Im giving up drink..

AckwelFoley

Hello

Ive decided to give up drinking for a significant period of time

Ive bi polar depression and its gets very bad for me between now and January in particular, so ive a pretty stedy life now and feel that i can go without the beer and vodka at functions and nights out without it.

I did it for almost 2 years before when i was 23 because i felt i drank too much and it went well.

The toughest thing is the temptation... but im going to do everything in my powers to prevent what happend to me this time last year, because i cant go back to that state of mind, and drinking wont help.. bull by the horns and all that...

2 weeks drink free and counting

mikemac

Best of luck with that
Now best to take up some new activities.

There's some stuff going on here. Or maybe head along to Eircom league games on a Friday night, there are always a few on

Fairplay.

kjt

Best of luck and well done so far - 2 weeks

Karen_*

Fair play to you!

Heathen

good one!!

im off booze and fags for the whole month of sept.. only 2 days gone, but im back to training as of Monday so i cant even look at fags when im training or i'll puke, i have been keeping myself occupied by going jogging etc.. also bought a bike so i can go cycling instead of boozing.. BTW to put this in perspective, i spend on average 1000 euro a month on booze so im expecting a lot of shakes and detox nightmares over the next few weeks, im hoping that once i pass the one month off the fags i will be able to knock em on the head, i have given up fags many time, up to 2 years, but always ended up back on them for one reason or another, i will go back on the booze after the month is up, but wont be going back on it as heavy, im just doing this month dry cos i want to make it easier to get back training..

best of luck to ya snyper!!

A grand on booze a month :eek::eek::eek:. How can you afford to do anything else with your life??

I wish you the best of luck with your month goal.

Your making it tough giving up everything at once...it is a good thing you have training to focus on.

AckwelFoley

micmclo wrote: »

Best of luck with that
Or maybe head along to Eircom league games on a Friday night, there are always a few on

Athlone town fc would drive me back to drink :pac:

Heathen

fell off the Wagon in a big way.. only managed to last 5 days saturday night was a complete blur.. sunday was a 12 hour session (all ireland final) and last night went into the small hours.. oops maybe i was a bit too ambitious

howisitgoing

stay in there most of us envy you keep us updated we are rooting for you:cool:

AckwelFoley

still going strong...
The first 2 weekends were hell!

Im off it ofically a month this weekend and im pretty fine now, had a great night out last night, managd the nightclub and all with the missus.

Mind you i completely jacked up on Redbull.

Hagar

Fair play Snyper, keep up the good work, it can't be easy.

witnessmenow

Athlone town would nearly drive me to drink, and i'm a full time member of the non drinkers club!

You should put away the money you would normally spend on a night out, (€40-50 ?) and treat your self to something in a few months time (like a new tv or something) Maybe if you have an extra something to look forward to it would make it easier?

That redbull **** will kill ya! Try j2o if haven't yet.

Athlone is a grand spot, a bit too respectable. But grand.

Can we get j20 here in the south?

Taking advantage of the slower reflexes of drunk people is energy raising in of itself. No need for redbull.

witnessmenow

Yeah, its been bottled and distributed by britvic. Not a load of places have it yet though.

Fizman

Fair play OP, keep up the hard work. I intend doing the very same as you for October and November. I've been going a bit too crazy with the socialising over the past 12 months or so, and my body and wallet badly need a break!

witnessmenow wrote: »

You should put away the money you would normally spend on a night out, (€40-50 ?)

Wow I wish that was what I could spend on a normal night out. I'm anywhat from 70 - 130 a night to be honest, so I can see exactly what another poster was talking about when spending roughly 1,000 euros a month on going out!!

I've a 35 man stag in Edinburgh this weekend (several hundred more gone on liquor) so i'm hoping that come sunday night i'll be so sick at the sight of drink i'll have no trouble in giving it up for a while. Seriously gonna try and go 8 weeks.

Now to find a girlfriend to keep me occupied.

Fizman

Fizman wrote: »

Now to find a girlfriend to keep me occupied.

Are you legal?

Hagar

Fizman wrote: »

Seriously gonna try and go 8 weeks.

Nobody can do eight weeks, just do today, then repeat again tomorrow.

Fizman

Moonbaby wrote: »

Are you legal?

Indeed I am!

A/S/L?

Hagar wrote: »

Nobody can do eight weeks, just do today, then repeat again tomorrow.

Yes thats true. I've no prob going a certain length of time without drink (did 5-6 weeks at the start of the year after a crazy xmas period). When the weekend hits though its a killer at the minute. I play a lot of soccer and stay in good condition, and with games on a sunday morning I'd normally stay in on a saturday night. Currently, however, i'm out of action through injury for at least another 4-5 months (and have been out since last April) so i've been averaging two (not so quiet) nights out a week.

Think i'll aim for a drink free October first of all and see how that goes!

shawnee

Haven't touched the stuff for last 5 or six weeks, mind you the first two were in hosp , which kickstarted me. Think my body and mind needed a rest from the stuff. Have been thinking about it for some time, but needed to start. Generally don't find it a problem day to day, but I was out on Sat night at a 50th and it was fine until around 2 when the bull**** started. I was keen to go home at that stage and that was when my friend was settling in. However got through it , but those are the difficult times that need to be managed. I apprciate that I would normally be bul****ting and delaying but it ain't easy to do it sober.
Overall I do feel the benefit of no drink. It has become very much part of my lifestyle and the bottle of wine at home is also easy.
I did give up drink before for a few years, but eventually went back with a glass of wine and within a few months it was back to normal. Think its all or nothing for me, so at the moment its nothing. So thankfully am feeling much healthier and better at moment.:)

superjosh9

Hi OP and anyone else,

I'm off nearly a year. I find that a long run on a Sunday morning - no matter what - makes you resist all temptation!

After many, many years - I had never realised that Sundays do in fact exist!

Best of luck!

Aard

Snyper, I think it's great that you've quit drinking. Having bipolar, drinking alcohol is one of the worst things you can do to yourself. It makes your highs higher, and then you will crash harder. I don't know how rapidly you cycle, but it doesn't really matter I guess.

I've got Borderline Personality Disorder, and quitting drinking is singularly the best thing I've done in my recovery. I hope you keep up your good work.

AckwelFoley

Im over a month off it now and i i feel great about it now

Ive gone past the first few weeks where id be really tempted to drink at social events and im getting used to it now. As i said earlier ive done it before for a year or so, but it is more important to me now. PPl have said to me .. "well, cant you just have one, or 2 drinks" but with me, that would spoil the "Im not drinking" senario, im either drinking or im not.. black or white with me

Vegeta

snyper wrote: »

I'm either drinking or im not.. black or white with me

Good on ya snyper, Personally I think that is the best approach.

When, I do have to go out (weddings, birthdays etc) I usually just drink water or sparkling water. Bland sure but drinking lots of sugar packed drinks like red bull, lucozade or orange juice is pretty bad for the body.

Some nights I even made a profit, go to a club, pay in and then find like 20 quid on the floor due to sober vision and situational awareness. Result

It can be tough if your other half expects you to go out every weekend though. If your (or your partners) social life revolves around the pub then your task will not be easy. You can do it alright but most pubs/clubs are not great places to socialise anyway (dark with loud music just to ensure its hard to talk to each other)

My advice would be to do more social things which don't revolve around pubs and drinking. Theatre, concerts, cinema, buy DVD box sets, visit parts of the country you've never seen, take up a sport or some form of training. Get a hobby which will keep you occupied when you feel the urge, music, martial art, pitch n putt, golf, fishing, rowing, wood or metal work, restore and old car/jeep, manage an under age kids soccer team, some DIY on your living space, computer gaming, and on and on.

Really if anything pops up where you think "I've always wanted to try that" then replace the social aspect of the pub with the social aspect of that activity.



Also don't be afraid of failure, if it happens it happens but don't brush it off as "sure it was only one night, that's no real harm" recognise it for what it was and try and learn from it

homergriffin

Off the booze myself 8 and a half weeks myself. You don't miss after the first 2 weeks. I've been in pubs plenty of times with my mates when all ofthem have been drinking and I'm comforable doing so. I tend to have coffee or 7 up when I'm out. I've had non-alcoholic beer as well, which is easier to drink at the same pace as the others.

lisa708881

snyper wrote: »

Im over a month off it now and i i feel great about it now
well done!i am bipolar too and have not drank in over a year!not only the does alcohol affect your mood but it also affects the meds too!!it took me 4 years to find the proper combo of meds and i sure as hell am not going to mess it up now by drinking!i find the best thing to do is to still go out as much as before but try different things,i actually saved my money up that i would usually spend and went on holidays instead!!!!:p

snyper

snyper wrote: »

PPl have said to me .. "well, cant you just have one, or 2 drinks" but with me, that would spoil the "Im not drinking" senario, im either drinking or im not.. black or white with me

What kind of people have said that to ya?

AckwelFoley

Moonbaby wrote: »

What kind of people have said that to ya?

friends and associates.

They mean no harm in it

snyper

snyper wrote: »

friends and associates.

They mean no harm in it

In fairness your friends and associates are a bit long in the tooth for that attitude. It is bloody ignorant. :mad: