Need advice on quitting alcohol due to long term illness

bumblegirl

I was diagnosed with Bipolar 10 years ago and have been on meds for just as long which work quite well. However I continued to drink alcohol the whole time and as expected it didn't mix well with the meds and I would experience light mania, anger and deep depression for a few days after the session. Thing is lately the side effects are much worse as I get older and I have gone into rages and deeply upset people, made mistakes at work and even lost friends.

Enough is enough I have decided to quit completely, not just cut down. Any advice from other depression/bp sufferers? I am not alcoholic (though this is v common with bp) but I reckon I have some kind of dependency however if I continue I will ruin everything and probably lose my job. I need to get my head in the zone and mindset that I MUST stop even though i enjoy it so much and every week I kid myself that the fall out won't be so bad. I don't trust myself not to drink again and my family are at their wits end and don't believe me that i am quitting. Anyone?

margarite

bumblegirl wrote: »

I was diagnosed with Bipolar 10 years ago and have been on meds for just as long which work quite well. However I continued to drink alcohol the whole time and as expected it didn't mix well with the meds and I would experience light mania, anger and deep depression for a few days after the session. Thing is lately the side effects are much worse as I get older and I have gone into rages and deeply upset people, made mistakes at work and even lost friends.

Enough is enough I have decided to quit completely, not just cut down. Any advice from other depression/bp sufferers? I am not alcoholic (though this is v common with bp) but I reckon I have some kind of dependency however if I continue I will ruin everything and probably lose my job. I need to get my head in the zone and mindset that I MUST stop even though i enjoy it so much and every week I kid myself that the fall out won't be so bad. I don't trust myself not to drink again and my family are at their wits end and don't believe me that i am quitting. Anyone?

I love to have a few drinks maybe 10 to 11 sambucas and baileys together I do not suffer any hangovers. So can you imagine for my health reasons I had to give up the drink how hard it would be? neigher did I, but when forced to realise that if I did not cut the drink out I would continue going into hospital. Like you I have a few physical ailments (that putting it very mildly) and found the drink was helping me to deal with it and my bipolar but ending up in hospital more often I had to deal with the drink situation. I was extremely angry but I gradually cut it back, kept away from pubs and did something that worked for me i e getting involved with other projects that took my mind of things and went home to knackered to even need a drink. Take care.

blue5000

PM sent. Maybe you could be a designated driver, not much fun I know.

neelyohara

As it's not immediately life threatening have you considered cutting down the amount of alcohol you drink over a month or two before you completely quit?

One less drink on a night out, stopping before you feel tipsy, skipping a weekend or finding something else to do, not drinking during the week. Gradually over the weeks you can minimise the amount of time you spend around alcohol while knowing that you're not quitting cold turkey. Fine, you're going to the cinema this week but you'll still meet up with everyone in the pub next weekend. You're not drinking during the week but you can still enjoy a glass at the weekend.

I'd consider AA. At the very least you'll have contact with people who are in the same boat as you and they might be able to provide some advice on the psychological aspect of staying off drink.

Good luck!

condra

Just quit drinking and recognize the fact that alcohol is a poisonous drug that was adopted by humans just like nicotine.

Life without alcohol is fantastic. Your levels of motivation and your power of concentration will improve tenfold and you will be proud of yourself for having discipline.

Regular drinkers aren't living their lives. They're p***ing their memories away.

Mr. Loverman

I've found alcohol is a lot easier to quit if you also quit all stimulants.

For example, I noticed if I consumed a lot of caffeine I was more likely to consume a lot of alcohol. Just like I noticed if I consumed a lot of chocolate I was more likely to consume a lot of caffeine!

So when I gave up stimulants I found it easy to give up the booze.

Best of luck with your struggle.

Rhys Essien

Like giving up anything you phase it down in proportion i.e 10 drinks a night to 6 drinks a night to 3 etc.It gets easier.Plenty will power and you will be worth a fortune in no time.:D

neelyohara

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I've found alcohol is a lot easier to quit if you also quit all stimulants.

There is actually a scientific reason behind that... can't remember it now but I came across it a couple of times when I was quitting smoking, and it's very true!