How do I stop drinking every night? “Go on a walk” or “try to hit the gym” isn’t what I’m looking for.

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I was a 1-3 drinks every night drinker and have been working on significantly reducing this over the last six months. A couple things I did that have been successful:

Giving myself a drinking budget. As an example:
Four nights I could have two drinks
One night 3 drinks
Two nights I would have no drinks.

Then I started tweaking that to three nights no drinking, etc.

I bought a bunch of fancy herbal caffeine free teas and have started an evening ritual around having a cup. It’s helped by substituting a comforting beverage with another.

I’ve started ordering club soda with bitters and a twist as my social drink.

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I hear you. It’s hard. Every day starts with - I won’t drink tonight and ends with drinking again.

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I quit, cold turkey. Just stopped drinking.
I didn’t intend to quit for ever, but like you OP I wanted to make a lifestyle change.
I won’t lie, it’s was tough the first few days/weeks. But I soon got over it, started to do other things, re engage with people and yes, even workout occasionally. The surprise for me was just how much better I started to feel mentally and physically in a relatively short period of time, my life overall improved significantly. The plan was to give up for a month, but 3 years have passed (very quickly) and I’ve still not had a drink. No idea if I’ll start again, I occasionally miss it, but dining out is sooo much cheaper now. Hardest thing has been trying to explain why I stopped, people are a cynical bunch.

likeuplifting

Please try an AA meeting. No need to say anything there if you don’t want. Just listen. Hear what others say, how they feel, and how / why they drank. You might hear something that makes you want to come back. And just maybe, for that one day, you won’t want to drink.

That was me 4.5 years ago. Haven’t had a drink since, by only focusing on today and identifying with others in AA.

Message me if you want meeting suggestions etc.

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Ditto for DMing. I’m in NYC if you want to meet up or need suggestions

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One day at a time. I won't drink right now, turns into I don't drink tonight, turns into I won't drink this week

Everyone is different but I found substitution worked well for me: when I wanted a drink I did something else in that exact moment. Over time the impulse became weaker.

It's really really hard though.

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Well, you have to do just that. Break out of your routine by doing something else to fill your time that’s a hard left turn from what you’ve been doing. Something that will get your mind occupied entirely from the norm, gym, library, movie, etc. Also, I won’t drink with you today if that helps you at all.

likefunny

Saying yes to drinking means saying no to other things. Think of the things you could do instead of drinking. Maybe more time with family? With your partner? Time to do that passion project? Time to watch your favorite series?

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I just did this. Very similar situation. Go to sleep early. Work out if you need to tire yourself out. You really just need to kill a few hours between getting off work and going to bed. Get up early and get stuff done. You’ll feel great about yourself and it will feed the desire to stop drinking. Eventually, that will overtake the desire to drink. Seriously just take it one day at a time and reward yourself for minor accomplishments like not drinking for one day. Everyone above is correct. You got this.

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Not sure if your question is about social drinking, or if you feel you have an addiction? If its the former, I always find myself drinking way less when I have a healthy eating or fitness goal. When you get out running in Central Park on a saturday morning, youll realize there is a whole world of people out there who don’t get wasted on Friday nights.

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Cbd really really helps. It’s just like Xanax but not addictive and takes away that urge to drink k

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Join one of the sober bowls, the people there will be able to give you some good advice. If you think you have a problem, you won’t be able to solve it alone or through sheer self-will.

Try checking out an AA meeting. You don’t have to commit to anything, just go to one full meeting and maybe you’ll hear something that helps even for a day. I did that almost a year ago, and I haven’t had a drink since. I’m also much happier and living a life I never thought was possible. Wishing you all the best. It gets better from here.

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Don’t focus on the symptoms, focus on the cause. And the context. I’ve had periods where I drank a lot every night (to let steam out from a very high pressure and stressful job”.). When my circumstances changed my drinking stopped without even having to do something about it or without me even missing it.

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I started doing tea. Every time I wanted alcohol I would drink tea instead. Or apple cider and honey. Or soda water and bitters. Or anything you can get in your glass that isn’t booze. Shit I need to put a kettle on

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Same! And it’s really helping. 🍵

Turmeric & ginger tea going right now.

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Why did you start drinking? Loneliness, boredom, social, likes the way it tastes or makes you feel? Maybe by looking at it that way, you can find another way to replace or remove your urge to drink.

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve got to find connection in something/someone else. The bottle starts becoming the one thing you can rely on, and even that’s a lie. Because the bottle will turn on you too.

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It’s either drinking or working out. There’s no in between for me on the weekdays. I sure as hell get thirsty after a long day at work, but a crazy good run instead makes me feel pure, clean, and I sleep well.

Also, the next day is so much better!

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Read “Dry” by Augustan Burroughs

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Did it start with the new job/project or it’s something that has been happening for some time? Try to introduce habits that can replace the old one; for example, when I’m stressed, I like to bake

I had to switch it up because it was daily wine time after work and it was temporarily easing the stress/drama of the day but then it started wearing on me.

Dr put me on a cleanse, no drinking on week 2 and along with extra clean eating. It’s helping with my energy/overall physically. I Try to throw in a few mins of Pilates during the week and there’s always weed.
Dr didn’t say I couldn’t so that’s the other end of trying to balance I guess. This has been recent my path and you can choose to do so many things for your own.

The bottom line is self care and the drinks aren’t always the best self care. Make time to treat yo self! See a weekly movie, take yourself out for an incredible meal, spend time with people who energize you and support you. Then intermittently have a drink here and there.

Adulting is hard a combination of so many things make it a little easier so find your combo anything that shifts your energy and has you reaching for more than a cocktail.

You got this!😉

One day at a time. Can start by limiting how many drinks you have and then start cutting back on how often you have them. It takes a lot of self control, also surrounding yourself with people/activities where you don’t feel a pressure to drink may help. My main motivator was challenging myself to go out to dinner and not order a drink and being happily surprised at how much cheaper the bill was without drinks. Getting creative with mocktails is also a great idea.

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