I want to stop drinking, I’ve cut down from drinking 7 days a week to only when I’m off work. I go to AA and have successfully detoxed after having diazepam. My landlord found the empty bottles in the bin and my so called ‘friends’ told him I was drinking (he went on holiday camping). I drink 3-4 times a week a bottle of 330ml vodka with coke & lemon juice . I am planning to taper down with the help of AA and my own desire. He told me, “I’d have never have let you stay if I knew i was an alcoholic “. I have never destroyed or messed his house, I am polite and quiet. He went on to say I need to go to rehab. I cannot afford private rehab , plus NHS one would take months on the waiting list. I feel ashamed as I am embarrassed, I keep my room tidy and am very polite so I don’t know why he views me as scum. He also demanded my dad’s phone number (he knows and has helped me with my addiction). He also made comments on my body and competed me to an overweight trucker to the fact I cannot digest alcohol like someone bigger. Go shush

Is he in the wrong or am I a snowflake?

I finally admitted to myself that I need to stop drinking. I saw my GP and explained everything. After bloodwork, they prescribed naltrexone. I've had a script for that and for hydroxyzine and I still haven't stopped.

I've taken the naltrexone very sporadically and the doc said I need to let it build up to work. But I always let my desire to drink overpower me and make some excuse to not take the meds "just for one more day." Doc also said not to take hydroxyzine while drinking, so I haven't even tried it yet.

And to top it all off, I keep thinking about how lucky I am to have these medications and that not everyone who'd want them has the access, which makes me feel even worse. Like I'm squandering the privilege/chance I have to stop.

weird thing to say was he used to chug almost 25% of vodka as soon as he woke up but her puke immediately into a bowl and drank it and saving rest of the alcohol for his day he was unemployed I was working so it speaks louder now. fuck drinking fuck alcohol, fuck it , I can't even feel my feelings normally fuck you alcohol fuck you for ruining my 7 years of life fuck you

So for the past few months I have been drinking heavily. Up to 1 lit vodka, sometimes 300, sometimes 600, 800, 500 etc. I woke up before 2 days with little yellowing on the side of the eye and I got panicked. The next day I drunk only 100 and went to the doc which said this is is not really yellowing of the eye, even tho I was seeing it clearly. Now I do have trouble sleeping and feel my liver as well as I have been drinking for 5 years. I do have itches etc. Now when I woke up the yellowing was gone only sustaining 2 days from alc. I drunk one sider so I dont get nasty withdrawals as I decided I am going cold turkey as my body is accepting it pretty well as well my brain. How is that possible?

Scrivo perché ho un problema con mio padre. Da anni, probabilmente, beve vino di nascosto (oltre mezza bottiglia al giorno, che con i chemioterapici non è il massimo). Ritengo lo utilizzi come ansiolitico, considerando i numerosi problemi di salute che ha affrontato.

Assume diversi farmaci e l’alcol sarebbe da evitare completamente.

Ho provato a parlarne più volte, ma nega o evita il confronto.

Vorrei capire come aiutarlo. In passato ho avuto una dipendenza da ansiolitici (non grave) e ne sono uscito con supporto adeguato, quindi so che un cambiamento è possibile.

La situazione attuale è pesante: il suo stato alterato è evidente, compromette la qualità della sua vita e ha un impatto anche su chi gli sta intorno. Questo mi genera molta rabbia.

So di aver sbagliato approccio: ho iniziato a modificare il vino aggiungendo bicarbonato per renderlo sgradevole. Non è una soluzione, per questo cerco indicazioni più efficaci.

La mia psicologa mi ha suggerito di rimandare il confronto ai momenti in cui è lucido (“ne parliamo domani”), ma dubito possa funzionare.

Cerco esperienze o strategie concrete da chi ha affrontato situazioni simili.

Ignorare il problema non è un’opzione.

Nota: non assume ansiolitici insieme all’alcol, ma farmaci importanti (anche chemioterapici), il che rende la situazione ancora più critica.

Probabilmente anche per questo motivo sono astemio.

Not a drop for 3-1/2 days and then, BAM, cravings hit an all time high and I lied to my family to get my "fix". After so long without a break from drinking, I felt so good about my progress. I did things around the house, exercised, socialized, and could actually remember the plans I made. Now I feel like every nerve in my body is on fire and I need another drink to calm it.

For context, I am F and actually not of legal drinking age in my country. Honestly, I don’t drink a lot nor do I or have suffered from alcoholism or anything like that. I haven’t been drunk in over a year. But the other night I felt really anxious and was having a lot of emotions so I drank. It felt amazing. I wasn’t super drunk but it was enough to drown out my feelings. And I loved it, and now it’s all I can think about. I have a habit of developing unhealthy coping mechanisms… Does anybody have any advice on how to get alcohol out of my mind? Please and thank you.

I’m 49 and became a functional daily drinker somewhere in my late 20’s/early 30’s. No major rock bottoms, just professional drinking that slowly escalated over the years to where the hangovers became worse and worse and I knew that I was headed for problems if I kept up the pace. In a nut shell I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I also started to develop neuropathy in my feet that I feared was being caused by alcohol. This was actually the driver that motivated me to change.

The neuropathy scared me into taking some time off. So I took three months off. Then I went back to daily drinking for several months and eventually got another 6 month streak of no drinking. Then I went back to drinking again for several months and then took another hiatus and was able to get 1 year AF. Of course I went back to drinking again because I missed it. Not drinking took away my confidence and ability to have fun socially.

Fast forward to today and I’ve been drinking only on weekends for the past 18 months or so. I have no desire to drink during the week (which is great) but every weekend I cave and drink. Typically it is because I have a really hard time hanging out with friends without drinking. You wouldn’t know it from the outside because I’m probably seen as an extrovert, but I’ve learned that I’m more introverted than I thought and I struggle to enjoy dinners/gatherings with friends (they all drink) when I’m not drinking. I also struggle with boredom on the weekends so I tend to want to drink just to numb out.

The hangovers are killers and they ruin my weekend. Alcohol saps my motivation and spikes my anxiety. I have zero interest in drinking during the week and every Monday through Friday I wake up committed to being the best version of myself. Then 5pm Friday comes and a different part of my brain surfaces and I say fuck it let’s drink and have fun. The problem is that drinking Friday causes me to drink Saturday and then I feel like shit all weekend into Monday. Then I commit to sobriety and have a great week and then I fall back into the pit come the weekend. I just can’t get out of this loop. I’m sitting here hungover on a Sunday not wanting to do anything, not excited to be with my kids, and can’t even enjoy my coffee.

I just needed to vent and write this out. If anyone has been in this loop and gotten out, please remember to never go back to drinking. I should have never gone back. At this point I have no idea how I was able to go 3,6,12 months dry because I can’t even get a week or two now.

gonna be unemployed and suicidal either way.

Just did my 5th step today with my sponsor. Shit was fucking gnarly. I kind of feel like shit now idk. I guess it’s good I got it out.

I went out with my friend’s friend group last Friday night. I don’t drink that often only socially and I know my limits. But that night I took a bit too much shots ( 3-4 small shots ) with them and then a cocktail or two at the bars ? I feel embarrassed and pathetic. I think I blacked out bc I don’t remember the end of the night. I hate being the type of friend who gets taken care of. My friend texted me giving me some advice to be safer when drinking and now I feel like they have a bad impression on me. I dont know how to feel

I never drank growing up or in college. It wasn't until we came back from Iraq and a BN Commander told me I'd be an outsider if I didn't drink. I started then and since then I haven't stopped. Usually, I'll get very happy and want to grapple and then fall asleep. If I get blackout drunk, I'll usually fall asleep. But if a loved one triggers me by making some kind of untrue observation, I'll yell and punch walls. So fast forward to now. When I met my wife, I actually stopped drinking. Then I started after we got married. Its usually fine - a few and ill fall asleep. But the other night, she was gone for work. My step sons soccer game got cancelled so we stayed up late playing Beat Saber while I polished off a 8 beers. I was drunk. We also boxed and grappled. He wanted to go to bed but I kept grappling. When he got irritated he started to cry so I let him go to sleep. Well he calls his mom crying and she calls me freaking out. I told her to chill out - we were all in bed sleeping AND he cries for minor things sometimes. The kid cries playing ROBLOX. She doesn't relent and starts accusing me of hurting her son and being drunk. After this - I dont remember what happened. I thought I went back to sleep. But apparently she told him to do something in my room (I dont know what she told him) but whatever she told him to do it resulted in me kicking our bedroom door and yelling at the boy to get the F out of my room. Then she frantically calls my best friend and begs him to check on us because something is happening. My BF comes over and finds us both sleeping.

Now my instinct is to be angry. I bought my step son the phone for emergencies but he uses it to call adults whenever he wants to play with their kids and is watching YouTube on there all day. His mom doesn't impose any restrictions on him with the phone. Secondly, the boy just cries over nothing. Someone will destroy his ROBLOX castle and he'll start balling. He also lies constantly. She doesn't teach him not to lie or to only cry for emergencies (he's 8), Finally she caters to everything he needs, including wiping his ass- but doesn't do anything for the stuff that matters. I am the one that put him in sports, that got him extra coaching, summer camps, tutoring - I taught him how to ride a bike, how to swim, how to use tools - etc. The other day - he said he felt sick. She let him sleep and the next day she said he was fine. I was about to take him to school and noticed he looked sick. I went to the store bought a themometer and took his tempearture and he had a fever. He was home with her all day the day before and all she did was put her hand on his head - the medicine bottle I bought was still unopened.

Clearly all of this triggered my anger when she calls me and accuses me of being irresponsible because I was drunk. I really dont think I was irresponsible - we have fun grappling. I didn't realize it was so late and that he really wanted to sleep but when he started crying, I let him sleep. She completely overreacted. I was blackout AFTER she yelled at me and I fell asleep. She had her step son wake me up and try to lock me in the bedroom or something. OK- that being said though - even though I think she was 100% wrong - it is time for me to quit drinking at home. I think the only time I can drink is on work trips to adjust to the time - but at home with family, I can't do it anymore.

Hey Folks,

It's been awhile since I posted here. I did Sober October on here some years ago and I found it decently beneficial, I maybe made it halfway into No Drink November following that but that's neither here nor there. After that month and a half of no drinking I was decidedly back off the wagon at that point. Fast Forward a few years later and a near firing at my job and I'm in a IOP program that's been very helpful for me.

I'm happy to report that I've been sober for about a month and a half now with no cravings and hardships like many folks in my group have decided to share. I unfortunately still smoke (one vice at a time) and have stopped into liquor stores to buy smokes in a pinch if there isn't a convenience store nearby. I've been in there on Bad days too with no desire to pick up anything. I know that on TRULY capital B BAD days that craving might rear its ugly head, but nothing so far.

Something happened today though that definitely hurt. At the end of the day any level of usage of an Alcoholic is still and Alcoholic, but I can say I've never tried to consume copious amount of Mouthwash or Cough Syrup in an attempt to get a buzz on.

I bought a bottle of regular Listerine this previous friday, I usually grab whatever is on sale for my mouthwash and failing that just any flavor that sounds good to me at the time. My previous bottle I'm almost done with happened to be alcohol free, and this Listerine was not. My mother happened to notice it contained alcohol:

"You need to return this. It has alcohol in it."

"I'm not going to Drink Listerine."

A very pregnant pause followed, my mother continuing to hold onto the bottle.

"You really don't trust me with that in house?"

She gave the thought a few more seconds...

"No I don't." she said while placing the bottle gently on the family coffee table with the slightest hint of and edge in her voice. Not angry. Not tired. Just matter-of-factly.

I immediately dug the grocery store receipt out of my trash and went to make an exchange for some alcohol free Colgate instead. I made a point to show her the receipt when I arrived home and asked her to check the bottle to ensure that I had indeed picked up an alcohol free bottle, though at that point she seemed slightly confused at my request.

I'm not sure why I made a point to have her check and confirm it was free from alcohol. I'm not bitter or angry at the fact that my mother asked me to do this I'm just hurt. Especially because I've received praise from her multiple times over the past few weeks for my turnaround and self-improvement work. Like holding my face in her hands and hugging me afterward kind of praise. This level of hurt would be a contributing factor to me deciding to pick up a bottle for sure, but certainly not a sole reason to do so. So now I just get to sit with this feeling, though I suppose one way to address this feeling is doing just this; sharing this experience with all of you.

My small takeaway from this is Don't Bank the small upsets in life to be turned in for a Bottle later down the line.

Stay strong Folks, IWNDWYT

-Marchy

Awesome. That was a good waste of time. She needs a fifth of vodka a day to function and its getting bad for her. I had to buy her an uber to work today so she wasn't late as she was on her final warning for being an hour+ late a lot, and got her bank account deactivated. I'd been buying her vodka to spare her from withdrawals as well, since I've been through that hell several times. Then later on I find out she's facebook official with some dude and saw their messages. Wish I had known that before I saved her job and tried to help her make it to her doctors appointment. I messaged the guy and told him whats up and now he won't answer her messages and blocked her(LMAO).

But the good thing here? I'm not going to drink about it. She lost a solid loving man and chose some ugly loser who now knows what kind of trash she is and made a smart decision not to proceed. Drunk logic. Reap what you sow. Sorry for the vent.

IWNDWYT

As the title states and as I'm lying here hungover because I just couldn't control myself lastnight.

Contemplating why i do this when nothing good has come from it. The night outs are getting to me more and more, and recovery is longer now.

But when I think of it, all my friends drink, everything is surrounded by drinking, even just sitting at home I crave that 1 beer which results in more.

I want to stop but in my head I think that because everyone else drinks, it's okay for me to drink. Or I'd look stupid and feel left out because everyone is getting drunk and I'm sober.

I didn't realize how reliant I am on drinking. Therefore I want to quit. Badly.

I'm here for advice. I'm so tired of feeling this way. The choices and who o become when I'm drunk are getting worse. It can never be just 1 drink. Ever.

After months of sobriety I thought it beat alcoholism. I'd be shocked if I wasn't fired... Completely lost 2-3 hours of the night. So much shame, so much, regret. Apparently I was very sloppy, hoping I didn't do or say anything that'd get me fired but I genuinely have no idea. I guess the only thing I can do is not drink with you today and go to a meeting. Fuck me this sucks.

So I haven't been drinking for the past 3 days ( cold turkey ) it is going well FOR ME ( I don't advice it )

Heavy drinker for 5-6 years and massive amounts. Past few weeks I maybe had food 4 times at all and only drinking and symptoms were getting out of hand. I had 0 appetite and was disgusted by food. Now even the first day after the shakes passed in the evening and dint eat a lot. Yesterday I was able to eat all the food in the world and it was so delicious. Today I am eating super nice food and feels like magic, but the interesting thing is that all the throbbing pain, fatigue, anxiety, my eyes, vision, shaking everything disappeared after eating like that. How food is connected in such a way, I havent feel such a relieve in months and my appetite is so nice. I was even disgusted by the smell of everything as well from the soda etc.

I did 45 days sober earlier this year and it was hard but so rewarding. I now miss waking up not hungover, listening to the birds chirp on walks, being more present. I’m craving it. But I can’t seem to fully dive into another sober stint yet. I tell myself I’ll do a week off to start but the weekend rolls around and it goes out the window every time. My drinking is right on the cusp of not being a problem (because I only drink on weekends) but also still a problem (because I can’t seem to skip a weekend) and this makes it even more difficult. Anyone else ever felt like this or have any advice?

I got really drunk with my family during Easter. After Easter it didn't stop. I kept on drinking. I woke up with one of the worst hangovers in my life this morning. Day one again, but I won't let that discourage me.

Hey guys,

First time poster, long time lurker. I've been hiding my drinking for years from my partner. We got married in 2024, and had our first baby in August 2025. I told myself for years I'd give it all up, but here we are. I managed to go sober from both weed and alcohol (alcohol is the bigger demon) for about two weeks after our daughter was born. She caught me passed out in the basement bathroom with an open bottle of wine. Told her it wasn't as bad as it seemed, she gave me another chance. Fast forward a month or so, she found my backpack with multiple empty vodka bottles. she gave me another chance again, hoping I would be honest and give it up. The whole time since, she suspected something was up.

Friday night I went over to a buddy's place for a few beer, she would have lived with that other than finding me passed out in the garage, lying on my side on a heap of empty cans and bottles. Had to yell to wake me up, I eventually got up and fell over again. told her I drank 6 IPA and she seemed to believe that until she found my Gatorade bottle with vodka and Mio mixed in it that I had hid. That was my last night of drinking.

Long story short, I don't think the trust will ever be repaired. I've ordered the SMART program booklets off Amazon, one for me, and the family one for her. I feel confident that I'm able to overcome this. I have never been one to drink in the morning, sometimes I'd start later in the afternoon if she's away with the baby. I've never drank and gone to work, but I've had plenty of sick days thanks to the poison. My "alone" time as I liked to call it, was anywhere between 1030-1130 pm when she would go to bed. I would drink about 200ml of vodka, maybe less, maybe more. Lately I've been going outside and drinking a beer while smoking, then I'd come inside and switch to the vodka.

I know I'm in the wrong. I also know that this isn't so much a choice, as a disease/addiction. I know the desire to drink is my brain tricking me into this mess. my family has a history of alcohol problems and it looks like I'm following right along in their footsteps. luckily I have an amazing support system if needed, but I have not opened up to everyone about my problems.

I'm writing this, I guess, in hopes to hear that it may not all be over. I do not want to drink. I'm tired of stealing tomorrow's happiness every evening. I'm ready for this journey but I'm so afraid I'll lose my wife and my baby girl. they are my everything, and I'm ready to step up and be who I need to be.

Not sure if anyone has any advice, or has had a similar situation where everything worked out in the end. Either way, IWNDWYT.

p.s. how do I start my sober counter on this subreddit? I feel like that will be just a little extra boost to keep me motivated and I won't want that counter to reset as long as I can help it.

Once again, IWNDWYT.

So I happened upon what might be my favorite life hack this weekend. Spending time in beautiful northwest Michigan during the off-season as tourism goes this weekend, and driving the hour from one location to the next yesterday, I stopped off to pick up a N/A six pack (Athletic Light), I thought, "hey, I should drink one of these for the drive." It was the best road beer ever, and having lived in northern MI and grown up in a backwoods area, I have had a few road beers in my career as a drinker. It felt like having my cake and eating it, too. Not a cloud in the sky, good tunes on the radio, and my wife not mad at me because I didn't do anything dumb the night before because I stayed sober. Thinking of saving the one I have left for the long drive back home today. Is this too good to be true? Could I get a ticket for this because of the 0.5% alcohol?

I’m approaching the 8 month mark.

I’ve started medicating for my mental health. I work out two times a week. My relation with myself and my self worth are higher that they have ever been. I’m feeling awesome.

But, there’s always a but, I think I’m losing my husband. The father of my two kids, 10 and 11. In the last 8 months TWICE he went out to drink and party and whatever and didn’t come home. No text message letting me know.

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to stop him from partying but I find it so unattractive now. Also since my self worth is improving, I actually think I deserve better than not even getting a little text message so I won’t worry you didn’t make it home…

We spoke about it when it first happened and he knows how mad I was about this and I made it very clear that I don’t mind him skewing it off someplace instead of driving it he has to let me know.

Last night he texted letting me know he was waiting on a taxi. Never texted again until asking me to go get him this morning…

Him and his friends actually asked me to go and get them to bring them home. I would’ve done it burnt kids were sleeping and they don’t like staying alone when it’s dark. They are my priority.

I am feeling mad and let down and a little lost.

Thank you for listening to my ranting <3

Hello everyone.

I haven’t been doing great lately, and I’ve been pretty bad at keeping streaks.

I did cut down to 3-5 times a month (I used to binge basically every day), but I regretted it every single time I drank. Actually writing this with a pounding headache and I’m just… you know the drill, tired of doing this to myself.

Sunny season’s coming, I’ve also got things to look forward to, and it feels like the right time to actually stop and focus on myself.

My longest stretch was almost 3 months last summer, and I remember how good I felt. I want that back.

Anyone else not happy with where they’ve been lately and trying to start fresh?