sobriety

[KUTradition]

1 year for the wife and i today

i think my bank account feels it more than my body

[TDub]

congrats! I've cut wayyyyy back. But, not completely out.

I am however on like day 65 or so of no Copenhagen. I just....decided it was time. Its all mental toughness to not pick it back up.... but there are times its hard not to after 25 years of that comfort habit.

[KUTradition]

i’ve had an easier go of it than the wife, but i’m sure it’s easier since we have “replacements”

there is something to be said for the physical act of cracking open a cold one after a rough day but surprisingly enough, a nice bottle of root beer goes a long way to scratching that itch

[ousdahl]

nice! Good for you and the mrs, trad.

I've cut back a lot myself too, though not fully sober. Just maybe 1 beer here and there.

More than anything, it's just that I got tired of feeling like shit subsequently. (I had 2 beers on Christmas cuz it was Christmas, and even that I was feeling the next day)

And at some point, rather than a few drinks looosening me up, I feel like a few drinks almost prompts some sort of inflammation, where my joints are tighter than they should feel or something.

I think I'd still get fully gushered for the right occasion tho - another Final Four, or a good concert, or an all day camping/fishing/bonfire sesh, or something. Might have a party after the Covered Wagon Challenge, but even then, one of the nice things about getting in shape is it almost makes you less likely to want to get wrecked on booze.

my "replacement" tends to be sparking water or club soda. I'll add a slice of citrus and a dash of bitters if I'm feeling crazy.

I've significantly cut back on smoking too. Mostly just stick to edibles any more.

[ousdahl]

it does kinda suck tho cuz several of my current coworkers are almost half my age, and are incredulous when I say I'd rather be in bed by 10pm than go out to the bars with them. (whoa, did I just get that pronoun right?!)

related: we're closer to getting a "Gen Z is a bunch of boring nihilistic dorks" thread than we are to bumping the workplace hookups thread.

[ousdahl]

then there's the problem with the Beav...

any advice on how to convince a dood there's cooler things to do with a day off than play video games and finish a case of Busch all by yerself?

[KUTradition]

i couldn’t even tell you the last time i went to a bar

BIL was in town recently…he’s in his upper 20s and does the Army thing (just got back from Jordan, i think). dude is in this “phase” where nearly everything has to be celebrated with a beer

[digitalkookie]

Congrats Trad!!!

My wife hit 3 years in August. It was a struggle for her at first, however, she has since taken others down the path of sobriety with her.

Me, not so much

[zsn]

Congrats Trad! While we haven’t fully embraced the abstaining thing, our frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption has decreased considerably. We still open up a bottle of wine on some weekend evening.

[KUTradition]

Congrats Trad!!!

My wife hit 3 years in August. It was a struggle for her at first, however, she has since taken others down the path of sobriety with her.

Me, not so much

congrats to her!

it’s really amazing, actually, how (at least for us) once you’re sober you realize just how commercialized and in-your-face alcohol is…it’s nearly ubiquitous, really

advertisements are everywhere, and it’s referenced nearly non-stop in movies and tv shows

tangentially, apparently there is a movement in Japan where the younger generations are moving away from booze…so much so that their industry is really struggling

[ousdahl]

Re: “just how commercialized and in-your-face alcohol is,” my first reaction was, leave contemporary country music out of this!

Then you went on to mention movies and tv too

[Wiff]

Congrats, Trad!

I posted about this somewhere else, but can't remember where now. I started out with the goal of just cutting out booze for 30 days, just to see how I felt. That 30-day experiment taught me so much more about myself than I ever could have imagined. Although I never considered drinking to be a "problem" for me, it turns out it actually was a problem for me - and a fairly significant problem, in fact. I found out it was negatively impacting my focus at work, my sleep, my anxiety levels, my stress, my stamina with exercise - really too many areas to list. It's amazing what a difference cutting out just one thing can make in pretty much every aspect of your life. And I never would have even known how good I could actually be in all of those areas had I not given it a go. I was only able to see it as a problem when I finally found the discipline to temporarily remove it from my life.

After I cut it out entirely, I started to see the world through a different lens. It sounds really cheesy, but I started "noticing" little things like the color of the trees and how beautiful the leaves looked in the breeze. I was telling my friend who was also interested in quitting that I could only compare it to what it's like being on a departing flight from a city with cloudy, rainy weather - and then having that moment where the plane rises up above those gray clouds, and you finally see the gorgeous blue sky that you almost forgot was even there. You really start to feel more "present" in your surroundings.

Although people can tell you what its like over and over and over again, you never truly "see" it until you do the work to find out for yourself. And if you do, it truly is amazing. That initial 30 days has now essentially turned into an indefinite hiatus from booze for me, and I honestly don't know if I'll ever go back. The further and further I get away from it, the more I get to evaluate it with a clear mind. And once you see it for what it really is, it's really hard to see the point or benefit of continuing to drink.

In any event, sorry for the long-winded anecdote, but congrats on the achievement, Trad! A whole year is a huge accomplishment and is a tough feat, even if drinking was never a "problem" for you. You should be really proud of yourself.

[ousdahl]

After I cut it out entirely, I started to see the world through a different lens. It sounds really cheesy, but I started "noticing" little things like the color of the trees and how beautiful the leaves looked in the breeze.

ohhh, rad, so you got into psychedelics instead.

JK!

good post Wifi.

[ousdahl]

I mean Wiff.

Sorry my phone autocorrected otherwise.

[twocoach]

Congrats, Trad!

I posted about this somewhere else, but can't remember where now. I started out with the goal of just cutting out booze for 30 days, just to see how I felt. That 30-day experiment taught me so much more about myself than I ever could have imagined. Although I never considered drinking to be a "problem" for me, it turns out it actually was a problem for me - and a fairly significant problem, in fact. I found out it was negatively impacting my focus at work, my sleep, my anxiety levels, my stress, my stamina with exercise - really too many areas to list. It's amazing what a difference cutting out just one thing can make in pretty much every aspect of your life. And I never would have even known how good I could actually be in all of those areas had I not given it a go. I was only able to see it as a problem when I finally found the discipline to temporarily remove it from my life.

After I cut it out entirely, I started to see the world through a different lens. It sounds really cheesy, but I started "noticing" little things like the color of the trees and how beautiful the leaves looked in the breeze. I was telling my friend who was also interested in quitting that I could only compare it to what it's like being on a departing flight from a city with cloudy, rainy weather - and then having that moment where the plane rises up above those gray clouds, and you finally see the gorgeous blue sky that you almost forgot was even there. You really start to feel more "present" in your surroundings.

Although people can tell you what its like over and over and over again, you never truly "see" it until you do the work to find out for yourself. And if you do, it truly is amazing. That initial 30 days has now essentially turned into an indefinite hiatus from booze for me, and I honestly don't know if I'll ever go back. The further and further I get away from it, the more I get to evaluate it with a clear mind. And once you see it for what it really is, it's really hard to see the point or benefit of continuing to drink.

In any event, sorry for the long-winded anecdote, but congrats on the achievement, Trad! A whole year is a huge accomplishment and is a tough feat, even if drinking was never a "problem" for you. You should be really proud of yourself.

Just depends on the amount of drinking you were doing. Cutting the maybe 4 beers a week I drink out of my life probably won't result in me finally noticing the color of the trees around me. But if I was drinking a high volume throughout the course of the day then I'd probably feel different. Right now, cutting out drinking would mostly just result in a little lower grocery bill and a few pounds lost over time due to the cut in calories consumed as today's popular beers are a bit fattening.

[Mjl]

i’ve had an easier go of it than the wife, but i’m sure it’s easier since we have “replacements”

there is something to be said for the physical act of cracking open a cold one after a rough day but surprisingly enough, a nice bottle of root beer goes a long way to scratching that itch

First off, congrats! Awesome that the Mrs did it with you.

Re: the root beer - yeah, way too sweet. Personally the non-alcoholic PBR has become my drink of choice. When I drank I used to go with IPAs, but for some reason I prefer the cheap stuff when it comes to NA beer.

Even weirder - on cold days I like microwaving it first. Warm, non-alcoholic PBR. My wife thinks I'm nuts. She's probably right.

[StayCurious]

I have been almost entirely sober for about 5 years. I might have a small drink at Christmas, but that's about it. I don't try to be sober, it was just a natural desire that developed over time.

[Wiff]

Cutting the maybe 4 beers a week I drink out of my life probably won't result in me finally noticing the color of the trees around me.

Trust me, there are trees around you that you don't even know are there.

[twocoach]

Cutting the maybe 4 beers a week I drink out of my life probably won't result in me finally noticing the color of the trees around me.

Trust me, there are trees around you that you don't even know are there.

Well I just moved about a month ago and it's way too cold to wander the new neighborhood so you're probably right.

[pdub]

I took a month off drinking and didn’t notice much physically and didn’t have as much fun on the weekends ( I only drink Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday one drink ) but good for everyone if they feel better.

I’m sure I would save a good amount of money over time but I don’t really care much about that. Basically what twocoach said.