303abuser Weirdly never drank during the week or got dependent, I was a good drinker in 20’s but I think the brain changes older you get. Ireland North or South has serious problems with it and now harder drugs are coming in aswell. As you say and many have said very little downsides to going of it.

I’ve a lot interests and fairly active outdoors I hated how it stole my motivation for stuff I enjoy so that should keep me on the straight and narrow. Plus relationships should be better too.

    Yeah it’s similar here, Canadians drink a lot, just part of the culture. After 40, I decided a two day hangover after a few drinks just wasn’t worth it. I’ll still do it a couple of times a year, but only for special occasions. Hope it all works out for you, it’s a good change.

    Hope it works out for you Funk, more cash to invest in shitcoins as well.

    Have a couple of mates who’ve binned booze completely, but when that sun starts shining again, I cannot resist the taste of a freshly pulled pint, so will be aiming for the moderation bandwagon

    Funky Sounds like there won’t be much of a moderate middle ground for you when it comes to alcohol. Better aim to ditch it all for good imo.

      Funky Bit of a downer thread

      It’s actually quite positive.

      As creatures of habit, changing anything is difficult, probably won’t be a breeze but if you can sort will be a positive change.

      Good luck brother ✊

        Funky it may sound a bit odd, and might not always be practical - but if you feel like drinking a pint try having a scoop of ice cream instead; it can help satiate the craving.

            Smallman1 cheers lol. That will be my theme tune for one year. I will do a live stream Olympic ribbon dance to celebrate.

              I’m having a few beers to celebrate DF. Well done 👍

              Funky One week of the drink!

              One week of drinking?

              Don’t think that’s what you intended.

                Funky Nice! As cliché and corny as it may sound; keep taking it one day at a time. Make a decision every day anew, that this day you will not drink.

                Don’t ever think about however long you have to stay sober for. One day at a time and before you know it a month has passed, then a year etc. And after all that you wonder why you did it all in the first place and you’ll appreciate the mental clarity and no more hangovers ever and you’ll benefit of added years of health to your life.

                A few weeks ago I passed the 8 year mark. Eight years without a single drop. Good riddance.

                    Morty-C-137 Nice one mate, I’m 9 years without a drink (or drug) on June 23rd. my life has improved ten fold since I stopped. To be honest I never knew what possibilities existed without numbing my mind because I’d always used something. Blown away by how cool my life is today.

                      Jesus great stuff guys gives me real strength hearing so many good things about being dry.

                        Funky I’ll say this mate, there are levels of alcoholism. For the last 7 years I have worked as a recovery worker, then a counsellor, now I manage a team supporting people with substance misuse issues. The feedback I get from the people that we support is this; AA is the most successful support network out there. I see better outcomes from the people we work with that are also engaging with AA than anything else. Just a thought. the definition of Addiction (Alcoholism) is something that you can’t stop doing (repeatedly) despite the negative impact it has on your life.
                        https://www.aa.org/

                            ArchimedesQ Yeah I’ve looked into AA or a 12 step programme even though my issue is binges not daily dependancy, I’m listening to Allan Carr’s audio podcast at the minute and it’s amazing, literally about how we have all been brainwashed from an early age regards to alcohol, it goes much deeper but would even put a casual drinker of touching the stuff.

                            Saturdays will always be hardest for first 6 months but Im gonna keep myself busy with the gym and sim racing.

                                I would have a chat with Pete/ @ArchimedesQ if you can. If you’ve realised it’s a problem and want to change it thats’s a massive step in the right direction.

                                Funky

                                I’m listening to Allan Carr’s audio podcast at the minute and it’s amazing, literally about how we have all been brainwashed from an early age regards to alcohol

                                Is that along the lines of how drinking regularly/excessively has been normalised and encouraged?

                                I often notice how much it is celebrated and held up as the answer to things (“need a few drinks when I get home after the day I’ve had”) and is just accepted that the more war stories you have, the more it adds to your character.

                                Have never been much of a drinker, and when I do, I prefer to just drink with food but I was also massively put off working in nightclubs watching people get drunk and lots of fighting. Getting on the bangers was my preference and alcohol seemed really low down on the list of enjoyable experiences.