How did you stop? I was in the same boat, like 7 days ago. I decided in want to stop buying alcohol for the house. So maybe 5 days ago I finished the last bottle and can at home. Since then I’ve had a beer at lunch at a restaurant and 3 beers yesterday at a friend’s house. I was verrrry tempted to go buy some last night.
It wasn’t easy and over the time I was drinking I had made 4 attempts to quit. This last one was the successful attempt.
I realized I couldn’t drink in moderation, I couldn’t slowly drink less, I had to quit cold turkey. And that was painful. Both physically and mentally.
I basically had to quit because I had come to the conclusion that I was drinking myself to death and if I didn’t stop I was going to succeed.
It was really hard, honestly the hardest thing I’ve done. I started drinking when I was 12 and I quit drinking at 24. I was drinking to run away from myself and my memories.
When I quit drinking I had to get all of the alcohol out of my apartment because as long as it was there I could hear the siren’s song to drink again and smash my life on the rocks.
It was months before I could say that I had succeeded and gotten sober. In the process I lost most of my friend group because they didn’t want to be around a “sober buzzkill” but I’d say that needed to happen.
I felt physically like crap for the first couple months and mentally like crap for basically 5 months.
Since then though my life has gotten so much better it’s amazing.
I’d say the secret to quiting is believing in yourself. It’s hard but it can be done. You will have moments where you feel like you are going to fail but they will pass.
I’ve been sober now for 5 years and I will still occasionally crave alcohol. I still don’t feel comfortable being around people who are drinking. I still can’t walk into a bar without my hands shaking. But I won’t drink, I don’t want to because I know why I used to and I know what will happen if I start again.
Not the guy you asked but maybe try to find the root of your habit. When I’m continuously doing something I want to stop, I find there’s a reason. Like for me, I drink more often than I mean to because I’m bored and feeling like my life has no meaning, but alcohol helps me relax and enjoy the little day to day things. So then that gives me a path forward: find things I’m more passionate about, do more fulfilling things instead of going straight to video games and tv, go back to therapy, etc.
So maybe your drinking is because you’re just bored, maybe you have an underlying issue like depression or anxiety, maybe you’re medicating your stress or avoiding addressing something. Idk it’s up to you.
But remember that you typically do things for a reason, and you’re not alone in struggling with this issue. It’s a lot of us man
