control my drinking

It is quite an eye opener when you are one of the more sober people at a party.

I don’t want to be that girl anymore.

I don’t want to stop drinking but right now my alcohol intake is ridiculous. And I can’t handle it and I don’t know when to stop.

This is a big one for me because it affects other goals. I could be more productive in other aspects if I drank less, so it seems like a great place to start.

I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time, that I’d like to control my drinking. I drink in a lot of different contexts (e.g., with friends at parties or happy hour, after a long day to mellow down, when I’m bored or stressed), so I definitely use alcohol in social situations as well as to self-medicate.

I’ve had some negative consequences from my alcohol use; stories beyond what I would comfortably recount here. Such events have helped me to understand my limits in social contexts, but don’t normally relate to my personal use. I don’t want alcohol to affect my daily routine or my ability to cope with personal problems, so it is due time to control my drinking. If I put it off much longer, I’ll have to make a goal to stop drinking altogether. No fun!

Step 1: I will compartmentalize and limit my drinking into appropriate contexts. From here, I’ll be better able to examine my drinking habits in different situations. Let the horse trading begin…

• Invited to celebrate with family, friends, coworkers
• Social events like camping , concerts, vacation

• When Alone
• When Bored
• After Coming home from a drinking occasion
• When Dealing with normal stress (e.g., work, relationships)

I’ll keep track of my success and re-evaluate my progress monthly.

I do something stupid every time I drink. The things I do have got increasingly more stupid over the past year, and I am spending money I don’t have on alcohol. I want to be able to have a couple drinks with friends when we go out; just to loosen up and be talkative. But still in control and able to sober up in a timely fashion so I can drive myself home if I have to. No more stupid decisions for me. Only have one body and life… I want to be around for a long time and not make dumb decisions that would make my life worse or threaten others. Good luck to everyone.

Good luck everybody. great eye openers. Another weekend and I have yet another thick head.

I am going to TREAT MYSELF to a detox period. My plans this week are:

1. Put any booze in the house in a box in the loft
2. minimize drinking when I go out (I know I can do that as I never drink and drive)
3. Keep a drink diary
4. not buy anymore booze this week

Its a start point. Good luck to everybody else out there.

GYW

I want to reduce my alcohol intake to save money, lose weight, and keep my liver healthy. Probably a realistic way for me to start is to not drink at home after dinner. My pattern was to have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, and then other drinks later while watching TV or a movie.

Just by posting this I hope to have more motivation to accomplish this. Wish me luck!

i have a calendar on the wall that my aunt made (she makes one every year as xmas presents). i’ve never ever used them before, but this time i tacked it up and started figuring things out.

one of the things i’ve started to mark down is when i get drunk. (because let’s face it – there is no such thing as only 1 or 2 drinks… binge or nothing!)

i just write “booze” or “b” on that day, with no actual goal or punishment or anything.

i’ve found that noticing is half the battle. there it is, on the wall, for all to see (ie: my partner as well). three to four times a week is a lot more than i’ve been admitting to myself (all along, i’ve been insisting that i’ve been getting better at this!)...

so yeah, i’ve automatically started to plan ahead and decide in advance when i’m gonna go buy a bottle of wine (or two). also, i find myself saying: hey look, i’ve gone two days! let’s try three next week.

it’s low pressure. it’s good. no rules, but still happening.

this weekend was a celebration of a job change for me. i social-drank and that was awesome… i also drank at home with movies and books, but i somehow felt that it was “okay”.

i think the only way it will be “okay” is if i stop now that the weekend is over. goal: no private drinking this week.

wish me luck!

pro’s for quitting:
- takes away the need to always make a decision whenever a possible drinking situations arises… saying NO is way easier to do than having to deliberate every single time
- best solution for people with addictions (which i had/have)
- best for my body
- best for my pocketbook

BUT in the end, why do i still only want to reduce?

a lot has to do with how i drink.
i am a PRIVATE DRINKER. that means that i do a lot of drinking alone, and avoid social situations and my partner in favour of a bottle of wine and a movie. there are many reasons why i got into this habit, but it has become quite damaging to my health, my relationship, my friendships, and my life in general.

i want to stop drinking at home alone. i want to stop needing booze to relax, to enjoy a film, to deal with any of my emotions.

going out and having only one or two drinks is easy for me, because then i just want to leave early, go home, and cuddle up with more booze and a good tv show.

anyways. i want to switch my habits. i want to drink socially, as most normal people do… i think the average for a canadian woman is supposed to be 2 drinks 4 times a week. that seems so manageable, if only i could quit my private habits!

so that is what i am working on, and have been working on for the past year or so.

hope this makes sense!

i’ll be brief on this one…
- alcohol abuse for 15 years
- diagnosed with alcohol addiction last year when i finally went for help
- still struggling with it all
- quitting is what i SHOULD do… reduction is definitely harder and less desirable in the long run, but i don’t need to tell you how hard quitting completely is when you just aren’t ready

so yes. reduction. big time. hard.

BUT getting easier! it’s been about a year since i made the first few steps towards facing my problems. it’s painful, hard, and takes a lot of falling down and getting back up.

that said, it gets easier and easier to make the better choice these days. still not all the way to “normal drinker” but on the road.

high fives and hugs to the rest of you trying this too!

I need to try harder at this. I always end up drinking too much. On the weekend me and my friend drank a 1.14l of tequila and half a 26er. Shit. That’s the 2nd liter of tequila in a week not to mention whatever else. Ouch! :(