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Stop drinking so much (alcohol)


 

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How to stop drinking so much (alcohol) by Alli

"Being a bartender, I used to ALWAYS have a drink in my hand and love every minute of it; now that I've seen and felt the alternative, though, I like being clean much better."

How I did it: I didn't even notice I had started drinking so much throughout the time I was working as a bartender. What really slapped me in the face and woke me up was when my oldest friends almost completely stopped hanging out with me, and I flunked out of a very important semester in college due to being trashed and/or hungover all the time. The only people who I was hanging out with were typical "party people;" drinking, fighting, smoking, dealing and doing drugs, ad infinitum. And for a while, I slipped into this lifestyle as well. I was making $200 a night and spending $300 on booze. I would end up at random parties and if I made it home at all, it would be at ridiculous hours - 5:30 am, 7 am, take your pick. I felt tired and irritable all the time, on the edge; the only solution was to drink more to make the bad feelings go away.
Long story short, I got b*tchslapped back into reality by a number of things I won't go into now, and words cannot describe how thankful I am for that. I cleaned up my act - stopped the drugs, cut back on the drinking, cut back on the smoking. It definitely wasn't the easiest time I've had, but luckily I have awesome friends who helped me out tremendously. I quit my job at the bar and got away from all the people who were putting such negative influences on me. I re-enrolled in school and passed the new semester with straight A's. My old friends began hanging out with me again. These days, I've stopped smoking completely, I'm back in school (and passing!), and only enjoy drinking in moderation, usually only on special occasions. Averaged out, I would say I probably have one drink over the course of about two weeks now.
And coming from someone who's been there, I can say without a doubt I am not even remotely tempted to go back to those ways. I've lost around 15 pounds, I have my friends back, I feel GREAT... the list of benefits of being clean goes on and on and on.

Lessons & tips:

  • Don't underestimate the power of good friends. If they're truly good friends, they will do anything they can to help you through your difficulties.
  • On your way to cleaning up, drink LOTS of water! Good ol' H20 is the best thing for your body when you're trying to flush out all those nasty toxins. Alcohol severely dehydrates your body's cells; drink as much water as you can and you'll feel oodles better. Carry a gallong jug around with you if you have to.
  • Don't go totally cold turkey. It never works and you'll just end up in the same place again further down the road. Step yourself down gradually.

Resources: All my rockstar friends and family. Oh, and the ridiculous amounts of water I drank on my road to detox.


2 people found this helpful
 

Jan 26, 2009, 09:11AM PST | 1 comment | 4 cheers



More "How I Did It" stories

dreamz

It took me
6 months
It made me
worth it

How I did it: Moved, change of scenery and priorities. I really just became to busy to deal with hang overs and wasted nights. Kind of like the fast food thing, you just have to change your every day habits and rituals.  Read how I did it…

May 14, 03:07PM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer


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    elineshanti Fuck the president, whos the queen?

    Quitting 2 months ago

    This summer i finally realised that i was taking it way too far so me and a friend promised ourselves not to drink till christmas. its so damn hard but i’ll make it!

    Sep 10, 07:46AM PDT | 1 cheer | 0 comments


    elineshanti Fuck the president, whos the queen?

    Untitled 8 months ago

    I love to drink when i go out. Just give me a drink and i’ll drink it. But lately its gotten me into trouble. I lost some good (male) friends because of my drinking habits. I used to be drunk, carried around on the streets every weekend. And if possible i’d also drink on weekdays. Im just 16 years old and i do know im sensitive for adictions. but just when i get one drink, i just cant stop!

    Mar 17, 10:05AM PDT | 0 comments


    midnightlover61 is at school!

    I want to stop drinking so much alcohol!! 8 months ago

    Oh man, ever since i started dating my boyfriend who is 25 ( i am 19), I drink sooo much because I know he can buy it for me and we have nothing better to do on weekends…and when we go hang out with his friends they are always drinking so pretty much it is there, it is free and it is entertaiment. I need to stop because I am young and i can get addicted since my dad was an alcoholic…i would like to drink every now and then but not every weekend! Ah! It is going to be hard!

    Mar 11, 11:22AM PDT | 0 comments


    pocketfulofsunshine is feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic.

    Untitled 9 months ago

    i pretty much have to give up on this one… i can’t think of a weekend last two months that i haven’t been drinking friday AND saturday too… god i suck. and i’m gonna drink on that tonight.

    Feb 21, 08:59AM PST | 0 comments


    pocketfulofsunshine is feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic.

    Untitled 10 months ago

    uh i’m starting tomorrow. even today. last two weeks were just.. ugh. it was my winter vacation so you know, we drank every single night and i’m just exhausted of it now. i can’t even look at something with alcohol. so no more till at least the end of the first semester, which is january 23th. yeppppp

    Jan 04, 2009, 12:17PM PST | 0 comments


    arctek

    Untitled 16 months ago

    I kind of ran out of money, started getting sick and my girlfriend made me promise to stop drinking so much or she’d dump me.

    One good thing about drinking though – I won a Jim Beam pool table so I made my money back haha.

    Jul 29, 2008, 04:14AM PDT | 0 comments


    DNLAW getting ready for work!!

    I HAVE SLOWED DOWN 19 months ago

    I think I was drinking to stop thinking about all the bad things i had to deal with in my life, but i decide to only drink on the weekends instead of the weekdays!!

    Apr 20, 2008, 03:30PM PDT | 1 cheer | 2 comments


    luvlynamazing layin down the soundtrack to my life

    no more bottles of beer on the wall...... 19 months ago

    when they all came crashing down… decided it would be better to replace it with NA beverages… lost a hangover…gained a soul…

    Apr 20, 2008, 02:50PM PDT | 1 cheer | 1 comment


    ificouldonly

    Alcohol alcohol! 21 months ago

    I am not the kind of alcoholic that is letting it ruin my life (too bad anyway). My biggest issues with it are financial and health reasons and I know I need to quit or at least cut back. I enjoy my life when I drink but I have found that I enjoy my life equally, if not more, when I don’t drink. I get up earlier, go outside, do physical activities (which I love but cannott do w/a terrible hangover). I think my biggest problem is that I LOVE the bar or drinking atmosphere. Of course it is to a certain extent because countless times the night has ended in some kind of negative thing happening (fights, empty wallets, other people getting hurt). Anyway, I’ll add more later. I’m to hungover to do anything…. Go figure!

    Mar 02, 2008, 03:01PM PST | 0 comments


    linquida

    forever? 2 years ago

    well i think ive done this, i havent even had enough to get a buzz in over 4 months. hopefully this will last through summer

    Apr 15, 2007, 08:50AM PDT | 1 cheer | 1 comment


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