Quit date & preparations?
 

Hi all. I`m a long time lurker, sometimes poster, still struggling.

I pose the question - how many set a definite quit date, and if so what led to that choice of date and how did you prepare for it? (If anyone has seen Trainspotting, ya kinda know what I mean). I wish I had like a long weekend or something like that as not have to go to work feeling like crap but oh well.
Certainly made it thru a zillion mornings of hangovers when I still got them.

Did anyone actually throw away booze they still had?

I guess I`m so far detached from reality when I go into a normal persons house who has a liquor cabinet, home bar whatever - that there is HUGE bottles of booze - not even opened. Heh. Guess only alkies buy pints and half pints.

Ugh.

From my observations here, setting a date has a very low chance of success. It's putting off the inevitable. It seems that most who are really serious about quitting do it now....today. And yes, dumping out/throwing away all the booze in your house is a good idea. Give it away if you want, but get rid of it.

In my case, I just woke up one morning hung over & decided the madness had to stop. DH makes daily trips to the liquor store, he doesn't buy big bottles to keep in the house. So I am safe in that regard, since there is nothing here to tempt me. The temptation comes for me when he makes his dialy liquor store run. If he doesn't go, the thought of drinking doesn't come to mind.

I had the greatest bar ever. Problem was, all the bottles were empty. And they were hidden. :wild

Like many others, I've had too many "I'm doing it for real this time" moments.

I'm only 3 days in right now, but this time I am actually taking action instead of talking about taking action.

I went to my first AA meeting last night and will go every day. I bought the Big Book and have started reading it. I've also thrown out all the empty bottles in my house.

Being bored is a huge trigger for me. To help with that, I just purchased a PS4. I've never been a big gamer, but I have a few friends who are. None of them drink and they play on-line quite a bit. I will be joining them.

In summary, I've learned that talking and doing are very different. This time, I'm doing.

Hope this helps.

I think stopping 'now' is the only way to go. Tomorrow is too easy to put off, again and again. There is never a good time to stop drinking.

And, yes, my husband actually got rid of all the alcohol in the house and we never have kept or served alcohol in our home since then.

The best day is definitely today Lorraine.
So many times I set a date, then drank past that date, set another date, drank past that one....

you know what they say - the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago,,,the second best time is now :)

Glad you've joined us again - welcome back :)

D

I would have replied sooner but I was out running my chainsaw and cut into my femoral artery, but I'm going to wait til tomorrow to go to the e.r. Even though things could get worse and this could kill me.
I personally think you are detached from reality( read insane) for thinking about a date to quit and preparing for. It. What does that involve?
So many times I was quitting tomorrow. That went on for many years and my emotional and mental state got worse and worse as the disease of alcoholism progressed to the point that I wanted to die.

I hope and pray ya get serious about this. Many Y.E.T.s that could happen if ya wait any longer.

Never. Not once.

And I also never set a stop date. I didn't think too hard about it either. The day I quit wasn't planned. It was kind of like taking a big breath, then jumping off the edge... diving off into the unknown. I knew theoretically it was quite possible for me to quit and never drink another drop. Did I believe in myself? Not right at that moment, no. I just knew I was taking the correct actions in order to be a non-drinker. It felt like I was in uncharted territory really. Blindly fumbling along. I believed that it was possible though, and kept going...

I'm in the same boat as SoberJennie in that I didn't set a quit date or throw out any bottles. I actually "quit" drinking on July 5th and at the time still had an unopened bottle of Moscato and a pint of Brandy. I couldn't bring myself to just pour them out so they just sat. & sat. & sat. A couple days in I was doing fine with not drinking them but of course, after a while, I gave in and drank both of them one night. That was July 20th. I've been sober ever since the following day. I try to approach sobriety with a "do what's best for you" attitude bc what worked [or didn't work] for me mah be different from you, but I think quit dates are too easy to push back and eventually neglect. I found it easier to just do it. That way I couldn't find ways to validate excuses and in turn keep drinking.

Bri

Hi Lorraine,

My quit date was ordained by the night before. I had bought 4 beers and by the time of drinking 2 of them, I didnt want the other two. I just thought that I had just had enough. I was sick of drinking and feeling tired and having hangovers.

Then I had a stupid thought, I was thinking, I have 2 cans of beer, I have spent good money buying them, I might as well drinking these last too. So I did.
The I thought, I have 3/4 of a bottle of Port, so I finished that off too. Oh and I bottle of wine that I thought I dont want that to tempt me. Then 3/4 of a bottle of Whisky.

The next morning, I had the hangover from hell, I was sick while being sick (yes it is possible). God was I rough. Had to take the day off I was so ill.

I was annoyed that I didnt just get all the booze and throw it in the bin. I threw out any remaining bottles except a bottle of wine belonging to my wife. I didnt throw that out, I opened that up on day 7 and poured a glass of it. Smelt it, looked at it and then threw it all down the sink.

In hindsight, I would just get a blackbin liner and thrown all your stash away where you cannot retrieve it later. Say a prayer for yourself and forgive yourself and start your day one without the hassle and hangover.

You have come to the right place.

Every time I'd set a date to quit, I'd ruin it and then set another date. :( Did that too many times. I finally came to my senses almost five years ago after the worst w/d I'd ever had. Haven't had a drink since. :)

Long story short - I went from "thinking about quitting", "getting ready to quit", "stopping TOMORROW" (boy did tomorrow go on forever and over and over) to just stopping.
I thought well just don`t drink for ONE day, just ONE day - there are 365 days in the year, surely if I can`t NOT drink on just ONE of them, I might as well give up and consider myself dead because this is slow suicide.

That was 11/9/14 - on day 15 now and hanging on! This has been my longest period of sobriety in ages. Couple years ago I went close to around 30 days (for the wrong reason - doing it for someone else - a guy - didn`t last). In 2009 went about 6 weeks (broken wrist from falling on ice - arm in cast couldn`t drive to store - middle of winter snow/ice- couldn`t walk to store- I would have driven had not been being watched)

Anyway, I feel physically very good - eating alot, drinking tons of water, taking vitamins, sleeping better then expected. Trying to keep as busy as possible even if it`s just housework, cleaning/organizing things, etc...By chance my hours at work nearly doubled at this time, so that was a stroke of luck as well!

I am not attending AA although I have attended occasionally off and on (more off than on) since 1991. I read here on a daily basis and intend to post more often, still a little "shy" at the moment, but appreciate everyone`s help now and in the past.

Thank you for reading.

Well done on your 15 days Lorraine welcome bk nice to meet you

The date I set was always "tomorrow". I've had so many tomorrow's, I can't even begin to count. Those promises to myself and to others of "tomorrow" almost always landed me in the emergency room, barely able to breathe, a number of times being told I was "lucky to be alive".

There won't always be the date you set. There won't always be tomorrow. In my life, there's only today. And I still struggle with that very fact.

I am surprised there are no champions of setting date. I have read so often about the importance of having a plan. A plan doesn't just happen.

Congratulations to you, Lorraine. You did it! You quit! The only time that things actually happen is the present moment, NOW. Not only is NOW the only time to quit, it is also the best time to quit!

To your OP, I quit one Monday morning, between 9:30 am and a quarter to 10. And yes, I poured out contents of opened bottles, about 40 oz of vodka, and gave away the beer and wine.

To me, a plan for quitting is not a plan to quit. The first to me involves how withdrawal, nutrition, insomnia and such will be handled. It provides alternative pasttimes to drinking and being comatose. A plan for quitting also means how we see the act of quitting. Is it something to be attempted, or is it something to be approached with full commitment of heart, mind and soul. This can all happen, for example, between 9:30 and 10 in the morning.

A plan to quit is not much more than a plan to keep drinking right now.

Hi Lorraine, well done on 15 days sober ! Awesome :grouphug:

Good to meet you x