I really want to give up drinking, not because Im an alcoholic?

Question

just because as I am getting older my hangovers are lasting longer and where as before I would drink and worry about the hangover the next day, I am worrying about it days before. I know its sad that I still drink but I am from a family of drinkers, I cant just have one I have to kick the ring out of it. Anyway my question is, UK, what beers are alcohol free and can you get them in pubs, Ill just pretend im drinking lol. I know Ill get some of you saying Im sad Im an acoholic and this and that but I wont listen to that so save your fingers

a.c I went bingo last night and got drunk. lol They got a bar there.

farooha, you are very sensible honey and I hope you stick to not drinking but Im guessing when you hit 18 and start going out you will be in the same boat as me. Everyone knows drinking is bad just like we know smoking is bad but people still do it. WHY I dont know, we are the only living animal that purposely poisons their body and we are the intelligent species

grundlego if I am an alcoholic for getting drunk 4 times if not less a month then everyone i know is an alcoholic and worse than me.

hogasnog you are so funny skipping through fields with my liver Im in tears here with laughter thanks for that x

Answer 1

Why not think of your liver as a dear friend,even give it a name and tell your friend that you are going to treat it with respect and not poison it with alcohol.Imagine your liver being flushed through with fresh clear spring water and help it to recover to full glowing health,and you and it skipping through life together. Forget where you've come from and rejoice in where you're going.

Answer 2

I understand what you're going thru.. .When I was about 24 (I'm 29 now) I found myself in a bar every night. Not drinking to excessbut getting a good buzz on. Spending anywhere from $40-$80 a night just on alcohol. And one day I had enough, I just stopped going. I still remained friends with all my drinking buddies but I stopped going to the bar. And I felt great!! ;) Now don't get me wrong I didn't give up drinking. I just don't do it as much. And usually what I'll do when I have to drink is get a 7&7 (seagrams 7 & 7-up) which makes a semi-clear drink. I'll only get one or two of those and then start drinking just GInger Ale or water. Which looks just the same. The catch is I'll still shoot any shot handed to me. But I don't drink as much, I get a buzz but I stay hydrated, and my pocket stays full of money. It's a good way to do it! Try something like that. Drinking non-alcholic beer is a waste of money....

Answer 3

its troubling that you cannot accept your alcoholism. you know they say that since you have the alcoholism in your family that you are an alcoholic even before you pick up that first drink. since its encoded in your dna to be dependent on that substance, why would you want to substitute with a non-alcoholic beer? (it still has some alcohol in it btw) in the addiction world that is called substitution - its something that reminds you of the real thing and will eventually lead back to the real thing. why not attend some alcoholics anonymous meetings? even if you say you arent an alcoholic perhaps some stories of other people dealing with the same thing would help you. ok all of the alcoholic stuff aside - the only way to stop using a drink or drug is to totally disconnect yourself from it, the people who do it, and the places where it is done. so to answer your question - non-alcoholic beer in a pub would not help you, it would eventually lead you back. my advice is to stay away from it all together. that means staying away from pubs, friends when they are drinking, and things that remind you of alcohol. if you can do all those things you will be successful. maybe if you dont want to attend AA you could just see a therapist to talk to about your struggles. a lot of people are weary about support groups and therapy, but hey - it works if you work it.

response to your details: alcoholism is a very individual thing, you cant compare yourself to anybody else. there is an admitted alcoholic in my AA group who used to drink every weekend. during the week he was fine but something about the weekend was a trigger for him and he binge drank. there is also an alcoholic in my group that HAD to have a drink every night before bed. my point is that if you have difficulty stopping, or avoiding the lifestyle, then you have a problem. denial is the first step actually. if you have to convince me and yourself that you dont have a problem with alcohol then why are you so worried about how to stop? you're not going to be able to accept any kind of help unless you can admit to yourself that you have a problem.

Answer 4

Why do you need to pretend to be drinking? anyway the few non-alcoholic beers i have treid taste disgusting.

I dont drink alcohol, i gave up about a year ago, simply because i decided i dint like being drunk. Now when i go out i drink lemonade or water or soometimes J2Os. If im in a place whichdoes it i have a virgin cockail, because they are tasty. My freinds and other people i meet respect me for not drinking so i have no reason to hide the fact that im not. And the benifits of not drinking outweight the negatives for me - i don get as tired, i dont feel sick, i dont get a hangover its cheaper etc etc ... iv found i can keep going ont he dance floor a lot longer drinking water than i can if i was knocking back the beer aswell!

Answer 5

I come from a family of drinkers also. I stopped drinking on January 9 of this year. I feel so much better now, and I'm also eating healthier. When I would drink I did not know when to stop. I mean I could still function and do my everyday activities. I mean you would never even know that I was drinking unless you saw me in the act. When I would wake up in the morning I would need a drink just so that I wouldn't be sick. I'm not going to say it was easy giving it up cold turkey, I was sick for like two weeks. After that, smooth sailing. Try it you won't regret it. Oh, you will probably need to get some Zantac 75 for your stomach because when you stop it is going to feel like you have a stomach virus. It worked for me. Good Luck!!!!

Answer 6

Becks now do a non alcoholic beer which tastes VERY similar to their real one. I stopped drinking because I don;t like being hungover and I get quite down when I'm drunk (I can be very loud and happy but my mood clicks in seconds when I'm drunk and I don;t like who I am. ) I take my car out with me so I'm not tempted to drink, at this time of year it's great knowing that I can get home warm. I tell different people different parts of the story of why I don;t drink and most of my friends respect my decision

Answer 7

Kaliber is sold in most pubs, it will make you pee more, other than that don't go to the pub until later therefore you won't drink as much. Or for every pint you drink of normal beer drink a bottle of still water.

Answer 8

Like the first answer said - just have coke, lemonade or fresh orange or some of the j20's. I have been tee-total now for years, and never feel any need to drink anything that's meant to look like and taste like alcohol. It's never as good anyway.

Answer 9

The non alcoholic beers I've tried (Kaliber etc) are horrible.
If you're not actually drinking alcohol I'd recommend buying something that actually tastes nice. Like juice.

Answer 10

Perhaps if its the hangover you are worrying about, try different cures. Drink what you want and drink plenty of water before sleep.