Wow…this thread came out about a month before I quit drinking. It would have been nice to see back then…it was a struggle.
I was a heavy weekend drinker…18-24 beers on a Friday and Saturday night, plus some shots. Sundays were brutal hangover days. My wife didn’t drink like I did, so with me being straight hammered, she was on her own to take care of our son.
I remember my parents getting hammered on the weekends and fighting and it was horrible on us as kids. I realized I was heading that way. I didn’t want our little one to see me stumbling around being an idiot.
Oct 19 2019 I had a gnarly bender. Wife basically was done with me. We had played this game before but a change was needed. I went and got help.
I didnt go to AA, but it was a group for people that gotten in trouble from drinking and had to be there, and a couple of people like me that wanted to quit. We had some interesting conversations in these groups that went from funny as hell (our stories are awesome, and you know this!) to incredibly sad. I met a lot of people that sounded like they needed to quit but I could tell they just couldn’t. “I’m a grown ass man…I work, pay bills and don’t beat my wife. I have no drinking problems!” Yeah…I used to say that too.
But there WERE problems. So I quit. After 20+ years of heavy drinking and partying, I just stopped. Talking with people in the group helped, but shit was hard, I can’t lie. I had “friends” that stopped hanging out or inviting me to shit. Just because I didn’t drink any more. Fuck them. It’s been said here before but skating helped a ton. I would skate all night on the weekends instead of booze it up. I can’t say I lost a ton of weight and got better at skating because I didn’t, but I had just gotten back on the board about a year prior to quitting and it did get a little easier and I could most def skate more and longer sober.
This Oct will be three years without alcohol. I can be around people that drink, and I have no problem telling people why I don’t drink anymore. I have a lot of people say “I should quit too” but I don’t look down on folks that drink nor do I try to get them to quit.
Ultimately I made the best decision for me. Do I miss it sometimes? Yes. Do I miss all the bullshit that comes from drinking? Nope! Hangovers suck ass and only get worse when you are older. Weekends feel much longer now, and I overall feel healthier and happier. I dont sweat as much either, which is nice.
Good luck to you if you are thinking of quitting. PM me if you have questions, just know I’m a pretty straight forward dude so if you ask me my opinion I will give it, nice or not. I will agree with a previous reply…make sure you are prepared to tell people you are quitting or no longer drink. Be ready for all kinds of responses. My own mom, who has her own issues with booze, pretty much made fun of me for quitting, telling me I don’t have an alcohol problem. Just do it for you. You can try cutting back, but if that doesn’t work, quitting totally is what you may need. It sounds gnarly but it can be done!