Has anyone here successfully given up alcohol?

lilodian4ever wrote:I decided it was time to get my butt back in the gym and get in shape. Once I start exercising, my body automatically rejects alcohol and junk food.
Brutally honest.

Mine doesn't care. Pizza is pizza. :/

darkroses wrote:Brutal honesty is fine by me I've been reading a lot about neuroscience and it seems that, if one has mental health problems and exercises, one is better off doing skill-based sports - e.g. climbing, martial arts, dancing etc... as these are so taxing to the brain that the conscious bit has to "switch off" so to speak. This is apparently one of the reasons rock-climbing is so addictive - one goes into a state of attention / flow rather than consciousness.

I lift weights and get to the brink -- when I lift that heavy I just don't have any mindpower left to bother thinking. A friend of mine said that he doesn't lift heavy because he doubts he can do it -- and I thought, well I don't doubt because I'm busy lifting. (Mind, what I am doing is not recommended to people with mental illness, but it happens to be what I like...)

I have been self medicating with alcohol for half my life. Recently my soon-to-be-ex-wife always was telling me alcohol was my big problem and I listened to her, so I worked to quit. At times it was very easy when things were good and positive, but as soon as my deeper underlying problem of bipolar hit, a mood swing could quickly arise and then eventually send me into a spiral of depression where I would oddly enough self medicate with alcohol (a depressant), which makes EVERYTHING WORSE.

I had periods of 2 months clean, 3 months clean, and have to say I never felt better when I wasn't drinking. After you get through the few nights of withdrawal you will feel much much better. I tried AA for awhile but it wasn't for me. Going to AA would sometimes make me feel even worse with the generally dirty environments and rooms of hopeless people. Plus I generally lose interest in things very fast after being extremely interested in them, like I was with AA. Positivity and happiness was the best thing for me to stop drinking at times.

Unfortunately because of my bipolar situations I'm in the middle of a divorce and negativity seems to make me go hide under a bottle once again. Alcohol is such a love/hate relationship for me. I so much want to stop for the rest of my life but I love using it as an excuse to hide from my problems.

I use to be a hopeless drunk. I was only self medicating. I am a firm believer that if you get on the right mix of meds it is easier to stop drinking. I do have an occasional glass of wine but the urge to get drunk out of my mind is gone. For those of you who can't cut back or quit drinking I recommend that you discuss this with your doctor. I know this sounds simplistic but it worked for me and I didn't think I could ever live with out the booze. But I attribute my sobriety to my medication.
Hang in there. There is help out there if you really wan't to stop relying on the bottle.

darkroses wrote:

lilodian4ever wrote:I decided it was time to get my butt back in the gym and get in shape. Once I start exercising, my body automatically rejects alcohol and junk food.

Brutally honest.

Brutal honesty is fine by me I've been reading a lot about neuroscience and it seems that, if one has mental health problems and exercises, one is better off doing skill-based sports - e.g. climbing, martial arts, dancing etc... as these are so taxing to the brain that the conscious bit has to "switch off" so to speak. This is apparently one of the reasons rock-climbing is so addictive - one goes into a state of attention / flow rather than consciousness.

Lifting maniacally heavy weights helps too It's my cocaine.

-- Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:47 pm --

Oliveira wrote:I lift weights and get to the brink -- when I lift that heavy I just don't have any mindpower left to bother thinking. A friend of mine said that he doesn't lift heavy because he doubts he can do it -- and I thought, well I don't doubt because I'm busy lifting. (Mind, what I am doing is not recommended to people with mental illness, but it happens to be what I like...)

Same here, brother ! Ain't no feeling in the world like a good pump Yeah, it's better than that other one too.

I gave up booze when I was 19 when I was diagnosed only as anxiety and depression. I got back into drinking heavily before the bi polar diagnoses was given. My doctors have asked me to stop drinking but I argue with them that so much of my life is different from a normal 24 year old that asking me to give up having some drinks isnt fair, I need to be somewhat of a normal 24 year old.

I have no reason to quit drinking. I drink moderate amounts and I never get drunk anymore. I used to go to bars alone and drink the night away. It was my weekend escape.

Atm, I drink a few beers or a bit of wine when I feel like I need relaxation. I don't feel like drinking most times because it clouds my mind and I have too many responsibilities. Stuff needs to get done, so I can either do things while I feel okayish, or I can do things with a hangover and curse myself repeatedly for drinking too much.

Oliveira wrote:

Lanka wrote:Amusing, isn't it. I'm still trying to figure out how to read whatever she says; mostly because she seems to completely change her opiniom between every appointment..

Maybe she has mental problems of her own...

I actually ranted about that to my psychiatrist a while back when she was sort of forcing her opinion of my life to me.. He just sneered and said I'm probably right, and told me no adult should be forcing advise to another, and thus I should just ignore her if I don't agree with her opinion. :p

As for the thread, yeah, un-employed with nothing to do doesn't really help considering alcohol consumption.

Almost every day* a drink or few. No-hangover-next-day genetics' still working though. Not that it'd make it any better though. Just means I can function next day if there's actually something to do - if not, well, I always keep some wine around.

*with obvious mental state multiplier applied. More when hypo, less when depressed.