Quitting Alcohol

[nwcogreene]

A sober mind can only lead to a more sharp mind and better thoughts.

 

[Yoder]

I think the problem is that most people don’t realize THEY have a problem. I’ve told people that I don’t drink and had them say “that’s a shame that you can’t handle it” while drinking several bottles of wine a week and acting like that’s the way to live life.

I’ve also had coworkers tell me I’m being rude because I won’t drink a drink that they brought me.

All of this is after meetings where mental health is discussed to death. Then there’s an open bar afterword. The whole thing just frustrates me to no end. I doubt I will ever get over it. I don’t like peer pressure with anything no matter what it is.

Those people are messed up. I don't have anyone that is that aggressive about it. Just every once in a while someone will offer and it's no big deal. I agree that a lot of people have a problem with alcohol and don't realize, I know I was the same way. I took many years for me to realize you don't have to be blackout drunk every night to have a problem.

 

[rclouse79]

Not mine, but I thought it was funny.

 

[stisdale]

Some good quotes I’ve come across over the past 5 years 1 month 19 days sober:

All addictions share, among others, two primary qualities: One - they embody repetition without progress. Two - they produce incapacity as a payoff
Steven Pressfield - TURNING PRO

“Like a dog returns to his vomit, a fool returns to his folly.”
Mishka Shubaly

“Every time you wake up after drinking, you are physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and financially worse off than if you had not taken the drug in the first place.”

“The reason you must tackle your addiction, no matter how moderate it may seem, or whether it be socially sanctioned, is it will, in the end, FAIL YOU.”
-Russell Brand

My main reason to quit drinking was the realization that nothing good or beneficial to me ever occurred because of alcohol. Once I learned alcohol was a crutch and an excuse, that I didn’t need it to have fun despite everything and almost everyone in life saying otherwise, my life opened up in ways that I only dreamed about. My hope is that as many people as possible wake up from the nightmare of alcohol and the lies that we’ve been told our entire life about it.


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[GSPHUNTER]

 

[WEATHERBY_MAGNUM]

Quitting smoking and drinking was one of the best things I have ever done. Smoking was easy to quit for me and after you get past the first days, then weeks then months its downhill from there and then you realize just how bad you stank when you smell someone else smoking.

I drank for about 15 years after I quit smoking and quit a few times for a very brief period just to show I could but finally the wife and decided to quit altogether as we were spending about $40 or more every weekend just drinking at home. I usually felt like crap come Monday and when you add it up the cost to be essentially poisoning ourselves it seemed ridiculous.

I don't miss it all now.

 

[ChrisA]

Quitting smoking and drinking was one of the best things I have ever done. Smoking was easy to quit for me and after you get past the first days, then weeks then months its downhill from there and then you realize just how bad you stank when you smell someone else smoking.

I drank for about 15 years after I quit smoking and quit a few times for a very brief period just to show I could but finally the wife and decided to quit altogether as we were spending about $40 or more every weekend just drinking at home. I usually felt like crap come Monday and when you add it up the cost to be essentially poisoning ourselves it seemed ridiculous.

I don't miss it all now.

I love that point about the cost of poisoning yourself; kindof ironic really. That thought occurred to me quite a bit, plus the future cost of associated health issues but I never realized what exactly was going on until I listened to the Huberman podcast #86. The school system should focus a day or two on what alcohol actually does to your body.

 

[CRJR45]

I love that point about the cost of poisoning yourself; kindof ironic really. That thought occurred to me quite a bit, plus the future cost of associated health issues but I never realized what exactly was going on until I listened to the Huberman podcast #86. The school system should focus a day or two on what alcohol actually does to your body.

Disagree with you there . Michigan had a program called DARE , a anti drug education program kids had to attend , it was proven to have an adverse effect , it actually made the kids curious about drug use . It was shit canned .

 

[ddowning]

Disagree with you there . Michigan had a program called DARE , a anti drug education program kids had to attend , it was proven to have an adverse effect , it actually made the kids curious about drug use . It was shit canned .

We had it in Iowa too. I always wondered what happened to it. Good to know they actually did analysis and shit-canned it when the results were undesirable.

 

[ChrisA]

We had it in Iowa too. I always wondered what happened to it. Good to know they actually did analysis and shit-canned it when the results were undesirable.

We had an assembly where they brought the elementary and middle schoolers into the gym and talked about drugs. It was pre-DARE and put on by the "Tri-County Drug Task Force" centered out of Fort Dodge, IA.

It also had undesirable effects in the fact that it generated curiosity and taught us how to make improvised bongs and pipes. I still remember the bong made from a WD-40 can. You can about guess what my buddies and I did over the weekend.

That said, I'd still have liked to have learned what alcohol does to the body before I was 49 years old. I learned about the buzz at 11.

 

[dboone3]

Cody Jinks has a new album out and his song Wasted reflects on his journey to sobriety. I like it a lot!

 

[schmalzy]

Cody Jinks has a new album out and his song Wasted reflects on his journey to sobriety. I like it a lot!

Listening to it now. What’s funny/ironic is before I quit drinking I’d listen to him in my garage and delete cases of beer.


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[Peregrine]

Recently came to the conclusion I want/need to stop drinking. I've seen a few guys on here say they've been sober for years.

I've been pretty strong willed when it comes to kicking habits, but this one has been a one step forward three steps back one. Haha

Those of you who have stopped did you notice many benefits on your hunts, mindset, or physical shape?
Any tips on the process?

Interesting topic. I too stopped cold Turkey five years ago mainly for gut health. I am down 25#’s still able to run 6-7 miles at 66 years old and out hike all my hunting buds. Seems like I am thinking clearer and shoot as well as my aging eyes will allow. It took a bit to get over the social settings where you walk in and the first thing they want to do and stick a drink in your hands. It gives you a different perspective.

 

[WEATHERBY_MAGNUM]

Interesting topic. I too stopped cold Turkey five years ago mainly for gut health. I am down 25#’s still able to run 6-7 miles at 66 years old and out hike all my hunting buds. Seems like I am thinking clearer and shoot as well as my aging eyes will allow. It took a bit to get over the social settings where you walk in and the first thing they want to do and stick a drink in your hands. It gives you a different perspective.

Yes, the social scene was awkward for a bit as everyone friends and family when we were hanging out would always have a beer or drink in hand.
Funny thing is when at one of the thanksgiving gatherings after I had quit I got a outside looking in perspective at just how much of an ass I was making of my self by watching everyone else that was drunk that day try and act like they weren’t drunk making asses out of themselves

 

[ODB]

Some good quotes I’ve come across over the past 5 years 1 month 19 days sober:

All addictions share, among others, two primary qualities: One - they embody repetition without progress. Two - they produce incapacity as a payoff
Steven Pressfield - TURNING PRO

“Like a dog returns to his vomit, a fool returns to his folly.”
Mishka Shubaly

“Every time you wake up after drinking, you are physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and financially worse off than if you had not taken the drug in the first place.”

“The reason you must tackle your addiction, no matter how moderate it may seem, or whether it be socially sanctioned, is it will, in the end, FAIL YOU.”
-Russell Brand

My main reason to quit drinking was the realization that nothing good or beneficial to me ever occurred because of alcohol. Once I learned alcohol was a crutch and an excuse, that I didn’t need it to have fun despite everything and almost everyone in life saying otherwise, my life opened up in ways that I only dreamed about. My hope is that as many people as possible wake up from the nightmare of alcohol and the lies that we’ve been told our entire life about it.


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In the Hemingway show Ken Burns did there was a section on his alcoholism and a woman said loosely that alcohol makes you a liar to yourself, and you do all these things to try to convince yourself you aren't an alcoholic - you only drink during the day, or only at dinner, or only on the weekend, or never on Sunday, you'll drink beer but not liquor, etc. It controls your mind to the point it makes you an enemy of yourself.

 

[ODB]

Interesting topic. I too stopped cold Turkey five years ago mainly for gut health. I am down 25#’s still able to run 6-7 miles at 66 years old and out hike all my hunting buds. Seems like I am thinking clearer and shoot as well as my aging eyes will allow. It took a bit to get over the social settings where you walk in and the first thing they want to do and stick a drink in your hands. It gives you a different perspective.

"I'll have a Gin and Tonic, hold the Gin" usually works for me. If they persist, I'll ramp it up, "Are you trying to get me drunk to take advantage of me?"

 

[Yoder]

Cody Jinks has a new album out and his song Wasted reflects on his journey to sobriety. I like it a lot!

It may not be the type of music all of you listen to, but Tom McDonald has a rap/hip hop song called Sober that I think is outstanding. Another band I love that is in the metal genre is The Ghost Inside. They are all recovering addicts. Great songs and lyrics. Engine 45 and Avalanche are two of my favorite songs for the gym.

 

[Hectocotylus]

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[thinhorn_AK]

Disagree with you there . Michigan had a program called DARE , an anti drug education program kids had to attend , it was proven to have an adverse effect , it actually made the kids curious about drug use . It was shit canned .

I got kicked out of DARE when I was in highschool because I got caught drunk at a party and tried running from the police. My punishment was that I had to sit in the office for the 45 minutes that DARE took up and run notes to classrooms for the secretary. It was pretty awesome.

 

[ODB]

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Pretty cool.

I saw a thing the other day that Rob Halford from Judas Priest is 38 years sober.