What the hell was I thinking!!

I've fallen off the wagon already.
 
I've barely touched alcohol in over 3 years due to having the 2 kids close together. I used to love a glass of wine or 2 at the weekend but now can't really imagine having alcohol again. Maybe in the summer, if the kids allow, i'll have a glass out in the garden and see how I get on (weather permitting)
 
Found this thread while browsing TP... went to speak to the other half and we are both going to do this. Thanks to the OP
 
Ive done "dry january" a couple of times. I thought I would see staggering improvements in my health and sleep patterns and energy levels etc but didnt. So now I just try and moderate my intake (and fail) all year round really. Most normal working weeks I'll either have nothing at all from sunday to thursday or if I do, one double whisky or brandy. Measured in a proper measure thing not guessed. At the weekend, as said by someone elsewhere, after a boring week I like to unwind and have a bottle of wine on friday night and again saturday. I guess thats still binge drinking as it adds up to more than 21 units for the week.
Worth doing the dry January thing though just to show you can do it.
I'll be easing off and half heartedly trying the fasting diet thing.
 
I think you're supposed to start with "Hi I'm Andy and I'm an alcoholic" not 'what the hell was I thinking... :D
 
posiview said:
First Friday night without a drink since........:thinking: Nope, can't remember.

Going well so far.....:runaway::runaway::runaway:
Click to expand...
Same here. Even popped out for a meal and had soft drinks !
 
When I paused my drinking (well, drunking) some years ago, I was very surprised to find that mornings look so much better through unslitted eyes and without a headache. Hope all those who are doing the dry January thing are doing OK and not missing it too much.
 
It'll be a breeze(r!) 3 more weeks of not needing to worry the morning after!
 
Nod said:
When I paused my drinking (well, drunking) some years ago, I was very surprised to find that mornings look so much better through unslitted eyes and without a headache. Hope all those who are doing the dry January thing are doing OK and not missing it too much.
Click to expand...

Yip. I know what you mean. My drinking days were long ago, and I never had really bad hangovers, but I do remember the mornings when I felt lethargic and not quite firing on all cylinders. I don't miss them!
 
if you can't go 30 days without drinking alcohol you have a problem lol
 
The wife asked me if I was going to be a dryathlete this month..... I laughed at her!

It's very rare I'll go out to drink, I'll normally have a couple of drinks on a Friday and/or Saturday night at home and on a monthly basis I'm probably well under the recommended number of units (although I know that guideline is a little arbetary)

Add to that I'm on-call one week in 4 which means I can't drink.

What I did say though is given our first child's due on 7th July, June's going to be a pretty dry month ;)
 
Alright, let's up the challenge and make it the rest of the month without even considering drinking alcohol ;) EASY!

Well it is for me anyway, even as a student. Hate the taste of the stuff and hate what it does to people!

He doesn't class himself as an alcoholic, but my dad rarely goes a day without a drink. He's the main reason I don't drink myself. If someone suggested he didn't drink for a whole month, I don't even know what would happen! In fact I do, he'd probably say he can easily do it and fail the next day :LOL:
 
No alcohol now for a couple of days (didn't get started abstinence until a couple if days after new years day due to stretched out birthday celebrations) but in the few days that I have been dry I have seen a massive change......proper sleep (see other thread), better concentration and a more progressive day... the other side effect I have noticed is how exhausted I am.... I could sleep on a clothes line (which is good due to for e mentioned insomnia) ....onwards and upwards as they say
 
I have also gone dry this month to prove to myself that I can. I know damned well that I've been overdoing it for years as a coping mechanism both during my wife's illness and since she passed away. For me this isn't about sponsorship or a cause (which are both valid and worthy reasons in themselves) but a personal step forward in my mental well-being; proof that there is a light at the end of the tunnel which isn't an express train coming the other way.

So, whatever your reasons for going dry this month, I salute you and together we can avoid :beer:
 
Oh, the irony.

Jackie, my wife, said to me, "we've been having a laugh at work today about you!". I asked her why and she said, "I've not known you be poorly once since we got married (13 years ago)".

I've been off work since Tuesday.

She said she doesn't think there is a relationship between Dry January and me being I'll.

Bit of a coincidence though :)

Cheers.
 
Don't know about anyone else but I am so tired....never felt like this when I was on the drink......We usually had a bottle with our evening meal everyday.......I wonder its this part of "drying out"....my wife is also doing three dry month and she is the exact same......... anyone else with side effects.... ;)
 
Sleeping like a baby.
























I wake up hungry every 3 hours and pee myself!
 
OK, I have read this thread and I can feel for the people who have also read it with fear, astonishment, shame for themselves and disbelief as to why someone would want to suddenly deprive themselves of a beer or three for one month in the year.

I have not stopped drinking for January. Tonight I have been to the pub and had two and a half pints of Dartmoor IPA and at this moment in time I have a glass of wine in front of me; it is the third one since coming back from the pub. Tomorrow, I shall do something siimilar but this time with the wife (tonight she is at work). On Sunday, we have a bottle of Piper Heidsieck champagne which we will drink before dinner and then probably crack open a bottle of wine or two. On Monday I shall revert to having a couple of beers and a Glayva before bed and so on and so forth. I have not been drunk, fallen over or been sick for many years. I do not drink and drive and can easily go out for an evening where I am the driver and not touch a drop.

I like my drink. I also do not condemn those that don't drink.

This post is for those that feel they can't say they like a drink; cheers people.

I am sixty this year, I have drunk all my life to a greater or lesser extent and may well die of an alcohol related disease, it is not something I relish. However I gave up smoking after partaking for 23 years and have been smoke free for nearly 27 years. At my age I also can't be bothered too much with sex either, having seen it, done it, or at the very least got the T shirt. So my only vices are wine and beer. I'm not proud nor am I ashamed. It is something I do.

I hope this post has at least made a few here feel less guilty.

And for those giving up for January and for those that have given up for good, I salute you...it will just not be me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No-one has any reason to feel guilty about drinking, unless it's causing problems. Even then, I'd suggest that being honest with yourself, and taking steps to deal with it is more appropriate than guilt.

I drank, and sometimes drank too much, when I was a lot younger but eventually gave up. There was no Road to Damascus flash of insight, Dry January, or catastrophic hangover involved, and my drinking wasn't a problem. It just dawned on me that I didn't actually enjoy it, and stopped. I've never missed it at all.

Now, I turned 60 last year so I'm slightly older than you, but I haven't reached the point where I consider "my age" relevant to anything I want to do, and I certainly haven't become indifferent to sex..................
 
Good on you Martin!

I haven't had a drink yet this year, not because I feel I have a problem but because I'm hoping that a brown envelope will drop through the letterbox soon with my driving license in it. (Medical reason, not DD!) I stopped my occasional glass of cider of an evening for a couple of reasons, mainly in support of the OP but also to see if it helped me sleep through rather than waking at 4am for a pee (better than NOT waking up but still peeing, I'm sure but sleeping through and not needing to pee is even better!)

I'm but a nipper at 50 and still have the same drive that I had at 20. Not bad, especially since I've been with the same lady for well over 25 years and still feel the same way about her as I did all those years ago!
 
Nod said:
I'm but a nipper at 50 and still have the same drive that I had at 20. Not bad, especially since I've been with the same lady for well over 25 years and still feel the same way about her as I did all those years ago!
Click to expand...

Good man. We've been married for 37 years next month, and more or less together since we were 18. My wife turns 60 tomorrow and I feel exactly the way you do. It's been a lot of fun, a bit of pain, and I'd happily do it all again; but it's not over yet!
 
Last edited:
Looks like we've both got keepers!
 
I am one of those who fell at the first fence :eek:but what I have learnt is......that I do not need to drink to excess.....nor do I need alcohol throughout the week( we used to have a bottle of wine every evening and sometimes more).....I take my hat off to those who have survived so far.... plus we have more money in our pockets:D
 
Last edited:
Some heartfelt comments made by folk.

Been dry all January. Have not missed it. Which, I have to say, did surprise me...I was Beginning to wonder about my intake of alcohol.

Will I be drinking on Saturday. Damn right I will :)

If I'm honest, I don't need drink, but I rather enjoy the experience of getting drunk. I guess it's that simple.

Cheers to those who drink and don't drink (y)
 
I've been dry, although I have had a couple of helpings of dishes such as Boeuf Bourgignon and a dollop of Brandy butter on a surplus xmas pud. Gone are the days of me drinking to get drunk; these days, I drink because I enjoy the taste rather than the effects. TBH, I can't remember the last time I drank to get drunk. Probably some time in the '80s! Of course, I've ended up drunk a few times since then but these days, I far prefer waking with a fresh mouth, a clear head and no wondering WTF I did last night...
 
I cut down in January quite a lot, I do enjoy beer and wine to drink. I am not one of these that will binge on any old crap either....I can go into a pub and if there are no beers or ciders considered worthy of a taste I leave and find somewhere else...or don't bother. I won't substitute with a soft drink as that is a bigger rip off than holiday prices during the summer.
 
I have a lot of un-drunk alcohol in my drinks cupboard. Some bottles of whisky have been there for at least 15 years.
It is not that I never drink but that I rarely even think about it. But I might have a pint of beer at half time when I go to a rugby match.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top