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The benefits of giving up alcohol

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34 contributors in last 30 days

mrs shanksi Jun 2020 3:02pm, 11 Jun 2020 10,741 posts	0 mrs shanksi Yip that's me WA. I am very happy now to tell people I don't drink. And I've had a lot of people over the years telling me they wish they could stop too. I don't count days, it's odaat. I just know when it's another year sober.
Joopsy Jun 2020 3:10pm, 11 Jun 2020 10,172 posts	0 Joopsy Some great milestones to celebrate. McG, people often falling in to the trap of removing the alcohol but not the behaviours. In AA they are known as dry drunks. Whilst a streak may work for some (and in the early days it was a huge incentive for me to piece days together) for some others you can see that nothing has really changed.
DocM Jun 2020 3:11pm, 11 Jun 2020 35,042 posts	0 DocM i get what you mean McG, I have an occasional drink so it isnt a streak. That way i feel im in control of my behaviour.
GregP Jun 2020 5:17pm, 11 Jun 2020 120,246 posts	0 GregP Blimey. Joopsy beat me to the ‘dry drunk’ comment. At times like these I often drop in a pithy quote from the Big Book. But in this instance I suggest the wiki entry on ‘dry drunk’ which is an extraordinary thing.
McGoohan Jun 2020 5:20pm, 11 Jun 2020 45,706 posts	0 McGoohan Just been reading that. Very interesting.
Big_G Jun 2020 5:47pm, 11 Jun 2020 39 posts	0 Big_G I know it's not everyone's cuppa tea, but Allen Carr's book very much suggests that replacing alcohol with something else is not the right approach.
GregP Jun 2020 5:53pm, 11 Jun 2020 120,247 posts	0 GregP Cross-addiction isn’t always harmful as we’ve discussed before. Drink driving kills people, for example, in a way that driving while having been for a long run doesn’t...
HappyG(rrr) Jun 2020 6:39pm, 11 Jun 2020 35,160 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) I haven't read the Alan Carr book (read the reviews and it didn't sound like my cup of tea no pun intended!) I still binge on chocolate and sweets. But I've always done that. I don't know if I did it less when I was drinking (I can't remember! ) but it certainly feels like the lesser of two evils. I would agree with don't replace alcohol with heroin. But replacing alcohol with knitting or something, I can't see the harm. Replacing potentially fatal alcohol with anything which can't actually kill you, no matter how obsessive you are with it, must be a good swap, surely? G
LindsD Jun 2020 6:50pm, 11 Jun 2020 37,769 posts	0 LindsD I know someone who replaced heroin for religion. Wouldn't work for me but it did for them.
Sigh Jun 2020 6:52pm, 11 Jun 2020 6,610 posts	0 Sigh I tried a bottle of Doom Bar Zero with dinner, it's rather nice. Made a nice change from the usual can of Coke Zero.

About This Thread

Maintained by HappyG(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! :-)

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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