Hope63

Hi I am new to this forum and it has taken me much courage to join. I realise I have a problem with my daily wine consumption but cannot bear the thought of cutting alcohol out of my life completely. Does anyone have any success stories with cutting down to a safe consumption level ?

Many thanks in anticipation

OklaBH

Sorry not me---i can't even have champagne at new year.

Hope63

I guess I am being unrealistic then; it is very early days for me. Just reading throught some of these posts is already helping just knowing I am not alone in this and the similar thoughts that go through my mind.

Change4good

Welcome. Yes, it does take courage to sign up, but we are glad you did! Moderation doesn't work for me. Even moreso when I realized I was an alcoholic. Why don't you abstain completely, and try out sobriety for a bit? See what is possible.

desertsong

Welcome, Hope. I'm glad you had the courage to come here.

I learned the hard way that it wasn't the 3rd, or 5th, or 10th drink that got me into trouble .... it was the first one. Because after I had the first one, I couldn't stop there. Moderation doesn't work for most of us. I know it's nearly impossible to imagine life without alcohol, but it can be done and life is SO much better without it. The early days are tough, no question about it, but as you start to feel better and begin to see positive changes in yourself, you'll discover that alcohol is not necessary for a happy life. In fact, it prevents one.

Glad you're here; you'll find much support here.

tomsteve

welcome!! for this alcoholic, my safe consumption level is none. the thought of living without alcohol can be rather scary, but for me the other choice was death. so i got me some courage and did whatever i had to do to not drink one day at at time, which i only had to change me and my thinking.

heath480

Welcome hope,glad you are here.

No it never worked for me cutting down,it worked for a while but always worsened again.

Life is so much easier without Alcohol in it.

Chrisy

I can't either, lol. Red wine really does me in.

to the op, I am sorry to telll you, if you are anything like me there is no cutting back, it is all or nothing for me. I just had to remember that I need to put my sober/recovery first and take each step at a time so that I can be healthy again in body, mind, and spirit. I had to use my inner strength to desire and then start working it into reality. It isn't easy, but it is worth every effort and struggle that must be overcome in my life.

Good luck. You are in the right place. We are here for you. what part of the UK, my grandmum was from Manchester and my grandfather was from Scotland.

Mizz

Hello Hope 63. I, too, could not bear the thought of cutting alcohol out completely. After years of struggling with it, I had to let it go. I can not have 1 or 2. Desertsong said it, its not the 5th or 10th it's the 1st. I'm glad that you made it to this site. Welcome.

gordano

Very few people can successfully moderate or cut back after they realize they have an alcohol problem. I tried to moderate many times, and each time I would be alright for a few weeks or months, but inevitably I would go back to drinking irresponsibly and end up hurting myself and my loved ones. In my opinion, its not worth the risk to experiment with moderation. Just put down the glass for good.

sugarbear1

Welcome to SR!

artsoul

Welcome Hope63!

We know what it feels like.....Most of us couldn't imagine giving up alcohol. It took me several glasses of wine just to get up the nerve to make my first post on this forum. It was like the sane part of me dragged me here, kicking and screaming. Now, my only regret is not getting sober sooner.

Glad you're here!!

Duke10

It takes a real beating to realize you cannot moderate. The alcoholic brain just works differently. I thought I could, many have tried and very few are successful. Very few!! I hope you find the courage to quit. We are all here but I will probably need more help then just the nice people are SR. When you are ready reach out.

Jitterbugg

Well...if any of us could cut-down or moderate our drinking to acceptable levels, we wouldn't be on this site.

freshstart57

Hope63, youbetcha, we all wished at one time or another, that we could cut back, drink like normal people, yadda yadda.

For a quick survey of the answers to your question, type this into your google search window: moderation site:www.soberrecovery.com.

Read through this thread for a time lapse diary of someone convinced she could make it work.

Maybe you could ask instead this question: Are you ready for a life free of alcohol? It really is as good as they say. Welcome, and keep posting.

ru12

If you haven't tried to moderate then I would give it a try. There are moderation and risk reduction programs that many people try. I find it easier for me to just not drink. When I successfully moderate, it isn't fun for me.

You are not alone.

Hope63

Thanks for all your supportive replies, I think however that I need to get myself together a little more though and I question if I am ready for this . After successfully not drinking Thursday night and feeling wonderful on Friday when I awoke...... I consumed a bottle of wine last night and have had 2 glasses already tonight . :-( really ashamed to admit this on here but just being truthful. Maybe I don't want this enough :-(

Feel deflated

DoinThis

U probably do want it enough, it's just that when u first try to quit u don't realise how tight alcohol has u in it's grips. I was exactly the same as u a while ago. Once I decided to stop and then couldn't it completely freaked me out. After that alcohol lost a lot of it's enjoyment. After trying and trying again to moderate I also realise I can't. This takes a lot to accept and some accept it quicker than others. My longest dry period was 2 months this year, it's now about 3 weeks. I thought I'd give moderation yet another go but epically failed AGAIN. It takes time to get to a place where u know u can't touch it and u want sobriety more than u want wine! It's dang hard tho.

Keep reading, keep posting. All the best. X

Hope63

Thanks for that, truth is I love drinking .........white wine especially and only really want to stop because I worry about the effects on my health. I only ever drink in an evening never in the day, and believe a lot of it is habitual with me as when I work nights which i regularly do I don't even think about having a drink !However I cannot imagine life without alcohol :-(

least

I couldn't imagine living without drinking either, but now can't see how I managed to exist that way so long. I too tried to moderate but failed over and over. It's easier to just not drink at all... and I'm a lot happier sober too.