Tapering off

I’m now at the point where I can’t quit cold turkey or I get horrible withdrawal symptoms, the anxiety being the worst of all. Omg so awful. I know I need help but I dont really have anyone to turn to. I live alone, states away from family. All my friends are big drinkers and just don’t understand quitting at all. Anyone have experience with tapering off?

If you get really bad symptoms from coming off of alcohol then you should definitely go to a detox center. Alcohol or Benzo withdrawal are the 2 drugs that can kill you coming off of them, it is considered a life threatening situation by hospitals.

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@Thecajunone What addiction are you trying to over come? If you are having extreme withdrawals, you should be in a safe and controlled environment like a detox center.

My New Year resolution for 2016 was to cut back on my drinking. I took baby steps with it at first. One day the first week, two days the next, and eventually worked my way up to seven days in a row. One thing I realized in the beginning was I definitely had a problem, and I couldn’t believe the anxiety I was getting passing up the beer store in the evenings. It took ten months of me trying to cut back and having bad rebounds before I finally realized I had to quit all together. I just woke up one morning from drinking too much the night before and having the typical headache and hangover that ruins the whole day, and I realized it was finally time. I was ready to be done with it. I reflected back upon my drinking and my actions over the past several years where it had slowly gotten worse and snuck up on me. I had been in denial of my problem for years. Tapering off didn’t prove yo work for me. I am on day 25 now without hitting reset one time since I joined this group. I too have friends who are heavy drinkers. I didn’t tell them all of my symptoms and issues with drinking, but I let them know I was done with it for a while. I stated the headaches and hangovers as not being worth drinking, and stated I was doing it for health reasons too. They understood, and I think respected me for it. I hope you are able to find a way out of your addiction. It does get better the longer you go. The first week was the hardest for me. You will feel a lot better sober, and that will help keep you strong.

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Yeah I know… I just don’t have the time money to detox at medical.

Thanks man, I really appreciate you typing that out. I understand tapering can be a slippery slope but I think it’s tbe best way for me at this point, the withdrawal symptoms are just too much. I’m going to be very strict with it and follow a schedule to the dot. I just dont have time and money to take off for a medical detox. This is something I gotta handle myself. I’m just gonna have to tell friends to fuck off if they dont get it.

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Everyone has a different path to sobriety, so you have to do whats best for you with the options you have available. Lots of good advice on this forum. Take what you need from it, and leave what you don’t. Its helped me a lot just reading similar stories to mine. You are not alone. Stay strong stay sober!

Sobriety = abstinence. What’s the difference between abstinence and quiting? I dont really know the answer to that. I’ve just bought in the idea that I am abstaining one minute at a time, one hour, one week, etc.

I wish I could just go cold turkey but I cant. Im going ro ease off into sobriety. Trust me im ready but last time j quit cold turkey the withdrawal symptoms were quite bad.