2 days with out a drink, only 4 cigarettes over the last 2 days,

>>17486958

get a sponsor. then go hang out with them. when my roommate quit drinking he just sat around and talked to me about how hard it is not to drink for six hours at a time. it was annoying but i loved him so it was worth every annoying moment.

Dude if you make it to sobriety you will be so much better and happier. You just have to remember to never touch alcohol again. I was an alcoholic and never would have made it without my parents. I constantly made excuses when I was drinking to get drunk like its Friday and everyone drinks on Friday. The truth is I cant touch alcohol or I go back into the same bad situation I left. Finally my mind is clearer and my memory has gotten better but im still left with schizophrenia which might have been caused by my drinking. I now live at home with my parents as a high functioning schizophrenic. Thank god I didn't let it go as far as more debilitating schizophrenia or cirrhosis of the liver. You made the right choice in quitting. Now you just have to stick with it. You will get your life back if you do so.

>>17486958
Keep busy, although this doesn't work for everyone. A friend of mine says he'll quit then doubles his cigarette intake. Last time we went to see a movie he smoked twice before and three times after. I couldn't help it when I gave him a look and he said "don't judge me" as he lit up his 3rd. He's been out of a job for months and refuses to look for another job so my advice is to look for a job or look for another job or hobby, any distraction is a good one.

focus on finding something better to do
sitting around and wringing your knuckles over moderate drinking and smoking like it's heroin is not going to help you

>>17486972
>>17486972
yeah that's what I was hoping for clearer memory, feeling better in genera,l weight loss, saving money, being a better example to my children but fuuuuuck its so hard, my life is boring as fuck, drinking is all the escape I have

>>17486973
yeah id like to find something to keep busy, no jobs available in my area that id enjoy....

>>17486974
thanks....define moderate

>>17487002
not light drinking but not severe drinking

you can say the effects of the drinking aren't negligible, but they aren't dramatic

>>17487007
very well

>>17486996
go to home depot and browse the tool section or consider planting a garden or trees or something like that. look at ways to improve your home or go to the grocery store and pick out what's for dinner or go see a movie or listen to the news or just go to wall mart and look at stuff.

>>17487026
>Walmart and look at stuff
go to sams club

>>17486996
Or you could grab a cup of coffee instead of a beer. Its hard I know but find a way to stay sober. you have to never touch the stuff again. Your mind will clear up. it may take a while but you'll be better off once you do this but it has to be a no excuses situation.

>>17487037
ive just been at it soooooo fucking long, I have forgotten how to do anything else with my evenings

>>17487046
brows the internet with a cup of coffee I usually make a pot of decaff and relax looking at cabins and neat sheds, the news, and brows Craig's list and of course 4 chan.

>>17487046
or if your lucky enough to have a gaming computer play some CS go with a cup of coffee. Key is to keep yourself from drinking alcohol. If you can do that it will become less and less of an issue over time until one day you feel free of it. but every day you drink is another day lost with cognitive abilities withering away.

>>17487065
how long till you stop wanting it or stop thinking about it every evening, how long till your memory and mental sharpness come back?

>>17486958
Just let it go.
Was hardcore mode=letting alcohol fuck up my school and job and back account.
Eventually you just have to write it off as a bad thing

>>17487093
For me it took about a year of constantly being sober. the cravings for alcohol were almost constant for a while but my parents kept me sober I don't know how I would have done it without them. But you have to find a way. Now anytime I think about drinking I just remember how shitty it made me feel and it takes little to no willpower. I think this is why you hear of people in AA early on slipping up and then there are people with like12 years sobriety and so on. But you have to draw the line and say no more drinking.

>>17487100
but how? what did you do?

>>17487104
I just stopped going to the liqour store and didn't go to the beer section of grocery stores and for fuck's sake don't drink at bars

>>17487110
I go to drive thru package stores, I only dribk beer but yeah that's good advice

>>17487131
no bullshittin though it's gonna be tuff.
Just remember alcohol is a depressant.

>>17487146
ive been one sad son of a bitch the last few years despite having reasons to be happy

>>17487155
Alcohol is probably the reason why.
It's great having that taste but nobody needs any of that kinda shit to have a good time.

>>17487159
yeah the hell of it is I don't even do it to have a good time...just a part of my day

>>17487194
A hard habit to break but you can do it nigga!

I can almost taste it, I usually get started around 6:30 im feeling anxious just knowing I don't have any on hand, and I haven't slept the last 2 nights

>>17486958
Exercise, stay away from things that trigger drinking, find something else to take up time between work and sleep.

>>17487648
Currently my work consist of sitting at home with my new born child and trucking my older one to and from school......by the time the wife gets home im pretty damn on edge lol

>>17486958
Give up
There is nothing better to strive for

>>17487708
ok

I have actually come to the conclusion that no one give a fucking fuck about me maybe my oldest son, but still yet maybe I should just keep it up maybe even switch over to some hard shit and make it a full time thing, god damn it guys, I haven't drank in 2 days and I feel very fucking sad and angry, soooo if that shits a depressant and I was less sad while drinking then what the fuck, I swear I don't wish this feeling on anyone, fucking miserable son of a bitch that I grew into..

>>17487976
whatever you do don't switch over to hard stuff. ur already in enough of a pickle as is. I don't know what to tell you I was pretty dead set on getting alcohol before my parents made me quit.

>>17488015
yeah im 30 fucking years old and my parents don't give a fuck my wife doesn't give a fuck no one gives a fuck

>>17488020
well if you fail all I can tell you is you have to pick yourself up and try again. Sounds like no one is going to make you so you have to figure out what you truly want.

>>17486958
> be me. Drinking every night for 7 years. 8 cans of Stella.

OK, I'll give you all the advice I can. Most of which has been covered in other posts but I'll try and make a list.

1. Triggers
Most of us have set times and places for drinking. Mine was between 3;30pm-7pm in my office playing vidya. If I could avoid this period of time (usually because of work) then I wouldn't drink that day. You've got to stay away from the things that cause the habit.
I saw a very interesting documentary showing how drug addicts started getting high by preparing the drug and the handling the needle and spoon etc. It caused the mind to 'predict' the incoming drugs. It's a 'Pavlovs dog' response.
STAY AWAY FROM YOUR TRIGGER.

2. Alternative Drink
You are in the habit of consuming large amounts of fluid. You are in the habit of lifting that glass to your mouth. I replaced alcohol with sugar free lemonade. It's fizzy, cold, and gives your hands something to do.

3. Cravings
Unless you're a full blown alcoholic, you will probably have cravings and not DT's (Delrium Tremors) if you have DT's go to your doctor. This can kill you. The craving is a fucking bastard to overcome. But it will pass. It will get easier every day. I guarantee you will feel a thousand times better in just 14 days. Keep a journal for 2 weeks. Write down how you're feeling. Look back on it after the first week and see how much less the craving is is affecting you.

4. Gym
This was the single most important thing I did. I joined a gym again after almost 20 years. I've lost 56 pounds. I feel great. I look great. I'm normally in the gym or the steam room or sauna around my trigger times so it's a double whammy, I'm not drinking and I'm getting healthy which reinforces not drinking because I like the changes.
GET FIT.

cont...

5. Eating
Now this is going to sound odd, change your diet. Eat healthily. Take Omega 3 fish oil. I don't know what the science is behind this, my diet used to be awful. I started eating healthily and the cravings for alcohol subsided very shortly after.

6. Failure
You will fail. Giving up alcohol is very rarely a straight line to victory. There will be bumps in the road. You may go off the rails for a night, a few days, or a week. Shit happens. Remind yourself how far you've come. Congratulate yourself on doing so well this far. Don't beat yourself up. Get back on the wagon, upwards and onward to victory!

7. Hobbies
Besides the gym I found myself with a lot more time on my hands I'd usually be smashed or in a drunken stupor. I started reading some books on mindfulness and cognitive behaviour therapy. Join a library or take up a hobby that you enjoy and takes a clear head and patience. I've read more in the last year than I've read in my whole life.

8. Meditation
Yep, it works. Don't know what else to say really. I never believed in that New Age hippy shit until I tried it. Look in to Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy. Look for audio books from a guy called Prof Mark Williams. You can get them for free off amazon music.

9. Smoking
Don't try and give that up at the same time. That's going to be a big shock to the system. I gave up three years ago. Give it a few months then use the same methods for smoking. And try a vape, yeah I know they're mouth fedoras but they helped me more than patches or gum.

That's about it. 1 year sober and counting.

Best of luck bro.

you know your life will get better if you stop drinking. You know it. You ever met someone that drank that wanted to stop and didn't like intrinsically know their life would get better? just fucking do it. You know you can if you put your mind to it.

OP I am in the same spot. Today was d1 for me. Go to a meeting. thats all I am going to be focused on for the next two weeks is like 1 meeting every day.

>>17488020
I'm going to tell you some things you don't want to hear but you probably already know.

>my wife doesn't give a shit
Would you? She married a drunken bum.
What a fucking disaster this marriage is turning into. He just sits there and drinks all evening. Should I leave him? Why should I stay?

That OP, is what your wife is thinking. She loves you. She didn't marry a drunken bum. She wouldn't have married a drunken bum would she?

>My children
Can we sleep over at yours this weekend?
Oh shit. Dad is going to be drunk and embarrass me. Ermm, not this weekend.

You want your kids to be proud of you. To point you out and say "That's my dad" not trying to avoid anyone meeting you.

Yep, I've been there. It's horrible.

I want my family to look up to me and see me as a great man. I can't do that while I'm drinking.

>>17486958
read your AA book, write down some of your thoughts, work the program bro.

>>17488059
>>17488669
>>17488683
>>17488697
>>17488748
Thanks I just angrily mopped around and acted like an asshole until about 10:30 then I ate a small bowl of chili and went to sleep, but I did not end up drinking so 3 whole days in now, will have to see what today has in store thanks for the advice received so far anyone else seeing this who want to share your experience it would be greatly appreciated

>>17489069
Well done bro.

Another point to consider - MONEY

You say you're at home looking after the kids and money is tight. Work out how much you spend every month on alcohol then tell yourself you have that much money for hobbies, gym membership, books, new clothes etc etc

And maybe you could afford a babysitter and take your wife out for a date. A nice meal and cinema? And don't forget, you're not drinking so you can drive and she can unwind with a glass of wine with her meal which is probably the first time that's happened in a while!

I do this twice a week now. I put aside two 'date nights' and we go out and I drive and let my wife unwind with a glass of wine.

'Date night' sex is fucking awesome! I never realised how much she loved me or how concerned she was with my drinking. She is so proud of me it's scary.

Not drinking alcohol is fucking awesome in so many ways.

>>17489536
Thanks for the story man, sounds like life is going very well for you and you would be correct even tho we have an occasional date night she always drives because I drink a six pack on the way, and a couple during dinner and a few on the way home fun times... yes the money is a big factor.. I had some failure in my self employment and don't regularly make any money anymore...anyway thanks for sharing

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>>17486958
There's all the motivation you need to quit smoking

>>17489566
Someone came in your sink?

>>17489569
That's grade A pure lung butter my boy

>>17489587
oh yuck....ive been hacking my lungs up the last couple days since I haven't had a smoke odd