Breaking it off with AL
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1
Breaking it off with AL
I have been going through many different forums the past little while just reading and usually not bothering to post but I need to start posting and get some advice.
I decided to do this after reading a particularly disturbing article where a young woman died from cirrhosis of the liver.
I need a reality check.
I am almost 27 years old, female and have been drinking heavily the past 5 years. I have tried quitting in the past...once being for just over a month but then I just went back to drinking. I don't want to do this anymore because I am afraid for my health but I keep picking up the bottle.
I plan on "breaking up" with alcohol over the weekend.
Some days I can go with one beer, or nothing at all...and then there are weeks where I drink to excess. It is obvious I have a problem.
Anyways. Just wanted to say hi and I hope to meet some people who are going through the same thing - I obviously have come to the right place. Thanks.
I decided to do this after reading a particularly disturbing article where a young woman died from cirrhosis of the liver.
I need a reality check.
I am almost 27 years old, female and have been drinking heavily the past 5 years. I have tried quitting in the past...once being for just over a month but then I just went back to drinking. I don't want to do this anymore because I am afraid for my health but I keep picking up the bottle.
I plan on "breaking up" with alcohol over the weekend.
Some days I can go with one beer, or nothing at all...and then there are weeks where I drink to excess. It is obvious I have a problem.
Anyways. Just wanted to say hi and I hope to meet some people who are going through the same thing - I obviously have come to the right place. Thanks.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Southern Spain
Posts: 355
Hi there and welcome to the forum. It's very good to read that you have made a colossal step forward in that you have recognized that you have a problem with alcohol. That's a fantastic first step towards freedom and health. The forum is a fantastic place to read and post and I have found it to be very beneficial in my own recovery.
Do you have a plan as to how you will remain sober. I say that because it was my experience whilst a daily drinker that the giving up of alcohol, especially after an embarrassing incident, an accident, court appearance or some other such event was tremendously easy.... for about 3-4 days. However, I would always return to it again, almost with no regard to where it might take me. Ultimately it was always back to a dark scary place. Would you consider AA, or some other support system? I could never do it alone, and found AA to be of great help. That said, for 10 years I binge drank, And was in and out of AA because deep deep down I did not want to stop drinking, but only wanted the negative things it caused to stop.
Only through a committed and daily recognition of my disease and what it wanted to do to me (kill me), has enabled me to remain sober, and generally happy.
Do you have a plan as to how you will remain sober. I say that because it was my experience whilst a daily drinker that the giving up of alcohol, especially after an embarrassing incident, an accident, court appearance or some other such event was tremendously easy.... for about 3-4 days. However, I would always return to it again, almost with no regard to where it might take me. Ultimately it was always back to a dark scary place. Would you consider AA, or some other support system? I could never do it alone, and found AA to be of great help. That said, for 10 years I binge drank, And was in and out of AA because deep deep down I did not want to stop drinking, but only wanted the negative things it caused to stop.
Only through a committed and daily recognition of my disease and what it wanted to do to me (kill me), has enabled me to remain sober, and generally happy.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 8,642
Hi missazalea. Yes you're in the right place . We've all had to, or need to, break up with alcohol . My only regret is not having done so when I was your age . You are wise to consider this now . Keep reading and posting . And Welcome to a safe place .
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Posts: 4,038
Welcome to the community. You will find lots of support here. Congratulations on your decision to 'break up' with alcohol. Just remember that it all begins with one day. Each and every day just make a commitment not to drink for that day. Having stopped drug and alcohol use, the frequency, intensity and duration of cravings differ from person to person. The bad news is they occur; the good news is that over time they generally lessen in frequency and duration.
The trick is to stay safe while riding out the wave. One way to view abstinence and sobriety is simply preparing for that moment when a craving occurs, nobody is watching, and nobody would know if you used, except you. What do you do? That is the moment of truth.
What follows are some tips and tools that may get you through that moment of danger. Not all tips work for all people, the trick is to find one that will work for you.
That being said, here are the tips:
1. Buy yourself some time, distract yourself, with exercise, work or cleaning, get busy. Put yourself in a safe place where drugs and alcohol are not available. Cravings pass with time.
2. Play the movie forward. Remember that we are never talking about ‘just one’. Once you pick up, control goes out the window.
3. Talk to someone. This is the purpose of building a social support network, utilize it. Go to a meeting, call your sponsor, best friend, relative or counselor. Talking it out with someone who really understands helps prevent a return to active addiction.
4. Pray or meditate. Ask for help in just getting through this. Use the Serenity Prayer. The point is to ask for help outside yourself.
5. Remember the pain and bad times, and the fact that you would be risking everything good that you have worked so hard for. Try focusing in the positive, not drinking or drugging and all the reasons you should not do it.
6. Go to a 12 step meeting, even if you have never gone before. They will listen, that’s what they do. Call information and ask for AA .
7. H.A.L.T. Hungry, angry, lonely, tired: if you are in any of these states, fix it. Eat, sleep, chill out, go visit someone.
8. Remember a craving will pass with time and when it is through, you come out the other side even stronger.
Hopefully this information will help you. Just remember the craving will pass.I will be thinking of you and saying a special prayer for you tonight.
PS: My name is Mary and I have been free from drugs and alcohol since 8/21/07.....lots of hard work and daily maintenance of my program has enabled me to do this. I have a circle of support and want you to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
The trick is to stay safe while riding out the wave. One way to view abstinence and sobriety is simply preparing for that moment when a craving occurs, nobody is watching, and nobody would know if you used, except you. What do you do? That is the moment of truth.
What follows are some tips and tools that may get you through that moment of danger. Not all tips work for all people, the trick is to find one that will work for you.
That being said, here are the tips:
1. Buy yourself some time, distract yourself, with exercise, work or cleaning, get busy. Put yourself in a safe place where drugs and alcohol are not available. Cravings pass with time.
2. Play the movie forward. Remember that we are never talking about ‘just one’. Once you pick up, control goes out the window.
3. Talk to someone. This is the purpose of building a social support network, utilize it. Go to a meeting, call your sponsor, best friend, relative or counselor. Talking it out with someone who really understands helps prevent a return to active addiction.
4. Pray or meditate. Ask for help in just getting through this. Use the Serenity Prayer. The point is to ask for help outside yourself.
5. Remember the pain and bad times, and the fact that you would be risking everything good that you have worked so hard for. Try focusing in the positive, not drinking or drugging and all the reasons you should not do it.
6. Go to a 12 step meeting, even if you have never gone before. They will listen, that’s what they do. Call information and ask for AA .
7. H.A.L.T. Hungry, angry, lonely, tired: if you are in any of these states, fix it. Eat, sleep, chill out, go visit someone.
8. Remember a craving will pass with time and when it is through, you come out the other side even stronger.
Hopefully this information will help you. Just remember the craving will pass.I will be thinking of you and saying a special prayer for you tonight.
PS: My name is Mary and I have been free from drugs and alcohol since 8/21/07.....lots of hard work and daily maintenance of my program has enabled me to do this. I have a circle of support and want you to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 111
When I was almost 27 I was the same way out at the bars As much as could get there didn't matter I was working at 6:30am I didn't care.. Then I started to realize I was missing so much in life because I was hung over or was just going to bed bc with the alcohol I was usually sniffing too... I also started to scare myself. So the week if my 27th birthday I partied hard come the day after I went to the bar and ordered a water sat down with my "boys" without my girls and had one it's best nights I ever had... Sober I play darts much better sober too... It was easier for me to stop drinking all the time than it has been for me to give up the lines and the pipe.... I prefer uppers and highs as opposed to the downers and being drunk... I don't have to drink... But I feel the need to have the pipe and that scares me more than alcohol ever did... I don't miss alcohol... I want the high and everyday so far has been a battle
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 9
Welcome, yes, this is a good place. Will you try stopping after the WE? I'm the same as you, hoping to make it through Monday without a drink. I think I will/can do it, you will too. And that would be a positive start. Try to keep your mind occupied, any hobby will do. Same boat 😉
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