The benefits of giving up alcohol

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27 contributors in last 30 days
Sigh
Sigh
Nov 2019
9:53am, 14 Nov 2019
4,820 posts
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Sigh
Good decision, Dio. ODAAT.
Derby Tup
Derby Tup
Nov 2019
10:12am, 14 Nov 2019
35,707 posts
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Derby Tup
ODAAT indeed
DocMoye
DocMoye
Nov 2019
10:19am, 14 Nov 2019
30,863 posts
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DocMoye
excellent idea Dio. Im off to london to meet and old friend. looking forward to a cup of tea together
HappyG(rrr)
HappyG(rrr)
Nov 2019
12:00pm, 14 Nov 2019
33,207 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Yip, I'm in for today. Well done Dio. Totally the right attitude, you are doing great.

I'm going to try and buy one of those Three Spirit (maybe the Social Elixir one, whatever that means) and will report back. I'm thinking £25 crikey that's a lot. Balderdash! I used to spend £40 on a bottle of whisky, £25 on gin, and £10 for wine (yes, the wine that would disappear in a night!) So I think a bottle of an interesting non-alcoholic drink, that will probably last weeks, is hardly crazy! :-) G
Love Lettuce
Love Lettuce
Nov 2019
12:11pm, 14 Nov 2019
916 posts
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Love Lettuce
I'm in too!

G, I keep having the same mental conversations with myself about the price of drinks. When I drank, I always used to resent the price of mixers - £2 for some tonic was ridiculous. Obviously I had no problem spending far more than that on wine and spirits. I still catch myself grousing about the cost of soft drinks sometimes, and have to remember that I'm saving myself literally £100s a month that I used to spend on alcohol, so I can afford to splash out on the odd can of San Pellegrino!

These days I usually just drink tea, coffee and water though. Mainly decaf, following a few weeks of insomnia and palpitations from extreme caffeine consumption. Moderation doesn't come naturally
LindsD
LindsD
Nov 2019
12:18pm, 14 Nov 2019
30,876 posts
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LindsD
I'm in, too.
mrs shanksi
mrs shanksi
Nov 2019
1:15pm, 14 Nov 2019
10,118 posts
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mrs shanksi
I'm in for today, well done Dio.
HappyG(rrr)
HappyG(rrr)
Nov 2019
1:46pm, 14 Nov 2019
33,213 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
My mate can't drink caffeinated drinks - he was first person I knew to go decaf 15 or 20 years ago. Gets serious palpitations and anxiety with just normal tea.

I really should do that thing that Sigh did about how much money saved by not drinking. I'm 14 years now. It must be in the 10s of £000s :-) G
Grast_girl
Grast_girl
Nov 2019
2:59pm, 14 Nov 2019
770 posts
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Grast_girl
Caffeine is a total no go for me - would probably break up my marriage faster than alcohol to be honest (I talk until 2am on even two sips of coffee). I drink water, OJ, milk, cup-a-soups, hot ribena, occasionally lemonade.

I also drink alcohol in moderation, and I'm thankful that that's an option for me. I should be more mindful about it though, rather than just pouring a glass because it's been a "tough" day (my life in general really isn't all that tough, so it's not even a good excuse).
Derby Tup
Derby Tup
Nov 2019
3:27pm, 14 Nov 2019
35,708 posts
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Derby Tup
Caffeine is something I’d like to have a look at cutting down. I drink non-caffeinated drinks very rarely - 90% I guess by volume of what I consume is coffee and to a much lesser degree tea

About This Thread

Maintained by HappyG(rrr)
Looks as though this thread has become popular again, here in 2010 (it's now 2024, and it started in 2008, so I think "ever popular" might be more apt! :-) G ) :-) Good Luck everyone.

A recent plea for those struggling to "reach out" as they say in US of A!

"Anyone not feeling strong and confident, please shout out. Or fmail. Or any other comms that works. Don't drink alcohol when you don't want to, for lack of someone to talk to. Pick up the phone, not the bottle."

Some acronyms, in case people use them:
JFT - Just for today
ODAAT - One day at a time
KIS - Keep it simple
TBOGUA - The Benefits Of Giving Up Alcohol (the title of this thread!)

New feature: article/blog of the month (period may change randomly!) Swittle's wonderful 14,611 days blog: (see links below)

Linking Joopsy's 17 year blog too, cos it's awesome!

There is a GREAT article summarising some of the benefits, to save you having to trawl through the thread (includes links to helpful apps and other resources).

And a great list of Alternative Drinks started by the lovely LindsD:

Please add to these articles and make them as valuable as possible! Thanks! :-) G

And one from way back when...
Dirt Monkey's brilliant blog on TBOGUA too - go try this...

Rebel has recommended a couple of good books:
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
by Catherine Gray

The Alcohol Experiment: 30 Days to Take Control, Cut Down or Give Up For Good
by Annie Grace

A great response from a health professional in Ireland responding to a question from a Guardian reader about why the warnings on alcoholic drinks that are coming in:

theguardian.com

"Alcohol is responsible for at least 1,000 cancer cases every year in Ireland, with one in eight breast cancer cases arising from alcohol use. Even one to two drinks per day increases the risk of developing cancer, and that risk is the same whether those drinks are wine, spirits or beer. Unfortunately, there is a very low level of public awareness that alcohol has been classed as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning it is carcinogenic to humans. That is why Ireland has passed legislation that provides for health information labels on alcohol products, including warnings about cancer, liver disease and the danger of drinking in pregnancy. It is unsurprising that the alcohol industry, which promotes its products with carefully crafted myths of good times for all, is objecting to the mandatory provision of facts (Anger brews in Italy over Ireland’s plans for alcohol health warnings, 12 January).
Dr Sheila Gilheany
CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland
"

And the all important fabulous services:
Alcoholics Anonymous
National Helpline (FREE) 0800 9177 650
help@aamail.org

Al Anon
020 7403 0888

medal medal Contact TBOGUA medal medal

We're adding in our own Fetch offer of one to one contact too, for anyone who doesn't want to post in the thread for whatever reason. Please feel free to fmail ANY of the names listed below.

- - - -
HappyG(rrr)
Oscar the grouch
mrs shanksi
Derby Tup
iaincr
Love Lettuce
DocM
LindsD
GeneHunt59
GregP star
Joopsy star

Note: we're none of us experts, but we're happy to listen, to answer any questions and to offer support if you think it would help you. Except star marked above. Who are experts! :-)

(Note II: at Christmas some names may change a bit, but I'm sure you can still find us to fmail!)

Useful Links

FE accepts no responsibility for external links. Or anything, really.

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