Suddenly had the urge to quit alcohol !!

I just quit too, last weekend I blacked out and have literally NO memory of getting into a vehicle with a friend of mine. I ended up putting the vehicle in a ditch, luckily no one was hurt but the shit box vehicle was a write off. I know people who have died drinking and driving so I've felt like a huge bag of shit ever since. The worst part is that I literally have zero memory of getting into the vehicle, or the 15-20 minutes of driving before we crashed. Very scary, coulda been dead or killed someone.

That's just it.. I don't miss it.. I don't think "OK be strong, don't cave" I just think... nothing! That's the weird bit... Something 'happened' in our heads the night of the 17th / 18th lol ... I'm not complaining.. perhaps we fell asleep with the TV on and it was someone talking about giving up? Our 'Eco' TV switches off if no one changes channels after a couple of hours so might well be that!?

I worked out that we have saved £100 since the 18th.... £100 !!! We would spend about £9 a day and more when we have people round... we didn't buy any alcohol for our Sunday BBQ. that alone would have set us back about £20

Where the HELL did that £100 come from?... £400 a month? We don't HAVE £400 a month to spend on liquid... I tell you I am in shock and also embarrassed.. £400 a month could FEED a family very very well..

it is disgusting how one can 'slip' into a bad habit and not see the reality of it.

I am ashamed of myself (ourselves) but also not going to beat myself (us) up about it too much as now I can 'see' I won't carry on... THAT would be shameful.. to see the reality yet carry on regardless.

To whomever said alcohol is a drug.. it is... yet it's so socially acceptable... why? No one ever killed anyone after smoking too many Marlborough... no one ever beat their wife up after a few too many cigarettes... yet cigarettes are seen as the devil... but alcohol isn't?.... yet...

If only I could also get my husband to give up smoking.. that would save another £10 a week and save his health!

Tiny steps I guess though...

oh my goodness... ((hug)) what a scary situation to find yourself in and thank goodness no one was hurt.

I guess that was your wake-up call... I've had mornings where I've woken up and thought "OH my goodness did I REALLY do that last night!"

it's not nice...

Well here's to all of us giving up!! Here's to the future!!!

Mishka xxx

Yep those Sodas will bite you after awhile, but if it helps to fool your body while you are quitting, then its worth the effort. It will be so easy to quit the Sodas after you've been sober for a few months. In fact once you've Slain the Dragon of Alcohol, quitting anything in the future is a breeze. Main thing here, is fooling your body while you loose the Monkey on your Back. What ever works for you is excellent. In my case, I just loved the way Alcohol burned when I drank it, so the Sodas exhibited the same feeling for me. It may be something else for others. I was just giving an example. Also, the better sleeping habits are great. Im so jealous. It's still a chore for me (Sleeping that is) and I quit cold turkey back in 1991. Count those days, then weeks, then months, then just forget about it. BTW I didnt go to AA or use a 12 step program. I was just tired of drinking and feeling like crap 24/7. I started at age 7 and quit at age 31. So if I can do it anyone can. Ever drink Vanila Flavoring just because you were out of Alcohol??? Well that should tell you all you need to know about how far the Monkey had sunk his claws into my soul. I'll never regret that day 3/19/91 when I finally gave up and said I couldnt handle it anymore.

Just my two cents.



Of course edited for typos and sentence structure

Last Edited by Phase-Sphere on 03/26/2012 03:57 PM

Sorry missed this earlier... yes I don't plan to drink more than a litre a week... I just have a glass at my 'wine' time to give me the sugar hit.. or rather my body the sugar hit.. mind you I guess I could just NOT do that... I'm only doing it as a nurse friend suggested it lmao...

I'll ditch the coke tonight and see... Thanks xx

(((Phase))) xxx

It sounds to me like you're just over it. What you've said about being shocked at how much money you spent on alcohol is something I've heard from many recovering addicts and alcoholics. I've heard heroin addicts tell me that they used 5-8 bags a day, at $10 each that comes out to a significant amount of money every month and year.

The truth about addiction recovery is that it will never be effective unless the person is truly ready to stop. This is why rehabs are so ineffective for many people, they simply aren't ready to stop.

Alcoholics differentiate between being "dry" and being "sober". Someone who is dry simply isn't drinking right now, they're white knuckling their way through a week or two. Sober people, on the other hand, have no desire to go back to their addiction.

Take that money you used to spend on alcohol and save for a great vacation!

Thank you AC666... I shall have a 'stay'cation... I have in laws arriving from AR next month so will spend the saved money on lots of food and BBQ bits and trips to take them to see London etc... yay!

I am giving up too :)

Good for you! we can all kick each other up the bottom if we start to hear the % calling us again! lol

That is awesome. Thank you.

Had THE weirdest dream last night... about aliens.. only.. I knew they weren't really and was trying to warn everyone not to believe what they were seeing.. lol ... woke up with a killer 'hangover' type head... blah

So do I after 18 beers.

This happened to my sister, she just thought to herself 'I don't feel like smoking anymore' and just stopped. With no cravings and no thoughts of smoking ever again.

Hi Mishka,

Nice to read your post about giving up alcohol... well done, I hope you manage to kick it all together.

I'm in a very similar position to you really, with regards to giving up the alco-hoo-hol. I've been drinking around 24 years also, was in the army when I was younger and we used to drink like crazy people in there.. was nuts; from what I can remember. There was one time in the Caribbean, when I was drinking 'jungle juice' on a beach. The last thing I remember was the local passing me this drink, me saying "is it strong?" ... I then woke up 3 days later in the hospital!!

For the last 15 years I've drunk beer every day, in the evening.... usually 4-5 cans or bottles. It just became the routine of what I did. Every now and then I'd 'go out' and get super-drunk; then suffer with a major life-shattering hangover the next day.

At the start of March 2012 I suddenly got the urge to give up, right out of the blue.. like you. I woke up one morning and said to myself 'OK enough, I'm giving up the beer'. Since then I have not drunk a single drop of alcohol, or even had the urge to go out and buy any... its unbelievable. If you said to me I'd be able to do it last year I would have laughed at you for sure... as I was really dependent on the stuff.

So, what has changed to make this possible, I have no idea?! Of all the years for it to happen, I think this year is a good time in my life, so perhaps it just was 'the right time'. Anyhow I'm not too worried about the 'how' just that I have managed to finally do something that I've been considering for years.

Since giving up I have more energy, money and my health is starting to improve I think. I had very black bags around my eyes and these are now receding. I'm interested to know more about how the body recovers after kicking alcohol and if there are any other considerations I should be aware of.

Longish post, but seeing your topic and reading your words has been a happy coincidence (is there such a thing) and so I thought I would share my own recent experience of this also.

Hopefully this means something great is going to happen this year (besides not dying from alcohol poisoning).

// WildStyle

If you like different herbal teas, try drinking those instead of cola, and only ever use natural honey to sweeten it.

I am sure if try different herbal teas that you will find at least one that you not only can tolerate the flavor of but, you will actually enjoy it!


As to you original post, I too basically woke up one day (several years ago) and simply didn't want anything with alcohol in it anymore. No reason came to mind, just a simple disinterest in it. Still, I bought a 12 pack of beer for St. Patrick's Day a few weeks later and it sat in the fridge for almost 2 years before I tossed it in the garbage. (now you know how often I look in my "crisper drawer"!)

Be healthy, be happy!

How odd! But then I guess with a website containing so many users SOMEONE else would also feel the same.. seems a few of us have 'woken up' to the reality that our personal drinking habits were no good. My biggest shame is spending money my CHILDREN should have been using... I feel rancid thinking about it.

If you can find some get some MILK THISTLE.. it is very good at helping the liver push out the toxins... also hot showers / baths or saunas help too.
I wouldn't do that until about week two after giving up though as otherwise it will rid your body too fast of the toxins and cause cravings.

Omega 3,6 and 9 fish oils are good for the brain side of things... help lube up the cogs that have gone clunk over the years. lmao

My husband went to a 'do' last night. They serve free wine with the meal there and I was sure he would come home and say he had a glass or three.. I was totally shocked when he said he had stuck to cola all night.
This is NOT like him... not like me either..

I agree the 'how' isn't important but it baffles me how my husband and I could go from alcohol 'dependent' to alcohol free without even trying?

Mishka xx

I did this 8 years ago (although I was wanting to give up) The smell of cigarettes on people makes me gag now lol

Ha ha!! eww good job you didn't have salad in there.. blergh.

The cola kinda... fizzes as it goes down and has that sugar hit.. I only drank 2 wine glasses of it last night so I am not too bothered about the cola... Hubby can drink gallons of it though but I'd rather he drank that than the Mountain Dew he could drown in if he could! lol horrid stuff...

Herbal tea is my day time drink... Chamomile or Strawberry and I don't sweeten... mmmm I fancy a cup now!

Mishka xx

I've thrown some green love out to those kind people above xx

OP, I quit the way you did. No AA, no big struggle, even though I drank too much DAILY. No cravings- just bad habits like stopping going to the liquor store (where I knew everyone!) I believe God took it away from me, as my life truly had become unmanageable.

I never looked back, never counted the days (now over 10 years) that I've been sober. I took it as a HUGE gift, and I know never to take another drink. I couldn't stop at one back then, and I don't ever want to see what would happen if I had one. Life is incredibly so much better, SO much better.

Yes I don't trust myself to have even one... I think at the moment I don't crave or desire or miss it.. but if I have just one glass I know I will want the whole bottle or two... Then I don't know if I would ever have this *'miracle' happen again where I just simply... no not I.. where myself AND my husband both simultaneously stopped wanting alcohol.

Mishka xx

*I am not a Christian (he is) but miracle is the only word I can find to describe the event.. sorry.

It is a gift, miracle, however you choose to see it. You're right not to fool yourself that it surely would happen again. Keep the gift :)

Wow, good for you, I have heard of this before, but if you have ever watched celebrity re-hab you know how difficult quitting can be.

Use the extra money to treat yourself to some extra healthy foods that you might have found too expensive before--organic fruits and vegetables.

As with the 100th monkey syndrome I believe we will be seeing more of this in the future.

People do have a herd/flock mentality.

Interesting article that popped up today in the media, kind of related to this topic:

"'Gray Line' Between Almost and Full-Blown Alcoholism

One key criterion that distinguishes almost alcoholics from alcoholics is the development of tolerance, meaning an alcoholic has to drink more to experience the same effect. Often, however, it's more of "a gray line," Doyle said."

[link to gma.yahoo.com]

I think that's what I used to be... 'almost-alcoholic'.

Sure there are lots of people almost!

// WildStyle

Last Edited by WildStyle on 03/27/2012 11:06 AM

Ahh see I was told that if you HAVE to have a drink, then you are dependent and therefore an alcoholic.

So even if you only have 1 glass of wine a night... but get jittery and anxious if you miss it and HAVE to have it then you are classed as dependent on it.

*shrug* That's what they say in the UK anyway! lol

I WOULD get anxious if I didn't have a bottle of wine waiting in the house for dinner time... I'd walk in pouring rain to go get it too...

It's so liberating NOT feeling that need... lmao!

Mishka xx

I quit drinking alcohol last fall. Just don't like it anymore... doesn't really agree with my body. Though once in a while I will, but no urges whatsoever.

I prefer my green stuffs.

Ive heard of 2 types.

Dependent - Cant do without it on a daily basis.

Abusive - Doesnt drink every day but binges into total oblivion.

Moderation is fine, if you can pull it off. Once the Black-Outs start, its time to end it.

1 glass is not enough, and 3 bottles is too many. I've been a binge drinker for years. I gave it up 2 years ago.