Shitzupuppy

Woke up and was mentally exhausted from the daily drinking. The lies to my spouse, shame, lying to myself, broken promises, being hungover, dark circles under my eyes, bloated, worrying about my health. Hiding from neighbors. Being an angry person when i drank.

I wasn't enjoying the drinking. I just was on autopilot everyday.

tired of it all.

Googled "what to do for fun without drinking" 4 weeks and 2 days ago. Found out about this site and RR/AVRT. 4 weeks ago, I began this stage of my life. (April 25, 2017)

Both sites have changed my life. I was in the right mental space, and the thought of telling my Addictive Voice "no" and having a site to learn and participate rang true with me.

I have had non-alcoholic beer three times, I think, when out. I know it could cause relapse, and will keep that in mind. I suppose I will taper it off but right now, I drink cranberry/sparkling water all day. So if I go out, I like to have something different. Maybe I will start drinking diet soda. (Yuk).

Thank you all for being part of my recovery. It has been really nice to be part of this site.

I look better, feel better, feel happy and confident. My spouse is happy and proud of me. Have had lots of fun. Don't feel like I'm missing the fun in life. Told 1 friend the truth. Everyone else thinks we're dieting.

It is the best decision I've made in a long time.

Thank you all. I will keep updating this post over time.

McHayduke

Awesome stuff Shitzupuppy, good on you!

Told 1 friend the truth. Everyone else thinks we're dieting.

I'm curious about how that convo went. Like you, I'm also on this new, ultra-restrictive diet and I'm starting to wear iterations of the following pretty thin..."Hey, what can I say? No matter how nice I ask, this gut just won't lose itself!"

Again, congrats on your milestone!

STDragon

Congrats S-Pup. I experiment with mixing soda water and different beverages such as fruit juice & fruit sodas. At the moment, I'm liking soda water and ginger beer (non-alcoholic of course).

It's interesting how many of us were not having "fun" when drinking but were worried about not having fun if we quit.

I too only told some very close friends, only on a need to know basis. One had a tough time with the concept and felt he needed to test me. Once I stood up to him, everything was cool.

2ndhandrose

Way to go, Shitzupuppy

Shitzupuppy

thanks guys

re telling people:
I only told 1 person and the convo was at a dinner/HH- I used to usually get wine. and pre-drink. SO my wife and I and this friend met at the place. My wife and I were talking about what I should order because I didn't want tap water. My friend was listening to all that, so I just made an aside comment that I have stopped drinking. She asked why, and I said because once I start I can't stop. Boom.
She said ok, and we went on with the night. Very cool I did have an Odouls and those 2 had 1 glass wine each.

Re others- I'm fat and older. So it's pretty easy to say we want to get in shape and lose weight and take care of our health. No one really questions that.

I'm only close to one sibling (only have one) who hasn't had a drink to be healthy not due to disease (AFAIK) for almost 10 years and he is really into fitness. So that's easy too.

I really have a small circle of friends. (Alcohol creates isolation??) and as far as I know, they would be more likely to be teetotalers than boozers. But they would have probably said the same about me, because I think only my wife and I knew the real situation. (drinking at home)

SimplyFree

Congratulations! I'm glad you can share getting sober with your husband and a friend. It's always nice to see and feel others being genuinely happy and proud of you.

CreativeThinker

Nice job Shitz!

Regarding telling others...I haven't told anyone that I'm not drinking...BUT, DH tells EVERYONE..."CT stopped drinking"! UNREAL! Sometimes I could just

Anyway...glad you're doing well...it keeps getting better my friend!

Upstairs

Great job ShitzuPuppy! It's nice you have a supportive spouse.

dwtbd

Congratulations on your decision! I made mine after finding out about RR/AVRT( great threads here on SR in the Secular Connections forum about these ideas).

The AV is making you aware of the idea that drinking NA beer will lead to future 'real' alcohol drinking. In that way IT is letting you set yourself up, do you think NA beer will lead to future drinking ? If you do, why are you drinking it?
I don't drink NA beer, not because I fear a 'relapse' (my BP has that part covered) but because I don't think they are all that flavor wise, Bass Ale ruined me for NA beers

Anna

Congratulations on your sobriety!

Remember, you don't owe anyone an explanation as to why your are drinking or not.

stargazer016

Great job S-puppy! AVRT changed my life for the better. By the end, I drank alone and don't think other methods to achieve sobriety would have been as good of a fit for me.

Ginger beer and a concoction of 100% Tart Cherry Juice mixed with ginger ale are my new go to drinks. I was never a ginger fan until I quit drinking. I need something exciting to drink now that I'm sober.

MissOverIt

Thank you for this post and congrats! I'm about the same in days and appreciate every sober day. So much fun ahead for us!

Shitzupuppy

I never considered na beer something that would lead to future drinking. People here on SR raised it as an issue. So I don't attribute it to my AV.

I never liked beer. I only drank wine and fun drinks like mai tais, vodka cran, ritas. i order it because there is nothing else to order when i go out. Sorry, i still can't bring myself to order $5 sparkling water when i have that same bottle at home for 50 cents.

I don't drink sodas. So that's my issue.

Thanks all!

dwtbd

That was what prompted my response, our AV 'hear' others.

As to beverage choices a la restaurant prices, $45 of steak is a way bigger piece at my house

Shitzupuppy

I don't understand. Are you saying my AV is talking to others peoples' AVs?

Shitzupuppy

Which gingerbbeer or ginger drink?
Is it full of sugar??

dwtbd

Yeah , your Beast is hearing the AV of others' beasts' and through your AV telling you ways your BP is fallible. Do you believe them?

cellardoor77

Congrats on your milestone, Shitzupuppy!

Shitzupuppy

OMG, those witches!

dwtbd

All the thoughts that pop in and out of my head when I say/think "I will never experience that special buzz ever again" , the scoffing ones , the ones on how actually impossible that may be , witchy indeed.
I'd wager everyone who ever quit had similar ones , too. But there are just thoughts and can be dismissed , but you do encounter them from time to time , especially among peers.