What made you stop or consider stopping alcohol?
Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: milwaukee wi
Posts: 3,574
my hubby is sick most of the time.. and my time is limited for pitty party time.. so that and the cost of a drink or bottle stopped me.. there is always a reason why. and then a can I do this.. and then a just one more..or I miss a good Alexander brandy.. or well that its for the pennies this month.. so a cup of Coffee with whipped cream and sprinkles and I am happy.. yep...
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
I was very unhappy with my destructive, dishonest, and irresponsible attitude regarding pretty much every area of my life. Also started having a variety of health issues. One specific event that, I believe, contributed to my taking quitting and sobriety seriously was that I spent a few days in the hospital with a friend who was dying of cancer and had no one else visiting him. This was in last December. Being with him and seeing him fade out of life was full of a-ha moments for me about mortality and how I was heading there with my drinking prematurely. I hesitated for a few more weeks but then finally put my focus together and started this recovery journey in January.
Trudgin
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 6,348
Originally Posted by Sweettha 
I've had many downfalls as a result of drinking. I've been arrested multiple times, was suicidal,survived alcohol poisoning, and was physically abusive towards the people I love.
Through all the ups and downs my mother was there . It was only until she told me that she had given up and would no longer enable me. Some classic intervention **** actually saved me.
What was yours?
Through all the ups and downs my mother was there . It was only until she told me that she had given up and would no longer enable me. Some classic intervention **** actually saved me.
What was yours?
The reflection of my despair in my loved ones eyes was there daily. I simply decided I could no longer be this selfish and made a commitment to change.
I have a program and daily plan of action that requires work. If I do the work, peace and sobriety are there - if not - the restlessness, irritability and discontentment return.
I recently came across this thread posted awhile back. It caught my eye because it had over 500,000 views. It is a no BS look at the future if I continued to drink....may be helpful, was/is for me!
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...lly-again.html
Glad you're here!
FlyN
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Central America/Florida USA
Posts: 4,064
Some close friends and family told me they were seriously concerned for my health and life, I suddenly just woke up. I was shocked that others were worried. I finally opened my eyes and took an honest look around and assessed my situation and I was terrified. I checked myself into rehab a week later and the rest is history.
as a sober contributor
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: California
Posts: 1,312
I decided to admit to myself that I was in denial. I had been having some very painful Gout attacks and refused to believe that the 10 or 12 beers I was consuming EVERY day was the problem. After 3 months of being unable to put a shoe on my left foot, a friend casually said 'why don't you just stop drinking?' just as I finished a beer.
In 6 days it will be 28 months since I took that final drink. My life is now one that I WANT to live, rather than not caring if I live or die.
In 6 days it will be 28 months since I took that final drink. My life is now one that I WANT to live, rather than not caring if I live or die.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 2,805
I watched my mother start to come to family events drunk, slur her words when I talked to her in the morning, etc. and it was like I was getting a vision from A Christmas Carol from the ghost of Christmases to come. Deep down (although it took me a while to admit this to myself and others) I knew that I was on the same track and that I probably had a better chance of licking it while I still had some semblance of control. I am now sober going on 14 months and I am so, so grateful for my sobriety.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by Chillly
Went to E.R. for panic attack...left waiting room before being seen. went straight from hospital to the bar = 3 day bender
I reluctantly admitted to the doctor that I had been drinking everyday so, he had ordered many tests. During my wait there, I downed 6 shots of vodka that I had hidden in my purse. Couldn't even wait to leave the E.R.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Bay Area, California
Posts: 314
What made me stop? Fear and vanity.
Fear of feeling so awful all the time, fear because my drinking was getting worse not better, fear of the obsession to drink no matter how irrational, fear of the crushing depression and anxiety that had become my constant companion.
Vanity. I did not feel well and it showed. I was overweight, exhausted and so tired. 2 years of really heavy drinking and I felt like a shell of myself.
Happy to say quitting resolved all those issues, and gave me some great benefits I didn't expect. Hard work? Hell yes, but so worth it! Best decision I've ever made.
Fear of feeling so awful all the time, fear because my drinking was getting worse not better, fear of the obsession to drink no matter how irrational, fear of the crushing depression and anxiety that had become my constant companion.
Vanity. I did not feel well and it showed. I was overweight, exhausted and so tired. 2 years of really heavy drinking and I felt like a shell of myself.
Happy to say quitting resolved all those issues, and gave me some great benefits I didn't expect. Hard work? Hell yes, but so worth it! Best decision I've ever made.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
I got sick of life living me rather than living my life. I had no interest in anything or anybody. My only relief was getting buzzed at the end of the day. Of course, it's an illusion. That daily buzz is only digging a deeper hole. In the end, I stopped digging and miraculously, started returning to who I really am. That's real relief !
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 204
I'm working on a venture that can seriously change my life for the better in a dreamlike way. No way it could be done as an alcoholic so i had to quit. Was quite fed up with things in general anyway and i knew that drinking was a big part of the problem.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Texas
Posts: 169
as others have said - simply got tired of waking up feeling absolutely terrible. Tried 9 years of "controlled" drinking after a 13 year stint of complete sobriety - but to no avail. Two weeks ago woke up after a binge and something in my feeble brain clicked, and I finally said to myself - I'm DONE with alcohol. And then found this site and said the same to all you good folks. I was (and am still) desperate. Right now I have to acknowledge, every day, that alcohol is essentially poison for me. I'm allergic to it - period. Am praying to a higher power that I will not ever again forget this fact. God Bless all my SR brothers and sisters ! Peace out, MJM
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 77
There are 4 reasons I can think of:
Firstly, my body had become physically dependent on alcohol. What started as 'self-medication' to treat my anxiety turned into sweating, vomiting, panic attacks, a heart rate that my body could not sustain forever and just not being with it at all. It was amazing how quickly it crept up on me - my journey from one glass of wine in the evening with a meal, to two bottles a day for at least a month. I knew I needed help, and when my family rang up a rehab centre to arrange a detox, I believe they saved my life. I knew I had to go - it was not safe for me to stay at home. Once a small glimmer of hope became apparent, I was willing to give things another chance.
Secondly, a lot of Double Dragons' post resonates with me, as I also have an alcoholic mother. I saw so much of myself in her. The 'Ghosts of Christmas' analogy is spot on. I didn't want to be the woman who fell over in the road after a meal out, because she was too drunk to stand up, who had to be carried upstairs to bed and undressed and who spent an entire evening sitting slumped on the kitchen floor, scaring her family to death. My own condition was also making her alcoholism even worse - she was getting painfully thin and looked desperately ill, due to barely eating. Despite everything she has put me through, she is my mother and I love her. I needed to get better, not just for our sake, but also my father's, who was having to 'deal with two drunks instead of one'.
Also, of course, everyone else that I have hurt by abusing myself - my partner, my friends, my relatives. My best friend told me, when I was suicidal, that if I took my own life, she would never forgive me. I interpreted this as also including alcohol abuse, as she was well aware of my problem. She had told me I was part of the family, made me a god parent and 'aunty' to her two beautiful children, let me be a part of her life when I felt completely isolated, and this is how I had repaid her.
Last, but not least, my own self-esteem. I'm sure that part of what led me to the drink was my lack of confidence, but I'm also sure many of us here can attest to the fact that it only goes downhill when you drink. It feels like anything is possible at the time, until you come crashing back down to earth. I felt ashamed of what I was doing, and tried to keep it a secret for as long as I could. Since recovery, it's been a rocky road, including making the difficult decision to resign from my job. It was making me desperately unhappy, and since I've left, I have been afforded some important time to reflect on my life. I would never have had the confidence to take such a risk before, and would have forever been trapped in a cycle of unhappiness.
I've had a few slip-ups along the way, but I'm determined that alcohol is not going to take control of my life. I am.
Firstly, my body had become physically dependent on alcohol. What started as 'self-medication' to treat my anxiety turned into sweating, vomiting, panic attacks, a heart rate that my body could not sustain forever and just not being with it at all. It was amazing how quickly it crept up on me - my journey from one glass of wine in the evening with a meal, to two bottles a day for at least a month. I knew I needed help, and when my family rang up a rehab centre to arrange a detox, I believe they saved my life. I knew I had to go - it was not safe for me to stay at home. Once a small glimmer of hope became apparent, I was willing to give things another chance.
Secondly, a lot of Double Dragons' post resonates with me, as I also have an alcoholic mother. I saw so much of myself in her. The 'Ghosts of Christmas' analogy is spot on. I didn't want to be the woman who fell over in the road after a meal out, because she was too drunk to stand up, who had to be carried upstairs to bed and undressed and who spent an entire evening sitting slumped on the kitchen floor, scaring her family to death. My own condition was also making her alcoholism even worse - she was getting painfully thin and looked desperately ill, due to barely eating. Despite everything she has put me through, she is my mother and I love her. I needed to get better, not just for our sake, but also my father's, who was having to 'deal with two drunks instead of one'.
Also, of course, everyone else that I have hurt by abusing myself - my partner, my friends, my relatives. My best friend told me, when I was suicidal, that if I took my own life, she would never forgive me. I interpreted this as also including alcohol abuse, as she was well aware of my problem. She had told me I was part of the family, made me a god parent and 'aunty' to her two beautiful children, let me be a part of her life when I felt completely isolated, and this is how I had repaid her.
Last, but not least, my own self-esteem. I'm sure that part of what led me to the drink was my lack of confidence, but I'm also sure many of us here can attest to the fact that it only goes downhill when you drink. It feels like anything is possible at the time, until you come crashing back down to earth. I felt ashamed of what I was doing, and tried to keep it a secret for as long as I could. Since recovery, it's been a rocky road, including making the difficult decision to resign from my job. It was making me desperately unhappy, and since I've left, I have been afforded some important time to reflect on my life. I would never have had the confidence to take such a risk before, and would have forever been trapped in a cycle of unhappiness.
I've had a few slip-ups along the way, but I'm determined that alcohol is not going to take control of my life. I am.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 162
My Wife walking out and taking my 3 young daughters with her was the straw that finally broke the camel's back... However, I'd known for quite some time before that happened that I was out of control with my drinking, and that I needed to do something about it. My Wife walking out jump started me taking back control...
I can definitely relate to the alkie Mom stories. When my Wife walked out, my Mom actually promised that she wanted to quit with me. An empty promise that is... I think she lasted about a week...
I've had a few setbacks over the past couple of years, but my family is back together, and life is infinitely better with my wife without the booze coming between us...
I can definitely relate to the alkie Mom stories. When my Wife walked out, my Mom actually promised that she wanted to quit with me. An empty promise that is... I think she lasted about a week...
I've had a few setbacks over the past couple of years, but my family is back together, and life is infinitely better with my wife without the booze coming between us...
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