oldsoul1122

It's effect became unpredictable in the end which was last month. It went from manic happy drinking 12 beers, to drinking 5 beers and trying to find a rope to tie to the rafters. Looking back I was angry, bitter and fighting with the neighbor about minor things and hating life and people in general. In just a few weeks I'm feeling peace and calm and I like being in my own skin. The thought that I could kill myself keeps me away from the poison.

SoberBike

For me it was a lot of negative issues that was caused by my drinking. In the end I was pi$$@$& the bed, puking the bed when I was passed out or all over the carpeting, was staying out drinking sometimes until 5am, drinking and driving every week, racking up all kinds of debt...the worst of all was how I was treating my wife and kid. I still have a lot of shame and guilt over my past, but I feel so much better 8 months after putting that last drink to my lips. I never thought I could live and enjoy life without booze...I was wrong. Have a nice weekend everybody!!

zerothehero

Lately, when people ask why I quit drinking, I say, "Because I love to get drunk, but I hate being hungover."

It didn't work for me when the hangovers just seemed much worse than what little fun I was getting out of drinking. If I was still having fun drinking and didn't have to pay for it the next day I would probably still be drinking.

That may be an oversimplification, but it's true. The deeper story is about why drinking wasn't much fun anymore, why hangovers included lingering negativity in addition to the brown bottle flu, and what I was missing while spinning down the foggy maelstrom.

Carpathia

I never considered this question until I became sober 7 months ago and heard others talk about it!

I rationalized (denied) my heavier usage. I felt my personality change from happy to dark. Still, I said it was "fun", relaxing, and yeah, maybe a teeny bit necessary, until a few years ago.

I began noticing it felt tedious going out to bars, drinking the same stuff, yet the behavior was something I couldn't control.

I began wanting different highs, deeper, more obliterative (is that a word?). With obliteration came my first black out. That's when I knew I couldn't get out of it. The terrifying switch had flipped.

MelindaFlowers

This is my experience too. The hangovers became dark times. Vomiting or room spins were a thing of the past.

The pain and discomfort in my head made my jaw hurt. This might sound crazy but there were even times I thought my teeth felt loose, either from grinding or malnutrition. Only during a hangover though.

I could not move the next day. Even getting up to the bathroom made me sweat profusely. Feeling freezing cold yet sweating. Or burning up and sweating.

Remember when you have a high fever? You feel disoriented, weak, clammy, like you're going crazy? No peace? That became my new hangover. Yuck!

The hangovers did it for me too. Day 78 here and the memory of hangovers has kept me on track. I couldn't live through one more.

royce99

I was on anxiety medication...and I drank on top of that. Dont recommend it, but I was trapped in a bad cycle

I got the nerve to get off the antidepressants....and thought I could still drink. Thats when the problems really started for me, on top of an injury I had. I cant even function on alcohol anymore, even though I still struggle with it. This attempt to get sober feels different...im trying really hard to get things under control this time and praying that it works out for me

happyandfree

Exactly. ..zero the hero and Melinda- it was The Hangovers. ..plain and simple. What a terrible nightmare those hangovers were. So many wasted days trying to recover. Desperation, shame, hating myself. It wasn't that the alcohol wasn't working, but it was killing me with the hangovers. This is why I need this site...so that I never forget.

SnowDawg

Can't put my finger on when, but I think when the only way to stop the convulsions, sweats, restless legs and night terrors was taking an Alka-Seltzer with a double shot of Vodka. At 3:00 AM precisely.
The fun in the buzz is gone forever.

MelindaFlowers

Yes, soooo many wasted days where I found no peace in making the hours go by more quickly. It became completely normal for my weekends to be spent on the couch, nearly comatose. If someone would have walked in and seen me they would have thought I was suffering from some terrible illness like the flu or pneumonia. What a life, huh? You also make a good point about the desperation, shame, and hating ourselves. The physical torture was almost more bearable than the mental anguish. No amount of water or hangover food can get rid of the mental terror.

I am so thankful to say hello to abstinence and goodbye to hangovers.

Thatdeliveryguy

When did alcohol start working for me? All I ever did was bandage my own feelings of insignificance, make an azz of myself. Lie, cheat, steal, betray and tossed my whole life away for the high? So I suppose it worked for me if you want to toss your life down the drain, otherwise; I was mostly a guy I never want to be again on alcohol.

Oswin

That sums up exactly how my relationship with booze had become. I used to research how to cope with hangovers and always skip over the bit that said if you don't drink in the first place....not skipping that bit anymore.

happyandfree

This is such a great thread-I need to read t his regularly.

Bailey3

I've thought long and hard on this question. It never really worked for me but, it was part of the culture I lived in. If you weren't getting blasted out of your mind you didn't fit in. Wasted a lot of time trying to fit in. Even after even after coming to realize I didn't really want to fit in, I continued drinking. Finally a was drinking just to get drunk. Blacking out constantly. What a waste!

JasonNorth

hmmm. good question.

To be honest. It still 'works' for me. I just dont seem to be able to have a day off. i dont often drink until i drop (not unless its others doing the same, as in at a party or something).

it kind of works for me, i just dont like how its creeping its way in inch by inch, day by day, year by year. & slowly taking a hold.

I hope to go out on a high, rather than for it to really make me feel miserable about myself & what I am doing.

if one positive thing came from my mum dying from alcohol. its seeing a potential future for myself that I dont want.

Tang

When the pain from drinking lasted longer than the buzz. When the romanticizing outweighs the enjoyment. What I would give to never have had that first drink.

LBrain

Leave for work at 5:00 AM/PM, get home at 7:00 PM/AM 12 hour+ shift
I worked Tues nite, I worked weds nite, I worked Thurs nite - got home at 7AM Fri and started drinking all day, I worked Sat day, I worked Sunday Day, got home around 7PM - I fell asleep at 830 PM Sunday nite. I woke up at 0530, I had to go into work Monday nite. I started drinking in the morning so I could 'fall asleep'. Add in that I almost crashed because I fell asleep driving home Weds morning because I didn't getting any sleep Tuesday before work. So drinking to get me to sleep was the answer for Monday night. Even with the 5 hour rule of not drinking. almost 8 hours later I blew hot for alcohol. I had no alcohol effect it seemed - I was perfectly "normal". But the numbers cannot be disputed - if it ain't .000, you lose. I was escorted out by armed guards. That was the day I quit drinking.
Who knows where I'd be if that hadn't happened 9 months ago. I quit drinking that nite and it would have been my "sober date" if I didn't have to get drunk one more time to be admitted into rehab/detox. My EAP rep told me to get drunk or insurance wouldn't cover rehab. Awesome. Totally. It was the only time my wife sanctioned my drinking.

I'd still be a drunk today if that hadn't happened. Call it luck, fate or whatever.
It was the best thing to happen to me even though it cost me a very high paying career in a very specialized field. I got my life back. Call it a win.

So I guess that is when alcohol quit working for me. Don't get me wrong - I drank enough over the years to float a battleship. I needed this.

"... I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a hive five."