Weekend warrior looking for tips on how to get clean
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 12
Weekend warrior looking for tips on how to get clean
Hi all,
My first post here, I have been drinking anywhere from 20 to 50 drinks over the 48 hour period of friday night to sunday morning for the last 3 years now. I hold down a job on the weekdays; but when friday comes around my thought process is "oh, I don't have work tomorrow looks like I can drink now" I have been trying to quit doing this every week for the last year and every friday I start out strong, but I always find myself at the liquor store on my way home from work. Does anyone have any advice on how to overcome the "oh its the weekend, I can get drunk" voice inside my head? What can I do to help get through my cravings?
Thanks
-SH
My first post here, I have been drinking anywhere from 20 to 50 drinks over the 48 hour period of friday night to sunday morning for the last 3 years now. I hold down a job on the weekdays; but when friday comes around my thought process is "oh, I don't have work tomorrow looks like I can drink now" I have been trying to quit doing this every week for the last year and every friday I start out strong, but I always find myself at the liquor store on my way home from work. Does anyone have any advice on how to overcome the "oh its the weekend, I can get drunk" voice inside my head? What can I do to help get through my cravings?
Thanks
-SH
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SoCal CA
Posts: 1,319
Get a job on the weekends, or find a reason to wake up sober on Saturday and Sunday and stick to it. How about training to run a marathon? Basically find another habit, hobby or cause that will fill the void of your weekend drinking.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,510
My advice would be to really decide that drinking is not an option.
Shake up your routine as much as possible. Drive home from work a different way, make plans to be out of town for the weekend, get involved in something that takes your mind off drinking.
Shake up your routine as much as possible. Drive home from work a different way, make plans to be out of town for the weekend, get involved in something that takes your mind off drinking.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
I started that way Shalpin, progressed to having the odd drink after work as well, then a few drinks, eventually I just drank every chance I could.
I didn't do anything about it and I paid the cost.
If you're still on the Fri-Sun run, and just starting to black out now, I recommend you look into stopping now.
Try stopping this weekend - if you can't manage it on your own - get some help...a counsellor, a Dr, a recovery group (AA, SMART etc) whatever works.
It doesn't get better, I'm afraid.
D
I didn't do anything about it and I paid the cost.
If you're still on the Fri-Sun run, and just starting to black out now, I recommend you look into stopping now.
Try stopping this weekend - if you can't manage it on your own - get some help...a counsellor, a Dr, a recovery group (AA, SMART etc) whatever works.
It doesn't get better, I'm afraid.
D
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 2,058
Welcome to SR and please read through the threads as there is plenty of info and a wealth of experience here.
I would just not drink as anytime we try to moderate something that is not a good sign. Just stop drinking and use your weekends to travel, exercise or take up a new positive hobby or activity.
Sounds like binge drinking as towards the end that was more of what I was doing. Limiting when I drank but once I started it wouldn't stop. I decided to stop and get help.
Glad you posted and know that you have our support. SR is a great community.
I would just not drink as anytime we try to moderate something that is not a good sign. Just stop drinking and use your weekends to travel, exercise or take up a new positive hobby or activity.
Sounds like binge drinking as towards the end that was more of what I was doing. Limiting when I drank but once I started it wouldn't stop. I decided to stop and get help.
Glad you posted and know that you have our support. SR is a great community.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 66
shalpin, I'm glad you are recognizing this is a problem now. Not being able to stop is the big sign. Plus, your drinking will eventually increase to daily. Stop before another decade of this slides by and your life is soaked in alcohol.
The only way to overcome cravings is to decide not drinking is more important than drinking. There is no pill, no magic thoughts, nothing but an honest dialog with yourself to decide to stop drinking. Lots of help, meetings, the amazing SR board, but you have to decide to stop for it to work.
Good luck, we're supporting you!
The only way to overcome cravings is to decide not drinking is more important than drinking. There is no pill, no magic thoughts, nothing but an honest dialog with yourself to decide to stop drinking. Lots of help, meetings, the amazing SR board, but you have to decide to stop for it to work.
Good luck, we're supporting you!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 275
Well I suppose I don't have much credibility here as I am in my first week of sobriety...again...but I can say that I was a weekend warrior through my 20's, and about the time I turned 30 I discovered what we all started out thinking would never happen...the Monday morning beers to get over Sundays mess. Then Tuesday then every day and the next thing I knew I was in my late 30's trying to quit an awful daily habit. Just take the advice from this great board, shut it down...you will feel soooo much better about yourself, especially sat-sun-mon mornings!!!
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 87
Welcome!!
If you are going to the store on autopilot every Friday and drinking all weekend and are tired of it, ready to change your life, you can do it. I would agree with the others who say that changing things up, going home a different way, replacing your "drinking fun" with other fun things to do (it is summer - lots of things you can do to occupy your weekend) will help you develop new habits.
You have come to a place of support, honesty and people like you... heed the wisdom of those who have been there.
If you are going to the store on autopilot every Friday and drinking all weekend and are tired of it, ready to change your life, you can do it. I would agree with the others who say that changing things up, going home a different way, replacing your "drinking fun" with other fun things to do (it is summer - lots of things you can do to occupy your weekend) will help you develop new habits.
You have come to a place of support, honesty and people like you... heed the wisdom of those who have been there.
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
Hi salpin - glad you're here! There's a lot of things people do to get through the cravings and you'll find them in thousands of posts here at SR. The good news is that they get less and less intense the longer you stay sober. You already know the biggest trigger for you is the weekend, so start by saying I'm just not going to drink on Friday (and then deal with Saturday when it gets there). Load up on movies, get a book on Alcoholism at the bookstore, hang out at SR, find a friend to go to the gym with, splurge on a steak dinner..... just anything you can think of that's different than the "usual."
I'm a couple months sober and still have to remind myself why I'm doing this. It helps to have a list of all the negatives of drinking - there are SO many, so that's not hard to do. Think about pouring poison down your throat all weekend, for one.
The other thing I do is I try to catch myself thinking negatively and turn it into a positive. When I think "oh man, I can't do this without drinking," I'll turn it around and think "Something great might just happen in my life any day and I'll be so glad I'm sober." Think about waking up Sunday morning without a hangover!
You'll be a stronger, better person because of this, so keep hanging in there!!
Grab the wheel!
Join Date: May 2010
Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 7
Exercise
I have to agree, if it's a Friday to Sunday, pick a partner to hit the gym with. I'm fortunate to have a Saturday morning pick up game of hoops, I try to invite someone so there's additional motivation to behave. Get rid of the down time / drinking time, replace it with something productive or fun, you'll get through with a smile...
Recent T-totaller
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 120
Oh yeah, those Friday night binges and then in due time waking up around four and just doing it again and again and again.
Until you wakeup at the end of the weekend feeling like **** and realising you just wasted some more blissful non working days you could have spend feeling just fine with yourself doing something really useful like sleeping without drugs in you system getting really rested.
Reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee and a breakfast of scrambled eggs in bed before you get out and look at your garden just blissing out being sober.
And then after a couple of weeks or just chilling feeling like actually doing something such as getting on your bike or in a boat with some friends to go fishing. Or just checking the paper for a job that isn't so blooming boring and mindnumbingly dumb it makes you want to forget everything in the weekend. (Not saying that is so in your situation)
Also getting politically active is an option. If the current political situation is what get's up your nose that is a great way of getting into a more motivated and proactive state of mind and I have found that most people who are actively involved in politics with other people have no time for drugs.
Helping kids staying of the street, grannies safe and generally people who are less fortunate that you is a great way of realising that if you weren't so damn up yourself you'd know how lucky you are.
And again I'm not talking about you because I don't know you and wouldn't dream of pushing these things on you but that is what helped me.
I'm politically active (in the 911 truth movement),teach people lost skills and crafts and seeing them using them is just awesome and I do volunteer work in our environment centre.
Hope this helps
Until you wakeup at the end of the weekend feeling like **** and realising you just wasted some more blissful non working days you could have spend feeling just fine with yourself doing something really useful like sleeping without drugs in you system getting really rested.
Reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee and a breakfast of scrambled eggs in bed before you get out and look at your garden just blissing out being sober.
And then after a couple of weeks or just chilling feeling like actually doing something such as getting on your bike or in a boat with some friends to go fishing. Or just checking the paper for a job that isn't so blooming boring and mindnumbingly dumb it makes you want to forget everything in the weekend. (Not saying that is so in your situation)
Also getting politically active is an option. If the current political situation is what get's up your nose that is a great way of getting into a more motivated and proactive state of mind and I have found that most people who are actively involved in politics with other people have no time for drugs.
Helping kids staying of the street, grannies safe and generally people who are less fortunate that you is a great way of realising that if you weren't so damn up yourself you'd know how lucky you are.
And again I'm not talking about you because I don't know you and wouldn't dream of pushing these things on you but that is what helped me.
I'm politically active (in the 911 truth movement),teach people lost skills and crafts and seeing them using them is just awesome and I do volunteer work in our environment centre.
Hope this helps
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