Giving up hangovers
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 122
Giving up hangovers
I've tried quitting beer a bunch of times. I've quit smoking. I've even quit diet soda. Beer's been tricky, though.
I don't use the word "alcoholic" because it has too many implied meanings and baggage that goes with it. I prefer to think of it as "quitting beer is complicated".
There's no struggle involved. I quit easily and I give up easily. It's like I have two minds. One that's just sick of it. Another that enjoys drinking beer.
I decided, this time, not to quit drinking, but to quit hangovers. It's functionally the same thing since no amount of drinking leaves me without some degree of hangover. But it's a different strategy; one that keeps the focus on why I want to be sober.
Anyway, glad to be here. I'm hoping the support I get will help me stay hangover free. I'm also hoping I can be a useful source of support for some of you.
TB
I don't use the word "alcoholic" because it has too many implied meanings and baggage that goes with it. I prefer to think of it as "quitting beer is complicated".
There's no struggle involved. I quit easily and I give up easily. It's like I have two minds. One that's just sick of it. Another that enjoys drinking beer.
I decided, this time, not to quit drinking, but to quit hangovers. It's functionally the same thing since no amount of drinking leaves me without some degree of hangover. But it's a different strategy; one that keeps the focus on why I want to be sober.
Anyway, glad to be here. I'm hoping the support I get will help me stay hangover free. I'm also hoping I can be a useful source of support for some of you.
TB
Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,462
Glad your here tree. I am new to sobriety but was an expert at drinking a lot of beer. I also found it easy to quit but would soon find myself right back to were I started. Drinking 8 beers a night. I too was so tired of it. Dozens and dozens of failed attempts. I do use the word alcoholic because that's what I am and when I admitted to my wife and kids out loud that I was an alcoholic I felt great relief and I have made great progress. That's just my view my friend glad your here
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Glad you're here.
Might be useful to hunt around and see what a lot of people talk about when they talk about labels and habits - "I quit drinking during the week" or "I don't drink the night before I have a 5K." I point this out because we all had a lot of denial and often used euphemisms about alcoholism that kept us drinking, justified our non-quitting and staying quit, so to speak. Alcoholic isn't a dirty word, at the end of the day. It's just a word and once truly acknowledged - TRULY accepted as a concept that you are powerless over it - it loses any power for bad, and only has it for good and your own growth and new life.
Good luck.
Might be useful to hunt around and see what a lot of people talk about when they talk about labels and habits - "I quit drinking during the week" or "I don't drink the night before I have a 5K." I point this out because we all had a lot of denial and often used euphemisms about alcoholism that kept us drinking, justified our non-quitting and staying quit, so to speak. Alcoholic isn't a dirty word, at the end of the day. It's just a word and once truly acknowledged - TRULY accepted as a concept that you are powerless over it - it loses any power for bad, and only has it for good and your own growth and new life.
Good luck.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 122
Thanks for the welcome. I haven't drank since last Friday night, so that's 6 Days. No problems so far. No shakes or anything. Not feeling any cravings.
(As an interesting side note, I quit diet soda 273 days ago (I have an app) and I STILL regularly crave the stuff! Even cigarettes didn't dog me like this, and I was a pack and a half smoker for 8 years!)
Anyway, I appreciate having you all as my accountability. I'm not really declaring anything to my family. Been there before, and I feel embarrassed to go there again.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, and waking up feeling good. I'm good now, too, but I get up at 2:30am every day so how good can that be, really?
I know some of you have really been down a much harder road than me, and I respect what you've had to do and live with. I know my issues are nothing like that, so I can't really understand, but I wanted to put that out there. I appreciate your attention to my problems, be they what they are.
(As an interesting side note, I quit diet soda 273 days ago (I have an app) and I STILL regularly crave the stuff! Even cigarettes didn't dog me like this, and I was a pack and a half smoker for 8 years!)
Anyway, I appreciate having you all as my accountability. I'm not really declaring anything to my family. Been there before, and I feel embarrassed to go there again.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, and waking up feeling good. I'm good now, too, but I get up at 2:30am every day so how good can that be, really?
I know some of you have really been down a much harder road than me, and I respect what you've had to do and live with. I know my issues are nothing like that, so I can't really understand, but I wanted to put that out there. I appreciate your attention to my problems, be they what they are.
Blue Belt
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Soberville, USA
Posts: 4,174
Warning, warning...there is trouble ahead...
I quit when I was in my mid 20s for 8 months...it was so easy that I decided to start drinking again....fast forward.....20 years later....
Quitting this time was hell on earth. I have never experienced so much paranoia, anxiety, and spaceyNess over such a long time...going on 16 months clean. It has gotten better each day....but it is just finally startg to really go away. I feel sooooooooo freeeeeeeee.
I have been in a torture chamber periodically everyday for 16 months.
I will never drink again. My brain can't take it.
This booze thing is nothing to toy w.
I quit when I was in my mid 20s for 8 months...it was so easy that I decided to start drinking again....fast forward.....20 years later....
Quitting this time was hell on earth. I have never experienced so much paranoia, anxiety, and spaceyNess over such a long time...going on 16 months clean. It has gotten better each day....but it is just finally startg to really go away. I feel sooooooooo freeeeeeeee.
I have been in a torture chamber periodically everyday for 16 months.
I will never drink again. My brain can't take it.
This booze thing is nothing to toy w.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,776
Welcome and congrats on six days without hangovers. 
I like waking up sober. I feel good and look forward to the day. I've never woken up sober and wished that I had drank the night before.
I like waking up sober. I feel good and look forward to the day. I've never woken up sober and wished that I had drank the night before. 
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 122
Originally Posted by least 
Welcome and congrats on six days without hangovers. I like waking up sober. I feel good and look forward to the day. I've never woken up sober and wished that I had drank the night before.
I like waking up sober. I feel good and look forward to the day. I've never woken up sober and wished that I had drank the night before. Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: here, now.
Posts: 1,236
I started down the slippery slope of having pleasant mornings 15 days ago. I really regret it but can't stop. I can already feel that I'm not likely to have a really exhausting hangover tomorrow morning.
:p
:p
Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,518
Hi Treebeard and welcome , I say " whatever works for YOU " .
I read through your post and responses a few times and thought about what to write and strangely enough when I hear people talk in person and in here most of the time they will say something like I am fed up feeling so bad AFTER drinking ,or my anxiety went through the roof after that last binge . at the end of the day alcohol caused the hangover symptoms so it doesn't matter which way you look at it . I,m not a fan of labels either but all that matters to me is I cant drink alcohol again and just the same as D122Y "my brain can't take it "
I read through your post and responses a few times and thought about what to write and strangely enough when I hear people talk in person and in here most of the time they will say something like I am fed up feeling so bad AFTER drinking ,or my anxiety went through the roof after that last binge . at the end of the day alcohol caused the hangover symptoms so it doesn't matter which way you look at it . I,m not a fan of labels either but all that matters to me is I cant drink alcohol again and just the same as D122Y "my brain can't take it "
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