While you are still young and pretty, try to quit. It may sound shallow, but it can be a motivating factor. I’m 36 yrs old. I’ve gained 30 lbs and my skin is ruddy. I hope getting sober will bring me back to my radiant self. I hope I can reverse some.of the damage I’ve done. I still hope to learn to get close to people. Alcohol allows me to get close but keep distance. It’s not intimacy. I am very unhapoy. I wish I was 24 again so I had more time to address this in my Prime. Best of luck to you, luv. I’m working on getting past 7 days.
Great introspection here. I am with you. I am strong when it comes to Drink #1. After that, not so much. So all I have to do is deny myself that first drink, and sobriety becomes quite easy. Moderation is a trap for me. I admire my wife’s ability to moderate. She can go months without a drink. She can go out with friends and be “one and done”, same when we go to a restaurant. She opens a bottle of wine, and it will go bad before she finishes it. She has that self discipline.
Me? For all of my self-discipline, this is the one area where it is a clear “yes/no” proposition. I can either be drunk, or I can be sober. There is no middle-ground. Drunk never worked out for me. Sober does. Sober fits me like a well-tailored suit, or like comfortable shoes. I realize now that alcohol was not made for me, and I was not made for alcohol.
If you can’t tell how you are going to react to a drink and you know there’s a good chance you will blackout then it sounds like you have probably lost control of your drinking. Having one or 2 is probably always going to be risky for you, with the possibility of black outs. I would definitely not risk it, black outs are so dangerous. It’s not worth it.
I gained almost 60 pounds had the worst break up a few years ago and I’ve been drinking myself into oblivion ever since and gained all of that after being slim my entire life.it is possible to lose it though. I’m on day 3. Good luck to you we can do it!!!
You speak truth. I can’t believe how much “easier” it is to not drink at all than it was to “control it.” From September 2017 to March 2018 I tried to control it. I did a pretty good job, but it was incredibly stressful. My drinking-related anxiety plummeted when I finally said no to any drinking at all. Most of the time now, I don’t even have the urge to drink. I did slip up last week and have one beer, but one in 46 days is pretty amazing since I’ve been drinking everyday for at least 14 years.
Bottom line? You will be less stressed, believe it or not, if you stop drinking all together than if you try to control it.
The only way to describe, controlling it…it was a battle raging in my head…part of me knew how bad it would be with “one” more drink. The other part and no self respect for myself.
Definitely a battle. I set goals for each day (1 drink MTWR, 2drinks Fri Sat, Sun). I kept track in a little journal. I also had a rule about no drinking until after 5:00 local time (because we’ve all said it’s 5 o’clock somewhere). So, every (damn) day, I would wait all day long to go buy my one or two drinks. Couldn’t keep it in the house. Bought a shooter or a single beer. That was the only way I could “control” it. And I obsessed about that one drink all day, and was super sad when I finished it, and would have to fight with myself not to go back out and buy more. Every. single. day. I read someone saying it is easier not to drink at all because you make only one decision “I do not drink” instead of a decision every time you finish a drink. And decisions are stressful.
Have a few drinks and quit? Seems like a fairytale for me…ive tried and failed trying to bargin with myself to “Just have a few” and end up wasted causing trouble…Sooooooo im going on a little over 100 hrs. Clean n sober and it feels great. The urges get bad but im thinking about just having a few will ruin me and its working. Hope all goes well for you. Stay Strong
Hi Mocatt:
Wow, you really are a fighter! Your story proves just how strong and gutsy you are.
I am sure, once you establish your mindset, your victory over alcohol is assured!
Just do it, one day at a time.
Jack
@JackJoe - thank you for the kind words. I’m fighting my way each day, but it feels different this time. This forum is such a source of inspiration and strength.
Ugh! Sorry you went through that. I’m hopeful that I will spontaneously lose weight by being sober. I also do an Ayurvedic weight loss tea plus dry skin brushing which gets rid of toxins and clears lymph. Lots of early bedtimes. Fingers crossed for both of us.