Old 07-05-2016, 07:39 AM
  # 9 (permalink)  
OpenTuning
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 507
Presumably you're here because you see a cost to your drinking that worries you. You enjoy it, but I assume you're paying a price for that enjoyment and are asking yourself if it's worth it. Otherwise, given what you've just written, you'd just carry on as usual without giving it another thought.

So assuming at least part of you is wondering if life might be better if you didn't drink, can I highly, highly recommend you have a look at two things. The first is the free online Crash Course in AVRT (just Google that). It helps to explain where those urges to drink come from, the voice in your head that tells you how much fun it is to drink, and how you should keep doing it. By recognising where it's coming from, it can help you to ignore it. The other is to get a copy of Allen Carr's How to Control Your Drinking. It sets out to explode all the myths that you're telling yourself, and society has told you all your life, about alcohol.

I suggest these because those are the two approaches I used to quit. Over a year ago now. I was also a binge drinker. I was also convinced I had to drink to really enjoy myself. And kept drinking for 35 years (so don't count on hitting a point in your life where you suddenly decide you don't enjoy it any more. At least not without help and encouragement).

I no longer have any desire to drink. I don't regret quitting. I don't stay at home wishing I could be having fun drinking. I went to a party last week with a large group of friends. Almost all of them were drinking. I was on juice and soda. I brought my electric guitar and got everyone singing along to the '80s music we all knew. They had a great time. I had a great time. I would not have had more fun drinking, I just would have played and sung much worse than I did. And felt sick the next day. Nobody at any point even noticed I wasn't drinking as far as I could tell. People have fun when they're on holiday or out with friends because they're on holiday or are out with friends. Not because they're drunk.

Hope this helps in some way. My only regret with quitting drinking is that I didn't do it when I first promised myself I would, over 25 years ago.
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