The benefits of giving up alcohol

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22 contributors in last 30 days

Derby Tup Jun 2020 8:57pm, 4 Jun 2020 42,672 posts	0 Derby Tup Stef has a bottle of 0.9% cider from Sainsbury. It doesn’t smell too sweet but I’m not trying it. I never thought I’d say it, but it’s too strong for me
sweetpeas Jun 2020 6:51am, 5 Jun 2020 26 posts	0 sweetpeas I am in the camp finding NA beers helpful - they fill a void without being a trigger for me. Though I am not a fullfat beer drinker, so maybe that helps? I've never tried a NA wine or nosecco. My gut feeling is I'm better off avoiding them. I didn't have the best evening last night and had half a glass of wine before chucking the rest away. I don't feel too bad about it really, just slightly annoyed that I went on a whim. But, hand on heart, I didn't enjoy it (too scared that it was going to cause pain!) and it just tasted so 'alcohol-y' somehow. Anyway. Long and the short is that I am in for today and will be having a Brewdog Hazy AF later instead Welcome WinnieFree, nice to see you! I've only been here a little while but finding it massively helpful.
Oscar the Grouch Jun 2020 7:21am, 5 Jun 2020 1,614 posts	0 Oscar the Grouch Well done, sweetpeas. New day today
Wombling Plodder (Welsh Womble) Jun 2020 8:32am, 5 Jun 2020 3,076 posts	0 Wombling Plodder (Welsh Womble) Well done sweetpeas, today is a new day and yesterday is in the past.
iaincr Jun 2020 8:52am, 5 Jun 2020 649 posts	0 iaincr DT, yep I had the same reaction to 0.9 cider, too strong. Strangely drinking Low Alcohol beers make me think how it must be for someone who can drink normally, 1 LA beer now and I am good, no cravings to drink more. During my drinking days It was definitely the alcohol buzz that hooked me in, 1 never enough so ended up with hangover, embarrassment and regret. Another good day not to drink! Great seeing those not our scores tick up :)!
Winniefree Jun 2020 9:15am, 5 Jun 2020 1,681 posts	0 Winniefree I’ve done well for the last couple of days - stuck to the tonic water. I’m finding that if I specifically plan what we’re eating and whether or not I will have wine with it helps.
Wombling Plodder (Welsh Womble) Jun 2020 9:16am, 5 Jun 2020 3,078 posts	0 Wombling Plodder (Welsh Womble) Iain, I can relate to that - I have only tried NA wine and a bottle lasts me all weekend - 1 large glass is enough and I sip it throughout an evening whereas I have always drunk my first alc way too fast as I needed the hit. At the moment I haven’t brought any as I am trying not to substitute my habit of a bottle of something on a Friday. Today is my 2nd Friday - and Friday is my trigger day, so I need to concentrate on work and other things rather than my old Friday ritual of laptop off / bottle open. Today I am in for *11 - for some reason this resembles wickets without bales so I need to visual the figure 12 instead.
HappyG(rrr) Jun 2020 9:30am, 5 Jun 2020 35,088 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) I recognise that as well. Always astonished that I could drink 8, 10 even more pints of beer in a day/night session. When would you drink 5 litres of anything over a 5 hour period? Even water when running an ultra, you're struggling to drink that much. Alcohol is crazy! Have a great day everyone. G
Big_G Jun 2020 9:33am, 5 Jun 2020 12 posts	0 Big_G Morning all, I'm fairly new to Fetch but not necessarily new to giving up the booze as it's nearly 900 days for me now (not that I'm actually counting as such). If anyone had told me that in the first month or so, I'm not sure I'd have believed them as it started of as a Dry January challenge, then a dry 12 months, and then I just decided not to go back. I saw the conversation about AF beers, and for me, for the first year I avoided them as I felt it may be a trigger of some sorts. We're all different but after reading Allen Carr's book, I didn't want to substitute one thing for another at that point. But now I have a 0% beer most evenings with my meal, and I find it fine - it's just a refreshing drink for me now. Lidl do a decent one for a decent price. In the first year I was on a very strict "no booze" policy - even after a marathon that was offering very good beer (Bruges marathon) I gave my token away to another very happy runner - I remember he nearly kissed me, he was so happy! I think in that situation now I would take the beer, as I don't think it would cause me go back to "normal". Similarly, if I was at a wedding, I'd toast the couple with whatever was going around. But apart from those couple of instances if and when they arise, I basically class myself as a non-drinker these days which is a big difference to three years ago. If anyone is interested I can talk a bit about how my life had improved, but I'll leave it there for now. I hope everyone is keeping well.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds Jun 2020 9:50am, 5 Jun 2020 1,018 posts	0 Captain Malcolm Reynolds Welcome & congratulations for the first few days Winniefree. Hi Big_G, welcome to the thread. I don’t keep a very close eye on how long I’ve not drunk for either. I know for some it’s very important though. That “receptor light up” is crazy isn’t it LindsD? For me as soon as it hit it felt like I was transported right back to the days I’d drink 200-250 units a week. The feelings, the thoughts were all there like they’d never been away, the behaviour came back almost immediately too.

About This Thread

Maintained by Merry Christmas and Happy NewG(rrr)

Looks as though this thread has become popular again, here in 2010 (it's now 2024, and it started in 2008, so I think "ever popular" might be more apt! :-)

G )

Good Luck everyone.

A recent plea for those struggling to "reach out" as they say in US of A!

"Anyone not feeling strong and confident, please shout out. Or fmail. Or any other comms that works. Don't drink alcohol when you don't want to, for lack of someone to talk to. Pick up the phone, not the bottle."

Some acronyms, in case people use them:
JFT - Just for today
ODAAT - One day at a time
KIS - Keep it simple
TBOGUA - The Benefits Of Giving Up Alcohol (the title of this thread!)

New feature: article/blog of the month (period may change randomly!) Swittle's wonderful 14,611 days blog: (see links below)

Linking Joopsy's 17 year blog too, cos it's awesome!

There is a GREAT article summarising some of the benefits, to save you having to trawl through the thread (includes links to helpful apps and other resources).

And a great list of Alternative Drinks started by the lovely LindsD:

Please add to these articles and make them as valuable as possible! Thanks! :-)

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And one from way back when...
Dirt Monkey's brilliant blog on TBOGUA too - go try this...

Rebel has recommended a couple of good books:
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
by Catherine Gray

The Alcohol Experiment: 30 Days to Take Control, Cut Down or Give Up For Good
by Annie Grace

A great response from a health professional in Ireland responding to a question from a Guardian reader about why the warnings on alcoholic drinks that are coming in:

theguardian.com

"Alcohol is responsible for at least 1,000 cancer cases every year in Ireland, with one in eight breast cancer cases arising from alcohol use. Even one to two drinks per day increases the risk of developing cancer, and that risk is the same whether those drinks are wine, spirits or beer. Unfortunately, there is a very low level of public awareness that alcohol has been classed as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning it is carcinogenic to humans. That is why Ireland has passed legislation that provides for health information labels on alcohol products, including warnings about cancer, liver disease and the danger of drinking in pregnancy. It is unsurprising that the alcohol industry, which promotes its products with carefully crafted myths of good times for all, is objecting to the mandatory provision of facts (Anger brews in Italy over Ireland’s plans for alcohol health warnings, 12 January).
Dr Sheila Gilheany
CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland
"

And the all important fabulous services:
Alcoholics Anonymous
National Helpline (FREE) 0800 9177 650
help@aamail.org

Al Anon
020 7403 0888

medal

Contact TBOGUA medal

We're adding in our own Fetch offer of one to one contact too, for anyone who doesn't want to post in the thread for whatever reason. Please feel free to fmail ANY of the names listed below.

- - - -
HappyG(rrr)
( Oscar the grouch RIP )
mrs shanksi
Derby Tup
iaincr
Love Lettuce
DocM
LindsD
GeneHunt59
GregP