Thank you
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London UK
Posts: 33
Thank you
I'm Brazzaville - a long-time lurker. I'd like to thank everyone who has posted on these forums. Reading your kind, insightful and selflessly supportive posts has given me the strength to not drink for the past three weeks.
I have been a thirsty man for nearly thirty years. My body was giving me signs that it was not happy with the amount of alcohol being tipped into it on a near nightly basis. I was a youthful binge drinker and became a middle aged slower but steadier drinker. However, last year, something changed. I was no longer prepared to accept the constant hangovers, physical symptoms, feelings of guilt and despair and the trapped feeling of planning all my evenings to facilitate copious alcohol consumption.
I was sneaking drinks, checking alcohol content of beer/wine in pubs and bars, lying about my drinking, dreaming about that first drink.
I have never been interested in drinking in moderation - for me it has always been all or nothing. I'm not jealous of people I see sipping on one drink. But I cannot continue drinking the way I liked to drink...and what's more, I no longer feel the compulsion to get drunk all the time. Without drink I am actually more confident, have more fun, better conversations, I'm using my brain more, and watching drunk people in action now makes me realise that there is very little in the way of improvement on any level when a human being over-indulges in alcohol.
Over Christmas and New Year I was in pubs, drinking non-alcohol beer and soft drinks, and watching the loud, clumsy, over-sentimental, violent, repetitive, infantile and anti-social behaviour of the heavy drinkers...I thought "that was me, every Christmas from 1981 until now..."
My message to those considering quitting is "Do it". The only people who will give you a hard time are those worried about their own drinking. You will never wake up in the morning and think "I wish i had drunk a load last night". Things will improve for you. it is difficult and frightening at first but every day without alcohol is an achievement and something of which you should be proud. My journey towards sobriety is just beginning...keep reading these forums - there is strength here...if you slip up...don't punish yourself - start again without letting a slip become a full-blown binge.
I think that part of the "higher power" phenomenon is quite simply the strength created by a group of like-minded individuals, whether it be in AA or by everybody on this forum. it is a strength that can be tapped into by all of us - it's like the extra spirit of a team, band, orchestra, religion or family that is always greater than the sum of its parts. it's the same kind of strength that overthrows unjust governments or results in positive changes in society.
Once more, many, many thanks to you all - by posting on these forums you are helping others as well as yourselves
brazzaville
I have been a thirsty man for nearly thirty years. My body was giving me signs that it was not happy with the amount of alcohol being tipped into it on a near nightly basis. I was a youthful binge drinker and became a middle aged slower but steadier drinker. However, last year, something changed. I was no longer prepared to accept the constant hangovers, physical symptoms, feelings of guilt and despair and the trapped feeling of planning all my evenings to facilitate copious alcohol consumption.
I was sneaking drinks, checking alcohol content of beer/wine in pubs and bars, lying about my drinking, dreaming about that first drink.
I have never been interested in drinking in moderation - for me it has always been all or nothing. I'm not jealous of people I see sipping on one drink. But I cannot continue drinking the way I liked to drink...and what's more, I no longer feel the compulsion to get drunk all the time. Without drink I am actually more confident, have more fun, better conversations, I'm using my brain more, and watching drunk people in action now makes me realise that there is very little in the way of improvement on any level when a human being over-indulges in alcohol.
Over Christmas and New Year I was in pubs, drinking non-alcohol beer and soft drinks, and watching the loud, clumsy, over-sentimental, violent, repetitive, infantile and anti-social behaviour of the heavy drinkers...I thought "that was me, every Christmas from 1981 until now..."
My message to those considering quitting is "Do it". The only people who will give you a hard time are those worried about their own drinking. You will never wake up in the morning and think "I wish i had drunk a load last night". Things will improve for you. it is difficult and frightening at first but every day without alcohol is an achievement and something of which you should be proud. My journey towards sobriety is just beginning...keep reading these forums - there is strength here...if you slip up...don't punish yourself - start again without letting a slip become a full-blown binge.
I think that part of the "higher power" phenomenon is quite simply the strength created by a group of like-minded individuals, whether it be in AA or by everybody on this forum. it is a strength that can be tapped into by all of us - it's like the extra spirit of a team, band, orchestra, religion or family that is always greater than the sum of its parts. it's the same kind of strength that overthrows unjust governments or results in positive changes in society.
Once more, many, many thanks to you all - by posting on these forums you are helping others as well as yourselves
brazzaville
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 603
Originally Posted by brazzaville 
it is a strength that can be tapped into by all of us - it's like the extra spirit of a team, band, orchestra, religion or family that is always greater than the sum of its parts. it's the same kind of strength that overthrows unjust governments or results in positive changes in society.
Being a part of the action is preferable to lurking, but I encourage all lurkers to continue. Something someone says may mean the difference between life and death for you.
Better to have lurked and left than never to have lurked at all, because something someone said may become dislodged in your brain at some future point and stop you from some self destructive behavior.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 1,145
My message to those considering quitting is "Do it". The only people who will give you a hard time are those worried about their own drinking. You will never wake up in the morning and think "I wish i had drunk a load last night". Things will improve for you. it is difficult and frightening at first but every day without alcohol is an achievement and something of which you should be proud. My journey towards sobriety is just beginning...keep reading these forums - there is strength here...if you slip up...don't punish yourself - start again without letting a slip become a full-blown binge.
Congratulations on your three weeks of sobriety and for getting through Christmas so early on. I struggled this Christmas and new year and I've been sober for 9 months.
Welcome to the posting side of SR and I hope you stick around. It's sounds like you have lots of good things to say to help those in need of it.
Wishing you all the best.
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