Julie72

Hi everyone,

I'm new to posting on these forums, though I've been dipping in and out to read others' posts for a while.

I've been drinking since I was fifteen, almost 30 years. For the last 10 years I've kept it down to semi-moderate - but still too much for me, I think - levels. Before that it was wild party night every night, waking up in the oddest places with a spike-between-the-eyes hangover and big blank holes in my memory about the night before.

I now drink about 4 or 5 cans of beer a night, every night, sometimes a couple more. I know I'm pretty lucky - that last can makes me too drowsy to stay awake, so my drinking now is sort of self-moderating. and I know I'd drink a lot more if that last can didn't hit the 'sleep' button quite so effectively.

Every day, I wake up and think, 'I won't drink today. It's just one day, I can manage that, and just take it from there.' By 5 or 6 o'clock every evening, I've weakened and popped out to the shops to get a few beers.

I have managed to go a week or two very occasionally without drinking, and I've felt like a whole new, sparkly woman. The apathy goes away, the moodiness, the depression; my ever-present sinusitis clears up, and a hundred other little things - but although I know all of this, and long for it, I crave those couple of hours in the evening having a few drinks and watching TV.

My partner drinks too, and we prop up each other's bad habits. We've tried to quit together before, but one of us always fails - and when one fails, the other always succumbs to temptation.

So that's where I'm up to right now. After lurking for so long, and gathering the will-power to set a quit day - today's the day for me and I wanted to say hello and good luck to you (us) all.