Giving up drinking

LegacyUser

Hello everybody.

I want to give up drinking.
I suffer from depression/anxiety and I drink every day. It helps, in the short term. My diet has gone to ****. I lack energy and enthusiasm.
I find myself going home at lunch from work (10 years in a job as a professional) to nap for an hour. Now I've noticed yellowing in the corners of my eyes. I need to immediately cut down and then stop drinking. I don't think going cold turkey is a good idea. I tried that before and it resulted in not being able to sleep, bed sweats, nightmares.
To make things worse, my father has cancer and is getting weaker by the day, so I fear that might have effects on any attempt I make.

I'm not looking for medical advice, just personal experience on how to start on the right road to recovery. Joining a support group is not an option for reasons that I don't want to go into right now. As regards exercise, I have osteoarthritis in both hips, so that isn't going to be as straight forward as you think.

Thanks.

Penny Tration

First off, it's a very big step to choose to quit drinking, so well done!

Onto the important part - if you've noticed yellowing, go to your GP. You cant afford to take risks with your health, and getting bloods done to see how your body is doing, along with coming up with a plan with your GP to quit or wean, would be the safest thing you could do right now.

Dravokivich

As jenny mentioned above. Get to a gp. They'll advise on what can be done. I'd also recommend reaching out to close friends and family who may be able to watch out for you. I've experienced people with similar issues to yourself and it gets very difficult to help them when they keep themselves closed out. There is no quick fix for this. It will be difficult throughout. All I can really impart though most importantly of all, is try not to feel ashamed. I know its easier said than done. But through sobering up after what you've gone through. You may feel like you need to be guilty. Don't. You'll just be kicking the feet from under yourself as you are learning to stand up all over again.

LynnGrace

I second Jenny's advice about going to your GP. Try to address the anxiety issue with him/ her, as well as getting your general health checked out.
If there is such a thing as an online support group, that might be something you would find helpful?
All the best OP.

bee06

OP there is a non-drinkers forum on here… they might be able to provide support for you?

Jotunheim

Good for you for realising you have a problem that needs to be addressed, but you're not walking the walk, are you? You have already listed all the reasons why you're going to fail and you don't plan on stopping anyway. A few sleepless nights means nothing, you''re not stopping because you don't want to and you have your excuses ready to let yourself off the hook- that's pretty basic alcoholic denial. I suggest you start meaning what you say before you before you do anything else.

Dravokivich

bee06 wrote: »

OP there is a non-drinkers forum on here… they might be able to provide support for you?

That is meant to be a social group for events that don't involve drinking. Not a recovery forum for substance abuse.

listen_lady

Perhaps you should think about getting into a twelve-step program? It might be a good first step towards recovery and is one hundred percent free and confidential.

damok89

Hey User_Name7

First of all fair play making the decision for giving up drinking. You are doing the right thing.

I am 25 years old and almost 21 months ago I have up drinking because I also suffered from anxiety and depression. I was also drinking very heavily at the time. I kept going into really low points for days after drinking and my friends and family used be worried about me. I eventually realised that I did not want to live my life like that. My father is an alcoholic and destroyed his life and we never had a proper family life because of him. I did not want the same for myself.

Like what Jenny said, I would definitely recommend going to the doctor. Take it from there.

You are making a decision that will stand to you, believe me

Confucius say

Jotunheim wrote: »

Good for you for realising you have a problem that needs to be addressed, but you're not walking the walk, are you? You have already listed all the reasons why you're going to fail and you don't plan on stopping anyway. A few sleepless nights means nothing, you''re not stopping because you don't want to and you have your excuses ready to let yourself off the hook- that's pretty basic alcoholic denial. I suggest you start meaning what you say before you before you do anything else.

It's not just a few sleepless nights though withdrawals are hell on earth. But op you can get tablets etc for coming off it. Talk to a doctor.