Christmas on the wagon

Been over Thailand for 6 years full time and stopped the alchohol to maybe 2 beers a week with meals out and now drink soda water when out with the beer treat as a special with a special meal . Never drink at home which helps and keep soda water in for when I fancy a sit down with a drink and cheese ... Feel loads better mentally as alchohol kills your mental health
 
Easier said than done, especially this time of year.
Don't know if my experience is any good? A colleague at work asked if I`de been out on the ale the night before. I realised I had to stop. Hit the buffers. Looked in my pocket and in the mirror. There and then I chucked cans out the fridge down the sink. Also gave up the tabs same day and crumpled them into the bin. Never, ever touched an alcohol-filled drink of any kind since. Try not to worry about the weight loss stuff just yet - get through Xmas and New Year first. Happy Christmas, Bristolboro (y)
 
No alcohol since August, due to health. Had a few nights out since and not missed it.
But, last 2 days have been hard.
Normal routine on Christmas morning is to crack the bucks fizz whilst kids open presents, won't be doing that this year.
 
Had to give up on a Xmas day because I was giving blood on boxing day (when I was attended by an elf!). I just carried on for a few days afterwards, right on through past new year. One of the best Xmas holidays ever!
With the abundance of low/no alcohol drinks, it shouldn't be a problem nowadays. Top marks to the OP for raising this. Good luck to all on the wagon this year. 🫖
 
Bristolboro said:
anyone having a go this year?

I'm trying just to see if I can but it's making me realize how much alcohol is a part of our culture, especially at this time of year. People buy you booze as well, which is an extra challenge.
Anyway, let's hope the wheels don't fall off.

Any advice as the terrain gets more bumpy.. there's potential pot holes everywhere.
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Fook no.
 
I gave up booze cos of the painkillers I was on earlier in the year. It was miles easier than I thought and didn’t muss it one bit. I haven’t had an alcoholic drink over the past few days either due to having to drive my partner around. I will have a glass of red wine tomorrow though.
 
h_m_boro said:
Works Xmas do last year, wasn't drinking.

People looking at you very strange when you have a lime and soda......with a free bar.

No, there is no vodka in it
No, I'm not driving.
No, I'm not a recovering alcoholic.

I don't need to get stupidly p*ssed up to enjoy myself. As it was, the night was shyte and I was back in the house just after 10........anyhow......

👍
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Wudda been a good night if you’d got psssed
 
Coming up to 4 years now without alcohol.Never thought I'd give up totally,I just thought id calm down and take things easy for a bit. Ended up giving myself targets I was determined to achieve. 1week,2 weeks,a month, 2 months etc. Proud as punch when I reached the 1 year milestone. If I can give up,anyone can,believe me.
Can still go out,just doesn't bother me any more.
 
Uncle_Marbles said:
Will be my 8th Christmas dry! I briefly fell off the wagon about 3 years ago, when I stupidly thought I could go back to been a normal drinker again!! Big mistake...as within a couple of weeks I was back to even worse than when I first realised I had crossed that line into addiction. Best decision I ever made was to quit that poison. At 60, I feel like a 20 year old again (y). Have a great Christmas everyone.
UTB
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It’s posts like this that could push me to sobriety. Have a good one!
 
5th boozeless year coming up for me. Giving up has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve learned tons about myself, others and life in general.

Admittedly it followed a particularly disastrous work Christmas do where I called a female colleague a cnut. That turned out to be my “enough is enough” moment. Sometimes you need one of those.

My decision was made on New Year’s Day 2019. The year I turned 40. Decided to quit booze and run a marathon.

Stuck to the 0% stuff for a while, but found that I tired of it eventually.
Also I’d struggle to sleep after a “skinful” weirdly. These days I’ll have a posh lemonade/soda with some fresh lemon/lime in a wine glass. Love it!

The best bit is fecking off home in your own car as soon as people start to get boring 👍
 
Muttley said:
I hate that film. It came out after my dog had died just a week or two previously, as soon as it started the old dog looked like my old boy and I knew he was going to die. I was literally in pieces watching, there was a scene with an abandoned ball in the snow...

...never watched it since.
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Wow, sorry to hear that mate, is that why your handle is Muttley?
I always thought it was because you liked Whacky Races, but obviously it has a lot deeper meaning.
Happy Christmas anyway…
 
try to cut down as much as I can over Xmas. Far too many big sessions.. dry January starts about 23rd December for me..

then I just wait for the session to find me the following year..

it always finds me.
 
alanmoodysdog said:
Been over Thailand for 6 years full time and stopped the alchohol to maybe 2 beers a week with meals out and now drink soda water when out with the beer treat as a special with a special meal . Never drink at home which helps and keep soda water in for when I fancy a sit down with a drink and cheese ... Feel loads better mentally as alchohol kills your mental health
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I imagine it must be harder when you move to a hot climate to not treat every day like it’s a holiday.

Seen quite a few people go to seed on the booze over the years after moving abroad to Spain / Thailand etc
 
Gave up 12 or 13 years ago by just stopping. I found it really easy to just stop, but I'm probably in a very small percentage of people who can do that without any withdrawal symptoms.
That's not to say I haven't had a drink in those years since, but I could probably count those occasions on the fingers of one hand.
Good luck if you are trying it at this time of the year as you'll be beset by temptation. Stick with it though and your health and bank balance will thank you.
 
Right footed Left winger said:
No alcohol since August, due to health. Had a few nights out since and not missed it.
But, last 2 days have been hard.
Normal routine on Christmas morning is to crack the bucks fizz whilst kids open presents, won't be doing that this year.
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Same as me, no alcohol since August due to health reasons but I slipped off the wagon big time today and had a small snowball 😊
 
this thread has very helpfully made me consider my drinking habits, and so far have been on tea & coffee over xmas. want to save my drinking sessions for more special occasions. like 12 tmrw, pub pre-match, cant wait.
 
6 years sober in January for me.

Hard to put into words how much better I feel. Anxiety pretty much gone, weight down from almost 20 stones to 13 stone odd and still falling, resting heart rate down from 90 to 60.

Granted it’s down to other lifestyle changes as well as giving up the booze but that is definitely the single most significant factor.
 
I have recently decided to give up the booze. After one heavy night a couple of weeks ago I realised that I can't control my drink and never could.

Went to Port Vale and drank 0.0, been to a few Christmas outings and refrained from the poison.

Early days but have finally got proper motivation to do it now
 
To all the people fighting their battle with their vice, whatever it may be, I respect your commitment to improving your life for yourself and your loved ones. It's not easy to give up the things we crave or think we enjoy. Merry Christmas to all. We don't need a drink to be the best version of ourselves. UTB
 
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