Helloooo in there! Anybody listening?

[surely]

Hey Everybody!

I'm 61 and newly unemployed. Since we are looking a big winter surge in COVID cases here in the US I thought it would be better to not be working "out in the wild" in a customer service position at my age. 

I've been looking at my drinking the last decade or so and it's really been out of hand and I'd like to break the habit. Since meeting up with people is really out of the question I stumbled on this forum as a friendly place to start - it seems pretty quiet but that's not a terrible thing, as long as there are enough people still interacting to be supportive. 

The logical part of me sees how alcohol has affected my health, weight, budget, relationships and none of it is good. I live alone (with a fur family) and wine has been always there for me, making the stress and emptiness of life bearable - it takes 1-2 bottles to get me to mellow out these days. And I know a good bit about wine and enjoy pairing it with food, so no cheap stuff. It can run to $20 a day or more ($600 a month!).

Now, with a lower income and more time on my hands, this seems like a good time to make another change. So how are you all getting along?

[cweryab]

Hi there. I’m listening. I hear you and can relate to everything you have said. Not a good time to quit during COVID. I stumbled across this chat board just now after a bout I had Last night. I’m looking back as well in the last decade and I consider myself a working alcoholic. Wine is my drink of choice as well and I have tried to stay away from it. Tried to quit but it keeps coming back into my life. I’m not a good drunk.. I get emotional

[surely]

Hi! Thanks for the response. I'm trying to reduce my consumption gradually over the next week and see if I can quit the following week with maybe less severe withdrawal. I only had a couple glasses of wine last night instead of a couple bottles and woke up feeling pretty good. It may be a fruitless effort to try to control the quantity instead of completely cold turkey but it's an effort. There isn't much in the house to tempt me and a bit of tonic and lime (without the gin) is "ok."

We're having a pretty nice day for December here so I'm taking the dogs out for a hike in the woods for some exercise and distraction and maybe a dopamine boost.

Do you have any advice or things you have tried? 

[Mark_LA]

Greetings, Surely and Cweryab,

Not a lot of activity here these days. There's another site called Sober Recovery you might wish to try as it gets a lot more traffic.

That said, I've been sober for close to 8 years and got my start on this site -- well, its predecessor, anyway -- so I still check in every now and then. I'll share a couple of ideas for you to consider regarding stopping drinking (mostly copy-pasted from a thread another stray newcomer posted a while back):

In order to stop drinking, first you must *stop drinking*. Going through withdrawal isn't pleasant and can be dangerous (don't hesitate to seek medical assistance for detox), but once you can manage a bit of sober time, things may start to clarify a bit. It's hard to solve your problems using a brain that's addled by the substance you're trying to quit.

Stopping drinking is actually the easy part. Staying sober is harder. This is where help and support come in. My supportive tip for the day is that the main ingredient for lasting sobriety is *desire*. You have to WANT to stay sober MORE than you want to get drunk, and be willing go to any lengths to maintain this mindset. There is help for this. If you're the type who does well with a program, there are many out there these days, including AA, SMART, LifeRing, and AVRT. As far as I know, they all offer online meetings (if they have meetings at all).

Best of luck, and I hope you'll check back in soon!

[surely]

Great points, Mark! Thanks for the encouragement. Congratulations on your hard-earned 8-year journey.

I had forgotten about my usual pre-order of holiday bubbly that showed up yesterday. Doah! I did have to try one so having that feeling of one step forward, two steps back today. I guess I'll make gifts of these now if I can't have the discipline to "drink less" if it's in the house. Dang it.

[pamelaparker]

Solve the problem, find out the way. If can't do it alone, share your problem with your close persons, many forums are there to give a solution of your problem. Avoid alcohol, any kind of drugs. Learn some stress management process. Not taking control of the situation and doing nothing will only make your problems worse. Exercise won't make your stress disappear, but it will reduce some of the emotional intensity that you're feeling, clearing your thoughts and letting you deal with your problems more calmly. Do some yoga to heal from your mental stress. There is no particular stress buster.
Finding the way of your problem including keep you safe and healthy, is the ultimate way. Intensive Therapy for Patients with Severe Illnesses and Issues.
You are mentally strong enough and so you get out

from addiction by yourself. You don't need any addiction rehab canter. But every one who wants to recover from addiction, but not able to do it themselves, need a rehab center to help them. www.addictionrehabcenters.com/yoga-and-addiction-recovery/ Intensive Therapy for Patients with Severe Illnesses and Issues

[cassie]

Dec 10, 2020 19:05:09 GMT -5 Mark_LA said:

Greetings, Surely and Cweryab,

Not a lot of activity here these days. There's another site called Sober Recovery you might wish to try as it gets a lot more traffic.

That said, I've been sober for close to 8 years and got my start on this site -- well, its predecessor, anyway -- so I still check in every now and then. I'll share a couple of ideas for you to consider regarding stopping drinking (mostly copy-pasted from a thread another stray newcomer posted a while back):

In order to stop drinking, first you must *stop drinking*. Going through withdrawal isn't pleasant and can be dangerous (don't hesitate to seek medical assistance for detox), but once you can manage a bit of sober time, things may start to clarify a bit. It's hard to solve your problems using a brain that's addled by the substance you're trying to quit.

Stopping drinking is actually the easy part. Staying sober is harder. This is where help and support come in. My supportive tip for the day is that the main ingredient for lasting sobriety is *desire*. You have to WANT to stay sober MORE than you want to get drunk, and be willing go to any lengths to maintain this mindset. There is help for this. If you're the type who does well with a program, there are many out there these days, including AA, SMART, LifeRing, and AVRT. As far as I know, they all offer online meetings (if they have meetings at all).

Best of luck, and I hope you'll check back in soon!

[lesler]

I to am new and would like to know how to help let go of habit of drinking. I like the non pressure so I think this site may help to be a place to go now and than for ?