Why? Surely the only way for an alcoholic to stay sober is to never have a beer? Just one becomes just two, and before you know it the addiction is back.
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[Drinking] Alcoholic/like a beer or two too much?
- Thread starter StillHateBellotti
- Start date
Knocky's Nose
Mon nez est en Valenciennes..
This...
I did dry January, breezed it, so did February - and then March. Early April I went to a social occasion and thought 'Right, let's see if I can just dip in and dip out.. I'll drink tonight, then I'll have another few months off"
That, my friends, was my downfall. It's July and I'm back to my old levels of drinking almost every night...
I can stop on a sixpence, when I decide to - but at the moment I'm enjoying an ice cold beer or a crisp, cold glass of Chardonnay in the hot weather. When Autumn starts I'll knock it on the head again for a few months. I don't think I'll ever be able to 100% kick alcohol, but if I can give my body some long 'rest periods' it may help.
Finally, I can honestly say that from mid January until early April I'd never felt better. It was the sleep. I cannot tell you how well you sleep when you're alcohol free. It makes your waking hours twice as enjoyable. Really.
Alcohol is a twunt. If it was invented today in 2019 they'd do all the tests, recoil in horror, and then 'Class A' it as a harmful substance with serious health implications and call it a danger to public order. However, it's such a money maker for the government, and so intertwined in our psyche, they let it roll.
Phil Collins recently claimed he was a recovered alcoholic who was still able to enjoy drink sensibly . A subsequent morning tv interview showed otherwise.
albion534
Well-known member
I worked in emergency housing. And a guy has to drink to actually wean himself off it. If he’s clean for 2 weeks and has a beer. Isn’t that a victory? If somebody drinks every day. Then manages a few days without. That’s a victory.
Just because you want to quit. Doesn’t mean it will happen straight away. And saying having a beer means you’ve failed. Is an awful way of looking at it.
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Whilst I agree it would be banned if discovered now, I don't think they're keeping it because it makes money, just as I don't think cigarettes are allowed for the money. I think alcohol is allowed because whilst it can be bad for some people, it's been proven to be fine for most of us in moderation. I can drink whenever I fancy it, and it's no problem for me. I wouldn't want it to be banned. I think that's true for the vast majority of adults.
That's not what I'm saying at all. Firstly, I'm not judging anyone, I'm simply recounting the stories of others.
If an alcoholic could suddenly just start drinking the odd beer when they fancied it, then I wouldn't even think they were an alcoholic. My understanding was that an alcoholic simply can't do that.
StillHateBellotti
Active member
- Thread starter
- #67
I have just completed my course and find it not too hard at the moment. There were others on the course who really struggled and one dropped out. Unfortunately breath tests were administered.
They do say that recovery is a constantly evolving process, some will drink again and then go back through the process again. I went in to the course with the mindset that I would have a break and in 6 months have a few here or there? I have now decided to try total sobriety. I am not using the AA model as it’s too holdy hands and religious for me.
I am reading the eight Buddhist steps to recovery, got to be worth a go. Also starting to see results in the gym and waistline, wallet and mainly health wise. I am also aiming to return and become a facilitator to assist others in recovery at some stage.
I was totally apprehensive, hate groups type stuff but it really hit home and hopefully has had the desired effect.
Day 19 for me now and I can fully endorse the comment above. I honestly have never slept better and felt so refreshed and ready to go in the mornings.
I found the first week or so pretty hard slog but since then giving up booze has been an absolute revelation. I have combined stopping drinking with making time to walk or run a minimum of 5 miles every day and cutting the crap out of my diet and not only do I feel much better but I have lost a load of weight too.
Can't say how it will all pan out but for the moment I don't miss the beer at all and that is something I never thought I'd hear myself saying on a Friday night.
Day 25 now, with zero alcohol. I re-watched the Adrian Chiles documentary "Drinkers Like Me" last Saturday night and realised that was exactly me. I didn't drink anything like the quantity Adrian Chiles did, but I would habitually drink pretty much everyday that I was able to, without a second thought. Goodness know how many units I was putting away. I daren't calculate it retrospectively, but I would comfortably exceed the recommended weekly number across just one or two evenings. I watched it the first time around which I found a very uncomfortable experience but reconcilled myself with the fact I wasn't as bad as Adrian Chiles. It was refreshing to watch it again completely dry.
Wish I had tried this years ago, tbh, but here we are.
Wish I had tried this years ago, tbh, but here we are.
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Hampden Park
Ex R.N.
- Oct 7, 2003
- 4,989
Having a few pints on Saturday for the first time in months. Yes, the football season is back! 
Three months of no Guinness is good going IMO. Especially when it's well kept in the Irish pubs in London.
Three months of no Guinness is good going IMO. Especially when it's well kept in the Irish pubs in London.
Whilst I'm so chuffed for you I have @knockys nose syndrome, I executed Dry January perfectly and am now back to more days drinking than not, by a long way!
So, after 204 consecutive days without a drink, I’ve had at least one drink on each of the last eight days.
I think the most I’ve had in any one day was yesterday where I had five:
- bellini with breakfast
- beer with lunch
- margarita with dinner
- two glasses of red in the evening
On some other days I’ve just had the one drink.
I’m enjoying the drinks I’m having, but not craving it, nor am I desperate for a drink any time.
I’m sure I’m drinking considerably less than on similar holidays in the past and I still have no doubts that when I’m back home I’ll not be a habitual-cos-it’s-there drinker most evenings.
Well done to everyone else still fighting the good fight.
I think the most I’ve had in any one day was yesterday where I had five:
- bellini with breakfast
- beer with lunch
- margarita with dinner
- two glasses of red in the evening
On some other days I’ve just had the one drink.
I’m enjoying the drinks I’m having, but not craving it, nor am I desperate for a drink any time.
I’m sure I’m drinking considerably less than on similar holidays in the past and I still have no doubts that when I’m back home I’ll not be a habitual-cos-it’s-there drinker most evenings.
Well done to everyone else still fighting the good fight.
StillHateBellotti
Active member
- Thread starter
- #74
I will try and watch that on catch up. I am now 4 weeks down, feeling great, slowly losing weight in the gym and even have a few quid in the bank
. It’s hard but I have medication to take which really helps prevent the cravings.
For those on you ‘on the wagon’, do you enjoy meals out as much as you did, just drinking water or soft drinks?
vegster
Sanity Clause
- May 5, 2008
- 27,892
So many variables though with different people. When I met Mrs V, she was shocked that I did NOT have wine with my evening meal at home. She came from a family where wine with a family dinner at home was pretty much obligatory but I had grown up in a family where alcohol was just used at family get togethers such as weddings and anniversary parties and for a few days over Christmas
. My late Dad would have a pint or two once or twice a week after work but would never drink at home and my mum would happily go from Christmas to Christmas without drinking a drop.
To be perfectly honest with you, I am exactly the same - or certainly fear I would be exactly the same. Which is why I have gone zero alcohol. I just know that if I allowed myself just one beer, that would lead to another and then another and in no time I would be right back where I started. So for the foreseeable future it's zero booze for me. So far the benefits certainly seem to be outweighing the drawbacks massively.
StillHateBellotti
Active member
- Thread starter
- #79
Exactly the same issue, either all or nothing. If I have one that would be me back to square one again, so like you I am zero alcohol. I find it easier to go zero than try and battle the demons and have one or two here or there.
StillHateBellotti
Active member
- Thread starter
- #80
I really don’t have as much fun in the local, but it’s good to view the others drinking habits without beer Glasses on. I now realise that it is a good idea to stop or cut right back. I can go out for a meal and can’t deny I am tempted for a beer, but have a large bottle of sparkling water, ice and lemon. I am sure I will always be tempted, but the medication helps with my cravings.