chesnut

I've gone 11 days without drinking so far. I want to give it up completely . Just because its Christmas Eve.. I drink ! The problem is I can't stop at one. I've had 5 now and I will have a hangover Christmas morning no doubt. Then there's New Year's Eve.
I didn't think ahead to how tough this would be , giving up alcohol over the holiday season. I gave up drinking for good reason. Maybe I should look at this now.
There are many reasons , I'll list when I have more privacy at home.

Pinkcuda

Holiday Season?? Let's not forget the Superbowl or Saint Patrics day. Then we continue to the 4th of July and then on to Halloween and it starts all over again.
All are valid drinking holidays, aren't they?
Of course Sept 3rd or April 28th are just as good of an excuse to drink if you need an excuse.
I'd type more but I need to finish my shopping. Also a good excuse to drink if necessary.

LaDita

A.A. Halls are packed during this time of year, it's an especially difficult time for Alcoholics. You're not alone in your struggle during the holidays.

I would like to spend New Years with a recovery group, maybe that might be a good idea for you too?

jh1

Good stuff Phal. Way to not give in. I guess christmas isn't as bad for me as for some people on here-just dont have a family that drinks a whole bunch and denied going to any christmas parties-so it wasn't too bad besides being able to have a few glasses of wine anytime at dinner the last few nights-but i figured, lets not go down that path. Glad everyone made it through and keep trucking. I know if i can get through new years i can go for a long time.

flutter

Luckily I have never associated Christmas with drinking.. New Years for sure I have lol. My hard times seem to hit when...
I'm bored
I'm sad
I'm happy
I want help to sleep
I'm anxious
I have the next day off
It's Saturday night
Hey Football is on!
Summertime, gotta drink and bbq
I need to celebrate
I need to wind down
I deserve it (ha)
etc
etc
etc...

I can always find a reason to drink, thank goodness I have so many more not to.

Anna

As others have said, I could ALWAYS find a reason to drink and to put off stopping drinking.

This is a good time to start, and you can adjust your New Year's Eve plans to suit a sober New Year.

tommyk

That's why we call it Christmas cheer!!!

flutter

This might seem silly to some people, but years ago I joined Weight Watchers, in October. Most of my friends that also wanted to join, wanted to join after the holidays, so they could pig out and just 'start fresh' after the New Year. While I was whittling off pounds, they were gaining. While I was exercising, they were lounging. Come January, not one of them joined. Thru the holidays I learned so much about living in the moment, but also planning my days (and meals as it was). That Christmas/New years/etc etc was not about what I ate (insert drank...to make this relevant), it was about so much more. Once I took that out of the equation, it freed me to really enjoy my day, and my family...

There's lots of addictions out there, and a lot of them surround certain days of the year, times of year etc etc. We've created that ourselves... we can undo it too

IT IS JUST ANOTHER DAY!

Happy Thursday !