Giving up alcohol

[Would ye whist]

Ladies & Gents,

Bit of a personal one here, however with the stress of work and other issues I have found myself getting to fond of the aul drink to the extent it is causing issues with the wife and I

Have any of you given it up or cut back a lot? If so any tips?

Grateful in advance

[marty34]

Ladies & Gents,

Bit of a personal one here, however with the stress of work and other issues I have found myself getting to fond of the aul drink to the extent it is causing issues with the wife and I

Have any of you given it up or cut back a lot? If so any tips?

Grateful in advance

Do you drink much at home or head to the pub moreso?

Good you're taking control of it early. I'd say to keep yourself busy -always have something on.

Do you go the the gym/do fitness?

[Would ye whist]

Drink at home and would probably take one or two more than she knows about

Yeah, I do a bit of road running but that has slipped also

[whitey]

Ladies & Gents,

Bit of a personal one here, however with the stress of work and other issues I have found myself getting to fond of the aul drink to the extent it is causing issues with the wife and I

Have any of you given it up or cut back a lot? If so any tips?

Grateful in advance

Packed it in completely 5 years ago

Best decision I ever made

I was put on a 30 day course of medication where I couldn't drink.  After 30 days I'd lost a few lbs, had zero hangovers and life just felt better all over

My advice would be, assuming you're a beer drinker, switch to Heineken or a Guinness Zero. That way you can still go out and socialize in the normal manner

The hardest part was explaining to people why you weren't drinking so have a cover story ready

[LC]

Drink at home and would probably take one or two more than she knows about

Yeah, I do a bit of road running but that has slipped also

Don't worry about the running, even if you made a point of going for a walk before and after walk each day it will make a massive difference.  It is all about changing habits, from those that are not good for you to those that are good for you. 

All in all I hope things change for you, if anything you have realised you are on a slippery slope and that something needs to change and this is a positive itself.

[Milltown Row2]

Set yourself small achievable targets and build on them, don't try and just stop straight away, lighten the drink content as in the strength. Cut out the 'hard stuff' ease off drinking during the week. And at the weekends enjoy a few drinks, as you say it takes the edge off a busy week or stress of family life.


I would have more than the current regulations set by the WHO but its nowhere near the content of what I would have been at

There will be weekends or birthday bashes that happened and we'll all be way over the limit, but you just restart and stick with it.

When my father passed away, id have tended to have a couple of 'wee' whiskeys after she took herself off to bed,  very easy to fall into a trap.

Get down to the club more often, in the car as that will prevent you having a quick one, and get back out on the road or do the zoomies around the two pitches down there.

As for the stress, everyone deals with it differently, but definitely, the drinking won't make it better!

The best thing you have done is talked about it

[Jell 0 Biafra]

I haven't given up, but I have cut back a fair bit.

I would recommend using Kava products.  E.g., https://designerkava.com.  They probably don't ship to Ireland, but you could probably find something similar in a health store.

A tablespoonful mixed in water makes you feel very relaxed and content without any cognitive impairment or hangover.  I would describe it as a very mild stone.  Main point is you have absolutely no desire for a drink at all after it kicks in.  Willpower not required.

[samuel maguire]

Great post. I think everyone is different in their approach to alcohol. I have kind of just filtered it into my normal life at this stage. I drink once/twice a week and enjoy the craic away from work and the demands of playing football.
I tried the 0% beer before - i thought they were brutal. Who drinks beer for the taste??

[Milltown Row2]

Great post. I think everyone is different in their approach to alcohol. I have kind of just filtered it into my normal life at this stage. I drink once/twice a week and enjoy the craic away from work and the demands of playing football.
I tried the 0% beer before - i thought they were brutal. Who drinks beer for the taste??

Think its not so much the taste that its getting at, though I'd rather have a beer taste than a coke or lemonade. But possible the placebo or not feeling different.

I like the sound of the kava product

[Itchy]

Depends I think on how reliant you are on drink I think. Personally I have cut drinking down to the point where I would only have a drink or two once every couple of months. I got sick of hangovers, indigestion and probably worst of all the depression for a day after. It was easy enough in my case as it was a social thing and to be honest I dont do social stuff in pubs much anymore anyway, I do it through sports and other interests I have in the community. Thats my story but everyone is different.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

My advice - just stop. Boring to an extent compared to what you're used to come the weekend or whenever when you get the buzz, but you'll go to bed a bit earlier, up a bit earlier, feel a bit fresher etc. Mon morn blues lessen

I did 12 months few years back and have just finished 6mths and I'd be a few sups every weekend type of guy. Did it change my life, no, but deffo felt better for it

[Milltown Row2]

My advice - just stop. Boring to an extent compared to what you're used to come the weekend or whenever when you get the buzz, but you'll go to bed a bit earlier, up a bit earlier, feel a bit fresher etc. Mon morn blues lessen

I did 12 months few years back and have just finished 6mths and I'd be a few sups every weekend type of guy. Did it change my life, no, but deffo felt better for it

You're still a dick though 

[trueblue1234]

Have found that the level of drinking has just slowly naturally decreased over the years. Don't drink in the house now ever, as I usually only drink for the social aspect. Only go to the pub every 5-6 weeks if even that. Have found myself going 2-3 months without going out if there's no occasions or events. And happy to continue that way.

Getting to be a sad auld git.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

My advice - just stop. Boring to an extent compared to what you're used to come the weekend or whenever when you get the buzz, but you'll go to bed a bit earlier, up a bit earlier, feel a bit fresher etc. Mon morn blues lessen

I did 12 months few years back and have just finished 6mths and I'd be a few sups every weekend type of guy. Did it change my life, no, but deffo felt better for it

You're still a dick though 

MODS!!! 🤓

[tbrick18]

Ladies & Gents,

Bit of a personal one here, however with the stress of work and other issues I have found myself getting to fond of the aul drink to the extent it is causing issues with the wife and I

Have any of you given it up or cut back a lot? If so any tips?

Grateful in advance

I'd say that at least in the short term, avoid situations where drinking would be normal - visits to the pub, social events etc. Just until you get comfortable with not drinking in those situations.
The home drinking is a difficult one, but the first thing I'd do would be to get rid of any drink in the house. Make it difficult for yourself to just have one or two. Have something else you "must" do which would mean you cant drink.
For me, I haven't given up drink but over the years my circumstances didn't lend themselves to being able to drink.
Ill family members, kids needing looked after, school runs in the mornings etc. So couldn't risk drinking the night before if I'd to drive early in the morning for example.

Now, for me it's just more bother than its worth. I keep a bottle of whiskey in the house, would last me months, just take the occassional one.
I tend not to go to very many social events, but I'll drink when I do. Couple of times a year maybe - and I enjoy it.
I guess for me, it's drink for the right reasons and not when you feel bad as thats a slippery slope.

Depending on where you think you are in terms of dependency, maybe speak to your GP too or even give AA a go, and I'm not making assumptions about you here but I do know some people who'd swear by AA.

Whatever road you go down, good luck with it and fair play for taking the first steps by asking the expert GAABoard.