Going Teetotal

[invergowrie arab]

On 09/02/2022 at 10:53, Cardinal Richelieu said:

I worked my way through most of them in the last few months. The range in my local shops is shite, but in the supermarket it's much better. 

• Heineken: Like drinking a bottle of chemicals. 1/5
• Stella Artois: Not as bad as Heinken but still nothing to write home about. Does actually taste of Stella though. 2/5
• Brewdog: The one that isn't Nanny State. Not bad, but at £4.50 for 4 cans, they can whistle if they think I'm paying that regularly. 3/5.
• Estrella: Again, can't remember the name. Estrella is/was my favourite beer, so they had a lot to live up to, but they only partly managed it. 3/5.
• Bavaria: Not an alcoholic beer I ever drank, but this one is really quite nice. Cheap as chips in Tesco as well (50p per bottle/can). 4/5
• Erdinger: Probably the nicest / closest to real beer. 5/5

Freedamm  is the Estrella one. Probably  my favourite as they seem to the only ones bothered that beer should taste like hops and not just malt.

[velo army]

Massive props to @Shandon Par and @Richey Edwards for their efforts. I've read this thread from start to finish and I do feel a bit let down by some of the pretty dismissive responses. For some people giving up alcohol is a walk in the park. For others it's a herculean struggle to go a few days without it.

I tend to drink once a week these days, but I do it solo, necking about 5 pints in quick succession. I've been an anti-social drinker for years now, but I'm doing it much less than I did about 3 years ago, where I'd go to the pub four times a week and drink 5 or 6 pints a time. 

 I gave it up for Lent earlier in the year and was impressed that I managed that. I'd fuckin love to give it up for good. I know why I do it, it's a self soothe whenever I feel unwanted feelings coming up, and am working on alternative strategies.

I'll confess to being a total coffee nonce in the pub though. Love a wee machiatto.

 

 

 

 

[Cardinal Richelieu]

3 minutes ago, velo army said:

Massive props to @Shandon Par and @Richey Edwards for their efforts. I've read this thread from start to finish and I do feel a bit let down by some of the pretty dismissive responses. For some people giving up alcohol is a walk in the park. For others it's a herculean struggle to go a few days without it.

I tend to drink once a week these days, but I do it solo, necking about 5 pints in quick succession. I've been an anti-social drinker for years now, but I'm doing it much less than I did about 3 years ago, where I'd go to the pub four times a week and drink 5 or 6 pints a time. 

 I gave it up for Lent earlier in the year and was impressed that I managed that. I'd fuckin love to give it up for good. I know why I do it, it's a self soothe whenever I feel unwanted feelings coming up, and am working on alternative strategies.

I'll confess to being a total coffee nonce in the pub though. Love a wee machiatto.

 

Good for you for cutting back, but do you mean ponce rather than nonce? 

[Jacksgranda]

5 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said:

Good for you for cutting back, but do you mean ponce rather than nonce? 

 

11 minutes ago, velo army said:

Massive props to @Shandon Par and @Richey Edwards for their efforts. I've read this thread from start to finish and I do feel a bit let down by some of the pretty dismissive responses. For some people giving up alcohol is a walk in the park. For others it's a herculean struggle to go a few days without it.

I tend to drink once a week these days, but I do it solo, necking about 5 pints in quick succession. I've been an anti-social drinker for years now, but I'm doing it much less than I did about 3 years ago, where I'd go to the pub four times a week and drink 5 or 6 pints a time. 

 I gave it up for Lent earlier in the year and was impressed that I managed that. I'd fuckin love to give it up for good. I know why I do it, it's a self soothe whenever I feel unwanted feelings coming up, and am working on alternative strategies.

I'll confess to being a total coffee nonce in the pub though. Love a wee machiatto.

 

 

 

 

Well, he does say a "wee machiatto"...

[Ross.]

On 09/02/2022 at 15:19, Shandon Par said:

I must be doing it wrong as since stopping drinking I’ve put on a couple of stone. Used to wake up and do a Bateman-esque routine of skipping and moisturising. Good way to burn off the general fear/paranoia/cold sweat. 

I think I perhaps got a bit lucky that me stopping was brought on by the missus falling pregnant. The wee man was born at the start of the first lock down here, and being home saved me 2 hours a day in commuting, which, combined with the wee man’s sleeping pattern left me plenty of free time to start running again. Ended up losing a stone and a bit, which I have since put back on, in part because I love biscuits, but also because I’ve been hammering the gym 4/5 nights a week and doing more weights than cardio. Fair to say I wouldn’t be doing that if I’d kept my previous lifestyle going.

[Gaz]

On 09/02/2022 at 10:38, scottsdad said:

Genuine question - are there any good non alcoholic beers? I tried Tennants Zero and it was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted. 

I very rarely drink but as I enjoy the taste of beer I have tried quite a few.

I'm actually a huge fan of the Bavaria non-alcoholic beer you get in Home Bargains. My wife bought it for me last year on a whim and it's actually really nice.

[Shandon Par]

37 minutes ago, velo army said:

Massive props to @Shandon Par and @Richey Edwards for their efforts. I've read this thread from start to finish and I do feel a bit let down by some of the pretty dismissive responses. For some people giving up alcohol is a walk in the park. For others it's a herculean struggle to go a few days without it.

I tend to drink once a week these days, but I do it solo, necking about 5 pints in quick succession. I've been an anti-social drinker for years now, but I'm doing it much less than I did about 3 years ago, where I'd go to the pub four times a week and drink 5 or 6 pints a time. 

 I gave it up for Lent earlier in the year and was impressed that I managed that. I'd fuckin love to give it up for good. I know why I do it, it's a self soothe whenever I feel unwanted feelings coming up, and am working on alternative strategies.

I'll confess to being a total coffee nonce in the pub though. Love a wee machiatto.

 

 

 

 

What maybe worked for me was studying giving up. Russel Brand’s book on addiction was really effective. It’s a re-hash of the 12 step programme and I didn’t follow all of it but certain things in the book painfully resonated with me. Allen Carr’s Easy Way to… books also helped (as well as stopping me smoking). The thought of never being able to smoke, drink or carry out whatever other vices you have ever again can be terrifying and send folk into a dark place. 
 

The books that gently/subtly unpick your way of thinking and subvert your attitude to your chosen vice really can work. Hard thing to describe - more of a cognitive behavioural approach rather than willpower. 
 

ETA.. 

A stop smoking clinic I was at.. the boy said “imagine an alien came to earth and saw you smoking. He’d be back on his spaceship telling his mates that he saw this wee fanny putting a stick in his mouth and setting fire to it”. It’s a less glamorous image than the cool rock star or Marlboro man on his horse. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Shandon Par

[jessmagic]

5 years since I have had a drink.

Growing up out every weekend - generally out Thursday to Sunday. Beers for Sunday breakfast and as much beak and sweeties as I could take and other substances. Was good fun at the time but seriously lucky nothing really bad happened. 

Can't believe I ever did, couldn't think of anything more boring now. Nothing duller then someone who's life begins and ends with drink, nothing more embarrassing then someone who trys to get everyone as drunk as them. Hate the way Scottish culture is so saturated in drink. 

Big drinks corporations have a lot to answer for with regards making the lifestyle sexy and adventurous. Sickening. 

Pass me a cup of tea and those digestives please. 

[scottsdad]

Following on from @Shandon Par, changing behaviour is a key thing. I'm not working for the next few days and in the past this would have simply meant nightly drinking ("I'm not driving in the morning..." often the first thought).

Whilst I have cut down I do get a feeling that it would be nice and normal to drink tonight. It is tempting. 

I work best by routine though. I drink only on specific nights of the week (and even then it is optional). Thursday is not a drinking day. So I won't be having any tonight - but there is quite a powerful temptation to simply say "f**k it" and have a few pints.

[velo army]

1 hour ago, Shandon Par said:

What maybe worked for me was studying giving up. Russel Brand’s book on addiction was really effective. It’s a re-hash of the 12 step programme and I didn’t follow all of it but certain things in the book painfully resonated with me. Allen Carr’s Easy Way to… books also helped (as well as stopping me smoking). The thought of never being able to smoke, drink or carry out whatever other vices you have ever again can be terrifying and send folk into a dark place. 
 

The books that gently/subtly unpick your way of thinking and subvert your attitude to your chosen vice really can work. Hard thing to describe - more of a cognitive behavioural approach rather than willpower. 
 

ETA.. 

A stop smoking clinic I was at.. the boy said “imagine an alien came to earth and saw you smoking. He’d be back on his spaceship telling his mates that he saw this wee fanny putting a stick in his mouth and setting fire to it”. It’s a less glamorous image than the cool rock star or Marlboro man on his horse. 

Aye tbh I've done the same in that I've read a lot about it and doing so has given me a broader view. I'm glad you mentioned Brand as he's a huge admirer of Gabor Mate and his approach to addiction. My own therapeutic journey around it is going down the EMDR and somatic experiencing route. Drinking is just part of a larger pattern of emotional avoidance (see also social media, coffee, relationships, work etc......I dare say that applies to almost everyone and as Dr Mate says, we live in a society of addicts) so I'm not focussing purely on drinking, but what it represents and what I'm avoiding.

Anyway, I'll save all that for my memoirs. 

Cheers for the tips.

[welshbairn]

I tried Allen Carr for stopping smoking years ago, but one of the first things he says is don't think about stopping until you've finished the book, so I'm still on chapter 3.

[energyzone]

It's the rubbish sleep after drinking that prevents me from doing it. Occasionally on the weekend I'll have a couple with my friends who all live nearby, but I'm never in a pub these days. The only time I'll drink to excess is on a works night out, which are rare. I'll sometimes buy a case of beer because I do actually enjoy the taste, but more often than not it will take me weeks to get through it.

I have nothing against drinking, or those who do it regularly, but I much prefer a good 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep [emoji16]