In Desperate times...My Silky saves the day!

[Steve Bullman]

Can’t say I’m craving alcohol but it’s messed with my routine a bit. I usually work till 11, then site down with a bottle of wine till 1ish. Those last 2 hours winding down have been missed 

[Mick Dempsey]

Seems a bit early Steve, but who am I to judge? Put it on your cornflakes if you like.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Mick Dempsey

[difflock]

3 hours ago, Steve Bullman said:

Can’t say I’m craving alcohol but it’s messed with my routine a bit. I usually work till 11, then site down with a bottle of wine till 1ish. Those last 2 hours winding down have been missed 

You working on the 24 Hr clock then Steve, normal enough for you software savvy blokes I suppose.

[silky fox]

On 16/02/2021 at 08:02, Steve Bullman said:

So Paul, I always read people saying how great they feel after stopping drinking. When is this supposed to kick in? I’ve gone 20 days now and don’t feel any different 

To answer that I need to go back to the beginning or more specifically to before I drank around about the early 80's.....I was a healthy youth,I rowed for Durham was in a band which I loved and hadn't a care in the world.I didn't enjoy the taste or effect of alcohol and hated smoke😁 

[silky fox]

Then I met my first girlfriend.She was a bonny lass but she was a nightmare and I adored her or at least I thought I did.I would do anything for her.She loved to get drunk at weekends and smoked like a chimney and if I wanted her attention I had to meet her with a carry out from the off license and a box of cancer sticks....my own fault but I was slowly weaned into a world I didn't enjoy and to cut a long story short by the time the relationship ended two years later I was in the routine of living for the weekend when the drinking would start and continue to Sunday.

[silky fox]

A couple of years later the Acid House scene started and then the rave scene and I said goodbye to drink and moved on to recreational delights up until 1996 when I discovered Arboriculture and I left the partying scene for good.Oddly enough those days were easy to say goodbye to and had no effect on my life in fact I rather enjoyed them.

[silky fox]

Moving swiftly on.......

[silky fox]

The only area I had not experienced in life up until then was the after work drinking and being a single bloke with money in his pocket I found myself frequenting the pub to pass the time and it seemed harmless enough .......after a few months it turned into a few pints every other night but the problem was that I was quite a loner and I didn't enjoy the pub.But alcohol seemed acceptable and almost encouraged in society and I was by that time addicted.My problem was binge drinking.I began with eight cans of Stella a night which would last between 2-3 hours and 15 years later it was eight cans of K-Cider.I would start drinking as soon as I got home and by six or seven o'clock it was all gone and I was asleep.On the weekends I would wake up before closing time and go to the Pub to have a few Japanese Whiskies/Scrumpy and Jaegermeisters before they closed and if I had any money left i would take a couple of bottles of Stella as a night cap.....(Cut to 2016) I always knew I had an addictive personality and that my consumption and frequency of drinking was out of control but i never had a hangover (sign of an alcoholic) and I could function perfectly well in life.But it was just this groundhog day that seemed to run from working Monday to Friday living for the weekends then doing it all again that had gone on for 20 years.I tried to remember a time before then and it was the lad who enjoyed rowing and lived without drink.I realised that if I could only be that person if I gave up completely and the sooner the better....I joined the gym in October 2016 or there abouts and instead of cracking open that first tinnie....I exercised.My best attribute is that I am extremely determined and highly motivated in everything I do (Which unfortunately included being a  professional drinker) but this time I would take my life back.I only need to see the very slightest glimmer of hope to focus on my goal and by the first week I was once again hooked on this healthy lifestyle.I went to the Gym everyday and already I had replaced a very bad habit with a very good one.By the second month I felt more and more in control although I had two obstacles in my way.I had arranged a few weeks before to meet Annalize,Graham Bird and a friend to meet up in the Lakes to celebrate her Birthday for the weekend and avoiding the bar was going to be impossible.Already though I felt in control and we had a few drinks and plenty of great food and I had no craving to binge.Most of the weekend was spent outdoors enjoying the scenery and the most significant thing was our last day.We had set or minds on climbing Scafel Pike.The weather was atrocious and although two of the group decided to stay at ground level Me and Annie were determined to reach the top.The thing with Annalize is she is the most determined person I have ever met and she even tells me to this day that we both encouraged each other to climb that mountain.You couldn't see much further than a couple of metres and the wind and rain were howling,driving down......but we made it.As we came down Scafel the must cleared and the sun came out.It was at that point that I realised something.I was the real me again.And more importantly I had spent quality time with a friend without alcohol.A first for two decades! I will never forget that moment and I remind her everytime I see her.......I continued my sessions in the gym and with one last test looming I was embracing my new life.

Edited February 18, 2021 by silky fox

[silky fox]

For a couple of months I had cut my drinking down to one birthday weekend but I had the ultimate test....Xmas.

[silky fox]

By Xmas I was so into my fitness routine that I almost forgot about the festive celebrations going on around me and by the time December 31st rolled up I couldn't wait for my ultimate New Year's resolution.I would never drink again! 

Edited February 18, 2021 by silky fox