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

[Steve Bullman]

3 minutes ago, Tippin Alaybye said:

come retirement in august I will not feel the need and will limit it to sensible amounts

When I retired from climbing I found the opposite to be true. It suddenly didn't matter how much i'd be hanging in the morning 😀

[Tippin Alaybye]

the reason why booze became a problem was work stress and using it to unwind of an evening. that will not be an excuse this autumn...i hope

[Tommy_B]

Good luck with it mate.

 

If people want to stop drinking I'm happy for them to transfer all their spare cash to me and I'll use it to fund my coffee and tattoo habits. Win win

[Silverhooker]

Billy Connelly used to say that we are all allowed a certain amount of alcohol in our life, it just depends how we space it out. 
My dad used to say everything in moderation, especially moderation ! 
 

[djbobbins]

Because I have a drink problem I do dry January each year to prove I’ve not. I love drinking, makes me feel relaxed and content but....
By February 1st have alway lost a stone and a half and feel great but then it’s back to normal.
I always get my annual blood pressure blood tests done then and they are reasonable. Completely cheating only myself as for the rest of the year I wouldn’t be surprised if they were dire. I’ve always failed to curb it, my last great white hope is that come retirement in august I will not feel the need and will limit it to sensible amounts. I’m really envious and respectful of those who can cut it out completely but it too much a part of my life. I wish it wasn’t

That’s a very frank and honest answer. Credit to you for posting it.

I grew up in a family where a tipple was allowed and had a mate whose parents ran a pub. We graduated from going to a local youth club, to going for a few frames of snooker and a few pints whilst watching a band, circa 15 years old. At uni I drank regularly, particularly in a year in France (being able to buy 24 stubbies for about £3 played a part in that) and then again for a couple of years afterwards. I’ve had times years ago when I realised I hadn’t gone to bed properly sober for a couple of months, even if it was only a couple of drinks per night I was having.

I’ve ended up in a desk job and moved away from where my mates live, plus got older. I still have a couple of beers at the weekend, then if given the opportunity can put 10 pints away in a daytime / evening session. Monday to Friday I try to not drink though, I find by the end of the week I am generally sleeping better and feel more alert in the daytime.

But even when I rationalise all of this, and realise that some of the times I have let myself down most in life are when I’ve been properly pissed, STILL alcohol feels like a bit of a treat.

It’s a bugger of a situation and no mistake, I suppose a shrink would have something to say about it. Not sure what this adds to the conversation but just to say that how you describe your relationship with booze rang a bell with me too.

[sime42]

Because I have a drink problem I do dry January each year to prove I’ve not. I love drinking, makes me feel relaxed and content but....
By February 1st have alway lost a stone and a half and feel great but then it’s back to normal.
I always get my annual blood pressure blood tests done then and they are reasonable. Completely cheating only myself as for the rest of the year I wouldn’t be surprised if they were dire. I’ve always failed to curb it, my last great white hope is that come retirement in august I will not feel the need and will limit it to sensible amounts. I’m really envious and respectful of those who can cut it out completely but it too much a part of my life. I wish it wasn’t

Admire your honesty here. Just wanted to add a word of caution about retirement. I hope you're right about it in your case but it could go the other way. I'm not there yet myself but I think retirement can be detrimental to some people. The shock of a big lifestyle change and the sudden lack of routine etc. I guess if you've got lots of plans of stuff to do you should be ok.

[ESS]

On 18/02/2021 at 11:51, Tippin Alaybye said:

Because I have a drink problem I do dry January each year to prove I’ve not. I love drinking, makes me feel relaxed and content but....
By February 1st have alway lost a stone and a half and feel great but then it’s back to normal.
I always get my annual blood pressure blood tests done then and they are reasonable. Completely cheating only myself as for the rest of the year I wouldn’t be surprised if they were dire. I’ve always failed to curb it, my last great white hope is that come retirement in august I will not feel the need and will limit it to sensible amounts. I’m really envious and respectful of those who can cut it out completely but it too much a part of my life. I wish it wasn’t

Brave post. I went full circuit and haven't had a drink for over 15 years now and don't miss it. There are a lot of false beliefs around alcohol, the bottom line is if alcohol is causing anyone problems then they have a problem with alcohol.

There's at least one in every graveyard in this country that could handle it.I can assure anyone there is only ever one winner when you have a problem and carry on. 

There's a lot of stigma attached to alcohol problems, and i haven't met anyone yet that set out to be an alcoholic, considering the depths it can take you to why would you?  

      Take care of yourself , and i hope it works out for you.

[topchippyles]

On 18/02/2021 at 11:51, Tippin Alaybye said:

Because I have a drink problem I do dry January each year to prove I’ve not. I love drinking, makes me feel relaxed and content but....
By February 1st have alway lost a stone and a half and feel great but then it’s back to normal.
I always get my annual blood pressure blood tests done then and they are reasonable. Completely cheating only myself as for the rest of the year I wouldn’t be surprised if they were dire. I’ve always failed to curb it, my last great white hope is that come retirement in august I will not feel the need and will limit it to sensible amounts. I’m really envious and respectful of those who can cut it out completely but it too much a part of my life. I wish it wasn’t

I have battled with drink all my life and like you i find the enjoyment of it and relaxes me. Its not a stress related thing mostly these days but in the past its been a coping mechanism after a brutal divorce which kicked it up a level. I really hope you look after your self tippin and you have my resect for your honesty. I seem to control it well and limit myself but if i get my mind set i will go for gold 

Edited March 5, 2021 by topchippyles

[ESS]

31 minutes ago, topchippyles said:

I have battled with drink all my life and like you i find the enjoyment of it and relaxes me. Its not a stress related thing mostly these days but in the past its been a coping mechanism after a brutal divorce which kicked it up a level. I really hope you look after your self tippin and you have my resect for your honesty. I seem to control it well and limit myself but if i get my mind set i will go for gold 

Les, with  respect because believe me i have been to hell and back with alcohol and would not want to discount anyone. However, as i said in my post there are a lot of false beliefs around alcohol, alcohol may reduce stress for a while, however the flip side of that is alcohol withdrawal increases stress. People say they drink because they are depressed, alcohol is a depressant, and furthermore negates any medication for depression. People say it helps them sleep, not true, quality of sleep is worse when intoxicated, A lot of these are society beliefs, society is not always right.

This is not a criticism of you Les, it's just throwing it out there.  I can honestly assure you that if i hadn't started to listen and accept i would not be sat typing this now.

       

[topchippyles]

8 minutes ago, ESS said:

Les, with  respect because believe me i have been to hell and back with alcohol and would not want to discount anyone. However, as i said in my post there are a lot of false beliefs around alcohol, alcohol may reduce stress for a while, however the flip side of that is alcohol withdrawal increases stress. People say they drink because they are depressed, alcohol is a depressant, and furthermore negates any medication for depression. People say it helps them sleep, not true, quality of sleep is worse when intoxicated, A lot of these are society beliefs, society is not always right.

This is not a criticism of you Les, it's just throwing it out there.  I can honestly assure you that if i hadn't started to listen and accept i would not be sat typing this now.

       

There is nothing you can tell me about alcohol believe me and what you have gone through i have a dozen T shirts. I will not post any more as its private to me

Edited March 5, 2021 by topchippyles