SOBRIETY

[EdLawndale]

A little over 2 months with no alcohol here. Been buying zero-proof cocktails (in between waters) when I go to my local tavern, usually some sort of non-alcoholic mule.

Always felt it would be silly paying for non-alcoholic beverages, but it is not so bad. Good that I have an option to feel like I can be in a social setting and still support the establishment as a paying customer.

Other weird small things too, like not worrying about draining every last drop of my drink to get as much of that sweet firewater as possible -- once it gets watered down, I'm over it. Or if I forget to guard my drink and it gets picked up by a waitress, I'm less concerned for some reason (it's like losing a coca cola). All in all, there's less anxiety involved. I'm not getting that liquid courage anymore, but since I'm 38 (and gonna be a pro skater) now, the liquid courage has become pretty unnecessary at this point.

One thing I've noticed is that the bar is a lot emptier these days than when I first went dry and I suspect it is because everything has gotten so expensive (it sure as hell isn't because everyone else stopped drinking too). I think the bar owners have had to tighten their belts by raising prices and cutting back on deals for regulars. For 2 drinks and a meal, I'm dropping like $40 nowadays, whereas it used to cost me almost half that much (granted I'm friends with the staff so they would hook me up).

Proud of you guys and gals, keep it up!

[JoseCansnake0]

A little over 2 months with no alcohol here. Been buying zero-proof cocktails (in between waters) when I go to my local tavern, usually some sort of non-alcoholic mule.

Always felt it would be silly paying for non-alcoholic beverages, but it is not so bad. Good that I have an option to feel like I can be in a social setting and still support the establishment as a paying customer.

Other weird small things too, like not worrying about draining every last drop of my drink to get as much of that sweet firewater as possible -- once it gets watered down, I'm over it. Or if I forget to guard my drink and it gets picked up by a waitress, I'm less concerned for some reason (it's like losing a coca cola). All in all, there's less anxiety involved. I'm not getting that liquid courage anymore, but since I'm 38 (and gonna be a pro skater) now, the liquid courage has become pretty unnecessary at this point.

One thing I've noticed is that the bar is a lot emptier these days than when I first went dry and I suspect it is because everything has gotten so expensive (it sure as hell isn't because everyone else stopped drinking too). I think the bar owners have had to tighten their belts by raising prices and cutting back on deals for regulars. For 2 drinks and a meal, I'm dropping like $40 nowadays, whereas it used to cost me almost half that much (granted I'm friends with the staff so they would hook me up).

Proud of you guys and gals, keep it up!

https://stagrestis.com/products/phony-negroni?variant=42965996503293

These are great! Had one out with my wife on our 4 year anniversary.

Not trying to put the cart before the horse, but I'll be 2 years sober on August 21st. It has changed my life for the better in every way imaginable. To those on the path, keep fighting, it's worth it.

[Steely Daniel]

A friend of mine moved back from the east coast and is going through detox right now. I'm very proud of him. Can't wait to see him in a couple of months and have a chill skate session. I just don't want to be an enabler since I'm still pounding back liquor daily. Every time I consider quitting I just get so anxious an hour before the liquor store closes and have to pick something up. Things are not going well in my life but I'm putting all my energy into skateboarding to distract myself so that's something at least.

[igrindtwinkies]

@EdLawndale The part about bars being emptier post-covid is something I've read from a lot of bar staff on Reddit about.  Times are changing and it's hard to point out just one thing.  I quit 21 months ago, have bumped into a lot of acquaintances who have also quit in the past few years.  On Saturday, I went skating with a buddy who used to bartend at the bars I would frequent.  He quit and said a huge chunk of the staff quit as well.  I know a decent chunk of early 20's kids through skating and NEVER hear them talk about drinking, rarely see pictures on social media.

A friend of mine moved back from the east coast and is going through detox right now. I'm very proud of him. Can't wait to see him in a couple of months and have a chill skate session. I just don't want to be an enabler since I'm still pounding back liquor daily. Every time I consider quitting I just get so anxious an hour before the liquor store closes and have to pick something up. Things are not going well in my life but I'm putting all my energy into skateboarding to distract myself so that's something at least.

@Steely Daniel How's your buddy detoxing?  Is he in a facility or some shit?  I"m only asking cause they don't teach you this shit in school and will always take an opportunity to talk about it.  I was lucky enough to get medically detoxed my final time, took a good 5 days to get me off the shit.  This is a quick guide for tapering off booze.  For the record, WITHDRAWAL IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, IF YOU'RE HEARING SHIT/HALLUCINATING DRINK SOME BOOZE OR GO TO A HOSPITAL DON'T TRY TO TOUGH IT OUT.    https://hams.cc/taper/

And Steely I can definitely relate.  When I used to drink the thought of going 3 days without it was terrifying.  It took quite a while to rewire my brain.  I used to wake up still a bit drunk, and the only think I could think about was immediately getting to the store to get more beer.  Waiting again till that night to get drunk again was torture, so usually I'd just start day drinking.  It took me a few weeks of not drinking, until it wasn't constantly on my mind.  After about 6 months, the thoughts got a lot less intrusive.  Had a ton of anxiety the first few months, skating/working out helped a bit, but I kinda just had to sit there with it.

I"m not going to preach at you because I know this shit's not easy.  The alcohol did a number on my mental health.  It's hard to not have anxiety and depression when you're constantly liquored up.  I didn't exactly quit on a winning streak either, but it was much easier for me to fix the problems in my life when I wasn't giving 90 percent of my physical and mental energy to alcohol. It's good to hear you're skating though, if it weren't for shit I'm passionate about I would have just kept drinking or pulled the plug.  Best of luck to you man.

[Coastal Fever]

@Steely Daniel I can’t offer anything better than what’s been already said, but the fact you keep checking in here shows you’ve got the will.  Take care of yourself and hopefully it’ll get easier!

@EdLawndale good on you for still supporting the homies.  Hopefully bars serving NAs and people congregating there for them becomes more commonplace in the future.

@IusedToSkateMore Just a quick rip through ME, NH and VT on my way to Ontario.  Pretty wild seeing mickeys for sale at gas station counters haha.  That and walking through downtown/tourist areas really makes you realize how much booze is being pushed on people.  But it’s been fun so far, left the board at home but checked out Mocean in Portland and might check out Burlington shops tmrw.

[Steely Daniel]

@EdLawndale The part about bars being emptier post-covid is something I've read from a lot of bar staff on Reddit about.  Times are changing and it's hard to point out just one thing.  I quit 21 months ago, have bumped into a lot of acquaintances who have also quit in the past few years.  On Saturday, I went skating with a buddy who used to bartend at the bars I would frequent.  He quit and said a huge chunk of the staff quit as well.  I know a decent chunk of early 20's kids through skating and NEVER hear them talk about drinking, rarely see pictures on social media.

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A friend of mine moved back from the east coast and is going through detox right now. I'm very proud of him. Can't wait to see him in a couple of months and have a chill skate session. I just don't want to be an enabler since I'm still pounding back liquor daily. Every time I consider quitting I just get so anxious an hour before the liquor store closes and have to pick something up. Things are not going well in my life but I'm putting all my energy into skateboarding to distract myself so that's something at least.

[close]

@Steely Daniel How's your buddy detoxing?  Is he in a facility or some shit?  I"m only asking cause they don't teach you this shit in school and will always take an opportunity to talk about it.  I was lucky enough to get medically detoxed my final time, took a good 5 days to get me off the shit.  This is a quick guide for tapering off booze.  For the record, WITHDRAWAL IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, IF YOU'RE HEARING SHIT/HALLUCINATING DRINK SOME BOOZE OR GO TO A HOSPITAL DON'T TRY TO TOUGH IT OUT.    https://hams.cc/taper/

And Steely I can definitely relate.  When I used to drink the thought of going 3 days without it was terrifying.  It took quite a while to rewire my brain.  I used to wake up still a bit drunk, and the only think I could think about was immediately getting to the store to get more beer.  Waiting again till that night to get drunk again was torture, so usually I'd just start day drinking.  It took me a few weeks of not drinking, until it wasn't constantly on my mind.  After about 6 months, the thoughts got a lot less intrusive.  Had a ton of anxiety the first few months, skating/working out helped a bit, but I kinda just had to sit there with it.

I"m not going to preach at you because I know this shit's not easy.  The alcohol did a number on my mental health.  It's hard to not have anxiety and depression when you're constantly liquored up.  I didn't exactly quit on a winning streak either, but it was much easier for me to fix the problems in my life when I wasn't giving 90 percent of my physical and mental energy to alcohol. It's good to hear you're skating though, if it weren't for shit I'm passionate about I would have just kept drinking or pulled the plug.  Best of luck to you man.

Yeah, he's in a clinical program doing it all properly. They're giving him benzos to get through the withdrawals and monitoring him and all that kind of stuff. They only give him 30 minutes of online time a day even so he's pretty focused on recovery. My friend is a really awesome indigenous skater and I want to buy him the Joe Buffalo guest AH deck as a gift for when he gets out.

Thanks for the kind supportive words too gentlemen. I at least milked a 26-bottle or a fifth or whatever you call it in the states for 3 days instead of drinking it all in one day so that's some small progress I suppose.

[wo_bauer]

Sobriety is suiting me well at the moment. Sounds silly but I want to live a long life to see what crazy tech there is in 2063. Having so many vices before was a burden, financially, psychologically etc.

[Steely Daniel]

@Steely Daniel Where's your buddy from?  I think I have you in my head as a Canadian?  Either way I'm just curious because I live where there's a lot of natives.  Decent amount of them skate too and we occasionally go out to the rezervations that have small plazas built by the Tony Hawk Foundation.  I've been meaning to hit the Pine Ridge park and skate with the kids, but shit keeps coming up.

Been to treatment twice, 14 years apart and I went to the same place for it.  It was a dumpy little place, but it was really colorful due to all the Native patients/employees.  They had contracts with tribes all across the country, but most of them were from the midwest.  A couple years back, I dropped my car off at the mechanic and then went and got a couple pints of booze from this gas station.  Ubered home and the driver was telling me about how he worked there(I had only been there once at this point).  When I went back, it was a holy shit moment when I found out he runs the sweat lodge there.

This is like a 5 hour drive away, but it's in the state I live in.  I've always had a lot of interest in Native culture just due to where I live.

Yep, very Canadian haha. I'm not sure where his people are originally from but I met him here in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, BC. He's coming from Toronto back to Vancouver. It's very nice to see some cool parks built for the rez kids though. We've always had a good crew of native skaters here throughout every generation. I made a post about it in the Joe Buffalo video thread but I got a little too personal and emotional in it and decided to delete it. My kids are half-native too so I definitely have a lot of love and understanding for the culture on their mother's side.

[fakie nollie]

I’m heading into week 3. Coincidently, the last time I drank was while hanging with @EdLawndale (he was not drinking nor enabling) and another pal.

I saw him at the restaurant we were at, and he ordered some healthy food and a non alcoholic beverage. I was 3 beers in and I felt miserable (physically). I sat there and thought how much I had wished I was in his shoes. Ed, you already know it’s nothing but love, and you have no idea how impactful/ good it was to see you holding strong.

I think I’m solid until I have a work function I’ll be traveling to in September. 100% of my motivation to drink comes from social anxiety or anticipating it. I’m hoping I can power through that trip and feel solid. I’m headed to a large skate premiere next week, which I’d normally want to drink at, but my wife will be with me and she’s always in my corner to be healthy, so I’m feeling good.

Other than that, I’ve stuck true to a diet and exercise regimen of either skating or going to the gym for at least an hour every day and am eating super clean. Meat, veggies and fruit. My body/ gut feel great for the first time since I can remember but still a decent amount of weight to shed.

[EdLawndale]

Yeah, glad to hear you are making some healthy decisions, fakie nollie. You generally keep it pretty moderate (and the clips I saw of you skating recently look good!). I think as one gets older, the social anxiety tends to dissapate, so that's promising. Keep it up!

[Sleazy]

i'm 6 weeks in and really enjoying it. lot's of energy, feel great and so pumped everyday. my weight is at a 8ish year low, been working out consistently (never been a problem for me).

main negative is i get bored eating out which is a problem sometimes because i do a lot of business networking. i have a happy hour tonight. the challenge isn't not wanting to drink, i'm fine with a soda water or NA beer. challenge is wanting to be social and outgoing which my business needs me to be. i did a business dinner at this really fancy place last week, food was amazing but i was bored out of my mind and counting the minutes and i'm sure some people noticed. and oh my god when the conversation of sports came up i thought i was going to die.

very small price to pay for feeling so revitalized.

[EdLawndale]

Congrats, Sleazy.

[FUBAR]

i'm 6 weeks in and really enjoying it. lot's of energy, feel great and so pumped everyday. my weight is at a 8ish year low, been working out consistently (never been a problem for me).

main negative is i get bored eating out which is a problem sometimes because i do a lot of business networking. i have a happy hour tonight. the challenge isn't not wanting to drink, i'm fine with a soda water or NA beer. challenge is wanting to be social and outgoing which my business needs me to be. i did a business dinner at this really fancy place last week, food was amazing but i was bored out of my mind and counting the minutes and i'm sure some people noticed. and oh my god when the conversation of sports came up i thought i was going to die.

very small price to pay for feeling so revitalized.

Congrats dude. I feel you on the lameness when the convo turns to sports or other stuff I don’t care about (pretty much anything but skating, fishing, or family). If you are lucky enough to have a cool work homie that you vibe with, get those vibes going while out at a dinner and then involve others. I find it hard to be in a social situation I don’t want to be in now that I don’t drink, but I try to find little things I can use to get into the conversation and introduce humor. Or I just roll my eyes and bounce if the vibe is lame. That isn’t always an option though.

[Easy Slider]

I realised social functions are often not about being social but about getting pissed most times. Avoiding them is not ideal if you are in a line of work where networking is required. I noticed that there are always some persons who don’t drink for some reason, might be they are sick, pregnant or strict muslims. You can stick with those guys, but usually they are not the target group but rather fringe characters. The best are morning functions, e.g. breakfast meetings, brunches or coffee meetings, where people are not drinking yet. Try to attend or organize those. However, I don’t have a recipe to make the bulk of those functions easier, hence I avoid them altogether, but this lead to me becoming a bit of a recluse.

[Sleazy]

Really appreciate everyone’s encouragement and tips. I was sort of host at lunch today at a Steakhouse for this entrepreneur group that I’m in and it was actually really fun. I think not drinking made me get more out of it. And I was able to come home and get a little work done and work out. The table I was at was all people who weren’t drinking so it made it a little easier. The other tables with us were decanting what I assume we’re nice bottles of wine and going for it.

[Coastal Fever]

Since I can’t buy hop water anywhere around here I found a recipe to make it, where you basically just make a strong hop tea then add a couple tbsp to sparkling water with lime juice or whatever you like.  Not as good as Lagunitas but does the trick.  Only thing is making the hop tea makes the house smell like feet according to my partner.

[Enrico Pallazzo]

Since I can’t buy hop water anywhere around here I found a recipe to make it, where you basically just make a strong hop tea then add a couple tbsp to sparkling water with lime juice or whatever you like.  Not as good as Lagunitas but does the trick.  Only thing is making the hop tea makes the house smell like feet according to my partner.

Big fan of the Hop Waters. I feel like an insane person dropping 7 bucks on a six pack of sparkling waters, but they’re tasty and it’s still cheaper than beer.

[lord of weed]

now that i think drugs are the wackest shit, i also think being in sobriety as a thing is the wackest shit. anything that has to do with drugs or centered around drug shit is just wack.

shoutout to the people who escaped their drug addictions

[fakie nollie]

Rounding 6 weeks and feel great. Mental stability, losing weight etc.

Liquid Death has been weirdly nice for social situations

[breezy_again]

12 weeks today. dreaming like crazy and i wake up with morning wood every damn day. the opposite of whisky dick basically. i feel great!
people keep telling me that i look good and they can see it in my face.
it seems like it gets easier as the days go by. maybe that's just me though.

[itspizzapie]

what is it with americans that they're either drinking two 24 beer packs on their own every evening or be "sober" ?

question from a european who enjoys a 25cl beer in the evening every now and then and sharing a good bottle of wine at a dinner with friends

[fakie nollie]

what is it with americans that they're either drinking two 24 beer packs on their own every evening or be "sober" ?

question from a european who enjoys a 25cl beer in the evening every now and then and sharing a good bottle of wine at a dinner with friends

Are you kidding? There’s parts of Europe with government sanctioned beer/liquor stores because of how stupid y’all get on the sauce. PS what the fuck is a CL? We measure our alcoholic liquids in hamburgers and “HELL YEAH!”’s

[itspizzapie]

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what is it with americans that they're either drinking two 24 beer packs on their own every evening or be "sober" ?

question from a european who enjoys a 25cl beer in the evening every now and then and sharing a good bottle of wine at a dinner with friends

[close]

Are you kidding? There’s parts of Europe with government sanctioned beer/liquor stores because of how stupid y’all get on the sauce. PS what the fuck is a CL? We measure our alcoholic liquids in hamburgers and “HELL YEAH!”’s

it's just that they have too much shitty weather and no light during winter give em a break

[yghartsyrt]

i'm 6 weeks in and really enjoying it. lot's of energy, feel great and so pumped everyday. my weight is at a 8ish year low, been working out consistently (never been a problem for me).

main negative is i get bored eating out which is a problem sometimes because i do a lot of business networking. i have a happy hour tonight. the challenge isn't not wanting to drink, i'm fine with a soda water or NA beer. challenge is wanting to be social and outgoing which my business needs me to be. i did a business dinner at this really fancy place last week, food was amazing but i was bored out of my mind and counting the minutes and i'm sure some people noticed. and oh my god when the conversation of sports came up i thought i was going to die.

very small price to pay for feeling so revitalized.

Having to go through that kind of social interaction without some sort of “lubricant” is always hard. Props  for making it through such encounters.

[Noble Experiment]

I drink. A good amount actually. I post about it here and there, but I just now realized that I haven’t had a sober streak of more than a week since early January. Only been able to get a couple days in a row since then before I go back to boozing.

Currently I’m at one shot of one of those 50ml tequila shots (those ones that they give you on airplane rides) right before i get into work at 9am to get that morning buzz going, another one of those 50ml shots a couple hours later at 11am-12pm, and then maybe another one a couple hours after that (or sometimes I’ll just cap it off at two of those for the afternoon). Then once I’m off work around 6pm I’ll buy a few more of those 50ml tequila shots and just chug em throughout the night as I’m hanging out or skating, and then I’ll usually end the night at the bar with a couple beers and a couple more shots on top of what I already drank earlier, then repeat again the next day. That’s about an average of ten drinks a day (sometimes less, but often times more) and it’s been like that all of 2023 for me pretty much. Maybe not a lot when you compare it to some people who drink like a handle a day or a 24 pack a day, but still more than the average drinker for sure.
I’ve been thinking about going sober for a while now, if not permanently then at least for a handful of months just to give my body a rest from this constant boozing which I feel can’t be too good for it.
I’ve been reading up on withdrawals n stuff and it’s got me a bit nervous that I might get them so I was gonna try to just cut back by one less drink a day for the next week or two until I cut it down to none and then just go from there, kinda like what BA did when he quit drinking, so that way it would lessen any potential withdrawals. Wish me luck y’all.

[Noble Experiment]

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I drink. A good amount actually. I post about it here and there, but I just now realized that I haven’t had a sober streak of more than a week since early January. Only been able to get a couple days in a row since then before I go back to boozing.

Currently I’m at one shot of one of those 50ml tequila shots (those ones that they give you on airplane rides) right before i get into work at 9am to get that morning buzz going, another one of those 50ml shots a couple hours later at 11am-12pm, and then maybe another one a couple hours after that (or sometimes I’ll just cap it off at two of those for the afternoon). Then once I’m off work around 6pm I’ll buy a few more of those 50ml tequila shots and just chug em throughout the night as I’m hanging out or skating, and then I’ll usually end the night at the bar with a couple beers and a couple more shots on top of what I already drank earlier, then repeat again the next day. That’s about an average of ten drinks a day (sometimes less, but often times more) and it’s been like that all of 2023 for me pretty much. Maybe not a lot when you compare it to some people who drink like a handle a day or a 24 pack a day, but still more than the average drinker for sure.
I’ve been thinking about going sober for a while now, if not permanently then at least for a handful of months just go give my body a rest from this constant boozing which I feel can’t be too good for it.
I’ve been reading up on withdrawals n stuff and it’s got me a bit nervous that I might get them so I was gonna try to just cut back by one less drink a day for the next week or two until I cut it down to none and then just go from there, kinda like what BA did when he quit drinking, so that way it would lessen any potential withdrawals. Wish me luck y’all.

[close]

ya know, it doesn't matter what you're drinking compared to others. not at all. if it's something you want to change, thn that's all that matters. i was chilling with a friend back east last week and while they're very rarely "wasted," they're drinking from the time they wake til the time they go to bed at night. their hand shakes while they're pouring the first glass of wine or making a drink. like I said, they're rarely wasted and quite functional, but they can't do anything without the sauce in them.

I say this because you're not alone, holmes.

If you're going to work on a detox, and are planning this thing out, maybe it could be cool to talk to a doctor about it. A lot of people, myself included, ended up substituting with other problematic stuff when getting off booze.

wish you the best

Yeah a lot of what has been stopping me from stopping is just the nervousness of “what if i go through withdrawals and what if they get gnarly?” They sound pretty scary.
I’ve read that severe withdrawals happen to a smaller percentage than some would assume but it still makes me nervous, which is why I was going to do the weaning off with a drink less per day method until I’m cut back altogether. I heard about BA doing a similar method to quit drinking in a YouTube vid about his alcohol addiction.
I would consult a doctor but my health insurance is crap so I try to stay away from hospitals and doctors unless I really need them. I already owe the hospital a ton of money as is.

[Noble Experiment]

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I drink. A good amount actually. I post about it here and there, but I just now realized that I haven’t had a sober streak of more than a week since early January. Only been able to get a couple days in a row since then before I go back to boozing.

Currently I’m at one shot of one of those 50ml tequila shots (those ones that they give you on airplane rides) right before i get into work at 9am to get that morning buzz going, another one of those 50ml shots a couple hours later at 11am-12pm, and then maybe another one a couple hours after that (or sometimes I’ll just cap it off at two of those for the afternoon). Then once I’m off work around 6pm I’ll buy a few more of those 50ml tequila shots and just chug em throughout the night as I’m hanging out or skating, and then I’ll usually end the night at the bar with a couple beers and a couple more shots on top of what I already drank earlier, then repeat again the next day. That’s about an average of ten drinks a day (sometimes less, but often times more) and it’s been like that all of 2023 for me pretty much. Maybe not a lot when you compare it to some people who drink like a handle a day or a 24 pack a day, but still more than the average drinker for sure.
I’ve been thinking about going sober for a while now, if not permanently then at least for a handful of months just go give my body a rest from this constant boozing which I feel can’t be too good for it.
I’ve been reading up on withdrawals n stuff and it’s got me a bit nervous that I might get them so I was gonna try to just cut back by one less drink a day for the next week or two until I cut it down to none and then just go from there, kinda like what BA did when he quit drinking, so that way it would lessen any potential withdrawals. Wish me luck y’all.

[close]

ya know, it doesn't matter what you're drinking compared to others. not at all. if it's something you want to change, thn that's all that matters. i was chilling with a friend back east last week and while they're very rarely "wasted," they're drinking from the time they wake til the time they go to bed at night. their hand shakes while they're pouring the first glass of wine or making a drink. like I said, they're rarely wasted and quite functional, but they can't do anything without the sauce in them.

I say this because you're not alone, holmes.

If you're going to work on a detox, and are planning this thing out, maybe it could be cool to talk to a doctor about it. A lot of people, myself included, ended up substituting with other problematic stuff when getting off booze.

wish you the best

[close]

Yeah a lot of what has been stopping me from stopping is just the nervousness of “what if i go through withdrawals and what if they get gnarly?” They sound pretty scary.
I’ve read that severe withdrawals happen to a smaller percentage than some would assume but it still makes me nervous, which is why I was going to do the weaning off with a drink less per day method until I’m cut back altogether. I heard about BA doing a similar method to quit drinking in a YouTube vid about his alcohol addiction.
I would consult a doctor but my health insurance is crap so I try to stay away from hospitals and doctors unless I really need them. I already owe the hospital a ton of money as is.

[close]

Right on! I advise you to avoid benzodiazepines at all costs. Might help at first but its a bad road to hoe. Valerian, passion flower, magnesium, and zinc will be very helpful. Low thc weed can also be very helpful

Thank you!
I try to stay away from benzodiazepines when I can, had some bad experiences with them a decade or so back when I was abusing Xanax and would rather not go down that rabbit hole again. Hardest part of quitting I feel like is going to be dealing with anxiety, it’s a big reason why I drank so much to begin with, because it’s so good at muting the overwelming daily anxieties and stresses of life, so having to deal with that “back to reality” feeling is going to be rough, but I’ve been looking into forms of therapy to help with that so I’m feeling prepared for this.

[changed1]

Getting sober was the best thing I ever did. I never had a drinking problem but I did smoke like a chimney for many years. Besides the obvious health and money saving benefits of getting sober, i also see the world much more clearly and quit letting people walk all over me. And it’s been 10x easier to accomplish goals

[JoseCansnake0]

I drink. A good amount actually. I post about it here and there, but I just now realized that I haven’t had a sober streak of more than a week since early January. Only been able to get a couple days in a row since then before I go back to boozing.

Currently I’m at one shot of one of those 50ml tequila shots (those ones that they give you on airplane rides) right before i get into work at 9am to get that morning buzz going, another one of those 50ml shots a couple hours later at 11am-12pm, and then maybe another one a couple hours after that (or sometimes I’ll just cap it off at two of those for the afternoon). Then once I’m off work around 6pm I’ll buy a few more of those 50ml tequila shots and just chug em throughout the night as I’m hanging out or skating, and then I’ll usually end the night at the bar with a couple beers and a couple more shots on top of what I already drank earlier, then repeat again the next day. That’s about an average of ten drinks a day (sometimes less, but often times more) and it’s been like that all of 2023 for me pretty much. Maybe not a lot when you compare it to some people who drink like a handle a day or a 24 pack a day, but still more than the average drinker for sure.
I’ve been thinking about going sober for a while now, if not permanently then at least for a handful of months just to give my body a rest from this constant boozing which I feel can’t be too good for it.
I’ve been reading up on withdrawals n stuff and it’s got me a bit nervous that I might get them so I was gonna try to just cut back by one less drink a day for the next week or two until I cut it down to none and then just go from there, kinda like what BA did when he quit drinking, so that way it would lessen any potential withdrawals. Wish me luck y’all.

Anyone who's drank for awhile and then decides to go sober is, and has went through a bit anxiety when quitting. It's hard! But if you're ready, you'll get through it. The sheer amount of benefits (money, quality sleep, mental clarity) are worth it in every way.

I was personally never a day drinker. In my heaviest drinking days I was a chef and couldn't handle weed or booze when it was busy. But after work was my time to shine. Never just one or two, more like 5-6. Years went by and couldn't recall taking more than a day in a row off drinking.

I've had a few friends get to the point your at, but it spiraled into more and more during the course of the day. I wasn't quite sure how to reply to this post, as it hit close to home, but I know you'll figure out when you're ready. I'm always a message away if you have any questions. I just clicked two years no alcohol.

[EdLawndale]

Just passed 3 months no alcohol here.

Has anyone found any interesting non-drinking uses for the beer and other alcohol left over in your home from before you quit?