saoutchik

Extra money

I spend about £400($520) a month less now than I did when I was drinking. I mostly drank at home but in London beer is £5.80 a pint. Add take-away food and taxis and it soon mounts up.

Shame and Embarrassment

I no longer get the pleasure of people discussing my drunken talk or antics like the unprintable reason I gave to a former boss as to why there should be more women at the firm or the time I fell into a culvert while showing off to my teenage daughter and her friends.

Sleep

Since I stopped drinking the quality of sleep I get now has increased massively and I wake up with energy (well mostly). Of course I did sleep before I quit by virtue of blacking out and waking up with a hangover and a ruined morning.

These are the sort of things that could EASILY happen to the unwary and i'm sure there are SR members who could add a few things to that list so if you despise money, self respect and a good night's sleep then perhaps sobriety is not for you

DontRemember

1)Being 'normal' and not an out of control,do what I want,F the wold Jerk.

2) As you mentioned $$. While drinking I would spend a minimum of $100(US) at the bar,at least 4 nights/wk, sometimes 6. So, I started drinking more at home.(We'll call it around $2,000(US)/month)

3) Sleep is better making me able to be more present in my job(s),relationships(even the bad ones that I would not have ended still drinking.)

4) Great people that were starting to distance themselves from 'drunk me' are now wanting to hangout/talk to me again.

Chilledice

Nearly six quid for a pint! .....I was on the cheap stuff lol

least

Waking up feeling good and not hating myself.

saoutchik

Lol! It's not all that price but any bar that has tourists or business people is always going to be a bit cheeky with regard to their prices.

Chilledice

Im a Welshy....here we just squeeze the tit on a sheep and ale comes out!

saoutchik

I went to Portmerion in February, superb. In my pictures and albums section I posted some photos of it.

Chilledice

Pardon my ignorance but where is portmerion?

Horn95

My drink of choice since my alcoholism got really bad was Macallan's 12, sometimes Mac 18. Very expensive habit. I am saving quite a bit of coin.

The bad thing is I really do enjoy the taste of a good single malt scotch. It's the whole calamity of anxiety, making a jerk of myself while hammered, and feeling like hell the next day that made me quit.

But the cravings are strong right now. 5 days in

Horn95

saoutchik, a really cool post after the title would have been:

saoutchik

I was a scotch whiskey drinker too Horn95 although I stuclk to blended.

Here it is Chilledice. It is one amazing place if you ever get a chance to go.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion

llk555

Sleep is much better. And waking up no longer a miserable thing but pleasurable.

But for me, the most important thing is the change in self-image. From feeling abnormal to feeling normal.

Chilledice

Awesome, I just seen the pictures looks lovely!

DontRemember

I'll add too that; I feel like "I'm going to be OK." when I'm sober..Drunk me thinks the world is ending and in a sense, it's my gut instinct telling me that my world IS ENDING if I keep drinking.

SeanFox87

Don't have to feel ashamed walking through the town centre wondering if a stranger would come up to me and ask if I was that really drunk guy who did such and such the other night.

DontRemember

Don't you just hate it when you're "That Guy!"... I've been 'him' more than enough.

Dee74

Thanks Sao

D

HTown

I can get up on Saturday and ride the Bayou on my bike, meet friends for brunch, do the grocery shopping and finish my laundry by 1:00 now. The free time is fantastic, and the energy! Awesome.

Venecia

Great thread, Sao.

Waking up feeling well will never get old!

MesaMan

.
For this Single Malt Fan, going to the Isle Of Skye below, and all over Scotland, was about like a Catholic going to the Vatican. Fortunately, when I bottomed out in Early Retirement some Years later while drinking a 1.75 Liter 'Handle' of Vodka every 2 Days, I'd had my fill. Enough already.
.

.
Recently, at 3.5 Years Sober, we hit the Oregon Coast in our new RV Trailer. This recent Trip was incomparably better than any Trip taken back when Drinking. Lovely times; thanks to not slowly killing myself anymore. You cannot pine for that which you do not want anymore, and Drinking is now forever arrested. My Friend Sao conveys wisdom here...

Highly recommended!
.

.