The Wise Alchy Sage Retires
 

I've been working on my various character flaws and like to think I've made some progress. It is time to reconsider alcohol. My problem with booze usually expresses itself in group settings. I'm generally regarded as a funny drunk. The comments I keep to myself sober stream out unfiltered. Obviously, this can lead to unfunny moments. The other part of drinking in group settings is the quantity problem. I don't drink moderately while engaged socially. So in the name of good emotional, physical, and spiritual health and fitness I'm pulling the plug on booze. We had a nice run but it doesn't work any more. If y'all catch me on the drunk thread, give me hell.

Good for you, Griff! I totally support you on this. ETOH has been my master for a looooong time and I know just how hard it is to quit. Best wishes!

Thanks B! I appreciate the support.

Good on you. I'm think about a new years deal myself. Again!
Hi Lady. Good on you also.

You can do this, Griff, just like everything else you've set your mind to.
While alcohol can be fun, it extracts a pretty hefty price.
Being sober might prevent you from getting run through in a duel, also.

We need a new support thread for all of us who are gonna try and alter our behavior! I stopped smokin 3 months ago, but I still feel the urge on occasion. It was the last vice I had and by far the hardest to leave behind. Griif set your mind and if you need any help or encouragement - shoot me a pm. Great luck to ya!

Thanks guys!

Griff:

You can do this.

I don't miss alcohol. I don't miss being drunk. I definitely don't miss the misery of being hung over. I don't miss that hole in my pocket where my money used to be. I don't miss the fear of doing something stupid/illegal/harmful while being drunk.

I still drink, just club soda or something similar. I still get happy, but from circumstances, not substances. I still get sick, just not self inflicted. I still spend my (practically all my) money, just on stuff that lasts longer than one night. And I still do stupid/illegal/harmful things. I have plenty of room for self improvement. But I am trying to find new mistakes to make, instead of repeating the same stupid/illegal/harmful ones I did while drinking. I flatter myself by considering that learning.

I know you have an abiding love of learning too. I wish you success with your efforts to learn what you're seeking. It's there, and you're able. You can do it.

Great decision, Griff. I made that one almost a year ago and haven't missed it since. Sobriety = clearheadedness. Clear is nice.

I just took my last patch off today from quitting smoking. I have only gained about 3 lbs since quitting, but I am not worried...I think it will come off again, since I am not holiday pigging anymore. I have tried very hard not to be a complete bitch through this whole thing, but quitting smoking is much harder than I had expected. It's difficult to stop doing something you have done every hour for 12 years.

Good on you Griff. I am seriously considering joining you.

I'm sure I'll agree with all of you tomorrow morning.

Until then...

We'll try not to be too smug. Thanks all.

HungOverLikeJesus?

lmao!

Good luck to you, Griff.

good luck with it. i didn't make a big decision to stop drinking altogether, it just kind of happened last year. i decided i needed a break about a year and a half ago. so i just started working out during the time i normally drank. at some point i realized it felt pretty good not drinking and although i do miss the flavor of a gorgeous guinness... i don't miss it. much.

for me the only hard part was when i realized what the alcohol that was always in my system did for me. i was a very happy fully functional drunk. i was never hammered, but usually buzzed. i found out that after being sober for some time that sobriety brought my temper to the surface. apparently the booze suppressed that. so i recognized that and deal with that through means that aren't turning my liver into a rock.

Best of luck to you Griff. You will be happy you did it. There is something that happens once you finally admit that drink isn't really your friend anymore that allows you to find the strength to move forward emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I was a fully functioning drunk as well, which for me meant having 5-8 strong mixed drinks every night, then getting up and functioning the next day with the rest of society. If we were in a party setting...well....5-8 drinks was warm up for a steady stream of shots. After deciding I was destroying myself, and everything around me, stopping the drink was one of the things that I made the choice to do. Like LookOut, there were a lot of other things to deal with then because I realized it was much more difficult sober than not. All in all though, once the fog from the drink lifted after a couple of weeks, life has been so much fuller and richer. Some people can handle social drinking, I can't handle drinking at all. Congrats on self awareness and positive change for you. :)

Good choice Griff.

I quit in '07 - September 3rd to be exact. Went to detox, went to rehab - the whole nine yards.... best thing I have ever done for myself & my family.

Be prepared to be a bit "raw" for a while. I thought I was a total blabbermouth when I was a drunk.... at least I was somewhat careful with what I said. Not now..... :)

You can do it!

Seak I know what you mean by "raw." I couldn't figure out why I suddenly had all these "problems." Then I realized that was why I drank so much...so I didn't see them.

I haven't had a drink since New Year's Eve.
I decided to try abstinance after cutting down wasn't really working for me.

I know you (Griff) don't have as troubled a relationship with alcohol as I do, but I still believe taking the step of cutting it out completely is a brave one in a culture where drinking is not just acceptable but almost expected. My respect to the others who have posted after making the same decision, especially those who identified their own problems.

I'm in Welling today (terrible town, great library) for my second session of group therapy for dealing with Alcohol Related Issues.

The first wasn't too grim, but knowing I am going to spend 1.5 hours, three days a week for the next six weeks is quite daunting. Somehow I think my decision to view quitting drinking as a matter of self respect will be more useful to me than the therapy, but I am trying to be open minded. There is a woman on the course who quit on 25 November after going through detox, so at least I have a role model.

Here's to being able to post that we are still drink free by choice this time next month (even though I am still counting mine on a daily basis!)

Bravo!!

SG, I had a clever post composed, which out of the generosity of my heart, I have deleted without a trace. You're welcome.

Instead I want to offer my congratulations on your courageous decision, and I will also say that I also decided (a while ago) that cutting down was impossibly more difficult than abstinence. I can easily measure "no drinks" but I think the decision "have I had enough to drink or can I have one more..." is fraught with peril. The very thing upon which I rely to make a such a decision soundly is the very thing that is being dulled by the drink--my judgment.

Thanks SG. Thus far its only been a matter of thinking, "I usually have a drink now." I recognize it, but I'm not really suffering from the lack. One reason I stopped was that a while back I physically felt an itch in my brain when I wanted a drink. It only happened once, but it felt like something which could get much more intense. I don't want to permanently wire my brain for booze.

Like V, I think abstinence will work better for me for the same reason. Be strong SG, your bravery puts me to shame.

Well it's been over three weeks now, which sometimes sounds laughable, and sometimes sounds like something I should get a standing ovation for.

I've been to two AA meetings - I'm courting them for when my current group therapy finishes in 2.5 weeks time. The temptation is still very much there and I don't want to be cut loose with no help as I fear I will listen to the drink voice in my head once the structure of three weekly meetings finishes.

On the one hand I do not want to be 22 years sober and still be attending AA like on of the women in the meeting last night. On the other hand if I can walk down the street mourning the fact that I will never surrender my conscious mind to alcohol again I obviously still have work to do. As I was walking home last night I was seriously considering going to buy some Night Nurse as someone at the meeting mentioned coming off alcohol and getting hallucinations from necking a bottle when she was ill. I thought it would be an interesting experience and after all HM would never know I knew it contained alcohol...

Ahem. Have to remember that managing to hide it is only succeeding in lying to myself. I have more self respect than that and I have pride and dignity. Or at least I'm committed to the idea of fake it til you make it.

Hope everyone else is doing as well as they intended.

Congrats SG, it seems as though you are headed in the right direction and have a good mindset. I still get occassional cravings, but I am in control now. The thought of "being controlled" by an addiction pretty much wipes out the desire for it. Good luck all!

Awesome! Great job, Sundae! You know, it is okay to be mourning the loss of your alchy buddy. After all, she has been an escape all this time, right? You just don't need her anymore. :) I am happy for you, SG.

Keep going Sundae, don't cheat on yourself.

I'm sober and wondering how well I'll handle the intensity of reality in the long run. {shrug} I'm just playing station to station baseball but I guess that's how the winners play. The previous metaphor probably works for <2% of the American population, making it completely meaningless to almost everyone. I guess that's the definition of a good metaphor.

Griff, my brother. What *is* a metaphor?


































For playing baseball in, of course!

I just wanna say :thumb:, :cheerldr: and :notworthy to all those who are making a stand against any kind of substance habit: drink, cigarette, whatever. Either starting a new stand or keeping up one you've got going. There are enough people here that I won't list you by name but I admire your honesty in admitting to yourself that there is a problem, and your courage in doing what needs to be done about it.
Hang in there, all of you.

so does this mean the cellar is going straightedge? i'll get the sharpie and we can all X up.

I really don't think so.

To me, straightedge is all about strict habits AND strict enforcement of those values and standards among all others.

I don't see the strict habits, certainly not uniformly strict. And more importantly, and more happily, I don't see the intolerance that defines straightedgers. I see tolerance.

Good! More DD's for meeeeee... *glug* *glug*

Seriously, way to go guys and gals. I am proud of you.

sundae puts me to shame. I am so happy for you, woman. Look how strong you are!!!

Me, I'm still drinking. two day binges have turnd into six days...I use the CA as an excuse, I'm bored, I'm stuck in my house, wah, wah, wah, poor me.

I'm going to class today. that seems to help, to have some sort of activity, structure. I despise AA---going there always makes me want to run out and drink. I've been a completely irresponsible asshole. I'm glad sundae is making it----she's my hero.

DDs? I thought it was DTs.

eh, the real core of the straightedge movement wasn't based on forcing others to be straightedge. I sat and enjoyed plenty of beer and steak amongst the straightedge set back in the day.