Going cold turkey on alcohol?

Any Veeky Forumsizens here who have struggled with alcoholism and managed to stop? Do you have to finish drinking forever or did you learn to have moderation? If so, how?

I'm sitting here hangover again, having all these shitty thoughts, can't eat nor sleep and still I'm gonna do it again when I get the chance to.

How else do you fill the void inside of you? Or how do you even sozialize in the evenings? I don't think I can find any new hobbies, I already lift, study and work part-time.

I don't have big withdrawal symptoms or anything apart from maybe a fucked up sleep pattern. I don't drink daily. I just get smashed every 3-4 days and drink until 7.a.m.


I'd really appreciate all advice you guys have.

Try finding a community of likeminded people. AA works for some but there are other options. Preferably in real life rather than online. You'll probably hate it but trying to control it all on your own can be impossible you need support from people who have been there/are still there with you.

But would you say it's real alcoholism that I'm experiencing? Isn't it just a moderation problem?

I have a nice circle of friends who'd do everything for me. I know I might be kind of a normie, but I just feel I need to give the world something back. And when I feel the responsibility and pressure I fail again and go crazy on the liquor.

hey stop being a little bitch and get your fucking shit together retard

JUST FUCKING DO IT

'Alcoholic' is an outdated term. There's different levels. But if it's bothering you enough that you're reaching out for help here then you have SOME degree of problem, maybe moderation is good enough, maybe not, only time and experience will tell you. As far as specific like strategies I don't know much, but there's shitloads of public resources devoted to this sort of thing, start researching online and use real trusted health sources like from doctors associations or the government, not meme-tier self-help bs.

This tbbh

Completely opposite for me. I've never touched alcohol, except this one time a long time ago.
I can't socialize. I can't talk to anybody without going into panic. I can't do anything.
I just sit in my room wait for the day to be over.

Alcohol should fix that right?

According to any and all science we know about addiction, "just getting over it" is the worst fuckin idea there is. If you're not a little bitch you'll step out of your comfort zone and get the help you need sooner rather than later and get on with your life. Rather than struggling internally and feeling the shame of failure.

hey keep telling yourself that while you're posting on here asking for help instead of just fucking getting it done

fucking beta as fuck

Lifting helped me slow down my drinking a lot because I knew if I got drunk I'd be slowing down my gains and also be more tired the next day because of being hungover

I drank everyday for around 2 years and I'd drink 10+ beers a day or almost a fifth of liquor everyday

shit made me fat and lazy and now I only drink 1 day a week and that's on Saturday night

It sounds like you hate yourself. Stop that and the drinking should control itself.

That wasn't OP. Anyway this has nothing to do with your alpha/beta/cuck memery.

Nah. Substances generally exacerbate social anxiety or mental issues. If you feel you're not a "normie", try everything in moderation.

This

When I was drinking heavily it became even more awkward to socialize when I was sober. I wouldn't even answer my phone or text messages unless I was drinking after an alcohol binge

It's a conscious choice if you want to drink, drink if not, don't. Or substitute with another drug like cannabis, if you want to make it over 40 gracefully.

Recovering alcoholic who drank round the clock every day for years here.

alcoholism can be defined as a moderation problem.


From The Big Book:
If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you. If you still think you are strong enough to beat the game alone, that is your affair. But if you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for good and all, and sincerely feel that you must have some help, we know that we have an answer for you. It never fails if you go about it with one half the zeal you have been in the habit of showing when getting another drink.

Oh yeah man after I was drinking daily and quite heavily for around 6 months I could hardly go anywhere or do anything sober because the anxiety was horrible until I had like 6 drinks

So what am i supposed to do? Stop being a pussy and just dive head first into as many social situations as possible until i literally die from a heart attack?
Shouldn't a carefully measured dose once / week be fine for your health?

What helped me alot with anxiety was slowing down to drinking once a week and working out and I got a job

drinking all the time really fucks with your ability to socialize when you're sober

OP here.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm really gona try to make a change, maybe still start something new. Just gona try to let the anxiety go through me and then disappear, it's the only way I can find out of this spiral I think.

In a way it's just so sad that so many people can handle life and drinking and I can't. But well I guess it's not very mature to be jealous of other people's life circumstances.


Pretty much the only way you can go right? You can also start professional counseling to ease some of your problems. Bad that it's coming from a hungover drinker, but you gotta be the change that you want to see. Sadly nobody's gonna pick us out of the holes we dig ourselves.

Good luck mate.

Are you a NEET? If so how do you even afford alcohol? And also if you're NEET get a job because that forces you to become a normal functioning person

You should consider visiting a psychotherapist or psychiatrist its their job to help people with problems like yours.

>Muh contribute 2society

Nothing to do with that, getting a job gets you out of the house and socializing with people. I was a NEET for 2 years and it fucked with my social skills so bad I could hardly talk to people

>Muh sit around and slowly become socially retarded

Being a NEET was a living hell after the first few months

Read pic related.

This... it literally makes any underlying mental illness worse and can propagate them. Then you are stuck in a vicious circle because you struggle even more to get work.

dunno man
I dont know if you should completely stop drinking
What i do it limit my alcohol intake to once week
Alone or not alone, just once a week. Thats how i keep myself from alcoholism

Answer probably depends on how old you are and how long you've been at it.
A lot of stuff just sorts itself out once you're past the mid-20s or past 30. Then again, it might not.

Changing your habits / daily routine / circle of friends if you drink in company might help.
Alternatively, make the commitment to never drink alone.

I stopped doing weed a couple of years ago. No conscious decision, just external circumstances changed and I wasn't too invested in it (though I enjoyed it and was a semi-regular user), so I didn't try to keep it up once I didn't have as much contact to my weed-smoking friends any more.

I drink too regularly to my liking, but it's not problematic (or so I think) yet, so I don't worry too much. Occasionally, I go for a month or so without any alcohol (typically Lent) to show myself that I can do it. Also, the first beer in a long time tastes really special.
Don't like non-alcoholic beer, so that's part of the problem.

if you really are addicted to alcohol going cold turkey can hurt you. If you really are addicted then you need to taper it off.

Ween your self off it man. Where you would normay sit and drink alcohol, instead sit and drink water. Im in the same boat as you. Currently a month clean with no sip what so ever.

OP, what worked for me was getting a physically demanding job with long hours. I literally cannot drink like a i used to and survive at work.

Now at most I have a couple drinks on the weekend if I'm lucky enough to have a day off. Used to go through a gallon of rum a week, sometimes more. I've drunk whole fifths of whiskey in one night, gone to work drunk (old job) you name it. But I just can't get away with that shit anymore

i have a bad habit with alcohol

whenever i'm going through a rough patch i just drink myself out of my life

some times it's a few days a month, some times it's the entire fucking month

I've recently abstained from drinking for a year.

A lil about me;
-no duis
-No legal trouble
-No home trouble
-No financial problems

I'd drink on the weekends and have a few during the week, but I had been doing that for a few years, I decided to give it a rest (3 months) and experience fairly mild withdrawal symptoms, I was able to work and carry on with life.

I've experienced waves of anxiety and discomfort over the past year but for the most part I felt much better than when I was drinking.


with out going to much into it, what started out as a plan to stay abstinent for 3 months has turned into me being sober of an entire year and I really want to keep this going. Honestly mate, it took me 6 months to feel normal around people drinking while I am sober, at a year I feel completly normal and socialize far more and far better than when I was drinking.

Other benefits;
>Fat loss
>Muscle gain
>Improved erectile function
>Always on top of my game
>I saved a TON OF $$$
>I've become better at making money
>my house is cleaner
>my car is cleaner
>I eat better
>Sleep is AMAZING (took me 30 days to start getting great sleep), I always feel rested, I always have energy.
>learning to be comfortable and joyous in my own skin, this is huge for me and probably my favorite benefit. Seriously, I have this inner peace now that I can't describe, I walk around the world connecting with other people knowing that everything will be okay.
>I laugh a lot, my sense of humor is much sharper.
I can go on forever, but I won't.

I know I have addictive tendencies, I also have a lot of self control and discipline and surely I could moderate, but why even bother. I don't have to think about moderating or worry about over doing it, abstinance frees up a lot of mental space and eliminates a lot of risk if you are potentially progressing to chronic alcoholism.
1/2

I'll say this last, there have been a handful of times over the course of the last year where I really wanted A drink while I was out, (friends b-day, a bachelor party, X-mas with the senpai). but fortunately I abstained and EVERYTIME (no exceptions) I was so happy about my decision come morning, when I wake up, feeling like I'm living on a cloud, so comfy, so rested, so good.

Prople know I don't drink now and I never bring it up with people who do. Even though it's really hard not to share the benefits, I first hand know how annoying it is when some sober dude is talking your face off about how wonderful life is without booze, while your drinking. Good luck, user. I know the task of stopping seems daunting, as it should, cause it is, but it would be something to be proud of and it would be something that would benefit YOU greatly. You owe it to yourself bro.
2/2

Not OP but thanks for posting that wall of text. It really is sad to think of stopping drinking is being daunting, but it's slowly fallen to that point. Thanks for the motivation, bro.

You're welcome bro, thanks for the (you). to me it isn't sad that it is that daunting, it just is. But life on the other side is so much better! Good luck m8y

Ayyyy how much time you got? 16 months sober here, not
Too many people on here seem into AA, mostly get bashed on whenever I post about working steps or sponsoring people

Just think about the calories buddy, pure empty carbs.

AA sounds awful and dumb as fuck but the gist of it I get is, it doesn't matter how awful it is because it works, and for somebody with an addiction that's all that matters no matter how corny or uncool it might seem.

You sound like a huge faggot. Not only that but you were never an alcoholic in the first place, the benefits you got from "stopping drinking" are pure placebo.

I only keep two 24 ounce beers in my place at a time. It's enough to get a decent buzz and fall asleep but I can't overdrink. Right now though I've upped it to a 24 ouncer and a 40 since it's winter break. Gonna cut back again on Sunday.

I don't understand how they could be placebo, when I feel astronomically different/better in all aspects of my life. The only thing that's changed is I'm not drinking...

And even if it is a placebo, fuck it, I like the results of this placebo.

Exercise a level of self control beyond the moment. You not only dont want to drink but you also dont want to feel like shit the next day and have to deal with all that so fuck it just do something else.

I'm a proper alcoholic, drank 10-12 beers a day for a year, drank alcohol in work and first thing in the morning. Not had any alcohol in 6 days now and feel no different.

I had to force myself to stop drinking because hangovers were literally giving me suicidial thoughts

Ive gone cold turkey - not because i ever drank very often, usually once a month or less. But alcohol is sexual for me and when drinking i get off on getting black out wasted and the same to everyone around me.

I would always end nights with girls collapsed in my bathroom and feeling like i might actually die for a week afterwards.

It just didn't feel healthy and it felt wrong getting turned on by it when i have a girlfriend. Anyway i've found it easy enough to stop the actual act of drinking - who knows if the sexual side will ever go away.

>my anecdotal evidence trumps your anecdotal evidence

I work overseas a lot. When I am sitting by myself at night in a 3rd world country with no internet or anyone to talk to I start drinking.

I wouldn't say my drinking is destructive. When I'm home I have maybe 4 beers a week. When I'm overseas its at least 4 beers a night, every night.

Stop being a bitter little fuck user.

Fuck off with that piss, give someone credit for not diving their entire life into sauce, not just the people that struggle with it.

try phenibut

One of the best moves i've ever made was to surrender to the fact that I have a problem with alcohol, stop drinking and start going to AA.
Honestly, I can do anything now that I have stopped.
Being an alcoholic is not so much how much you drink or how often. It's answered really in two questions.
1) Does your drinking cost you more than money?
2) Do you have a mental obsession about drinking?

Don't suggest him drugs that he will become heavily dependent on.
Phenibut is a curse to people with anxiety, it works great for a short time, within 3 days the body starts developing resistance and physical addiction symptoms. Use it for more than a few weeks in a row and trying to get off it will result in severe anxiety, sleeplessness and maybe even seizures.

I am not an anxious person at all, if I use phenibut for 2 days in a row I will feel mildly anxious for half a week afterwards.
The only way to properly enjoy it is use it once a week or less to avoid developing a habit tollerance and addiction. The internet is full of stories of people with extreme addiction to that stuff.

>Any Veeky Forumsizens here who have struggled with alcoholism and managed to stop? Do you have to finish drinking forever or did you learn to have moderation? If so, how?

Me here. I used to self medicate with alcohol to control my social anxiety, to the point I had a flask in my jacket at all times.

Even now, I drink to dull my intrusive thoughts, or even because I want to hurt myself. Who knows.

I always walked the razor's edge of alcoholism. but I always managed to keep it in check by stopping cold turkey for a few months when I noticed I was drinking too much.

I'm not sure, maybe It's mental, maybe I just have the opposite of an addictive personality (I've been smoking on and off for the last ten years or so, and I stop when I get bored of it).

Honestly, I have more problems stopping eating sweets.

To be honest, I say I have it under control, and maybe I even do, but the truth is, I'm probably going to be using alcohol to numb myself for the rest of my life. If it's not drinking, it's smoking or cutting.

Right now, I'm taking a mix of meds that actually help my depression, so I'm drinking a lot less.

tl;dr: try going to psychiatrist. Whether you need to stop cold turkey, or if you can eek by with still drinking depends on you, I guess. And how addicted you are.