The benefits of giving up alcohol

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31 contributors in last 30 days
Jan 2020
7:53pm, 23 Jan 2020
43,034 posts
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McGoohan
Never thought I'd see a benefit of hay fever :-o :-)
Jan 2020
7:56pm, 23 Jan 2020
37,614 posts
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Derby.Tup
I assumed Grep’s ‘joke’ was an ironic alcoholics’ dig at people who only drink in binges, rather than all the time
Jan 2020
8:01pm, 23 Jan 2020
44,510 posts
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Diogenes
Of course, bloody part-time amateurs.
Jan 2020
9:46pm, 23 Jan 2020
117,619 posts
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GregP
Indeed. I was a top-up drinker - rarely if ever completely sober. Alcoholics who could go for weeks or months without a drink always baffled me. Still do after what is probably in excess of 500 AA meetings. Plain don’t understand.
Jan 2020
9:57pm, 23 Jan 2020
9,929 posts
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Joopsy
I had a few goes at being off for weeks and months, each time it just convinced me so didn’t have a problem, each time it was harder to stop when I started again. It literally almost killed me.
Jan 2020
10:00pm, 23 Jan 2020
3,002 posts
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FenlandRunner
It's a weird circumstance for me. If I don't drink the thought of drinking goes. But why then do I start again?
Jan 2020
8:22am, 24 Jan 2020
33,956 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Someone else in here suffers badly with hay fever and it is exacerbated by alcohol, which is one of her reasons for avoiding/cutting down - is it grast_girl?

I was both a binge drinker and a constant (evening) drinker but I suspect I wasn't an "alcoholic". Problem drinker yes, bad drunk yes, danger to myself and others yes, but probably not an alcoholic, if I understand the definition correctly. It's one of the reasons I'm concerned if I went to an AA meeting, I would feel a fraud.

Loads of great reasons for not drinking. And I think our wonderful community in this thread covers a wonderful, wide spectrum of most of them. Part of what makes this such a great group. Thanks guys. :-) G
Jan 2020
8:27am, 24 Jan 2020
37,621 posts
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Derby.Tup
‘Loads of great reasons for not drinking. And I think our wonderful community in this thread covers a wonderful, wide spectrum of most of them. Part of what makes this such a great group’ Great summary
Jan 2020
8:30am, 24 Jan 2020
33,960 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Cheers DT - your recovery has been an inspiration and example to us all. A life reclaimed. :-) G
Jan 2020
8:30am, 24 Jan 2020
9,932 posts
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Joopsy
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

About This Thread

Maintained by HappyG(rrr)
Looks as though this thread has become popular again, here in 2010 (it's now 2023, 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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