person was. She was so independent, and happy after a while. I was use to the broken down woman that she had always been.

People told me that there was no way that I could ever be like my father was but I felt it inside somehow, because of the drinking. I was not as bad as him but I started finding similarities that even scared me. It felt like I wasn't in control of those things.

Now, there's nothing in the world more important to me than my wife's happiness. I make sure I'm always pleasent around her, I don't take my bad day out on her, I don't yell or even get mad anymore like I use to. I've learned to pick my battles and I take pride in turning the other cheek. I learned what the definition of being a MAN is from my step-father and I'm lucky to have him as an example. Between my wife and I, I'm the strength in our relationship not the burden. To me, there's no other way to live life.

That, is why I quit. There is no other reason than that.

Phuu..I was just browsing the thread and this definitely resonated with me. I recently had a relationship with this girl for a few months and towards the end, when I was really drunk, my father would come out, angry, shouting, nasty etc. It was ****ed up. I also never want to be like my father but I think deep inside I do carry some of his impulses and anger that he carried on to me and usually when I am sober I am known as a calm, nice guy but I realised recently that drinking can bring out that bad side to me so it definitely made me think twice. Subjecting that ugly to side to a girlfriend or anyone would really damage the relationship so it doesn make you think twice.