blackchapel

Hi all,

I'm a 47 (almost 48) year old Brit. I've been an alcoholic since I was 15. I live in the UK, and am both employed (public sector) and self-employed (indie writer). I've set myself a date, and plan to quit alcohol for good this coming Sunday (August 2nd). It won't be the first time (I managed a three month period of sobriety on the last attempt, two years ago) that I've tried to quit, but I hope that it'll be the last. I rarely, if ever, drink in the early part of the week (Sunday night through to Thursday), which is when I have to go out to work. Thursday night through to Saturday night, I usually polish off one bottle of beer, and one bottle of wine, each of those nights. Friday is the only day that I go to work with a bit of a hangover. That might not sound like a lot... the point is, I am still alcohol dependent, I can't get through the week without that intake, and I have been like that for 33 years. The weekends are my prime drinking time. When I've tried to quit the booze in the past, it's always the weekends where I end up falling down. Very soon, my weekends are about to be extended, as I'm dropping working on a Friday... which leads me nicely on to my request for a bit of advice...

How do you cope with sober weekends? Because, for me, a weekend without any booze at all is... Hell on Earth. I just don't know how to get through a weekend without a drink! The weekends are a release valve for me... my day job is very stressful.

And one more quick question... my face has become staggeringly red of late, from the booze (I know that it's down to alcohol, as I look like a beetroot, but only at the weekend)... does that recede with sobriety?

Cheers guys, and best wishes to you all!

Blackchapel
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