🍺 #QuittingAlcohol: Have you ever had that moment when you’re like, “Okay, enough is enough”? We’ve all been there, right?! So, dear friends who have bid adieu to alcohol, can you share what was your “last straw” moment that finally pushed you to make the decision? 🤔
I’m asking this question because I think we all have those moments of realization that lead us to big changes in our lives. Maybe it was a wild night out that ended in disaster, a health scare, or simply a feeling that enough is enough. Whatever it was, I’m genuinely curious to hear your stories and maybe even learn something from them.
Let’s turn this into a little virtual support group and share our experiences, triumphs, and maybe even a few laughs along the way. So, spill the beans and let’s discuss! 🙌🏼💬
Have you had your own “last straw” moment with alcohol? Tell us your story and let’s all support each other on this journey! 💪🏼 #QuittingAlcohol #SupportGroup #LifeChanges
I couldn’t get hard.
I was very hungover and my child asked me if I was ok. She was 10, but her tone & expression told me she already knew. I replied: “no. I drank too much last night and don’t feel well.” It was the first time I admitted that. I never drank again.
After years of struggling to quit, I got on antidepressants. 2 weeks later i had the clarity to look in the mirror and realize id never feel good about myself if I didnt stop drinking. I’d had too many bad people and situations surrounding alcohol throughout my entire life, that i internally automatically associated drinking with negativity, there was no longer enjoyment, just a bad habit.
I got test results (ultrasound) showing I had fatty liver, wanted to take it easy on my liver, and wanted to be sure if I needed treatment for anything liver-related in the future that there would never be any doubt that it was non-alcoholic fatty liver, rather than fatty Iiver induced by alcoholism. And I honestly would rather consume the calories in the form of cake. Quit on the spot, but then I was only a social drinker that relied on wine to relax in social situations.
That was 12 years ago and haven’t regretted it since!! And it turned out that sheer repetition without the alcohol crutch made the social part much easier over time. Learned later from a different doc that liver enzyme tests would show whether fatty liver was from alcohol or not… but I’m not taking any chances. Now, who wants a slice of chocolate layer cake?
I have developed severe gout. After seeing the uric acid levels in my blood the doctor told me I had the highest level he had ever seen in his entire career. I decided one night to drink during a gout attack. The gout attack the next morning had increased in severity so bad breathing was setting off intense spasms of pain throughout my body.
When my son asked for something and I said I didn’t have any money left, knowing within myself that I had spent it on alcohol and not on his happiness. I would hate if my dad ever did that to me.
Falling down in the street, literally staggering, falling down drunk.
I could never have just one drink. I was blacking out and falling all over the place. Waking up the next day and not remembering what I had done or said the night before. I would also become angry and say shit I would never have said otherwise. The last straw was screaming about something at someone and realizing how much alcohol was fucking up my life and that I become an asshole when I drink.
Haven’t quit, but really can only stomach a couple drinks here and there these days. Getting drunk just makes me feel like shit in the moment, and the next day or two. Getting smashed isn’t a flex anymore like it was in college lol. Now it’s just sad
I was just sitting around one day, hungover, watching the dark knight rises and when I saw the ending of the film I realised I wanted to make a difference too, actually do something with my life and I knew I wouldn’t be doing it if I couldn’t go a day without drinking. Threw out all my alcohol that day
I was only drinking 1 or 2 mid strength beers but most nights. At the footy club I’d have a few extra but not get smashed just social beers.
Woke up one morning and though why…..
Just wasting $ on beer that I get nothing out of. I liked drinking it and it was more a habit than an addiction. Hadn’t been really drunk in about 3 years anyway so just stopped.
4 months now and even got through some shit health news so the cycle is broken.
Not saying I won’t have a beer or glass of burbon ever again but I really don’t feel the urge.
First taste of alcohol was my 26th birthday. I went off and on drinking then not and drinking heavily more than lightly. One day, the woman I was dating, and her friends, told me of my behavior and showed me video of what I was doing while I was drinking.
Never touched it again. I was already struggling to overcome a lot of terrible qualities I possessed as a human being, and I was not going to let anything like alcohol bring me down the way it was doing. Been sober for 3 years now, never been happier.
I don’t have an off button. I’m sexy and I know it. And then I’m pretty repugnant.
I made myself a really nice ribeye steak and I got drunk afterwards. Woke up at 2am and threw it all up. Told myself I’ll be damned if I’m spending that kind of money, energy, and effort to not even be able to hold it down haha
The physical withdrawals and hospitalizations. It had to get so bad before it got better. I didn’t want to die at all.
I got tired of never making real progress in life. The enjoyment of drinking went away because I was just spinning my wheels from drinking session to another. It just got old
Woke up with the car smashing past pine trees. Managed to missed a head on but not a light, mirror or door handle remained on the car, it was snowing and by the time I walked home I was sober, thinking what could of happened or even if the police turned up, my newly started business would have crashed also. Forty years later, had a great business,sold semi retired at 60 working for another company 3 days a week.
My husband said it was almost beer o’clock (I wouldn’t drink before a certain time) and it clicked that I had a set pattern and that wasn’t good
My husband quit drinking after struggling with addiction, and I decided to as well. I was already at a point where I wasn’t drinking much and no longer enjoyed it.
My last drink was 12/31/2023. I’m not an alcoholic, really.
Mine wasn’t that dramatic. I had been thinking about taking a break for a while and eventually came across a 3-minute tik tok that discussed all of the health benefits of stopping for 3-weeks. I thought, I can do 3-weeks, heck, why not make it four and do dry January? First two weeks I would think I could use a drink half a dozen times. I noticed a balancing of emotions, better sleep, mental clarity and the greatest release of shame and worry around drunkenness and being hungover. Even still, I feel so relieved when I see people drunk or talk about being hungover bc I know I won’t be. I’ve just been extending dry January every month since. My stretch goal is now through the end of the year and I’ll reevaluate then.
I just want to say I am so god damn proud of you guys. I am blessed that I’m able to have just a few and cut it off but I’m currently trying to get my parents to realize where their limit is. It seems like they just drink and drink and drink until they fall asleep. I’m so concerned for their liver and I have a 14yo brother and a 9yo sister and I can tell that they know you know what I mean?
I was honestly bored of it. It gave me terrible anxiety, I felt puffy and unhealthy. I was tired of being a mess. I’m 70 days sober today and I feel great.
I was tired of sleeping terribly. I did a dry January and realized I hadn’t had good sleep in like a decade because I was drinking nearly every night. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you don’t drink!
I don’t know whether to call myself a highly social, social drinker or just a high bottom drunk. I got the occasional hangover but I never had many of the problems people describe when they talk of their demons, or tell horror stories about their actions when they were loaded. (God bless you all that struggle though!). Mostly, I just got argumentative. I drank a lot for years but it got more frequent living in Russia where everything was accompanied by alcohol. Sad? Have a drink and forget about it! Happy? Celebrate with a drink! Bored? Let’s go out for a drink! You could drink morning, noon or night, the only rule – you DO NOT drink alone!
I moved on to a new country and people around me just didn’t drink as much. I found myself being the only one who was drinking at all and it was commonly a lot more than people who I DID drink with. I pondered this for a while.
Then, I got a toenail fungal infection and the doctor gave me a regiment of antibiotics that would take a minimum of 14 weeks. It came with the warning that I’d have to start all over again if I drank at all. Now… I routinely do a dry month here and there and “Octsober” every October but it dawned on me about the time I finished the regiment of antibiotics, that I hadn’t gone 14 weeks without alcohol since I was a teenager. The impulse was mostly gone so I figured “Why not try a dry year?”
After next September, I’ll see how I feel. I know this though… I never tracked my alcohol expenses but I find myself way under budget every month nowadays.
I’ve been putting it into Bitcoin 😆
Tried to off myself again so I quit.
Almost 21 months sober.
My doctor told I would die within two years if I didn’t quit. That was 38 months ago and I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since.
Thing was I needed to quit on my own terms. So, I went home from the doctor’s office, drank a bottle of wine and that was that. Last drink I’ve had since.
My reflection in the mirror one morning looked like a stranger. I didn’t recognize myself and realized I needed to change.
I got a DUI, and the reality of what I could have lost—or worse, taken from someone else—made me quit.
I lost three days to a blackout. Not knowing what I had done during that time was the final straw.
After vomiting blood one morning, I was too scared to continue down that path.
I started needing a drink in the morning just to function. That was a line I promised myself I’d never cross.
When I realized I was hiding drinks around the house, I saw how manipulative and secretive I had become.
My drinking caused a serious fall that broke my leg. Lying in the hospital, I realized I was lucky it wasn’t worse.
I started my weightloss journey and alcohol just fucked that up too much to be successful, with the calories and hangovers so I quit it. I really wanted to not be fat and that was motivation for me now sitting at 160 pounds instead of 290.
I couldn’t play with my children without feeling exhausted or needing a drink first. I wanted to be a better parent.
After blacking out at a family gathering and embarrassing everyone, including myself, I knew I had to stop.
I was constantly lying to cover up my drinking. L
Financially, I was spending hundreds each month just on alcohol. Seeing my bank statement was a harsh reality check.
I accidentally hurt my dog while I was drunk. Th
I missed my best friend’s wedding because I was too hungover to attend. That loss made me reconsider everything.
A close friend died from liver failure related to alcohol. It was a grim reminder of where my path could lead.
Dying on my couch from alcohol poisoning after a suicide attempt and having just enough strength to force myself up and chug water. March 11th 2023. I survived.