Trying to give up drinking after 34 years ?

Question

Last time it only lasted 4 weeks any tips on how to go longer and really give up?

Answer 1

find someone who has the same goal as you! that forsure will help you both cvan help eachother when the other one needs it. also find something to replace it with. like my mom stoped smoking and she bought a pack a day so every day she would take 5 dollars save it up for a week, then go spend it on something she wanted, now we have sooo many dvds and people actually pay us to rent a movie. find motivation. it may take alot of it, and also of self disipline :) good luck i know you can do it

Answer 2

Ok, I was 14 when I started drinking and gave up aged 27. During that time I worked myself up to a bottle of scotch a day and I must admit had a problem. I was always feeling crap every morning, during the night, a lot of the time when i was drinking. I gave up 3 years ago and havn't had a drop since and doubt i ever will again. First of all you must really want to give it up! You must have a list of reasons why in your mind to help. I started by cutting down and instead of slamming drink down i began sipping slow, going to the pub i got down to one or two drinks a night. This made the step of stopping altogether much easier. You have to be thinking all the negative things that the stuff does to you and other people and the very few benefits it has. I used to look around me and see what a disaster people became after a few a realised what it must have been doing to me too! The cravings for the stuff become less and less. after you have cut back and you can stay at that for a month or two the reason for drinking (getting drunk) is not there so you then ask yourself what is the point in drinking at all! It is fairly difficult to stop altogether because its a bad habit, but once you can go a month without things become a lot easier and then after another month easier still. After a few months the cravings go altogether and you can realise how bad a habit it realy is. Once the body has removed all trace of the drug you are clean and shouldnt feel like drinking at all. Think of all the extra cash and all the nice things you could buy also how much healthier you would feel! I hope that this helps you quit it, i know you will never look back if you do.

Answer 3

One day at a time

You didn't start drinking while you were on any special medication - so you don't need any special medication to get you off it. What are you gonna do when the pills stop?

You survived before for a long 4 weeks - that required loads of motivation and will power - only you could supply that and you can do it again. Avoid the situations where you did drink - going to the bar after work?- get something else to do. Local bar having a happy hour - arrange to meet someone elsewhere for breakfast / lunch / dinner - even a coffee. You can identify your own pattern where you make the excuse for just another beer (or whatever it is you drink) - you need to break it.

You can decide who to trust and confide in to help you to give up. If you are serious about giving up drinking heavily, find a support group and make the best use of it. (They are everywhere coz your problem is not just a local problem). The temptation will always be a struggle. You are going to have to be strong - that's what the support group exists for - to provide support. - you must supply the strength and the will to succeed

Check your local yellow pages for a group near you.


Good luck

Answer 4

Cornflake#1 hit it on the head -One day at a time. You will hear this over and over again in AA meetings. Past studies have shown it is unlikely people can give up completely if they view sobriety as a 'life sentence'. In early recovery sometimes it has to be an hour at a time.
I was having on average a bottle and a half of vodka a day for the last five years and have given up completely for 8 months now. There is a suggestion in AA that when you first stop to go to 90 AA meetings in 90 days - to put as much effort into meetings and recovery as you would for obtaining, sneaking gulps of, and lying about to others -alcohol.
I've included a link below for Living Sober which gives some useful, practical ways to live sober one day at a time.
Good luck; the freedom and quality of life from not being in the grips of alcoholism is worth every effort.

Answer 5

You need to really think about and figure out the reasons why you started to drink again (after the four week mark). When you figure out what drove you back to alcohol, you need to decide how you can avoid the same situation again. Knowing your relapse triggers is crucial to staying sober. So is developing a good support system (sober friends, family, AA or other self help group), and learn ways to successfully manage your withdrawal symptoms. Educate yourself (and your loved ones) as much as possible on the subject of alcholism. Involve the family as much as possible in your recovery. Get an assessment done by a licensed alcohol counselor, be absolutely honest during the assessment. Be willing to follow the counselor's recommendations, even if it means a stay in an in-patient facility. You have to work pretty hard at sobriety. Try to develop your spirituality, if you can. Also, it helps to write down the reasons you would like to stay sober (improve your health, preserve family/friend relationships, advance in career, feel better about yourself, avoid brushes with the law, save money, avoid alcohol related life threatening accidents or illnesses, respect from others (like your wife, parents, kids), being a better role model for your children, controlling your temper, etc...your list should include everything you can think of), and carry this with you. When you feel the urge to drink, take this paper out and read it. Avoid the things that trigger a desire to drink. Don't tempt yourself by going into places (bars, etc) where you used to drink. Make an effort to meet and make friends with people who are sober. Know your triggers. Don't be afraid to let someone else know when you're feeling weak. AA is a good place to find support and people willing to help you. They've been through what you are going through, and can give you lots of valuable, useful insight into staying sober.

Good luck to you!

Answer 6

Am an alky but aint drank for a while, but i went to the extreme and did the clinic / rehab n all then ended up in hospital for the best part of a year coffin dodging. Luckily i pulled thru but the thought of my kids not seeing thier daddy or me having the best kids in the world (obviously) keeps me going now, it's still early days for me but am determined enough now that i've been in the gutter looking down that i will continue even tho i've not had a drink in a while, good thing to keep going in your head is there are no excuses for having a drink and there aint.

Answer 7

First, you have to want to do it for yourself. Write down all the good reasons to stop drinking, and carry the list with you in your wallet or something. Take it out and read it when you want to drink.
Change your habits, if you always drink when you do certain things, then, change them. If you drink when you are with certain people, don't be around them. Remember that change is good, and it is time for you to change your habits. Try a hobby, or doing something you've always wanted to do. Think of how much money it will save you. Then you put that money aside, and plan a trip or something you like to do.
Join AA or another "club". Find someone you can talk to when you want to drink.
Replace drinking with something else. Usually if you are withdrawing from alcohol, you will crave sweets.
Lastly, if you really want to do something drastic to stop drinking, then see your physician, they can write you a prescription for Anabuse or something similar.
Whatever you do to try to quit, I wish you MUCH LUCK!!

Answer 8

Go see your GP and get him to refer you to the alcohol specialist on the local community addiction team.

Answer 9

aa a support group daily, doctor prescribed anabuse

Answer 10

It's encouraging to know that you're a taxi driver lol.