Advice on Quitting Alcohol
 

Hello. My name is Gabriel. I came across this site yesterday. But the truth of the matter is I have been trying to find a good community for a while to help me quit alcohol and I hope sober recovery can help me.

I have been struggling with alcohol addiction for many years...probably 10 years of serious drinking most days of the week. I have been drinking to get drunk since I was an early teenager, however. I drink both beer and hard alcohol to get drunk and black out most days. This whole routine leads to fights with my wife, so I end up sneaking drinks. She knows I am drinking though because I always act like a fool. I'll always say things I regret, make a mess of the kitchen, call old friends, drop dishes and break them, wake up with strange bruises, and have no recollection of the night in the morning. I manage to go to work though, but hung over with anxiety, regret, a headache and vowing to quit that night. But I always manage to restart. The urge is too powerful.

My family has a strong history of alcohol abuse. My Dad died early and we are sure alcohol was a contributing factor. My younger brother died at 32 years from cirrhosis and a GI bleed. So sad...

I have to quit. I am in my early forties and do not want to die from alcohol the way my family has. I want to get along with my wife and want to be a good role model for my son. If I continue on this path, it is only a matter of time before I hit bottom. For the past few years I have quit on and off. My longest stent was for five months which was over a year ago. I planned to quit for the new year but there was always a reason to keep drinking, friends, family visit, birthday, etc. I am tired of this cycle. I am on day 4 now without alcohol today. I'm not drinking tonight. I dumped most of the alcohol down the drain. I've never had withdrawal symptoms. I would just like some advice on quitting alcohol for good. I am determined this time. I am doing the usual things like eating dinner early and eating sweets if needed. I'm drinking lots of water and have been going to the gym. These things have helped with the urges. Thank you and any advice would be appreciated.

Gabriel

Hi Gabriel. It sounds like you are truly ready to be done. Welcome! Come join us is the Class of February 2017. Great support here!

Welcome to the family. :) Congrats on four days sober. :) That's a good start.

I hope our support can help you get and stay sober for good. :hug:

Welcome! You've found a great site with a lot of support.

I found SR when I was sick of the cycle and had to quit, too. I was actually even sick of being sick of the cycle if that makes any sense , and it just might.
My first time here I saw mention of AVRT/RR , there are really great threads on these ideas here on SR in the Secular Connections forum. Those ideas really resonated with me, I recommend checking them out.
Wish you well and hope to see you around, and congratulations, you have quit, don't start again , ever.
Come back often, read, post , ask, and come back often

Hi Gabriel. Welcome to SR! This is a good place to get support and information.

I just want to say that this statement is true, but it misses the point a bit. If you keep going, all that you are doing - literally every single day - is making your bottom lower. If you accept that you have a serious problem with alcohol, are willing to change, and take actions to recover, your bottom does not need to be any lower. Make a choice to jump off this elevator. There are lots of folks here to support you.

Good job so far!

Welcome to SR, Gabriel!
If you really want sobriety, this is a great place to get started.

Hi Gabriel,

Welcome to SR!!

I stopped drinking about 14 months ago at the age of 45. I tried a few times before that, but then decided I would give moderation a try, if that pops into your head, I can save you a few years and tell you it doesn't work, at least it never did for me.

There are many avenues to recovery. My biggest support is this website, I read and post daily. The two threads that have helped me the most are the 24 hour thread and the monthly class (someone else suggested joining February of 2017)

The first few weeks were the hardest for me, more emotionally than physically. I made sure to plan alternate activities for the times I would normally spend drinking. I went to the gym, hiking, took the kids to the park, or their activities, read lots of books both recovery, and for fun. Slowly it got easier.

It is very rare that thoughts of drinking pop into my head anymore, and when they do pop in playing the tape through and thinking about how I would feel the next morning if I did drink works.

Glad you are here!

Hi and welcome Gabriel :)
This is a great link of recovery plans and well worth a read :)

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ery-plans.html

D

Hello everyone. Thank you for the warm welcome and advice. It really is nice to talk with and have the support of people that have gone through this. I will catch up on the February 2017 thread and others this weekend. I had a good night and the urge to drink was not so too bad. I am looking forward to day 5 tomorrow.

Why not change this from "I have to quit" to "I have quit" instead? In the past tense, instead of something that has yet to occur?

Your addiction is trying to drag this thing out, with the whole "if I continue" and "hitting bottom" business. You already know that bottom could be death, not recovery.

Are you going to continue drinking?

If you want to stop this from becoming a long, drawn out process, consider the recommendation from dwtbd.

Thanks for advice. You are right, I have quit!

Thank you Delilah. You are very kind. I hope it gets easier with time. I plan on staying busy!

Thank you Madbird. I believe this place will really help me.

Hi. You are right. I am done with alcohol. I'm not going any further down...I'm going to look up.

Hi Gabriel, and welcome to SR .

I found this site a lifeline.

I wasn't sure what the Recovery was about but once I'd decided I don't drink anymore then I had to learn to live without it. So some great advice from like minded people.

I'm sure you'll find help and support here.

Hi. Thank you for the advice. I will check out the threads. I plan to stick around.

Thank you Bluedog. I'm looking forward to the support and exploring new threads.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to everyone's support. Great place.

Hi Badger. Thanks for the welcome. I'll check out class of February 2017.