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The Daily Check-in for 27 February 2025 - just for today, we are not drinking!
(self.stopdrinking)
this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025
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This is a place to motivate each other to control or stop drinking. It is also a place for non drinkers to discuss and share.
We welcome anyone who wishes to join in by asking for advice, sharing our experiences and stories, or just encouraging someone who is trying to quit or cut down.
Please post only when sober; you’re welcome to read in the meanwhile.
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Starting at Day 1 again! A little frustrating for me personally, but it happens. I'm struggling to get sober this year, which is unusual as for the past few years I've done four months straight sober at the start of the year, and didn't really struggle.
I think maybe this year there are some key differences: I've gone through a breakup late last year which is still on my mind, I've not got a solid end date to the sober streak to work towards (hoping it just goes indefinitely), and I've got social events scheduled for Wednesdays which always happen in pubs. I can see from my tracker that I'm always drinking on Wednesdays at the moment, so that's definitely key.
I'll get there, just got to redouble my efforts and maybe approach it a little more smartly. As a side note -- has anybody else found that friends can be surprisingly malicious or unhelpful when you say you want to quit? I've had to argue that I'm worried about my own drinking with two very good friends this week! It's so weird.
Anyway - happy Thursday all!! Hopefully the ends of your weeks are great whether you're working or taking some time off! ✌️🫡 IWNDWYT!
Welcome back! The struggle is real and I think a lot of us can relate. I personally had so many tries at moderation and then day 1s when I tried to quit. The things you mentioned sound like hurdles that make the road more challenging, but not impossible.
And yes friends absolutely will argue with you. I was lucky to find a decent amount of support in friends and family but I've had others who have brushed it off. Then I had to explain to them that I was drinking straight vodka for breakfast and it was a problem. But it doesn't have to get to that point for it to be a problem you can address either.
Yeah, I feel like for some people moderation is just not the right approach! I certainly can't. Getting sober is certainly not impossible though, you're right.
It's crazy. That being said, I do remember before I even considered not drinking, years ago, that I would feel weird around people who said they weren't drinking or were planning to get sober. It felt almost threatening, like it was making me think more critically about my drinking. Strange how it works!
If people ask me about moderating I just shrug and say "I'm basically lazy and moderating was hard work and who wants hard work on a Friday night?"
You know: setting rules about your drinking. Coming up with ways to break those rules. Feeling guilty for breaking the rules. All I have to do is "not drink alcohol", rather than argue with myself over whether "it's Tuesday" is a special enough occasion for me to have a glass of wine or not. Spoiler: it always was and now the bottle is open I might as well finish it.
You hit the nail right on the head. By interacting with people who are making changes for themselves, you have to confront the idea that maybe you should too. Then ego and doubt set in and you push that as far away as possible and continue on. I did this for years until I couldn't ignore it anymore. Even would be reading on forums like this one but then go drink anyways, but getting to read others experiences helped to plant the seed.
Yeah I was definitely having the exact same experiences before I started trying to go sober a few years ago! Still, it's a learning process.
Yes I have a friend that says I just need to stick to one drink. And I need to practice??? He doesn’t understand that I can’t stop at one.
That's wild. Telling you to practice drinking 😂
Literally can't count the number of times I've been told "well maybe just moderate instead of abstaining!"
happy thursday, welcome back, congrats on just a lapse, not a relapse. for me one drink starts a fire I can't put out. I told my friends this point blank and they were mostly understanding and supportive, people I drank drugged and grew up with.if they're not on your team when it comes to substance abuse, they're not your friends. hurts but you have friends here who want to see you crush day 2 and beyond. lots of love from australia, you're never alone
Thanks 🫡 yeah I'm the same, as soon as I start drinking it just goes and goes.
You're right about them not being friends. Just surprising really, I wasn't expecting it from them! They were supportive last year, and the year before. Weird.
Thank you for the kind words!