Quitting Alcohol

[Wavehere]

Recently came to the conclusion I want/need to stop drinking. I've seen a few guys on here say they've been sober for years.

I've been pretty strong willed when it comes to kicking habits, but this one has been a one step forward three steps back one. Haha

Those of you who have stopped did you notice many benefits on your hunts, mindset, or physical shape?
Any tips on the process?

Good on you for making that decision, it takes a lot of self-awareness and strength to get to that point. I’ve been down that road myself, and while it wasn’t easy at first, the benefits were noticeable. Clearer mindset, more energy on hunts, better sleep, and just an overall sense of being sharper both mentally and physically.

 

[Wavehere]

What helped me most was replacing the habit with healthier routines and staying consistent, even when I slipped up. Don’t beat yourself up if progress feels slow, just keep moving forward. Every step counts, and it’s worth it.

 

[ChrisA]

@bbassi powerful testimony, sir. You have my sympathy.

I finished my second archery elk hunt since 2006, Sunday. It was truly a joy to wake up every morning with a clear head and no drained feeling from acetaldehyde. I was pretty damned happy with myself and pissed at the same time. Thinking, "why didn't you do this 30 years ago?"
But, it is what it is and I absolutely love being sober, it just sucks starting to learn to bowhunt elk at 52; so many wasted opportunities to have REAL fun.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

It's funny this tread came up again for me tonight. I just can't sleep thinking about the last couple months. I held my wife's hand as she died in May from the effects of alcoholism. That's not what's on her death certificate, but it's the underlying cause.

Booze took away her will to live and her ability to think clearly about choices she was making in her life. It slowly degraded her health until it was too late to reverse course, and I got to watch it front row. See when we got together 24 years ago, we were both drinkers. I got smart, or lucky. Take your pick. But she never could beat that Devil. Nothing I could say or do could convince her she was powerless against it. The bottle lied to her time and time again, She'd quit for a couple weeks thinking she had control, then she'd slip back into it. Hiding it. Lying to me about it.

See, you can't MAKE a drunk stop. They have to want it themself or it will never stick. The Big Book says very few will fully recover. I've heard it's like 3% but IDK.

Right now I'm waiting for some of her family to come into town. We'll finally bury her ashes this Saturday. Then I'll celebrate 20 years sober on September 20th. Alone.

Wow, I can't imagine how painful all of that is.

It's truly a powerful choice to allow yourself to feel everything with out trying to run away from it.

My step mother died in a similar way, and my dad took a long time to admit the alcohol did it. He's still drinking from the moment he wakes up until bed even knowing that fact.
He's created his own purgatory while he's still alive. It's unfortunate.

 

[416bull]

I quit drinking 15 years ago when I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior! Didn't happen over night but soon with God's help I kicked it. Have noticed better health, more money and a happier family! Should of done it long before! Plus I get to go to heaven when I die, need i say more?

 

[Breakthrough]

Alright, I have a little backstory. I have been a long time member of this amazing site, but I needed to create a new username, as I want, for now, to stay annomous. Going back to when the quitting alcohol thread was created, I was always scared to open it. Instead, I would open and post in the bourbon thread. Way back then I knew I might have a problem.

So, a little about me. I am married with childern, hold a stressful full time job and have undiagnosed anxiety, adhd, and more recently, feel, ptsd from work related incidents. I have drank alcohol ocassionally since I was 21. By coassionally I mean socially, some 1-2 times a week, and 1-2 beers, as I didnt like the feel of a buzz. Fast forward. Once married and working fulltime, that 1-2 times a week turned into 1-2 beers a day while cooking and eating dinner. This increased around 2019 when covid hit. At this time I was introduced to bourbon. I enjoyed the taste and began collecting and consuming it on a regular basis. My drinking habits changed from 1-2 beers a day to 1 beer a day and 2-3 pours of bourbon.

The stress of the job increased and my hours changed. I now needed to sleep during the day and used alcohol as a way to help fall asleep, and was drinking 3-4 a day. Fastforward, I am still working at night and using bourbon to fall asleep. First thing I do in the moring when off of work is grab a bottle. On work days I'll have 3-5 to fall asleep, and honestly sometimes numb whatever feelings I have from work. On my off days, I'll increase my drinking to 2-3 beers and 4-5 pours of bourbon.

Though no one, including my wife, has said a thing about my drinking, I have a problem. Deep down inside back when this thread was created, I knew there would be a day I would open it and begin reading. Many of your stories about alcohol use mirror mine. The time has come, now or very soon to quit. Now, I have not talked to my wife about my feelings, as I push them down inside. Ive only recently talked to her about how I feel I have ptsd from a few recent work incidents.

Regarding quitting, my anxiety will make this difficult. I am more worried about how my body will react, than actually stopping the drinking. So, with that said, for the people who had consumed similar quantities, what type of physical and mental withdral symptoms did you have and for how long? I know when I decide to jump I, i'll need to sit down and talk with my wife. But, I am more worried about if I'll be experiencing physical withdrawlls, where I'll need to pre plan and take off of work. I also am private and dont want my friends or co-workers to immediatly know about this struggle until I'm on the road to recovery.

Thoughts?

 

[BravoNovember]

Alright, I have a little backstory. I have been a long time member of this amazing site, but I needed to create a new username, as I want, for now, to stay annomous. Going back to when the quitting alcohol thread was created, I was always scared to open it. Instead, I would open and post in the bourbon thread. Way back then I knew I might have a problem.

So, a little about me. I am married with childern, hold a stressful full time job and have undiagnosed anxiety, adhd, and more recently, feel, ptsd from work related incidents. I have drank alcohol ocassionally since I was 21. By coassionally I mean socially, some 1-2 times a week, and 1-2 beers, as I didnt like the feel of a buzz. Fast forward. Once married and working fulltime, that 1-2 times a week turned into 1-2 beers a day while cooking and eating dinner. This increased around 2019 when covid hit. At this time I was introduced to bourbon. I enjoyed the taste and began collecting and consuming it on a regular basis. My drinking habits changed from 1-2 beers a day to 1 beer a day and 2-3 pours of bourbon.

The stress of the job increased and my hours changed. I now needed to sleep during the day and used alcohol as a way to help fall asleep, and was drinking 3-4 a day. Fastforward, I am still working at night and using bourbon to fall asleep. First thing I do in the moring when off of work is grab a bottle. On work days I'll have 3-5 to fall asleep, and honestly sometimes numb whatever feelings I have from work. On my off days, I'll increase my drinking to 2-3 beers and 4-5 pours of bourbon.

Though no one, including my wife, has said a thing about my drinking, I have a problem. Deep down inside back when this thread was created, I knew there would be a day I would open it and begin reading. Many of your stories about alcohol use mirror mine. The time has come, now or very soon to quit. Now, I have not talked to my wife about my feelings, as I push them down inside. Ive only recently talked to her about how I feel I have ptsd from a few recent work incidents.

Regarding quitting, my anxiety will make this difficult. I am more worried about how my body will react, than actually stopping the drinking. So, with that said, for the people who had consumed similar quantities, what type of physical and mental withdral symptoms did you have and for how long? I know when I decide to jump I, i'll need to sit down and talk with my wife. But, I am more worried about if I'll be experiencing physical withdrawlls, where I'll need to pre plan and take off of work. I also am private and dont want my friends or co-workers to immediatly know about this struggle until I'm on the road to recovery.

Thoughts?

You took the first step! I personally would encourage you to talk to your wife. I would also note your trigger and communication with your wife on that would be important. For me, I took a big look in the mirror and imagined where I would be in 5,10, 20 years if I did not quit (if even alive anymore). I also felt the same way about not wanting people to know. I had a ton of shame, fear of what people would think or say, I had fear of withdrawal , but I also think that I was using it as an excuse as well.

When I finally decided to quit, I tapered off for about 2 weeks and then quit completely.

I was a daily drinking that couldn’t have fun or manage stress or go out in public without a ton to drink, now I have a ton more fun than I ever imagined.

I’m just past a year not drinking so still learning to manage stress and anxiety without drinking, because I was self medicating, but it is way more manageable.

 

[(NOP)]

Alright, I have a little backstory. I have been a long time member of this amazing site, but I needed to create a new username, as I want, for now, to stay annomous. Going back to when the quitting alcohol thread was created, I was always scared to open it. Instead, I would open and post in the bourbon thread. Way back then I knew I might have a problem.

So, a little about me. I am married with childern, hold a stressful full time job and have undiagnosed anxiety, adhd, and more recently, feel, ptsd from work related incidents. I have drank alcohol ocassionally since I was 21. By coassionally I mean socially, some 1-2 times a week, and 1-2 beers, as I didnt like the feel of a buzz. Fast forward. Once married and working fulltime, that 1-2 times a week turned into 1-2 beers a day while cooking and eating dinner. This increased around 2019 when covid hit. At this time I was introduced to bourbon. I enjoyed the taste and began collecting and consuming it on a regular basis. My drinking habits changed from 1-2 beers a day to 1 beer a day and 2-3 pours of bourbon.

The stress of the job increased and my hours changed. I now needed to sleep during the day and used alcohol as a way to help fall asleep, and was drinking 3-4 a day. Fastforward, I am still working at night and using bourbon to fall asleep. First thing I do in the moring when off of work is grab a bottle. On work days I'll have 3-5 to fall asleep, and honestly sometimes numb whatever feelings I have from work. On my off days, I'll increase my drinking to 2-3 beers and 4-5 pours of bourbon.

Though no one, including my wife, has said a thing about my drinking, I have a problem. Deep down inside back when this thread was created, I knew there would be a day I would open it and begin reading. Many of your stories about alcohol use mirror mine. The time has come, now or very soon to quit. Now, I have not talked to my wife about my feelings, as I push them down inside. Ive only recently talked to her about how I feel I have ptsd from a few recent work incidents.

Regarding quitting, my anxiety will make this difficult. I am more worried about how my body will react, than actually stopping the drinking. So, with that said, for the people who had consumed similar quantities, what type of physical and mental withdral symptoms did you have and for how long? I know when I decide to jump I, i'll need to sit down and talk with my wife. But, I am more worried about if I'll be experiencing physical withdrawlls, where I'll need to pre plan and take off of work. I also am private and dont want my friends or co-workers to immediatly know about this struggle until I'm on the road to recovery.

Thoughts?

At one point I was drinking similar quantities, hiding it from my wife, but I don't feel I was ever seriously physically addicted. But I definitely had some withdrawals. I kept drinking for years after breaking my initial daily habit.

I've got an employee assistance plan through work. It's been helpful to talk to a therapist. Someone who doesn't have any preconceived notions of who you are. They help hold me accountable.

Plan on a taper, you don't want to quit cold turkey, it can kill you. Talk to a Dr. Talk to a therapist. Talk to your wife. Start a journal. Write down your goals, write down who you want you be. Take a video of the current version of yourself for your future self. Make a plan, and take your power back.

 

[Robster]

@Breakthrough. As BravoNovember said, you took the first step. Quitting for someone else is extremely difficult. But you have made the decision to do it for yourself. That is really the first step in quitting and you have taken it.

And to add to what (NOP) said, if you fall off the wagon, don't give up. Just a minor setback. Get back on that wagon and keep your eye on the prize.

Today I celebrate 18 months (Year and a half) of sobriety.