#quitting drinking alcohol

[peachpixiebby]

I’ve quit drinking for 9 months now. I’m really proud of myself for sticking to it this long. I’ve said the whole time idk what my plans are with it. It’s hard to imagine never drinking again but idk if I can ever go back without it slipping to an unhealthy level again. I have nightmares where I drink and I’m so disappointed in myself in the dreams.

I still get strong cravings & I’m not sure they will ever go away. I associate so many things with drinking. I have triggers everywhere. Vacations, holidays, weekends, family gatherings, seeing tv characters drink, the alcohol aisle, gas stations, cutting the grass, swimming, camping, the sound of ice clinking/can opening, Mexican restaurants, cleaning the house, taking showers (yes, drinking in the shower), barbecues, summer nights, snowy nights, rainy nights, any excuse to drink.

I decided to take a break bc I had a long spout of unshakable heartburn. It felt more intense than normal and ruined my appetite bc I was worried about anything heightening the already bad heartburn I was experiencing. I was also tired of the hangovers. I drank at least once every weekend when I decided to quit. I wasn’t at the level of my worst. At my worst it was everyday of the weekend and multiple days of the week as well. I’d been fed up with it for a while. I felt ashamed how often the same cashiers would see me buying alcohol. I would buy from multiple stores as well and I still felt like all of them knew I had a problem.

I have trouble sticking to goals. I have this “all or nothing” mindset and can overwhelm myself thinking I have to change my whole life overnight. So I think that’s why I tell myself and others idk if I’ve quit alcohol forever but again I don’t trust myself to be able to moderate if I tried to drink again.

What helped me when I was first quitting was listening to the Sober Powered podcast. The host, Gill Tietz, has a masters in biology and talks about what happens inside our bodies when we drink and why it is so hard for some of us to moderate or quit. I love that she comes at it with an educational & nonjudgmental attitude. I checked out a few sober podcasts and hers was by far my favorite.

Her podcast in particular helped me bc her drinking habits were like mine. Neither of us had this huge event to point to (like a dui, divorce, job loss) to say okay I have a problem. Alcohol consumption is so normalized in society, many of us don’t even question it. But it’s okay to go against the grain and take a step back for yourself if you want. People will, for some reason, ask you why/challenge your abstinence. This reminds me how normalized drinking is that many people view it as the default setting and if you don’t partake something must be wrong.

On the Sober Powered podcast Gill talks about transfer addiction. How when we give up something we often replace it with another unhealthy habit. I believe I’ve done that with food. And with my all or nothing mentality I keep going from trying to eat healthy and restricting to not caring and binging. Gill points out that transfer addiction just postpones you from dealing with the underlying issues that lead you to numb out with instant gratification habits. I hope I can get brave enough to get to the root of my problems. Maybe someday.

TLDR; summary: I’ve quit drinking for 9 months. Idk if I’m done forever but I’m scared to try again and fall into bad habits. I’m still triggered/craving. Listening to the Sober Powered podcast helped me quit. I want to try & tackle my food habits next.

[mysobriety18]

I’ve tried many times to get sober. I’ve drank a bottle+ a day for mmmm…probably 5 years. I’ve been hospitalized many many times for severe pancreatitis. I’ve hooked up with people and not remembered. I’ve got kicked out of bars. Lost friends. Made many mistakes. Drove drunk and almost wrecked so many times…made awful decisions.

I’ve been alcohol free for 16 days today. September 2nd, 2022. I’m going to try and write my experience through all this..hoping to possibly inspire others who are trying to quit drinking. Inspire myself to continue not drinking.

We shall see tumblr…we shall see

[givehimthemedicine]

hot take: I could see it being possible Will picks up smoking, and very unlikely Max picks up smoking, for the same reasons just opposite.

Joyce doesn't hide her smoking but she is conscientious not to smoke in Will's presence (she does smoke right next to Jonathan though). iirc she almost never smokes at home when Will is home, and puts it out before she goes in his room. I'm sure she would advise her boys against the habit, but I don't think it would be terribly ooc if they picked it up as a stress response learned from her. they both probably associate the smell with their mother, who is a positive and loving presence in their lives.

btw I have a crisp $1 bill that says pre-s1 Joyce has caught Jonathan smoking before and that's why she feels ok to do it around him

then you've got Max, with multiple varyingly abusive family members who smoked (and drank) in her presence all the time. she comes and puts out Susan's cigarette when she's asleep even though it's already safely in an ashtray, meaning Max just doesn't want to have to smell the rest of it. she resents her mom for blowing so much of their resources on her addictions. plus there's Billy who smoked (and drank) in front of her all the time, both in their house and in his car, and I don't have to tell you Billy is a negative presence in her life.

in my mind Will and Jon are, at a minimum, at peace with it whereas the smell could be almost triggering for Max

[14dayswithyou]

Do any of your characters drink or smoke?

✦゜ANSWERED: Teo drinks and smokes, Leon and VIolet drink on occasion (such as celebrations or public outings), and Elanor sometimes drinks wine when she's reading or taking a bubble bath <3

[gender-trash]

trip report: half a paper cup of champagne

tasted bad :(

[ercticisms]

i actually don’t know why i don’t see anyone loving karen because i love her. because she’s special to me

[peachpixiebby]

Things I’ve noticed get better after quitting drinking:

- heartburn/sour stomach/nausea

- bloating

- inflammation/joint pain/bruising

- skin discoloration & moisture (I wear much less foundation now)

- hair is less dry

- less feelings of shame/hangxiety

- regulated body temperature

- saving money

- no more shakes/dizziness/sweating

- less migraines/headaches

If you’re curious, it’s def worth it to take a break and see the changes you notice. Don’t have to go into it with the intention of quitting. But it was eye opening to see all the improvements I noticed

[found--family]

they couldn't let cesar and jesse return bc they would've taken one look at dean and cas interacting and known they had it bad for each other

[effielovesapples]

i think actually accommodating friends struggling with sobriety is not that hard. btw.

[menlove]

oh btw yesterday was a month off of alcohol so 💪

[sequoiareachesforthesky]

Milgram fic idea: the prisoners are bored (as they always are) and they've already celebrated every holiday imaginable. So someone suggests doing a cross-dressing event for a change. Mahiru, Mikoto and Muu help everyone find the perfect fit (Mahiru sews half the clothes herself to make it look perfect).

A bunch of gender crisis ensue.

[ghostlyschizophrenic]

going from being fresh from the trauma from alcoholic parents years ago that caused me to have a full blown panic attack from just looking at the walmart wine aisle to many years post trauma and spending an entire meal at the bar of a restaurant (i don’t drink but it’s the only seat available) with the whole alcohol bottle display in front of me is what i call GROWTH

[ryuvnosuke]

my alcohol belly makes my outfits better. i think

[queer-reader-07]

it's almost new year's eve and i am once again begging people to stop pressuring others to drink because they need to "have some fun"

[crynwr-drwg]

fuck my (baka) life

[bigmeansweatydyke]

me when the amount of alcohol i would normally and easily drink a month ago made me puke like twice