How I did it. stopdrinking

Hi everyone. People ask me how I quit drinking (once they swallow the initial shock that I will no longer drink all their beer). And while I give them a vague idea, here's what worked for me:

1. I tapered down over the course of three weeks. I did not suffer from shakes or anything but I forgave myself over my initial three weeks while I tried to learn the habit of NOT drinking. Truth be told, over that 20+ days I drank maybe six times. Three of them to excess. That's about a 7:2 ratio, down from a 90% rate.

2. I changed my eating habits. When I drank I often binge ate. Let's not sugar coat this. I would mix dinner rolls with week old gravy mixed with potato chips and cheese. The drunk feast. But slowly during that three weeks of taper down I ate more fruits. Carrots. Pineapple. Cantaloupe (fucking love cantaloupe). I bought some plastic containers to cut up fruits which I would feast on whenever I got hungry between meals. It became my Sunday ritual to cut up and put my weekly grub snacks into containers. I dig doing that.

3. I stopped socializing for a time. I blamed it on work. It's easier than not going to work because you've been socializing. Your true friends understand. Those friends who just want to keep the party going are no fucking good for your recovery any way. Fuck them.

4. I started weighing myself. It gave me something else to concentrate on.

5. I started writing here and there. It gave me something else to concentrate on.

6. I started really working on my house. The list. We all have one. I fixed wiring problems. I put up the electric drying rack in the laundry room which sat in the closet for over a year that my wife bought. I caulked all the baseboards and windows. I painted a few rooms that needed it. It gave me something else to concentrate on.

7. I started reading before bed. Not on a computer. NOT on a computer. The internet is destroying concentration. A book in your hand with no option to click out and check Facebook or Pornhub provides relaxing relief. Try it for a week. You'll be glad you did.

8. I stopped thinking about drinking. Even when my mind went there I would stop thinking about it. Like a car wreck I drove by. Don't want to be reminded of those images.

And before you know it, it was six months. SIX months! God damn it that felt good. It finally felt like the real me came back. I had more energy. I was less puffy. I had wider interests. I began to think positively about the future. I bought a new home. We moved. New adventure. Work got better. And my fucking clothes fit again.

YOU CAN DO THIS. But create a plan. Nothing goes off without a plan. You can't stumble into recovery. And this place has been wonderful with support and kindness.

Best wishes to you all.

EDIT: Yes, someone PM'd me on this. Fancy-Drinking is what I call it. It's that time at the end of the day when I needed to unwind and relax. What I did was went to the grocery and bought a bunch of non-alcoholic drinks (Black Cherry Fresca, Coke, San Pelligrino, ICE water diet, etc.). I kept these drinks nice and chilled in my refrigerator and would pour them into a tall glass at the end of the day and slowly sip. My moment of daily contemplation. Yes, I still fancy-drink. I know some of you will laugh but it helps me. That moment each day is mine to reflect on everything, from not drinking to what else I need to do on my goals list. Or, just enjoy the outside with a cool drink in my hand and take stock of the beautiful day I now see sober.

Submitted May 22, 2017 at 10:29PM by StarbuckPirate http://ift.tt/2qcLhTH stopdrinking