Your relationship with alcohol. Don't know how to reintroduce booze

[cycosis]

21 was no bueno for me. I did 3 separate dry months from 2013-2015. .The moment that dry month was over I was back into it.

Now that I’ve cleared the 1 year hurdle I’m more comfortable not having a timeline/date set for a “return”. If it comes it comes, if not I guess the consequence is healthier lifestyle ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ercchry]

Simple solution: drink more expensive bottles

Works in a couple ways

1. Refines your tastes where you don’t want to drink the cheap shit

2. Makes you second guess pouring a glass daily as you know that the liquid deserves a special occasion

This works for me, I refuse to keep beer in the house cause I will casually drink it just cause I’m thirsty

Cheap wine sucks, so I buy better wine... and I tend to not just open it “just because”

Then for spirits I tend to buy better whiskey... some which just doesn’t exist anymore and it’s not even a price thing. I just know it’s unreplaceable. I have bottles that are still over half full that have been around for over 5yrs because I only have a dram sparingly

[Misterman]

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Keep seeing the number 21 thrown around to change your habits. So if you can make it to 21 days you can form a new habit whatever it is.

The general consensus among supposed "experts", is that it takes 30 days to make or break a habit.

[mr2mike]

Be around people that support being sober. If it's not in the house, when you go out and no one pushes you to have 1. You should be ok. It's tough but can be done. Hardest part is just not buying any at the store and having it at home.
Find something else to take it's place. Take the dog for a walk, hit the gym, ride a bike, build something in the garage, play guitar.
I would error on not "reintroducing" alcohol.

[ExtraSlow]

Err on the side of.....

[J-hop]

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Simple solution: drink more expensive bottles

Works in a couple ways

1. Refines your tastes where you don’t want to drink the cheap shit

2. Makes you second guess pouring a glass daily as you know that the liquid deserves a special occasion

This works for me, I refuse to keep beer in the house cause I will casually drink it just cause I’m thirsty

Cheap wine sucks, so I buy better wine... and I tend to not just open it “just because”

Then for spirits I tend to buy better whiskey... some which just doesn’t exist anymore and it’s not even a price thing. I just know it’s unreplaceable. I have bottles that are still over half full that have been around for over 5yrs because I only have a dram sparingly

I was thinking about this, I used to drink exclusively strong IPAs. Not really beers you can slam 10 of, I find gut rot sets in long before that. Recently though I switched to Pabst while doing projects outside in the summer as an IPA in the heat wasn’t too refreshing. I was amazed how quickly my consumption went up, stuff goes down like water.

[max_boost]

Tony Robbins would say just attach negativity to that habit and it can help.

Drinking = expensive = hang overs = liver failure = bad

Tell yourself this over and over lol

[sexualbanana]

To me, it's never been a big deal for my friends when I don't drink when we go out. Most of my friends simply just stopped asking if I wanted something, because the answer was going to be 'no' 98% of the time. Then again, I was never much of a drinker, so it's not like I'm surprising anyone when I order a Pepsi when we're out. I can only imagine that that would be tougher if I had been a drinker and started order Pepsis all the time instead.

That's not to say people haven't tried to give me shit for not drinking, but it becomes a (relatively) simple matter of being stubborn enough to say no when people start giving you shit about not drinking. Remember that it usually comes from a place of gentle ribbing, but it can easily escalate into hurt feelings if left unchecked. If I get pressed as to why I don't want to drink, my reply is "I don't want to" and I change the subject.

At the end of the day, you just have to remain committed to your convictions and be ready to say 'fuck you' to anyone who tries to get you to compromise. Ultimately, it's your health and your finances that is effected by your decision.

[eblend]

Sorry I didn't read the whole thread, but as someone who has never drank, I probably am not in the position to say, but maybe making light of the situation will make you cope better? I am Russian...and I don't drink....try telling that to people haha. For me perhaps the reason for this was seeming my dad drunk early on in my life, so I never got the desire to drink. I drink socially now, just rum and cokes or some whine, but that's about it for me, I have no craving for it myself. I guess my only advise it to make light of the situation when people tell you remarks about your drinking or not being able to, just laugh it off. If I had a dollar for every time someone said "you're Russian and you don't drink"...I would be a very rich man, but all I do now is just confirm what they are telling me, and the issue quickly goes away. Usually I just egg them on with some humor. If you ask me, it's much more respectable to realize you have a problem and deal with it, then to keep doing what you are doing for social acceptance. I hang out with friends and just have a coke or whatever, no reason to consume alcohol to have fun (I think..never been drunk haha)

[rage2]

Gut rot, that’s one thing I don’t miss from my partying days.

[jdmXSI]

Good on you for seeing a need to take a break and being able to act on it. Personally, I have asked myself why do I drink and there is something about a nice glass of scotch infront of a fire or a nice cold ipa on a hot day. However, the longer im around this place the more I see how negative alcohol is on society. The last time I took a booze sabbatical was 2015-16 when I took about 8 months off. I remember when drinking again, that the first couple nights were rough because all the sugars and trying to sleep wasn't the easiest thing in the world lol.

Currently I am on day 9 with no booze and don't know when I am going to drink again. This was a personal choice that I made as there are things that I want to do so badly and being groggy in the morning is not helping.

[grampafunk]

Similar Story. Was drinking way too much on a nightly basis without any reasoning behind it. Had a kid. Had some health issues (blood pressure and gout) and decided to make some changes. So I stopped for about 8 weeks or so. Dropped a bunch of weight. Felt great. Now have a few drinks on Friday nights for the end of the week and the occassional drink here and there. but I regret it the next day for sure when I do indulge now. I honestly don't miss it. I feel fantastic. Sleep better. Have more energy and am just generally happier.

I think if I were you. I would keep up the sobriety. Sounds like it is working for you so why go back?

Nice work and definitely a congrats are in order.

[brucebanner]

Congratulations on your accomplishment! I'll echo what others and said, seems as though you already have a good idea what to do.

Reading through the thread made me sit back and analyze my own drinking habits. Because of my work schedule, I cannot drink while on shift(week on & week off). So I definitely don't drink during that time. I often don't drink anything during days off if I'm putzing around the house or no events going on. If we go out for supper, maybe have 2 drinks. If we host a get together or something like that I typically drink pretty heavily and typically feel like a piece of shit the next day too. I never ever drink hard liquor anymore, stick to beer.

Might be a good time to start being more aware of how much I'm drinking during those times.

[HiTempguy1]

I think that is the biggest lesson to take away from this, is watching what you actually consume.

Part of the reason your friends don't "get it" is because (like myself), they probably only have a few drinks (even if it is a few too many) once every couple weeks and thats that. Its not a daily thing.

I've never understood the desire to have multiple drinks every night. I wouldn't do that with pop, wouldn't do it with booze. I occasionally have a beer or two while working on the cars, but never is it an every day 2-3 drinks thing.

[legendboy]

Over 2 years no alcohol here and feeling great

[Sugarphreak]

...

[craigcd]

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Over 2 years no alcohol here and feeling great

Good job buddy!

[legendboy]

I miss it tho! I wish I wasn't missing the off switch as you have witnessed a few times lol

[cycosis]

Little over a 2 year bump.

Update: Still figuring out a good balance. I've certainly been better since re introducing wine after about 13.5 months sober. However, this past summer took a bit of a toll on me as I was unemployed and my EI was about to run out so I caught myself falling back into old habits.

One way I've found success to mitigate potential overindulgence is I won't pour a glass until after kiddo goes to bed (and no day drinking on weekends). He's down around 8:30pm, so really, there's only time to enjoy a single glass before its bedtime for myself. Another is that I try to workout after he goes down, as I have no desire to have a drink afterwards once I hit the weights or elliptical or run. The last is I've been tracking calories (CICO), and my targets leave no room for the additional calories from wine. Technically if I wanted a glass, I have to earn it through some type of additional physical activity throughout the week and be able to enjoy the "surplus" calories on the weekend.

If I'm honest, the amount of mental gymnastics I put myself through to justify a glass of wine here and there is probably a sign I haven't quite figured it out yet, however, it is leading to sustained healthier choices for the time being.

[ThePenIsMightier]

^Interesting!
Maybe it was really just what some would label addiction switching but I recall it being impossible to drink when I was obsessively playing Call Of Duty or whatever multiplayer, online games. I just had no desire to impair my performance, at all, when doing that.
Man, I miss pwning newbs!
*cracks beer...
D'OH!!!