At 47, I've reached a realization that alcohol has started to negatively impact my life. While I manage to abstain from drinking from Monday through Thursday, I tend to indulge excessively on either Friday or Saturday to the point of memory loss. Sundays are usually spent in solitude at home, watching movies, snacking, and dealing with an unsettling sense of paranoia.
A recent event, where I ended up injured after intervening in a brawl involving a distant friend, has been a wake-up call. If I don't stop drinking, I risk losing everything, including my career in the oil and gas industry.
I'm in need of advice from someone who has been in my shoes. How do you divert your mind from drinking, especially over the weekend? I'm keen on learning strategies that can help me remain productive at work on Mondays and decrease the paranoia associated with my past drinking experiences
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Quitdrinking2023
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Welcome, your in a great place for that question.....and you will get responses from those of us who are sober because we have been there and done that too,and from others who are where you are at as well. I have walked in your shoes, and yes...I almost lost my life and my career to drinking, so finally one day I had hit rock bottom and knew I wanted to live...but it took admitting I had a problem with alcohol, and knowing I had to completely quit drinking, no half measures, because I cannot drink at all. I also needed to have help with all the emotional baggage I ruminated over while sober, and that meant getting into some therapy as well as a program to get sober. It's not really all that easy to just flip a switch and quit drinking...it's a hard road with a lot of work, but the rewards are that you live your life sober ....and yeah....it's messy....it's hard...but it's also wonderful.
Yes I’ve been where you are. Memory loss is a blackout. I was a blackout drinker for many years. It was horrible. I was full of shame and remorse. And my emotional hangovers were very rough.
I’ve heard it said that it’s not so much how much or often you drink, it’s what it does to you WHEN you drink. You could have a disease. I know I do. Once I start drinking, I can’t stop. And I also can’t stay stopped on my own. My willpower doesn’t work on drinking.
The first step is admitting you have a problem. And you’ve reached out for help. That’s a positive sign.
There are many different treatment modalities but I have found what I need in AA. Do a Google search and check out some different treatments to see what works for you.
Welcome to this forum. You are not alone. I just don’t drink a day at a time.
You do need a replacement drink. I drink NA beer. Some are very good! Also Kombucha over ice mixed with seltzer. Exercise can be a great help, biking, hiking, running - later in the day so there is not a lot of "drinking time" before dinner and bed. Basically you need to see yourself as sober. I don't think anyone on their death bed has commented "I wish I had drank more!" Lots like me wish they had quit sooner. “I chose sober because I wanted a better life. I stay sober because I got one’ – Unknown
Keep all booze out of the house. No “what if friends come round?”excuses. Pour it down the sink. No “such a shame to waste it” excuses - the money’s gone.
Keep out of drinking environments. No “I’ll have soft drinks” excuses. You’ll feel pressured to have booze.
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