I stopped drinking on the 18th of March 2023. Because of where I live and how my culture socialises, this was a huge step. But to be honest, in hindsight it was just something I’d been putting off for a long time. The hangovers did just become a nightmare to deal with, plus I didn’t feel like I was doing well with my personal relationships because of it. I’m glad to have all that time back, although I miss part of the social aspect. I’m working on creating a sober social life but it’s very early days.
How has your sobriety journey been for you?
I absolutely loved using r/stopdrinking as a resource. Now that I’m not on reddit so much I’d love to find a new community here! Has anyone created a sobriety community on the fediverse yet?
I stopped drinking almost 6 years ago because when I started drinking I drank way to much. Had no ability to moderate. And the hangovers were killing me.
I have achieved so much more in my life now that I dont drink. Got a degree, bought an apartment, had a kid…
These days I drink once a year (which occasion I choose changes) and I have a maximum of 2 beers and I find that I am able to manage that without going into binge drinking territory again. I also find that I dont really want to drink more than that.
I used to drink a lot to deal with loud social situations as an autistic person (especially bars, pubs and clubs) but these days Im very happy being a day time activity person and being in bed by 9pm. I feel like my community does not show young people enough ways to socialise and have fun without alcohol so it took me a long time to find that for myself.
I feel like my community does not show young people enough ways to socialise and have fun without alcohol so it took me a long time to find that for myself.
Hear hear! Since drinking I’ve realised that there’s very little else to do where I live. Now that I’m not calmed down by drinking, sitting in a bar all night has me bouncing up and down off my seat from boredom!!
Yes. 7 years. I stopped because I was a horrendous binge drinker. The first year was the most challenging but after about 18 months I was able to have a non alcoholic beer once in a while to take the edge off. I would say I get the urge maybe once or twice a year now but it’s more of a ‘Oooh, that would be nice’ but I know it’s a slippery slope back if I do have one.
Overall, much happier and I wish I’d stopped sooner but I can’t change the past.
I’ve been sober now for a little over two months. Socializing is definitely more difficult, not because of not wanting to be around situations where people are drinking. I live in a small town, everyone I’m around knows that I checked myself into treatment, so that’s not an issue. The issue is that I find myself being bored by normal social situations. I’m working on getting out more, and I do have a small but awesome group of sober friends. I think it’s just different now. That’s something I need to except and work through myself. Congrats on getting sober!
I stopped drinking 3.5ish years ago. I didn’t have a choice, drinking always made me super sick and vomit. In uni I thought it was normal to “puke and rally” everytime you drank. As I got older I wouldn’t even be able to get very drunk anymore, because I’d vomit before I could even get there.
The final nail in the coffin was I had a heavy night of drinking and was vomiting for a MONTH after. So I finally stopped. 6 months later I had a single shot and vomited for a week.
Since then every now and then I’ll try having 4 (literal) sips of wine, and I’ll have gastric distress every time.
The first year or so was very difficult because I missed social drinking and didn’t really know how to be social otherwise.
Now I’m just used to it. I don’t even miss it anymore. I’ll just chill with friends sober, or high. My friends don’t give me shit for it, and when randos do I’m just super rude and blunt and tell them “it makes me shit myself” and maintain aggressive eye contact until they go away awkwardly.
barely still drink, ive struggled with memory problems and depression for years and am terrified of developing some form of dementia
on top of that drinking just gives me a massive headache nowadays, no matter what i drink or how little
on top of that drinking just gives me a massive headache nowadays, no matter what i drink or how little
I’ve noticed this too, the thought of even having one pint seems so dumb to me because I know I’ll feel crap the next day.
On a completely unrelated note, I love your username!
Yes, I stopped in Autumn, 2016. I was an alcoholic in my late 40s, from a long line of alcoholics in a culture that is infamous for heavy drinking. I spend a lot more time alone now, but that’s okay- the whole reason I drank was to make socialising tolerable.
I will be honest, I used psilocybin to start me off on my sober life, and it worked. I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone who wants to stop, but it worked incredibly well for me. I lost the urge to drink completely and it has never come back.
My first psilocybin trip was half a year into sobriety and made a profound difference. Not only did I lose interest in drinking as an activity, I also started being able to connect the dots on what was actually making me miserable in a way sobriety alone couldn’t provide.
Everything I like to do requires some degree of brainpower. One drop of alcohol and the rest of the day is shot.
I stopped drinking but not by choice. I got a medical diagnosis that meant I go to the hospital if I drink and possibly get some intestines removed.
Sucks because I liked craft beer and didn’t even drink a lot. Maybe a beer after work and a few on weekends.
One good thing though is that at least my waistline is pretty great without all those extra calories. My liver is probably pretty happy too.
Sorry to hear about your health troubles.
The weight thing is mad isn’t it? It’s been quite easy to keep weight off. Although I think I’ve upped my sugar intake to make up for it!
Thanks friend, the diagnosis was several years ago at this point so it’s been a while and I’ve had my grieving time. Things are better now and it definitely gets easier with time, but the first year or so was rough for me ngl. The health improvements helped though like the weight but I also just feel overall more alert and aware than before I stopped drinking.
I don’t go to the same social situations I used to either, going to a bar with some friends is not really a great time for me now. Being the designated driver was fun for a few months but I get tired of being sober around a bunch of drunk people. So that aspect is difficult as well, but you find different hobbies and activities and with that different friends. Doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to the old friends, but if all they like to do is drink then it will get harder to spend time together. Many of the friends from before I had to stop drinking are now just distant acquaintances on my social media friends list. So that’s a reality I’d say to just be ready for and try not to let it get you down. That’s life and sometimes life takes us in different directions. Do what’s best for you.
Happy to hear that you’re finding good resources online though! Wishing you the best with your journey!
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I stopped drinking a few years ago.
I never had an alcohol abuse problem and didn’t drink frequently, but I hated how my brain got super cloudy when I drank even one beer.
Even divining one beer made me sleep terribly and wake up super early, so the next day was terrible.
I eventually had an unrelated medical problem that I dealt with for years alcohol seemed to make the symptoms worse. So I slowly stopped drinking over time.
It was hard to stop 100% as I worked occasionally have a craving for it and have a beer or two. But at this point I have not had any alcohol at all for at least two years. But I stopped drinking for the most part like 4 years ago.
I honestly do not miss it at all.
Congratulations! Quitting drinking was one of the best things I’ve done for my life, too.
I just wanted to mention, for anyone else following this thread: I had help from naltrexone.
It may still be considered an “off-label application” for alcoholics, depending on where you live in the world. But it worked for me, after many previous attempts and relapses.
For anyone who’s interested in learning more, here’s a case study to get you started: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2565602/
Congrats to you too!! How was your experience on naltrexone? Did it help with withdrawal symptoms or does it work a different way?
Naltrexone is not a detox drug. If you’re physically dependent, naltrexone probably can’t help with that - inpatient detox is still a vitally important step for some alcoholics.
In my case, I was already able to choose to take a day off drinking without suffering DT. My problems tended more towards runaway consumption, when I did choose to drink.
I finally found this intervention that worked for me in 2015.
My psychiatrist prescribed me the stuff and said “for the first month, just take the pills each day and drink when you want. Keep notes if you can, about when you drink and how much. We’re establishing a baseline here”
By the end of the first month, my rigorous note-taking revealed I was already choosing drink less often, and that the runaway drinking that I was prone to seemed not to get out of hand quite so regularly.
Naltrexone seemed to tone down some circuit in my brain. The inner voice yelling “MOAR” felt … less imperative. The satisfaction of “a good drunk,” to me at least, became inextricably associated in my mind with the sad hollowness of the next morning’s hangover.
It helped me retrain my reward circuits. And it’s stuck ever since.
i was a social drinker, but had to stop when i went on psych meds. i’m off them now but i never started drinking again. it definitely is a little awkward in social situations, but also, i realized i just never really liked the taste of most drinks or how being drunk felt, honestly. i was just doing it bc i felt peer pressured to.
The awkwardness in social situations is a killer. Have you found it’s gotten any easier over time to deal with that?
not really. honestly, if someone is being really weird about it i still say i can’t drink because i’m on medication, even though that’s not true anymore.
I don’t drink almost at all. One of those boring people who don’t drink alcohol on the weekends like a normal person. Sorry. Just don’t like feeling like shit.
If you have figured this out now, congratulations. Keep taking care of your body, it’s the only one you got and you can never replace it.
You can still have fun. Have a few beers. But you know, stop being an idiot and poisoning your body as much as you can (trying to see how much you can drink before you puke or pass out).
I’ve been sober since February 2018, after my dad passed away. My drinking had been increasing since my marriage ended a couple years before that, and I knew it was starting to get out of hand, but it took my dad’s death to give me the motivation I needed to stop. He was a lifelong drinker, and I realized that’s just not what I want for myself. Good luck to you on your journey, OP.
Congrats mate! I quit in 2020 after over 20 years of steady drinking. I wish I could get that time back. Sometimes I miss the taste and how a drink or two allowed me to focus on one thing at a time but I don’t miss being hungover or wasting money on it.
