Turning point. What event, feeling, thought made you think, enough is enough?
 

Mine was my birthday weekend in mid July. I spent it at my sisters, friends came out too. I was in an anxious state, couldn't wait to have my first drink. The evening of my birthday is a complete blur post the meal. I just remember lots of tears, knocking back wine even though I'd had probably 2 bottles and several cocktails. I was woken up early my 11year old niece, with a massive ballon and lots of presents. I remember the agony of the hangover, having to keep one eye shut to focus and trying to be happy, fresh and upbeat for her. The following morning I had a massive row with my sister and I(with another massive hangover) stormed out of the house and drove 200 miles home....I got home, got to bed and repeated over and over, this has to stop.....that week was my turning point. What was yours?

My wake up call was meeting with an old internet friend from years ago before I started drinking so heavily. The history I had with her made me take a long hard look at how far I'd gone downhill since I started drinking. I looked at how much better she was doing in her own life in 6 years, and how much more poorly I was doing in mine, coupled with the fact that I made an ass out of myself to her several times while I was drunk.

There wasn't anything catastrophically negative that happened to me though, thank god. I didn't have to hit any "rock bottom" so to speak, unless the noticeable decline in my mental function could be considered that. Hopefully I don't need any shocking event like that. Just gotta keep taking it one day at a time.

Mine was a relapse, 16 days into sobriety,

I relapsed casually, and when opening my 3rd can something clicked and I stopped there and then.

For some reason that s when I realised it was out of control, but there was definitely a click, a noticeable change of attitude in that split second.

P

Good Friday 2017

Was away for start of a family holiday and was feeling like death ...enough was enough that day ..just got to point of no return I think

Took me a little over a year for my "turning point" come to it's end stop.

I can't really sum up the turning point in a short sentence.
It was gory, it was gut-wrenching, and I spent about a year and a half terrified of dying and wanting to die.
It's no way to live life. At some point, we all have to figure out it's a choice.
Do or do not, we make the choice to pick up or not- nothing else.

When I realized I wasn't trapped by anything but my own head. I could start to get honest with myself.

I had no 'one experience' that got me to quit, rather, it was a feeling of being sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. :( I had six months sober, then relapsed and drank for two days. When I woke up, I felt the worst I've ever felt and wished that I would die just to be out of the misery. :(

That was 7 yrs and 8 months ago and I've not had a drink since. :)

June 17th 2017 in a pub surrounded by idiots. Had to leave as it was getting very rowdy. Woke up on Father's Day and was so relieved to be at home with my Family. I know that I was only just in control that night, if I had started drinking a bit earlier when the trouble started I could so easily have woken up in hospital or in a police cell. Drinking to me is like playing Russian Roulette and I knew on June 17th that if I carried on I was going to loose one day.
Sitting here on a Saturday night approaching my 8th week sober and I am so glad something did click that night.
Good luck everyone and stay strong, life is so much better sober 👍

Being told I was being divorced.

Final straw after getting wasted & my secret stash being found!
I'm just sick of being tired, grumpy, slow, embarassed, regretful....the list goes on....Also dont want my kid's seeing me wasted & im well aware hubbie has had enough of a sloshed lushy wife!! Im 36, need to get my s**t together!!

Realizing that alcohol was controlling my life yet again. I found I was planning events around my "drinking time", I was tired of feeling anxious, depressed, tired, and just plain sick all the time. I was ashamed that I wasn't there for my kids like I should be. The real "aha" moment, I believe, came from God. I was ready to just quit life, and I mean that in the most literal sense. I didn't want to go through a second detox. He came to me however, and gave me the courage and strength to try for sobriety again.

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks and I'm so incredibly thankful. I've never felt more serious about anything in my life as I do about giving up alcohol.

I knew I was dancing with the devil for many years. At least 10. Luckily, I believe God kept me from drinking daily through several situations and life changes which were occurring WHILE I was at my worst my drinking. Its too hard to explain but my "nightly bottle of wine" habit only lasted maybe 5 months, and then due to a job change, I could only sometimes drink once or twice a week. But I was drinking too much every time I drank. This went on for six years. Sometimes I would, again, due to my job, drink every other month. Once I had a six month break from drinking.

So God (or I did, subconciously) did what he/she could to keep my body from getting too damaged over the past 10 years. I did have some health problems in the end that were CLEARLY related to my drinking (really messed up digestive tract, and at one time I had tremors, etc)... But those are already, 3 months into sober living, completely gone.
I am pooping GREAT! Never was I happier to see healthy pooping action in my life :)

Anyway, the last straw was 3 months or so ago when I blacked out and slapped several people in the face, one of whom I dont know very well at all. (amazingly shameful behavior... And I am a 43-year-old woman! I never slapped anyone, not even in my drama filled 20's!).

I had also begun to regularly hurt myself from accidental things while drinking. This last year I literally hurt myself every single time: cuts, bruises, burns, etc.

But the shame and violence of that blackout was the final straw. The fear. The pain. IT NEEDED TO END.

Before that time though I was REGULARLY suicidal during my hangovers.

That last night that I blacked out I apparently was saying over and over "I want to die. Please God let me die." Over and over.

Mine was NYE 2015 (almost 2016). I was at a party and drinking champagne, I started reflecting on my drinking (yet again) and decided I was going to really do it this time. I stopped at midnight and have not had a sip of alcohol since.

I had stopped a few times in the past, but kept falling into the trap of attempting moderation. I failed miserably at moderating, and each time my drinking quickly returned to where I had been when I stopped.

Life continues to throw stressful situations my way, but I've learned to deal with them in healthy ways, rather than avoiding them in an alcohol haze.

My final straw was laying in bed for 3 days after a night of drinking with the curtains closed thinking that I wanted to kill myself. The depression was horrific! The thing is....I didn't really want to die, I just wanted the pain to stop. Alcohol causes that horrific pain. Alcohol is evil.

Great job Delilah! :You_Rock_

After several years of knocking back 12-18 5.9% alc bud ice beers per night, I became nauseated, had severe digestive issues, and a sudden and acute onset of feeling the need to throw up upon eating and especially drinking beer. So, I sipped a few beers as to lessen the withdrawals, and after I recovered, I decided to ween myself off alcohol. It took my about 5 weeks to do so. I didn't have any other reason to quit before that, really, except that I wasn't working. After I quit I got a job and started exercising heavily.

At around 3am I went to the bathroom and caught myself in the mirror, I looked into my bloodshot eyes and I heard my av voice, the one that is usually so kind as long as I feed it say "I f*****g hate you, I want you to die".

And it meant it.

I quit the next day, it feels different this time.

That's an awesome story =)

Once I retired, I wanted to live long enough to enjoy it. Continuing to drink would have taken years off my life

For me it was a slow build. I had tried many, many times before, but only ever quitting "for a while", and not forever. Each time I went back to drinking, the amount of alcohol escalated.

I remember one day last summer being at work, sitting in my boss's office, and having a slight panic attack (in actuality, withdraws), and finding an excuse to leave work, drive to the gas statin (at 11am) and buy beer, and then drink it while driving around calming down. Even THAT wasn't a clue to quit! But I believe it was the beginning of the end of my drinking days.

Finally, on November 1, after 2 days of drinking an ugly amount of booze, I wanted to stop. But, it was the reading of "Controlling Alcohol" that solidified it for me. It changed my thinking, and allowed me to embrace sobriety forever, instead of being terrified of the idea. Thank god for that book, and my willingness to embrace its ideals.

Was that allan Carr's book?