No Drinking Thread (1 Year Challenge)

I went from drinking about a half gallon of liquor a week to zero. I struggled somewhat in 2024 to be completely alcohol free. I maybe drank 2 gallons of liquor the entire year, the amount I'd usually go through in about a month. Not bad. So far in 2025 not a drop.

However, I've made a committment to not be a "quitter," but a "controller." For me this means drinking "ritualistically" and by a planned out schedule. My next scheduled drinking binge is for Thanksgiving eve and day and Christmas eve and day 2025 and will be comprised of $80 bottles of 15 year old single malt scotch so as to avoid any adverse hangover effects. Really looking forward to it.

In the interim, my life is so much better without daily/weekly/monthly alcohol use. I feel 100% more healthy and energized and my finances have dramatically improved as well.

I praise God everyday for taking away my compulsion to drink (and smoke), I know others are not so fortunate and must abstain completely. May God bless everyone here on their road to recovery.
 
Tippy said:
I did not drink alcohol in 2023.

Of all my vices, this is the one where I can most clearly see the negative effects. For me it wasn't the physical so much as the psychological. The craving/obsession with alcohol became honestly the focal point of my life - the only thing I would think about to the exclusion of all else. And of course when in a constant foggy hungover state I was never able to make long term plans or be practical. I still struggle with the latter sober but at least I'm at the starting blocks for such things rather than completely unable.
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I should probably remember this. Especially cos in 2023 I made a lot of positive changes in other areas that were probably linked to this in ways I can't fully fathom.
 
Tippy said:
I'm back to controlled drinking at the moment. No more than 2-3 beers in a 'session.' It's obviously quite hard to keep in check and probably not worth it though there are moments where the relief is pleasant.

I'll probably return to total abstinence again soon.
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It's 2 months later I've been drinking daily and in escalating amounts.

Gonnta hit an AA meeting today.

The key is to stop WITHOUT living out some grey experience of vegetable health. Cos I think without the spikes and buzz of alcohol highs life is so boring.

Yeah being hungover sucks but all the replacement addictions (often sugar and caffeine or online dopamine spikes) are worse in their own way.

I start to see all of modern life as one big addiction and the only solution I can see is to turn my back on it and live in a forest somewhere.

Failing that, I can't see anyway to not be some kind of addict which is how I rationalize my drinking currently.
 
Tippy said:
It's 2 months later I've been drinking daily and in escalating amounts.

Gonnta hit an AA meeting today.

The key is to stop WITHOUT living out some grey experience of vegetable health. Cos I think without the spikes and buzz of alcohol highs life is so boring.

Yeah being hungover sucks but all the replacement addictions (often sugar and caffeine or online dopamine spikes) are worse in their own way.

I start to see all of modern life as one big addiction and the only solution I can see is to turn my back on it and live in a forest somewhere.

Failing that, I can't see anyway to not be some kind of addict which is how I rationalize my drinking currently.
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It's unbelievably hard man I understand.

You stop the alcohol then you crave sugar you pack on weight feel crappy about that then the mood swings make you question yourself then people are going to be stand offish with you so you think what's the point being this neurotic sober guy I can handle it I'll just drink sparkling soda water or maybe one beer at that party and all of a sudden it's two weeks later...

And then you blame yourself for all that time and ideas wasted. It's ok man, you're not alone.
 
Tippy said:
I start to see all of modern life as one big addiction and the only solution I can see is to turn my back on it and live in a forest somewhere.
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For me living in the forest is a very important part of addiction free healthy living, but a bigger part is having intense hobbies. The most important ones for me are playing guitar, surfing, and growing herbs and vegetables. Everytime I want a drink I pick up the guitar instead. Even if you've never played, the guitar is worth picking up and starting a journey with. Most people with mediocre coordination can get really good in 2 to 4 years with a 1 hour lesson per week coupled with 3 hours of practice each week. If you love music and always wanted to play it's a great way to get your passions directed away from alcohol and towards something healthy.

If music isn't your thing then I'd say find something that you can really dive deep into and get obsessed with... filmmaking/photography, woodworking (furniture making, building tiny homes, etc.), restoring 1970's muscle cars or 1980's Toyota 4Runners, electronics repair (restoring 1970's stereo systems and turntables, etc.). Anything to get your attention off of drinking. As it has been said before, "Replace an unhealthy habit with a healthy habit."

May God bless you and protect you from a desire to drink. As you stated clearly, your life vastly improves when you abstain from alcohol and so may God grant you the strength to do just that.
 
Douglas Quaid said:
I've had to quit alcohol several times and know how difficult and lonely it can feel. For anyone struggling, just know you're not alone and you will be able to let it go too. You don't need it to relax, have fun, be social or confident. You have to make the decision to just let it go. A sober life is a gift from God and will set you free.
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Except it certainly DOES help one to relax and be social. And also it isn't necessarily freeing to stop drinking. In my experience, it just led other addictions to replace it. Often ones that were worse.

Getting an obsession is cool but a lot of time even that's exhausting I think because there is always going to be an element of ego investment or self-criticism involved. Eventually I just want to turn all the voices in my head off. That's probably why I drink cos it's the only thing that really does that.
 
RedLagoon said:
It's unbelievably hard man I understand.

You stop the alcohol then you crave sugar you pack on weight feel crappy about that then the mood swings make you question yourself then people are going to be stand offish with you so you think what's the point being this neurotic sober guy I can handle it I'll just drink sparkling soda water or maybe one beer at that party and all of a sudden it's two weeks later...

And then you blame yourself for all that time and ideas wasted. It's ok man, you're not alone.
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Good to know man. Yeah it's brutal.

But at AA I can't really buy into this idea that if I just quit drinking everything will be better. There's just something to those alcohol infused highs in some way, almost a mystical way, I think it is somehow keeping me authentically me. Is this the addiction talking? Or does the alcohol induced detachment from reality keep us in touch with a core part of the self that is often bludgeoned to death. I don't know.
 
Tippy said:
Except it certainly DOES help one to relax and be social. And also it isn't necessarily freeing to stop drinking. In my experience, it just led other addictions to replace it. Often ones that were worse.
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I understand where you're coming from because I used to think this way too. I don't agree with it at all anymore, but a person has to legitimately want to stop drinking to understand it. The thought of drinking to relax or be social seems horrible. It's chasing an unnecessary high that makes the night worse, the next day worse, the week worse, etc.

Quitting alcohol has been one of the most freeing things in my life.
 
Tippy said:
Good to know man. Yeah it's brutal.

But at AA I can't really buy into this idea that if I just quit drinking everything will be better. There's just something to those alcohol infused highs in some way, almost a mystical way, I think it is somehow keeping me authentically me. Is this the addiction talking? Or does the alcohol induced detachment from reality keep us in touch with a core part of the self that is often bludgeoned to death. I don't know.
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As an outsider I can say that yes it is the addiction talking. But your latter statement may be true for yourself as well if you are on some level repressing emotions or anxiety using the alcohol.

As a reality check I can tell you that the vices you cite as 'worse in their own way' (sugar/caffeine/internet addiction) are all far less deleterious to your health than alcoholism, though they are of course bad and you don't want to substitute one for the other.

My own addiction struggles have historically come from weed and porn rather than alcohol but I can tell you that when I use those things I am 100% using them as a coping mechanism for problems in my life or psyche that I am unable or unwilling to face.

The only things that have helped me are 1) staying as busy as possible with work and interpersonal relationships, and more importantly 2) confessing regularly to my priest and praying to Christ for strength when I feel overwhelmed by temptation. I still backslide but there is an observable gulf of difference between the periods of time when I am confessing and taking communion regularly, and the times when I don't out of despondency or unwillingness to address my vices.

Good luck with your struggle brother.
 
Douglas Quaid said:
I understand where you're coming from because I used to think this way too. I don't agree with it at all anymore, but a person has to legitimately want to stop drinking to understand it. The thought of drinking to relax or be social seems horrible. It's chasing an unnecessary high that makes the night worse, the next day worse, the week worse, etc.

Quitting alcohol has been one of the most freeing things in my life.
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I mean, I've been sober 5 years. Relapsed for a year. Then sober again I think for 2 years. Then sober for a few months and pretty much relapsed again. I've seen both sides of this coin and yeah I get it ...sobriety is great for cloistering yourself in a room alone to learn some skill. Is that actual life though? I get that such things can be important but I think getting out of your head (including skill building!) has value too.

So I know what it's like to be sober and one thing I completely disagree with is the point you made that drinking doesn't help you be social. Man, it just does. At least for me. I don't want to be around people long sober. I just drag myself through group hangs feeling awkward and uncomfortable. Drunk? I'll be with the exact same people but sharing various jokes/opinion and stories and hours can pass like minutes. Especially socialising with colleagues. And if you don't drink and they drink there's always this sense that you're not giving yourself up to the 'letting go' of the social/work mask which drinking seems partially about (and of course the latter aspect also creates huge issues if you decide to do shots or drink liquour with colleagues).

It has a lot of downsides but the social hang aspect is key.
 
Iakobos said:
As an outsider I can say that yes it is the addiction talking. But your latter statement may be true for yourself as well if you are on some level repressing emotions or anxiety using the alcohol.
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Of course I am doing that. I can say this after having extended sober periods as well (where I was also doing therapy and exercise and all this stuff you're 'supposed to do') is that I don't really like being conscious much sober and I do like (for brief periods) the highs induced by alcohol.

Sober living just feels like enduring existence and tolerating misery. The lows of alcohol and the health problems do pretty much negate the positives but I in some ways I do think for those few days or weeks or whatever before it all escalates it IS a better life in many ways. I just wish I could 'ride the lightning' better and not become a weaselly litle addict loser so fast.
 
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