I stopped drinking on the 18th of March 2023. Because of where I live and how my culture socialises, this was a huge step. But to be honest, in hindsight it was just something I’d been putting off for a long time. The hangovers did just become a nightmare to deal with, plus I didn’t feel like I was doing well with my personal relationships because of it. I’m glad to have all that time back, although I miss part of the social aspect. I’m working on creating a sober social life but it’s very early days.
How has your sobriety journey been for you?
I absolutely loved using r/stopdrinking as a resource. Now that I’m not on reddit so much I’d love to find a new community here! Has anyone created a sobriety community on the fediverse yet?
Yes, I stopped in Autumn, 2016. I was an alcoholic in my late 40s, from a long line of alcoholics in a culture that is infamous for heavy drinking. I spend a lot more time alone now, but that’s okay- the whole reason I drank was to make socialising tolerable.
I will be honest, I used psilocybin to start me off on my sober life, and it worked. I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone who wants to stop, but it worked incredibly well for me. I lost the urge to drink completely and it has never come back.
Congratulations! Quitting drinking was one of the best things I’ve done for my life, too.
I just wanted to mention, for anyone else following this thread: I had help from naltrexone.
It may still be considered an “off-label application” for alcoholics, depending on where you live in the world. But it worked for me, after many previous attempts and relapses.
For anyone who’s interested in learning more, here’s a case study to get you started: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2565602/
Congrats to you too!! How was your experience on naltrexone? Did it help with withdrawal symptoms or does it work a different way?
Naltrexone is not a detox drug. If you’re physically dependent, naltrexone probably can’t help with that - inpatient detox is still a vitally important step for some alcoholics.
In my case, I was already able to choose to take a day off drinking without suffering DT. My problems tended more towards runaway consumption, when I did choose to drink.
I finally found this intervention that worked for me in 2015.
My psychiatrist prescribed me the stuff and said “for the first month, just take the pills each day and drink when you want. Keep notes if you can, about when you drink and how much. We’re establishing a baseline here”
By the end of the first month, my rigorous note-taking revealed I was already choosing drink less often, and that the runaway drinking that I was prone to seemed not to get out of hand quite so regularly.
Naltrexone seemed to tone down some circuit in my brain. The inner voice yelling “MOAR” felt … less imperative. The satisfaction of “a good drunk,” to me at least, became inextricably associated in my mind with the sad hollowness of the next morning’s hangover.
It helped me retrain my reward circuits. And it’s stuck ever since.
I stopped drinking at home. And very happy about that. So far that works for me, because if I didn’t it would have been getting out of hand fast. Now I just drink outside the house and only in a social context. And because I’m not that social, my drinking is so far under control. :) But if I would see that I’d go out of my way to start drinking outside the home setting, I’d have to quit it all. You gotta do what you gotta do. It sucks not being like other people which can do things in moderation, but hey, they have other problems. Good for you btw. Pinpointing a problem and trying to better yourself. Kudos!
It sucks not being like other people which can do things in moderation, but hey, they have other problems.
Couldn’t have put it better myself. I’ve told people about my attempts to cut down over the years and they say things like, why don’t you have just one or two and then stop? If I could do that then I wouldn’t need to try to moderate! But you’re right, everyone struggles with something. Classic human condition! I like that outlook.
Congrats on cutting down too!! I hope it’s helping you :)
I’ve tried it many times, just cutting down a bit and hoping it would stick. But it never did. I liked it too much. Now when I go on vacation and I drink there daily, when coming back home I really notice that I’m having a lot more trouble with my own rule. But it works and the longer I do it the easier it gets. Just gotta be vigilant. If that’s our only problem, then we’re not doing that bad huh. :)
Congrats mate! I quit in 2020 after over 20 years of steady drinking. I wish I could get that time back. Sometimes I miss the taste and how a drink or two allowed me to focus on one thing at a time but I don’t miss being hungover or wasting money on it.
Ayy don’t concentrate so much on the time you wish you could get back, rather concentrate on what to do with your upcoming time. “What can I do?” is a much worthier investment than “What should have I done differently?”
Yes. 7 years. I stopped because I was a horrendous binge drinker. The first year was the most challenging but after about 18 months I was able to have a non alcoholic beer once in a while to take the edge off. I would say I get the urge maybe once or twice a year now but it’s more of a ‘Oooh, that would be nice’ but I know it’s a slippery slope back if I do have one.
Overall, much happier and I wish I’d stopped sooner but I can’t change the past.
